#drum’n’bass

[nuttah]

Trigger - Banger

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[eretzyisrael]

by BRENDAN O'NEILL

The phoney virtue on display at this ageing assembly was even more preposterous this year than normal. Alongside Banksy’s floating boat we saw an out-of-tune Cyndi Lauper change the lyrics of her most famous song to ‘Girls just wanna have fun-damental rights’. She sang this – I say ‘sang’; it was more a warble – to a crowd feverishly waving the flag of a nation, Palestine, in which girls have neither fun nor rights. In the Gaza Strip they don’t even enjoy legal protection from physical or sexual violence in the home. Bashing the patriarchy while your fans enthusiastically cheer a patriarchal nation – make it make sense, people.

Then there was Ros Atkins of the BBC djing on the Stonebridge Bar stage. Honestly, it was like a mid-life crisis put to music. He even played a drum’n’bass version of the BBC News theme tune. If that sounds like the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever heard of, that’s because it was. The sight of fortysomething Glasto people waving banners emblazoned with the letters ‘BBC’ as they jived to the music that kicks off every BBC news bulletin was borderline surreal. From dancing topless to the Kinks in 1970 to worshipping the state broadcaster as some kind of sun god of truth in 2024 – ladies and gentleman, Britain’s middle class.

And yet, there was a limit to the virtue on display at Glasto. And that limit was telling indeed. From none of the stages, from none of the acts, was there one, measly mention of the 364 people slaughtered at the Nova music festival in the south of Israel on 7 October. Hundreds of people murdered by racists while dancing to trance in a Glasto-like get-together in the desert just eight months ago, and no Glasto performer saw fit to say something about it. No minute’s silence, no black flags, nothing whatsoever for their fellow festival-goers who were slain by anti-Semites. On the contrary, everywhere you looked was the flag of the side that carried out the slaughter at Nova, not of the side that suffered this hellish act of racist, misogynistic, tyrannical violence.

And there you have it, the fake virtue of the elites summed up. Border-bashing from the bordered-off classes. Posturing against misogyny without so much as a whisper for the women raped and murdered by Hamas. Self-congratulation disguised as conscience. Narcissism masquerading as progressivism. Glasto might be rubbish these days but its insights into the mindset of the bourgeoisie remain unrivalled.

[danzameccanica]

Oggi è un luglio del 2021 e credo che sia la prima volta che riascolto Vespertine dopo almeno quindici anni. Questo è l’album che quando ero al liceo mi ha aperto all’elettronica, alla musica intima, a tutto quello che non era metal. È grazie a Vespertine che poi ho inziato a comprare la rivista Ritual e a scoprire il gothic rock; questo album è stata la chiave di volta che ha poi sorretto tutto il muro della mia crescita sopra le colonne del metal estremo. Senza Björk non ci sarebbero stati i Massive Attack, i Radiohead, gli Oasis, i Verve, i Sigur Rós e tutto il resto… Vespertine, per uno che ha amato tantissimo Björk, forse è l’ultimo album accessibile, orecchiabile, facile nell'assimilazione. Ricordo con dispiacere l’uscita di Medulla: ricordo tantissimo il potenziale di quell’album e il concept ma che, sfortunatamente, non era riuscito a fare colpo. La Björk di quegli anni non era più “solo” e “semplicemente” una musicista ma un’artista a 360 gradi. La tragica esperienza di Dancer in the Dark è stata solo un caso isolato; in questi anni Björk si muoveva nel mondo dell’arte contemporanea, delle performance, della body e video-art (anche coadiuvata dal compagno dell’epoca Matthew Barney). Posso certamente dire che da questo momento in poi l’aspetto visuale di Björk è aumentato in maniera esponenziale ma anche inversamente proporzionale all’impatto musicale.

Vespertine è l’ultimo album “pop”; l’ultimo disco dove puoi fischiettare le canzoni una per una. "Hidden Place" è un intro struggente e drammatico, intimo e fragile che segna quasi il passaggio dall’inverno allo sbocciare della primavera; gli archi durante il ritornello sono arcobaleni che si aprono sopra i grigi ghiacci islandesi. "Cocoon" è una ballad su un registro di toni altissimi ma delicati: come se Björk cantasse una ninnananna alla rugiada sulle ragnatele, ultimi testimoni di una notte fatata che scoppietteranno a breve fra il noise-glitch gentile di questa meravigliosa composizione. Anche "It’s not up to you" è una graziosa interrogazione ai baccelli della foresta, musicata da una specie di post-drum’n’bass col contrabbasso jazz. "Undo" e "Pagan Poetry" (uno dei picchi più alti del disco) rivelano tutta la fragilità di questo bozzolo nel quale Björk si è rinchiusa cantando della sua terra. Ci sono i ricordi drammatici di "Bachelorette" e c’è questo strano sentore di catastrofe o – ad ogni modo - dell’irreversibilità della situazione. "Frosti" è una strumentale di carillon che evoca una magia notturna che prosegue naturalmente in "Aurora" e torna ad essere drammatica in mezzo agli scratch e breakbeat di "An Echo a Stain". "Sun in My Mouth" riprende il carillon ma ricorda qualcosa di Debut. Dietro al mixer e alla produzione di questo album siede Mike ‘Spike’ Stent che aveva già collaborato in Homogenic ma anche in Bedtime Stories e Music di Madonna; poi i Matmos che si porterà sul palco in almeno un paio di tour mondiali. Riascoltandolo oggi, mi rendo conto che forse le ultime 4-5 canzoni non sono così memorabili ma contengono le stesse sonorità delle precedenti mantenendo un perfetto filo-conduttore fino alla finale "Unison", un’allegra ballata che ricorda tanto i connazionali Sigur Rós. Ma la potenza, l'unicità e l'efficacia di Vespertine (ma in generale di tutti i primi album di Björk fino ad ora) è il suo utilizzo della voce come se fosse lo strumento principale; e, infine ma non per ultima cosa, utilizzare la sua voce per creare melodie principali. L’effimera natura di questo album, il suo essere freddo ma nella sua ultima fase, quella prossima al disgelo, lo rende davvero unico e speciale; Vespertine è un disco che sicuramente chiude una fase di crescita di Björk e ne apre un’altra verso la sperimentazione; purtroppo, per quello che mi riguarda, è davvero l’ultimo album magico, capace di raccontare qualcosa che a sua volta riuscirà a piantare un seme dentro l’animo.

