Cougar Microbes

French producer and remix artist Mondkopf, has turned over to the dark side with a minimal strain of ambient electronica that displays anunderlying complexity bordering on the cinematic.

The first two tracks on the EP are by far the most accessible; ‘Deaf House’ has an almost techno feel to it with aggressive baselines and dance synths which could rival established contemporaries such as Moderat. ‘Werewolf’ takes in down a notch and sees dance melodies replaced with hushed sirens and twisted warps; imagine Aphex Twins writing as if on death row.

Before you think it can’t get any lower, tracks ‘Legacy’ and ‘Eclipse’ launch into new realms of obscurity, pulses are reduced to below heart rate and the listened falls into to electronic paralysis.

This EP is more introspective and sinister than Modopkf’s earlier work so don’t expect to be hitting the dancefloor with it but if you want to indulge your darkest hour this may be your poison.

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Post by the bombastic Ruby

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TRACKS:

Schaatz‘s purported backstory is so far-fetched that it deserves to be posted in full here:

“We are a french duo based in Paris, they grew up in a german hippie community in Grasse on French Riviera where they lived many love stories with several german naturist ladies, sadly the ladies left France when they had to get back on Germany to study something serious. Convinced than love is something serious to study, Mat and Tonio of Schaatz have lived for many years alone in the mountains of Alps and founded Schaatz“.

We have not yet decided if we are going to take the above statement at face value but what we do know is that, whether they are producing their own mixes or remixing other, we like Schaatz.

TRACKS:

Any other year and the superbly titled ‘Manual For Successful Rioting’ would have easily been the runaway winner for Cougar Microbes album of the year. I witnessed Birdy Nam Nam delight a partizan Parisian home crowd when they closed the second day of Rock En Seine back in August and was blown away.

There was a risk that on record the French turntablist crew’s would effectively be competing for who could pull the biggest/maddest  technical trick at the possible expense of the dynamics and energy displayed live. Fortunately their January 2009 release exceeded even my expectations.

Crazy-B, DJ Pone, DJ Need, and Little Mike handpicked and moulded a unique set of samples through their original turntable set-up. The soaring dynamics they manage to produce draw parallels with a band lineup with each of the four DJ’s taking centre stage and dropping to the background accordingly. Over eleven tracks they deliver a masterclass in electro placing themselves easily in the same league as their better known friends Justice.

Grab that manual and learn it inside out because as soon as Birdy Nam Nam hit our shores you’d better be ready to riot.

TRACKS:

Birdy Nam Nam – The Parachute Ending

NEXT: #01 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below

PREVIOUS: #03 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz

Seemingly not content by the French near total domination of the global dance scene, Phoenix came along to show us how indie rock is to be done properly.

Fans of the band’s previous efforts will have been eagerly awaiting a new release since 2006′s highly enjoyable ‘It’s Never Been Like That‘ but few could have predicted how accomplished Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix sounds.

Opening double whammy ‘Listzomania’ and ‘1901‘ became instant classics and having them back to back at the front of the album represents a true statement of intent. Though these two tracks are majestic and worthy of attention the tracklisting that follows demonstrates that Phoenix are far from a one trick pony..

‘Wolfgang Amadeus…‘ offer up plenty when it comes to variety including the positively sexy ‘Fences‘, driving album closer ‘Armistice‘ and the truly inspired ‘Love Like A Sunset Part 1′. This last track’s reminiscent of Air‘s atmospheric edgy genius at its best.

Possibly the stand out moment on the album is ‘Lasso‘ with its subtle structure changes and emotive guitar dynamics. This track makes for a suitable bedfellow to consummate a melodic menage-a-trois with the the opening doubly whammy .

Up until not so long ago Phoenix represented a hidden secret that only a few were in on. ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix‘ will ensure the world can no longer ignore them.

TRACKS:

Phoenix – Lasso

NEXT: #03 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz

PREVIOUS: #05 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009: Iran – Dissolver

Gallic flair and one of the best live shows I witnessed in a long time meant Pascal Arbez, better known to the world as Vitalic, could not be missing from this list. ‘Flashmob‘, like its namesake, is a sudden and unexpected burst of fun.

Back in October Cougar Microbes boldly claimed “Vitalic as one of the world’s best techno/electro producers firmly placing his attitude and meticulous production betwixt Justice and Daft Punk, also fellow French pioneers of a genre that’s been invaded but resistant to futile try-hards.” Amen to that.

TRACKS:

Vitalic – Your Disco Song

NEXT: #13 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009

PREVIOUS: #15 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2009

French producer Golden Bug‘s latest effort ‘Assassin’ has seen an official release on Bang Gang recently. The 12-inch is characterised by dirty bass and lots of attitude in a way that is not too dissimilar from fellow countrymen Daft Punk.

I was still spinning his remixes of GLOVES and Adam Freeland from earlier this year when the title track from ‘Assassin’ hit me with a surprise sneak attack and one of those neck breaking manoeuvres.

Deadly but certainly not silent.

TRACKS:

Golden Bug – Assasin

An interesting story is equally as important as a good recording when trying to understand musicians. This is certainly the case for French/Israeli duo Charlotte & Magon and their blend of electro-chillout grooves.  The two had been communicating for a few years via the internet and in march 2008 Charlotte flew over to Tel-Aviv for 12 days to finally meet Magon in the flesh.

The result of this rendezvous was majestic with the two artists discovering not just a musical affinity but, beyond their expectations, a blossoming romance. The aptly named ‘Love Happening‘ acts as a snapshot of their shared experiences during this period. Charlotte‘s voice floats over a backdrop of guitars, pianos, synths and other hidden gems bringing to mind Beth Gibbons‘ of Portishead in her full haunting quality. Musically the immediate reference point is the music of French legends Air. Indeed, some of the tracks could easily pass for bonus material to the illustrious duos 2007 release ‘Pocket Symphony‘.

‘Love Happening’ is the perfect score to document Charlotte & Magon‘s love.

MP3′s:

Charlotte & Magon – Nine Cloud