Loud Sounds 19
Cover photo: Larry Maluma
"Loud Sounds" are some of the best new tracks we've found. We are coming back with the nineteenth installment of the series.
Claptone feat. Dizzy – Queen of Ice (Pet Shop Boys Remix)
Our blog has always been about "best under-the-radar music with exclusive comments from the artists". But there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes we feature music from mainstream acts we really care about, if we manage to get a comment straight from the source – like when Gotye told us about his love for The Sonics and sent an exclusive photo from the studio. This time we asked the German DJ Claptone to tell us about our new favourite track – the Pet Shop Boys remix of his excellent ballad Queen of Ice. The remix highlights the original's disco potential turning it into a pop-house banger and adds a nice touch in the form of Neil Tennant's icy vocoded vocals.
Our blog has always been about "best under-the-radar music with exclusive comments from the artists". But there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes we feature music from mainstream acts we really care about, if we manage to get a comment straight from the source – like when Gotye told us about his love for The Sonics and sent an exclusive photo from the studio. This time we asked the German DJ Claptone to tell us about our new favourite track – the Pet Shop Boys remix of his excellent ballad Queen of Ice. The remix highlights the original's disco potential turning it into a pop-house banger and adds a nice touch in the form of Neil Tennant's icy vocoded vocals.
Claptone
When my remix for 'Love Is A Bourgeois Construct' was released in December of 2013, I felt that it was the peak of Claptone. But three artist albums and countless hit songs later I can proudly say I was wrong. Still, I felt like I was on top of the world back then and I feel the same way today as Pet Shop Boys return the favor and remix 'Queen of Ice' ft. Dizzy. Almost 40 years ago they started creating club-influenced pop, opening up doors for underground club music on the radio and in the charts. Their work in the 80s, 90s and 2000's is the reason why dance music is in the DNA of every top hit today. Moreover I am deeply impressed about how they managed to stay in charge of their own image, creating ever changing avatars of themselves before that word was common goods, hence fighting any notion of authenticity and rockism, consistently emphasizing the act of performance. They are true pioneers still producing great music and expanding their very own world, what an inspiration.
Larry Maluma – Aisha
Larry resides in Australia but represents his homeland Zambia. "In Zambia there were no real big studios at the time like in Australia and the closest music shop to my house was three- to four-hundred kilometres... Everyone was looking to head overseas and record and sign to a label if they could." That's how Maluma remembers about his relocation the Green continent in the 80s. 12 albums later, he is back with a new record and its energetic single Aisha – the song "about not getting paid in time or not getting paid at all and telling the bosses that we need the money we worked for to pay our bills and look after our families". We asked Larry to tell us about the genesis of his creative process behind the album.
Larry resides in Australia but represents his homeland Zambia. "In Zambia there were no real big studios at the time like in Australia and the closest music shop to my house was three- to four-hundred kilometres... Everyone was looking to head overseas and record and sign to a label if they could." That's how Maluma remembers about his relocation the Green continent in the 80s. 12 albums later, he is back with a new record and its energetic single Aisha – the song "about not getting paid in time or not getting paid at all and telling the bosses that we need the money we worked for to pay our bills and look after our families". We asked Larry to tell us about the genesis of his creative process behind the album.
Larry Maluma
After a few years of not being actively creative in composing, I decided to follow my instincts and get back to writing songs again. I put myself in writing mode all year and decided to use an acoustic guitar this time around, to create and compose whatever ideas came into my head. In my home studio, I'd turn on the recording equipment and start playing and singing whatever my heart expressed, until I came up with something that felt good to me. I took my guitar with me on long road trips along the south coast, east coast, central coast, gold coast and sunshine coast of Australia, and stopped whenever I felt the need to rest. I would usually find a nice quiet spot on the beach, press the 'record' button on my phone and start playing to the sea, putting ideas down. When I opened my mouth to sing, some social, political or personal feelings would just come out, without realising the strength and significance of those words until much later. As soon as I returned from travels, I would go straight to my home studio and try to refine some of the ideas, until I had enough material for an album or two.