[palmsandsunglasses]

"Backed up against the wall, we set the pace, Progression Sessions Five is Live, drum’n’bass, with no fear and genders clear, we manifest and we told you 4 times but you still ain’t learned your lesson!"

RIP MC Conrad, big up DRS

[joemuggs]

Dance Your Way Home

This is my WIRE magazine review of Emma Warren's book from earlier this year....

👇🏻

Appropriately enough, this book is in constant movement. Its framework is simultaneously memoir, history and exploration of the human mind and body, and it oscillates between these modes, shifting perspective and location endlessly. In any page you’ll find multiple voices, the action flipping from Orpington to Rwanda and Stoke-on-Trent to Chicago in a moment, a zooming in and out from broad historical sweep to images of moving crowds to micro personal detail or insight. 

But for all that, it keeps returning to one place: the dancefloor. And even more specifically, to long-established journalist Emma Warren’s own feet, on specific dancefloors, and to what they were doing: how her feet moved, what shoes she was wearing, what those floors were made of, how it felt. It’s hard to think of a better, or more literal, way that a complex narrative could be grounded. This book dances around, but is also firmly rooted in, the very experience of dancing.

It draws us from Warren’s parents’ youth on the English south coast, through her own childhood in Kent, student days in Manchester, working for Jockey Slut and The Face, parenthood, community organising and on. Each time we get a sense of where dance was in her life, from infant school tap and ballet, through youth club discos, funk and soul clubs, acid house, 90s superclubs, drum’n’bass, dubstep, UK funky and into the myriad of jazz-adjacent fusions of the past decade.

But every step of the way it fires off backwards in time and across continents, digging into the roots of specific dance moves and styles, the functions of dancing for social groups and movements, it’s effects on the human brain. First and second hand sources are quoted constantly – from those Warren shares specific memories with through keystone musicians and promoters to academics and scientists with insight into the dance. 

In this way, it feels very similar to Jude Rogers’s The Sound of Being Human from last year, which also used memoir as a springboard to examine the science and social function of music. But where Rogers was looking the echoes and abstractions of memory, Warren keeps the focus tightly on physicality – of experiences and the building blocks of culture passed from hand to hand, body to body. And her language has a deeply satisfying physicality to match, as in “Our gestural polyphony changed the temperature, too, heating venues up with human-generated humidity.” 

Despite its omnidirectional approach, this core keeps its momentum like a groove running throughout, and it really works on all its intended levels – and simply as a polemic in favour of dancing, whether in clubs, at home or professionally. Looking at subcultural evolution through the dancer’s lens – reminding us, for example that some of the most crucial dance musicians like A Guy Called Gerald and Shut Up & Dance were trained, even professional dancers – provides endless vital insights. And Warren’s phrase making provides plenty of pithy reminders of her fierce sense of purpose. “Culture matters when everything else falls away,�� she says. “You can’t eat culture and it doesn’t pay the rent, but it does provide pride and history, which are useful starting points for recovery.” 

[touhoutunes]

Title: Reversed drum’n’bass

Arrangement: Jerico

Album: Absolutely Perfection

Circle: ジェリコの法則

Original: The Reversed Wheel of Fortune

[suchabea]

Celeste, 26

College Student & GOGO Dancer

Traits:

Creative: She’s a fanfic writer with her own blog, but is working toward writing her first book.

Phlegmatic: Although her wardrobe is loud and full of personality, she’s not excitable and doesn’t express emotion.

Bookworm: She likes thrillers, dark romance, and manga

Favorite Genre of Music: Electronic, Drum’n’Bass, and House

Check her vibe here.

[dustedmagazine]

King Krule — Space Heavy (XL/Matador)

Space Heavy by King Krule

King Krule is a contradiction. It’s carrot-topped, tarmac-throated songwriter Archy Marshall, but also his band of stone-faced miscreants. It’s a slovenly, lugubrious mess, but also jazzy, sophisticated and delicate. It’s expansive and cathartic, but also anxious and claustrophobic. Discounting live double LP, You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down, King Krule’s last full-length was Man Alive!, which featured on my best of 2020 list, where I described it as “Smoky jazz, belligerent post-punk and stoned lo-fi… all stirred together into a murky and intoxicating soup.” Space Heavy is much the same, but less mired in the bleak realities of urban living, more reflective about finding a way out, passing through liminal environments such as the coast, or space itself.

The album’s sci-fi theme is immediately conjured via the thick synthesizers of opener, “Flimsier.” The chorused guitar lines circle woozily in semi-tonal shifts, before a gnarly guitar solo tries to break free of the song’s oppressive gravity. Heavy post-punk stomper “Pink Shell” introduces petulant blurts of saxophone and crunchy guitar chords, and is one of several moments on the record when the band really cuts loose. Single “Seaforth”’s shimmering kaleidoscopic guitars evoke a reflective frame of mind, echoed in the lyrics: “She’s sleeping… she’s sleeping… She speaks within my dreaming / I take her waist within my hands / And when I wake she melts away into the sand.” Marshall has rarely sounded so tender. The remainder of the first side is similarly diffuse and downtempo. “That Is My Life, That Is Yours” feels like a woozy, half-speed coda to “Seaforth,” the beautiful “Tortoise of Independency” strips back to voice and guitar, and “Flimsy” acts as an instrumental bookend to the opener. 

“Hamburgerphobia” opens the second side with some insanely dextrous drumming and brooding bass, injecting a crazed drum’n’bass feel into proceedings. Guest vocalist Raveena contributes dreamy, echoing lead vocals to “Seagirl,” which prove a welcome foil to Marshall’s despondent speak-singing. “Our Vacuum” feels like a sister song to side A’s “Tortoise of Independency,” and offers a stark example of one of the record’s themes, where isolation arises out of intimacy: “The space between us is dark / in the cage of your heart.” The title track contains both sides of King Krule in a single song, the first half reflective and pensive, the second a repeated, tortured wail of the line, “My plastic straw!”, alluding to a planet sinking into environmental devastation. “If Only It Was Warmth” is a singularly desolate moment late in the second side, a Mogwai-esque bassline cascading elegantly over disparate ride cymbal, as Marshall tells of how he “Walked two hours across empty space to fill the void.” 

