Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I now know that La Roux is coming back to Vancouver on April 18! I'm so happy that she is playing at a better venue this time around (the Commodore Ballroom). As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of the Biltmore's structure, which is where she played last time she came to Vancouver. Since this last concert, her musical reputation has grown exponentially so I would suggest getting tickets as soon as possible.
Here's a remix by Le Castle Vania to hold you, and myself, off until the show.
2010 is just around the corner and I'm already getting excited about the music that's to come in the new year. As for music this year, I feel like there were a lot of great albums but not many that really grasped my attention for very long. My first choice was really easy but the other four were hard to rank. But I've re-listened to the ones I remember the most and the five that are posted are the ones that my ears seemed to like the most this year. Number 1
Hands down, this was the best album of the year in my opinion. It was almost like a Scandinavian celebration album. With Lykke Li, Robyn, and Karin Dreijer Andersson (The Knife and Fever Ray) as vocalists for more than half of the songs on the album; I was very pleased and impressed. Even the songs without the vocals are amazing. "Röyksopp Forever" is an instrumental that is some kind of emotional and passionate electrorchestra. I'm not going to lie, I probably listened to "The Girl and The Robot" over 100 times this year. The bass is so intense, I imagine the whole world shaking every time I play it. This album makes love to my ears every single listen.
Röyksopp - The Girl and The Robot
Number 2
Vitalic - Flashmob, September 2009
Vitalic is classified as techno/trance but I would say Vitalic is just completely electronic. I feel like Vitalic put a lot of thought into the songs on Flashmob. Don't be discouraged by the description, the album isn't a complete dance fest. There are slow songs as well. This French artist has done a remarkable job of producing and creating his own music. Flashmob is an explosion of noise, i.e. beautiful noise.
Vitalic - Poison Lips
Number 3
La Roux - La Roux, June 2009
La Roux came out of England with some great 80s-inspired dance songs. I heard her first single, "In for the Kill", on Hype Machine. This song was followed up with "Bulletproof" and the album had a hold on me. "Colourless Colour" and "Tigerlily" are definitely my faves. One thing that really stands out on this album is the amazing lyrics. All the lyrics on this album are powerful, coherent and clear; an album well done.
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was a great, upbeat summer album. I remember taking a ridiculously intense summer course and listening to this entire album while studying in the library; it kept me from going completely insane. It was also a great road trip album. It had two major hits: "Lisztomania" and "1901." These were great but my favourites were "Rome" and "Love Like A Sunset Part I & II." It will always remind me of the summer of 2009.
Phoenix - Lisztomania
Number 5
Muse - The Resistance, September 2009
Even though The Resistance wasn't completely what I would have liked, it was still an album that was produced and thought-out well. This may sound strange but Muse has some kind of extra-terrestrial side to them that I've always liked. This album really exudes their out-of-this-world feature. The last three parts of "Exogenesis: Symphony" are amazing and finish up the album very well.
I had briefly heard of Data a couple of months ago but I apparently didn't pay enough attention to him as I should've. Either his status has grown since I last heard of him or I've been super oblivious, but either way, this remix is really good and I wish I could've predicted this earlier.
To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the original song, "I'm Not Your Toy." It sounds too much like video game music from a mediocre 90s game. Now, this Data remix is where it's at. The song is sped up and melodic synth is added. Yummy.
"I know you better than this.I could be here when you call.I'll make you top of the list.And in the crush of the dark.I'll be your light in the mist.I can see you burning with desire for a kiss"
The lyrics, the distant knocking, the organ, the creepy guy near the end, the passionate vocals. Everything about this song is so good right now. And I have yet to find a decent remix of it.
Amidst the hot and sweaty atmosphere of the Biltmore, La Roux and her band mates took the stage in hopes of getting everyone even hotter and sweatier. The show started with "Tigerlily", which was performed well but I felt as if La Roux (a.k.a. Elly Jackson) was a little timid at first. This could've definitely been due to the heat. Though, once she performed "Colourless Colour" she started to adapt to the heat and break out. At this point, her energy built up and the concert got significantly better and more impressive.
"Bulletproof" was a great song to end with. The entire audience was pumped up and started jumping up and down. At the end of the song, Jackson somewhat joined the audience by standing at the front of the stage, gripping the low ceiling of the Biltmore, pumping the audience up with the beat and her fist. The ceiling almost looked like it was going to break. I don't know if it was because Elly Jackson is so strong or because the Biltmore is so old. This left me wanting more but I think she ran out of songs to perform and she was also doing a CD signing session after the concert. She performed all of her songs from her first, and only album at the moment, La Roux. I'm going to admit I really love La Roux's lyrics. They are clear and real. Elly Jackson isn't the only person who should be credited to the lyrics though. Ben Langmaid, the co-writer and co-producer of La Roux, also helps out with the production and creation of the electropop songs and lyrics.
Even though it was ridiculously hot and sweaty, the concert was great. "Colourless Colour" and "Bulletproof" were by far my favourite songs that were performed. Next time La Roux hits up Vancouver, I would like to see her/them perform at the Commodore. Hopefully, her fan base grows a little more and the next show can be even more bulletproof then the last.
This British redhead is gracing Vancouver with her electropop presence on July 27th at the one and only, Biltmore Cabaret. The previous posts I've written regarding La Roux have basically been about the song, "In For The Kill" and its remixes. After getting my hands on the entirety of the album, La Roux, I'm surrendering my eardrums to these beats on a daily basis. Check out the "Bulletproof" video below. And of course, I can't help but add a remix to this post (remix courtesy of Foamo).
La Roux's "In for the kill" and its remixes seem to be on the rise. I previously posted the Skream remix of this song, which is pretty slow. I've come across another remix that is a little faster and made a little better for the dance floor. It's produced by a French artist called Lifelike, formerly known as Ferris Bueller. This artist has done many other remixes, examples of other artists Lifelike has remixed are: Chromeo and The Presets.
Mostly inspired by the 80s, La Roux is an electropop female/male duo from the UK. The duo is composed of Elly Jackson (vocals/synths) and Ben Langmaid (co-producer/co-writer - according to wikipedia). The name was chosen because of Elly Jackson's red hair; la roux meaning redhead in French. And apparently, she gets people asking her what's wrong with it. How interesting. La Roux just signed with the major label, Polydor, so I'm leaving an embedded vimeo video below for people to check out.
As for remixes, British DJ/Producer, Skream, did a "Let's get ravey" remix of this song. He slows it down and makes it a little more spacey. You can check it out below.
The music posted on this blog is for promotional use only; I post it because I think it deserves to be recognized and appreciated. I also think it will make your life even more amazing if you listen to it. If you enjoy something that is posted on this blog you can purchase it/more from iTunes or Amazon.ca
If you are a musician or a record company and want the songs that I have posted removed, please let me know and I will remove them (remixourlives@live.com).
"remix 1. to mix again. 2. to mix and re-record the elements of (a musical recording) in a different way." - Dictionary.com
Let's not really change the base of who we are but just make ourselves more vibrant, more exuberant, more explicit and above all, let's make ourselves stronger.
I've put a heavy definition on the word remix; let's value and embrace this definition with music.
To a certain extent, our lives revolve around music. And this blog mainly revolves around music that has the potential to enhance our lives.