Contradiction proves mesmerizing across Space Heavy’s tightly executed 45 minutes: in our need for freedom we’re left floating in space; in our intimate relationships, we’re stifled by a vacuum. Survival and fulfillment happens somewhere in the in-between. 

Tim Clarke

[cyarskj1899]

The 50 best songs of 2022

NME5th December 2022

“Bloody hell, it’s nearly Christmas? Well that year just flew by didn’t it?” Hell no. We’d usually be aghast at the fleeting nature at the passage of time at this point in the calendar – especially in the past few quiet years – but 2022 was anything but short. Even festival season already feels like an age ago; but hey, at least we had one. RIP to the COVID buzzkill years, may we never see their like again.

You were out there in the fields with your arms around your mates, in the venues with the pints flying through the air, and in the clubs with your feet suspiciously stuck to the floor. Sure there’s a lot of ongoing shithousery afoot, but when you look back to 2022 you’ll remember getting back to doing what you love and the tunes that helped you do it. Just like you, so many songs were larger than life and raring to get out and be heard. Here’s a definitive list of the 50 best songs that truly made our year. Enjoy….

Andrew Trendell, News Editor

Words by: Alex Flood, Ali Shutler, Andy Brown, Andrew Trendell, Ben Jolley, Derrick Tan, El Hunt, Ella Kemp, Erica Campbell, Gemma Samways, Hannah Mylrea, Hollie Geraghty, Jake Tucker, Jenessa Williams, Karen Gwee, Kyann-Sian Williams, Max Pilley, Nick Levine, Rhian Daly, Sam Moore, Sophie Williams, Thomas Smith and Will Richards

50. Jamie xx – ‘Let’s Do It Again’

Marking his first new solo release in two years, Jamie xx’sApril return coincided with the very start of the first proper post-lockdown summer. Recalling the transcendent highs of his 2015 album ‘In Colour’ and built around an uplifting vocal sample from Bobby Barnes’ soul belter ‘Super High On Your Love’, the dopamine-filled ‘Let’s Do It Again’ became an ecstatic singalong 2022 festival anthem. Welcome back to partying. BJ

Best bit: The clever way that Jamie winds the track back down to a near-silence four-and-half-minutes in, only for each sonic element to be layered up again: building up the claps, drums, twinkling keys and soaring synths before one final euphoric release. You love to see it.

49. Tomorrow X Together – ‘Thursday’s Child Has Far To Go’

This bright, bouncy bop – performed by Tomorrow X Together’s synth-pop unit Soobin, Beomgyu and Taehyun – uplifted spirits with its straightforward, feel-good melodies. The trio exuded positivity and optimism for the future following an emotional break-up, with Beomgyu’s “today’s hashtag: ‘Break up’ / Then paste ‘glow up’ next to it” line proving a stroke of genius. DT

Best bit: Soobin’s breathy post-chorus mantra “I won’t cry again” feels like a reassuring invisible hug.

48. The Killers – ‘Boy’

Brandon Flowers told NME in the summer that this gem provided “the impetus” for The Killers’ 2021 folky triumph‘Pressure Machine’, but was left off the album due to its new wave shimmer. For a leftover, it bangs: ‘Boy’ is The Killers at their sweet, synthy and streetwise best, strutting from the gutter to the dancefloor. AT

Best bit: That little nod to Erasure’s ‘A Little Respect’. Cheeky cheeky!

47. Angel Olsen – ‘All The Good Times’

Olsen’s sixth album ‘Big Time’was written amid a turbulent, tragic time: during its production, the US musician came out to and then lost both her parents in quick succession. Laced with grief and hope for new love, the record’s opening track was as epic and emotional as they come. TS

Best bit: The song’s finale, where Olsen’s gentle strum is joined by a swelling horn section that ratchets up the emotion.

46. TSHA – ‘Giving Up’

A highlight of the Ninja Tune-signee’s debut album ‘Capricorn Sun’, ‘Giving Up’ was TSHA at her very peak. A fizzing drum’n’bass beat paved the way for Mafro’s warped vocal line to run wild and free. A song equally suitable for the club, home listening and summer BBQs, it proved TSHA’s ability as a producer with wide-ranging appeal. WR

Best bit: When that delightful, joyous synth line comes in at the one-minute mark.

45. Foals – ‘2am’

‘Back to basics’ songs can often be seen as a negative regression for artists, but on ‘2am’ and their seventh album ‘Life Is Yours’,Foals simply returned to what they do best. Written in the depths of a lockdown winter, this ecstatic indie hit pined for human connection and getting sloshed with friends again. This summer, its wish came beautifully true. WR

Best bit: Frontman Yannis Philippakis’ vocals belting out as his most enthused in years.

44. LE SSERAFIM – ‘Impurities’

LE SSERAFIM got their band name from an anagram of the phrase “I’m fearless” – so it’s not surprising that they understand that confidence can be drawn from all manner of places. On this cool, ethereal electro R&B song, co-written by member Huh Yunjin, they calmly declared that one’s flaws are actually glorious testaments to life. You’ll be similarly convinced by the track’s sassy hook: “Impurities, show you my impurities.” DT

Best bit: The hypnotic falsetto harmonies – one from Chaewon and Kazuha, another from Yunjin and Sakura – in the pre-chorus.

43. Sunmi – Heart Burn’

Sunmi’s best songs are undeniably the co-productions she’s made with frequent collaborator FRANTS (‘Narcissism’, ‘Tail’). But the ex-Wonder Girl’s dreamy ‘Heart Burn’ – reminiscent of ’70s Fleetwood Mac – ventured out of that comfort zone to rank among her best releases yet. Its flirty lyrics (“I am getting hot, oh, my!”), delivered in her raspy vocal style, matched the growing blaze of a midsummer romance. DT

Best bit: Those heavy-handed guitar strums after the bridge that lead us to the track’s fiery climax.

42. Liam Gallagher – ‘Everything’s Electric’

“Underneath the red sun, everything’s electric,” Liam Gallagher sings on the bold centrepiece of his excellent third solo album, ‘C’mon You Know’. The track certainly lived up to that big declaration, sizzling with classic arms-aloft anthemics and a chorus that was simultaneously simple and life-affirmingly massive. If there were any lingering doubts left about LG’s solo prowess, this song blasted them all away once and for all. RD

Best bit: The helicopter-whirring opening riff that signals that the king of British rock’n’roll is back – and he means serious business.

41. Beabadoobee – ‘The Perfect Pair’

So much of Beabadoobee’scareer has been built on the idea of ripping up the pop rulebook and simply doing what the hell she wants – sugar-sweet vocals would sit alongside screeching guitars to speak to a younger generation that feels stifled. But ‘The Perfect Pair’ changed everything again: a holiday-inflected croon and sighing strings made the backbone of one of Bea’s most restrained tracks yet; a break-up song that accepted defeat and just swayed in abandon. Beautiful. EK

Best bit: The cinematic outro where strings take over and Bea just lets the melody do its thing.

40. Yungblud – ‘The Funeral’

Donny punk tearaway Yungbludstruggled with the worldwide attention that followed his second album ‘Weird!’. But rather than bow to other people’s expectations, he fought back with his defiant self-titled follow-up; its swaggering emo opener ‘The Funeral’ his confident mission statement. Flickering between self-hatred and self-love, this flamboyant rager twisted uncertainty into a jubilant celebration, backed by the sort of guitars that would make The Smiths’ Johnny Marrjealous. AS

Best bit: The Gen-Z motivational speech: “But do you hate yourself? Well, that’s alright. Do you love yourself? Well, that’s alright.”

39. Fontaines D.C. – ‘I Love You’

In a twist no-one saw coming, the most exhilarating love song of 2022 was inspired by a country rather than a person. Billed as Fontaines D.C.’s “first overtly political song”, this swirling post-punk epic saw frontman Grian Chatten interrogate his status as an Irishman based in England, laying bare a perpetual tug-of-war between guilt and pride. Impassioned and deeply affecting, Chatten’s performance here grew steadily in intensity throughout. GS

Best bit: The knockout-punch of the final chorus, which climaxes with Chatten howling: “I had to be the fucking man.”

38. GloRilla and Cardi B – ‘Tomorrow 2’

GloRilla’s immense talent was clear to see on her July single ‘Tomorrow’ – so much so that the Memphis artist quickly earned a fan in rap superstar Cardi B, who hopped on the September remix ‘Tomorrow 2’. The latter was a belter: the duo demonstrated their respective lyrical prowess over sparse, piano-led accompaniment. Best of all, it provided an early glimpse at rap’s next massive star more than keeping up with one of the reigning champs. HM

Best bit: GloRilla’s stellar put-down: “Can’t say your name up in my songs, might not fuck with you tomorrow.” Can’t say she didn’t warn you!

37. Måneskin – ‘The Loneliest’

After winning Eurovision 2021 with the hammering ‘Zitti e Buoni’, the new saviours of rock’n’roll kept the party going with such stadium-sized anthems as ‘Mammamia’ and ‘Supermodel’. Then came ‘The Loneliest’, a brooding ballad that saw the Italian four-piece trade fiery excess for heartbreaking emotion. Despite the restraint that was plastered across Måneskin’s first English language slow jam, ‘The Loneliest’ still bristled with excitement as the rockstars let another side of them shine. AS

Best bit: That guitar solo: let them Italians wail.

36. Gorillaz – ‘New Gold’

In the midst of this year’s scorcher of a summer, Gorillazappeared like a mirage to deliver another legendary collaboration. ‘New Gold’ served up a deliciously psychedelic hook from Tame Impala, while The Pharcyde’s Bootie Brown – who Gorillaz fans recognised from his explosive verse on ‘Dirty Harry’ – spun a bouncy tale of a vain society in freefall. 2022’s best weather may be long behind us, but ‘New Gold’ was a warm ray of sunshine to remember it by.AB

Best bit: Bootie Brown’s second verse, which is packed with throwbacks to ‘Demon Days’.

35. Fred again.. – ‘Danielle (smile on my face)’

Built around a sample of 070 Shake’s 2019 single ‘Nice To Have’ – a tune that Fred Gibson said he “literally listened to every day last year… everywhere, all the time” – ‘Danielle (smile on my face)’ is a classic Fred again.. creation. Emotive lyrics (“Fuck what they say, I’m safe in your arms / And if I die in your arms, there’ll be a smile on my face”), wobbly, bass-driven synths and bombastic beats united as one to form one of 2022’s most tear-jerking bangers. SM

Best bit: When the synths and beats crackle back into life, sparking one last rave in the track’s ecstatic final minute.

34. Wunderhorse – ‘Leader of The Pack’

2022’s best rock song? Wunderhorse, AKA Cornwall-based Pistol actor Jacob Slater, put up a very good fight with the brooding, snarling ‘Leader Of The Pack’. Chugging guitars, crashing drums and gang chorus vocals turned every listen into a rock’n’roll hoedown, with Slater having written the song “as a means of getting even”. Mission accomplished, surely. SM

Best bit: That crunching opening riff: beat that, 2023.

33. Tove Lo – ‘No One Dies From Love’

Tove Lo’s fifth album ‘Dirt Femme’ was packed full of effervescent earworms, but none more so than its jubilant opener ‘No One Dies From Love’. Written when she “was having the fear of ‘What if this love that I have ends?’”, the Swede spun that relatable vulnerability over squelchy synths, driving beats and ‘80s drums. The result? Very real emotions coupled with a sugar-rush instrumental. HM

Best bit: The euphoric, layered vocals that open the first chorus, where Tove belts out: “No one dies from love / Guess I’ll be the first.”

32. FLO – ‘Cardboard Box’

If there was ever any doubt about the current state of UK R&B, then the country’s next best girl band quickly put those suspicions to bed in 2022 with their glistening debut single. A flawlessly synchronised and perfectly-poised track about cutting off a toxic relationship, the London trio’s harmonies and satin-smooth melodies served as a glossy throwback to the golden age of early-00s female empowerment (see: Destiny’s Child and Sugababes). A flow like this is no fluke. HG

Best bit: The sassy bridge that makes you want to waggle a finger and pack up your own cardboard box: “I’ma put your jeans next to the dreams that you sold me.”

31. Piri and Tommy – ‘On & On’

The drum’n’bass-loving Manchester duo are now making scene-leading pop-meets-dance music to soundtrack the kind of wild nights out they used to enjoy as clubbers. “Big night, lost my weed but the beat goes on,” Piri serenely sang while impressively keeping pace with the unrelenting Tommy-produced drums that helped ‘On & On’ truly zip along. SM

Best bit: Piri’s “on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on” will be stuck in your head forever. Sorry!

30. IVE – ‘Love Dive’

Looking back on K-pop in 2022, it’s been the year of rookie girl groups punching far above their weight. Case in point: IVE and their sophisticated seduction anthem ‘Love Dive’. This slice of alluring electro-pop reels you back in again and again, whether it’s to savour the confident, flirtatious lyrics and gorgeous backing melodies, or to pick up on all the sonic flourishes studding the production like diamonds in the rough. KG

Best bit: Wonyoung’s line “Narcissistic, my god, I love it” – knowingly cheeky and delicious every time.

29. The 1975 – ‘Part Of The Band’

Distortion, ambient noise, stream of conscious neurosis, and Matty Healy spilling out the melodic interrogations, “Am I ironically woke? The butt of my joke? Or am I just some post-coke, average, skinny bloke?” this track had it all. ‘Part Of The Band’’sstrong suit was that it’s quieter and more subtle than many of their tracks, but it’s still quintessentially The 1975. With dry, wry millennial humour and apt observations standing, the result will always reward a careful listener. EC

Best bit: The cheeky line, “I like my men like I like my coffee / Full of soy milk and so sweet, it won’t offend anybody“. Same.

28. Bring Me The Horizon – ‘Strangers’

From the moment Bring Medropped ‘Strangers’ during a DJ set at their curated Malta Weekender festival, it became a modern day emo anthem. From the melodramatic opening lines (“Maybe I’ll just be fucked up forever”) through to the snarling angst and a gooey spirit of community that rages throughout. Get together, get low and feel the high. AS

Best bit: That ‘90s nostalgia dragged into 2022

27. Oliver Sim – ‘Hideous’

“I’m ugly…” sang Oliver Sim on the opening moments of ‘Hideous’, his immediately recognisable deep vocal finding a new home outside of The xxfor the first time. An intensely beautiful song that tears the sting out of shame, its subject matter is deeply personal, and rooted in the singer’s HIV-positive status. Here, Sim found freedom in “radical honesty” and power in baring every part of himself – even the aspects that he said feel hideous and hidden. EH

Best bit: The transcendent moment that Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beats bursts as an ethereal guardian angel.

26. New Jeans – ‘Hype Boy’

In a time where lots of pop groups feel like they’re chasing the same sounds, styles and attitudes, K-pop rookies NewJeans’ debut provided a refreshing change of pace. ‘Hype Boy’, their second release, was the jewel in their crown – its flashes of ‘90s R&B melded with modern pop production an immediately addictive combination, and a chorus so cool and catchy you had no choice but to join the rising four-piece in longing for their “hype boy”. RD

Best bit: Any time the girls sing “take him to the sky-y-y-y-y-y”, an instant skyrocketing high.

25. Omar Apollo – ‘Evergreen’

In October, pop music’s best-kept secret finally broke into the mainstream: Omar Apolloscored his first-ever chart hit with ‘Evergreen’, a ballad of crisp, measured guitar and purposefully subtle drum patterns. This quietly scathing breakup tune built up to a lover walking away and refusing to allow their turned back to become the relationship’s final scene – a change in perspective that became its own kind of revelation. SW

Best bit: Clearly, Apollo wanted an ex to feel the sheer magnitude of his pain. “You didn’t deserve me at all”, he belts out on the bridge, his delivery reaching a near-scream. You tell ‘em, king!

24. Arctic Monkeys – ‘Body Paint’

Let’s be honest, every song onArctic Monkeys’ triumphant seventh record ‘The Car’ might have made this list – but that wouldn’t be fair, would it? We’ll take Alex Turner’s velvet-smooth croon and the accompanying killer chorus on this track anyday. “My teeth are beating and my knees are weak,” he sings in falsetto as ‘Body Paint’ builds to its utterly euphoric ELO-esque orchestral pop breakdown. Same, Alex. Same. AF

Best bit: The anthemic outro, featuring squealing guitars and the repeated refrain: “There’s still a trace of body paint / On your legs and on your arms and on your face.”

23. My Chemical Romance – ‘The Foundations of Decay’

With ‘The Foundations of Decay’, My Chemical Romance’sfiery comeback exceeded every current or ageing emo kid’s wildest dreams. The six-minute triumph starts off as a simmering ballad to atrophy, with a subdued Gerard Waysinging a of a man “tired with age” and ravaged by time – yet when the track finally explodes in rousing choruses, thundering guitar riffs and a gut-punch breakdown, it proves the legendary band was anything but. AB

Best bit: The first explosive chorus – a shot of pure catharsis for fans who waited nine years for that moment.

22. Florence and The Machine – ‘King’

There’s power in how Florence Welch stood tall and fearless in the face of the patriarchy on ‘King’. She has always strung lyrics together like armour, but this remarkable track felt designed to protect herself from the expectation that she should compromise her career in order to raise children. She narrated her experience, and reclaimed it – a revolt against the very idea of doing what you’re told. SW

Best bit: When Welch breaks into an almighty roar; you can picture her throwing out her arms and letting her hair flutter out in the wind alongside a phenomenal, gale-force vocal.

21. WILLOW – ‘Hover Like A Goddess’

Fresh from helping kickstart a pop-punk revival with 2021’s ‘lately i feel EVERYTHING’, the lead single to follow-up record ‘COPINGMECHANISM’ saw Willow trading angst for romance. Driven by an excitable energy, this urgent garage-punk banger celebrated the fact that “every woman deserves to be worshipped”. ‘Hover Like A Goddess’ may channel Bloc Party and The Strokes, but it saw Willow cut party-starting rock’n’roll with her own unique vision. AS

Best bit: Willow embracing the art of a good “oh-ohhh, oh-ohhh”.

20. Beyoncé – ‘Break My Soul’

The first glimpse we got of Beyoncé’s seventh album ‘Renaissance’, ‘Break My Soul’ was a tantalising taster of slick production, massive hooks and beats made straight for the dancefloor. With dual samples of Big Freedia’s ‘Explode’ and Robin S.‘s ’90s classic ‘Show Me Love’, and packed with lyrics that preach self-confidence and joy, ‘Break My Soul’ landed as a modern house classic. HM

Best bit: The sample of Big Freedia’s ‘Explode’, that instructs you to “release ya job… release the stress“. Who are we to disagree?

19. Rosalía – ‘Chicken Teriyaki’

The purity, simplicity, silliness and badassery of this cut from the stellar ��Motomami’ is a testament to Rosalia’s knack for a hook and a good time. We don’t know what the Spanish pop sensation is singing about and frankly, it doesn’t matter. Throw your phrase book away and let this chugging beast of Latin spirit and reggaeton rhythms consume you. AT

Best bit: Telling your friends that you’re now fluent in Spanish and fiesta

18. Griff & Sigrid – ‘Head On Fire’

Teased via a series of cryptic videos posted on social media, this chart-ready team-up between two of music’s most exciting young talents was as rock-solid as their friendship. When they performed the tune at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 in March, it made for a standout moment – and a triumphant victory lap round one of the country’s greatest gig venues. More, please! AF

Best bit: A short pause for breath before launching into that joyful chorus. Set your watch for a good time.

17. Taylor Swift – ‘Anti-Hero’

The lead single from Swift’s 10th album ‘Midnights’, ‘Anti-Hero’ proved a self-deprecating anthem. Delivering tongue-in-cheek lines over Jack Antonoff’s production (the chorus opener “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” has spawned scores of memes), the songwriter extraordinaire has done what she does best: turn painfully relatable experiences into a stone-cold banger. HM

Best bit: Love it or hate it, it’s got to be the line that got everyone talking: “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby/And I’m a monster on the hill“…same?

16. Phoenix – ‘Tonight’

As much as the band’s seventh album ‘Alpha Zulu’ pushed the indie-pop masters’ sound forward, its standout moment happened to be a dabble in nostalgia. The deliciously catchy bassline and chorus would have nestled in nicely on their 2009 breakthrough album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’, as frontman Thomas Mars and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig wistfully duet. TS

Best bit: The band told NMEthey’ve always felt a synchronicity with Vampire Weekend, and consider them transatlantic cousins. The song’s middle-eight, where Koenig and Mars trade lines, finds the pair in perfect harmony.

15. Doechii – ‘Persuasive’

The latest signing to the star-making Top Dawg Entertainment, Doechii has opted for a meticulous, patient roll-out where so many other artists rush to ride their early momentum. She already feels like a fully-formed artist bursting with complex visual ideas and diverse musical directions. To be fair, every track feels standout – but the house-tinged ‘Persuasive’ just about nabs the top spot. No wonderSZA jumped aboard for the equally addictive remix. EH

Best bit: When soulful brass gradually creeps into the ether two-thirds of the way through, steadily building up the biggest drop. That, and the abundant air-horns.

14. Kendrick Lamar – ‘N95’

A highlight of ‘Mr Morale & The Big Steppers’, here’s Kendrick Lamar delivering an anti-pop gem with a message to “take off” the fakery and stop looking for external validation. In a lesson to other rappers, Lamar spits for morals rather than boasting over distorted, growling 808s and trap synths. With a dextrous flow and words you can’t ignore, this is why Kendrick is king. KSW

Best bit: In the refrain, the explosive “Bitch…” before the whining response “…you’re outta pocket” makes for a perfect wake-up call.

13. Wet Leg – ‘Angelica’

Indie’s silliest and most fun new gang took us into the highs and lows, dangers and consequences of getting pickled at a house party in one of the standout tracks of their phenomenal debut album. With spiralling riffs, ray-gun sound effects, and a multi-layered central mantra of “good times all the time”, ‘Angelica’ cemented Wet Leg’s place as our new favourite relatable party pals. RD

Best bit: The delectably eye-rolled lines “I don’t wanna follow you on the ‘gram / I don’t wanna listen to your band.”

12. Maggie Rogers – ‘That’s Where I Am’

Coloured with optimism, this track was fuelled by the sense of autonomy that defined Maggie Rogers’ comeback this year. With new production credits and a Harvard Divinity School degree to her name, Rogers created a wild symphony of rebirth on ‘That’s Where I Am’, as she sang of a blossoming love atop ripples of distortion and gleaming keys. It was the sound of Rogers feeling something shift inside of her, and wondering where this new, beautiful thing even came from. SW

Best bit: The giddy relish of the way Rogers delivers the bridge – “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted / All I ever really wanted was you” – channelling a feeling far beyond her own understanding.

11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Wolf’

“Hunger, connection, and wildness” were the words YYY’sKaren O used to describe ‘Wolf’ – a climbing, synth-laden track that keeps its lyrics sparse, embodying the primal nature of not only punk but the track itself. “I’m lost and I’m lonely / I hunger for you only / Don’t leave me now, don’t break the spell,” warned O in a sinister tone, right before the instrumental drop and powerful chorus. It’s a bold glance at the primitive side of human nature from a band able to hold the weight of a song this big. EC

Best bit: O gently singing, “In heaven lost my taste for hello / taste for hell”, before a full orchestra kicks in with urgent strings. Powerful stuff.

10. Megan Thee Stallion – ‘Plan B’

While serving ‘90s New York style hip-hop raunchiness, Megreminded the world of her immaculate lyricism with this declaration of self-love. Teaching women to “love yourself ‘cause this shit can get ugly / That’s why it’s ‘Fuck n****s, get money,’” this is confidence manifest. Just like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, she stepped into her sex appeal without relying on it to prove naysayers wrong. One-dimensional? Get a grip. This is everything. ‘Plan B’ is Megan Thee Stallion delivering a layered and positive lesson for life. KSW

Best bit: All the candid, empowering quips in a masterclass from Meg.

9. Charli XCX – ‘Beg For You’

A collab between two of the UK pop’s finest, ‘Beg For You’ was always going to be something special. However, chuck in a killer sample – lifted from September’s 2005 hit ‘Cry For You’ – and you’ve got magic on your hands. Rina’s vocals and harmonies feel so essential, you pine for more of her on Charli’sfifth album ‘Crash’, but that’s what you get from top maestros on top of their game. ‘Beg For You’ may have dropped in January, but it was a clear and bold proclamation from Charli and Rina that 2022 would be their year. JT

Best bit: The September sample truly makes the song, but everything comes together for the first chorus.

8. Jockstrap – ‘Concrete Over Water’

‘Concrete Over Water’ presented the Jockstrap musical blueprint in miniature: the poise of Georgia Ellery’s pristine, ravishing vocals, torn asunder by the anarchic hand of producer Taylor Skye. The song sings of the impossible beauty of a bridge-top romantic rendezvous, but Skye scorches the scene with a mutant synth army of math-rock screeches and warped atmospherics. Were Ellery and Skye competing for supremacy? Nah, in this fight we all win. MP

Best bit: Ellery sings “I wanna be there” before the elegiac beauty of the opening caves to hyper-processed mania

7. Steve Lacy – ‘Bad Habit’

Steve Lacy’s first US Number One single felt long overdue. ‘Bad Habit’, taken from the 24-year-old LA artist’s second solo album ‘Gemini Rights’, was the song that propelled the Internet and Kendrick Lamar collaborator to the big time; no doubt aided on its journey to the very top by its massive popularity on TikTok. Showcasing Lacy’s impressive vocal range, his nifty way around a guitar and his tattoo-worthy lyrics (“You can’t surprise a Gemini”), the single has unsurprisingly become Lacy’s biggest hit to date. After all, some bad habits are just too good to kick. SM

Best bit: “It’s biscuits, it’s gravy, babe” – the most delicious lyric of the year?

6. Rina Sawayama – ‘This Hell’

Sawayama is one of the smartest pop stars we have, and ‘This Hell’ is her wittiest and most undeniable tune yet. Who else would think to eviscerate the anti-queer rhetoric spouted by extreme religious groups with a spangly country banger inspired by Shania Twain? Rina, that’s who! And with a belter that’s tongue-in-cheek and subversive, but also outrageously good fun. NL

Best bit: “Get in line, pass the wine, bitch / We’re going straight to hell!”

5. Arctic Monkeys – ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’

After the space-age dabblings on 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’, Arctic Monkeys returned to Earth on the heavenly and lush launch single from seventh album ‘The Car’. Known for being cheeky in his early work to escapist in his latter days, Alex Turner came across as truly earnest, open, romantic and human for the first time on this slow-dance waltzing beauty. “Don’t get emotional, that ain’t like you,” croons the frontman, inviting us in. It’s the Monkeys, Jim, but not as you know them. AT

Best bit: “So do you wanna walk me to the caaaa-aaaar?” You drive on ahead, Alex – we’ll float there.

4. Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal – ‘B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)’

The summer’s ultimate rave anthem. First released in early June with modest ambitions, it soon became a hit as welcome blaring out of stadium PAs and spicing up ITV2 montages as it did in the festival fields and clubs. By early September, the ‘90s-indebted hit had climbed to Number One in the UK Singles Charts, capping off a spectacular rise. TS

Best bit: The opening melody, a delightfully simple and catchy hook that floats all the way to the song’s conclusion.

3. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’

It’s hard not to tumble into the vast emotional depths of ‘As It Was’ and look beyond everything else that made this song such a triumph. Change is a constant beneath the track’s heart-raising BPM and twinkling melodies: here, Harry Styles’empathetic songwriting saw him fight for stability amid breakups and personal upheavals, finding strength in a renewed relationship with himself. It’s a quietly beautiful thing, then, that it became his biggest hit to date, proving that opening yourself up to the world doesn’t always have to be a risk. SW

Best bit: So much of the feeling is in the instrumental: some peppy guitar lines, and the crescendo of tubular bells, less of a breakdown than the sound of a heart skipping a beat.

2. Paramore – ‘This Is Why’

After five years, Paramore slid back in with a groove so heavy, swaggering and sleazy, any talk of hiatus was immediately forgotten (not that they’d care, as Hayley Williams croons sweetly at the start, “if you have an opinion / maybe you should shove it”). Her voice is equally exhausted and exhilarated, leaning into its full power as guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro somehow manage to play tight and loose simultaneously. With its slow crawling synth and cymbals eventually erupting into a full funk fest, ‘This Is Why’ gave us just what we wanted: an innovative pop-punk moment from a band already responsible for so many. EC

Best bit: Williams repeating “One step beyond your door / Might as well have been a free fall” meditatively before crashing back in with an echoing “And I’m floating like a cannonball”. Chills.

1. Beyoncé – ‘Cuff It’

Beyoncé is of course no stranger to creating enduring anthems. From ‘90s R&B belters with Destiny’s Child (‘Independent Woman’, ‘Say My Name’ to ‘00s earworms (‘Crazy In Love’, ‘Irreplaceable’), powerhouse ballads (‘Halo’), to the poignant and political (‘Formation’), the superstar is responsible for smashes eternally etched into the public pshyche than most artists could even dare to dream of. And in 2022, ‘Cuff It’ joined these ranks.

Taken from Beyoncé’s brilliant seventh album ‘Renaissance’, this funk-laden earworm is a triumph. With a Grammy nomination (for Best R&B Song) and a viral TikTok dance, it should be a government mandated requirement for this celebration of letting loose, falling in love and “gettin’ fucked up” to be played at least once on all future nights out. Keir Starmer, shove this in your manifesto.

With a bridge bigger than the Golden Gate, slinky strings, NSFW saucy lyrics, and the disco flare that a Nile Rodgersassist always brings, ‘Cuff It’ is total ecstasy and an unexpected gift to the pop canon of all time, let alone 2022. HM

Best bit: The first time we get that joyous post-chorus and Beyoncé sings: “Bet you you’ll see far / Bet you you’ll see stars.” Floor-filling euphoria.

Sent from my iPhone

[ursa8772]

Weekly EDM Favorites 2023 - Week Three

Best of Week One: Can’t Say No - JJD: Not much to say about, it just hits in all the right ways.

Week three was kind of bad in terms of music. I had a pretty low amount of liked songs compared to the first two weeks, and I think a good portion of these wouldn’t by on this playlist most other weeks. Oh well. They can’t all be winners.

Against The Tide - Delta Heavy, Lauren L’aimant: One of my biggest points of growth in terms of music last year is that I like Drum’n’Bass more now. At first I didn’t like very much, but by the end of the year I would count two D’n’B tracks among my top ten, one of those being Ascend by Delta Heavy. This isn’t quite Ascend, but it’s very enjoyable. I love the little off-beat notes in the main melody.

Can’t Stop Us -  KAKA李奕可: Big Room isn’t looking too good in 2023, but as long as there are artists finding new ways to keep the sound interesting it will have some foothold. This isn’t anything groundbreaking, but it does well for a genre slowly being subsumed by techno. I hope we can keep things like this going forward.

Hollow - Dabin, Kai Wachi, Lø Spirit: Yeah, Can’t Stop Us didn’t stay as interesting on subsequent listens. I found Hollow a bit basic on first listen, but there’s some things that I appreciate more now. The first drop isn’t as impactful as I’d like, but it is emotional. And the second drop has its moments as well. The build-ups are pretty cool.

Leave Me Like This - Skrillex, Bobby Raps: Skrillex bass house works pretty well. This track isn’t all that flashy, but what it has it does extremely well. It has the production you would expect from Skrillex. I love the return of the speedstackinggirl sample. 

The Other Side - Au5, Chime: This collaboration is everything one would expect to be. It’s explosive color bass from two of the biggest names in the subgenre. These two names command a lot of hype, and I was not disappointed. 

Particles - Infowler: This track has me engaged from the first notes, and it stays at such a high level throughout. Everything about this just works, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on my year-end playlist. 

Try Again - Goodknight.: Goodknight.’s first NCS release, Freedom, was pretty underrated in my opinion. Sure it was simplistic, but what it did, it did well. This track does a lot more, but just as well. Goodknight.’s songwriting and production work together very well.

World’s On Fire - Afrojack & R3HAB vs Vion Korger VIP Remix: A good R3HAB track in 2023. Interesting. They can’t fool me with that title, though, I know the only good parts of this almost certainly came from Korger. I remembering listening to Space Journey from his last year and liking it, I’m guessing he did most of the work here.

Lost - Andrew A, VIANI: This keeps happening with future rave type tracks, where they just suddenly grow off me. Yeah, I guess this is another R3HAB miss. Lost has out-of-key vocals, which is kind of upsetting, but the sound design in the drop saves it. Don’t really have much more to say about it.

Follow the playlist here to hear all these tracks and previous weeks as well.

[snow-lady]

最近、音楽っていう趣味ができた。

低音がビリビリくるのが大好きで、多分好きなジャンルはDubstepかDRUM’N’BASSだと思う。

クラブで聴くのがやっぱ1番いいのでよく通ってる。

持ち前の(自慢になる時とならない時がある)コミュ力でDJのお友達が何人かできて、色々曲を教えてもらったり、イベント行ったり。

ただイベントは終わるのが深夜なので、宿を確保するのに男を使いがちでそこだけ毎回反省会を開いてしまうポイント。

女の子に悪口を言われつつ、それよりただ寝ていた日々が少し彩られているのが楽しい。公開アカウントで特徴書かれてすぐ特定できそうな悪口を書かないで欲しいけど、まあ、いいや。良くないけど。根に持ってるけどね。

この間は、自分の考えを全て言葉に変換してしっかりぜんぶぜんぶ伝えてくれるおとなしいDJがいて、なんか感動した。

とりとめもない日記になったけど、楽しく過ごしています。

ただ最近またリストカット楽しくなっちゃったので、そこだけやめたいです。

最近の私でした。

[constellations-and-energy]

no one does it like Pussy Edible by Floss - Sped Up Drum’n’bass Hyperpop Remix

[zlutyzakaznik]

První dojmy 106: Coffee Stop, Rebelbean Hybeška a Hrnček 2.0

(29. 7. 2024) Italský Halasák, crew na Oltecu a nová E61.

Budka bývalé trafiky na Halasově náměstí má od 4. července nového nájemce a k mé radosti je to po Kafe Halasák opět kavárna. A třebaže je i tady prostor ke zlepšení, to hlavní, tedy káva, mě potěšilo. Ale popořádku. (Slib předchozího provozovatele a vlastníka RAST, tedy že to tu zkusí dát trochu do pořádku, zůstal nenaplněn a všechen úklid dopadl na bedra nového kavárníka.)

Coffee Stop má pro daný prostor zcela vyhovující profesionální jednoskupinový kávovar Faema Enova a mlýnek Quamar, což je spolu s Ceadem značka se zřejmě nejmenší reputací a oblibou v očích mých i provozovatelů kaváren. A na pultu/baru uvnitř uklizeno. Žádné zaschlé mléko v konvičce, žádná otevřená kilovka se zrnky, prostě pořádek od prvního dne a věřte, že to kontroluji pokaždé, když jedu kolem navečer z města. :-)

Jelikož mám pro lokalitu slabost – bydlím o zastávku vedle a pokud bych někdy dostal bláznivý nápad otevřít si kavárnu, místo by se mi líbilo – učinil jsem výjimku a provozovateli odhalil svou identitu i web a přidal dvě doporučení z pohledu zákazníka po prvních dnech provozu: špatně čitelné, protože malým písmem vyvedené menu na zadní ceduli pro lidi na schodech vedoucích z/do Alberta či obecné označení káva a limonáda na ceduli je trochu málo. Čím se tyto liší od stovek nabídek káv ve městě?

Provozovatel, mladý a sympatický chlapec, si mé připomínky nijak nebral a naopak mi ukázal vizualizaci polepu, který na podnik přibyl o pár dní později (viz úvodní foto, snímek v IG storíčku i detaily v tomto textu). Ostatně: kolik zažije nový kavárník zákazníků, kteří si hned všimnou kávovaru, značky mlýnku a vyptávají se na mléko (nejprve to byla trvanlivá Madeta, mé cappuccino bylo rovněž z trvanlivého ale jiné značky a v plánu je, až se zvýší objem připravovaných mléčných nápojů, i čerstvé).

Znáte z instagramového storíčka aneb Detailní pohled na levou část Coffee Stop. Jak se může muž i estét kochat grafikou rozmarné dívky s kafíčkem v ruce, když mu toto kazí trhlina ve stropě?

Jeden ze čtenářů, marketingový guru z Lesné, se vyjádřil v tom smyslu, že vizuální podoba na něj působí trošku devadesátkově a i když lze do určité míry souhlasit, pro mě, který danou dekádu zažil, představuje hezkou etapu života (mimo jiné trip-hop, grunge, drum’n’bass nebo klasická jednosálová kina). Shodli jsme se ale, že káva je tu to hlavní.

Tu zde zastupuje italská značka Hardy v řadě Europa s poměrem 70:30, tedy nejklasičtější blend, který jsem se neodvážil ochutnat jako čisté espresso, protože podnik v druhém IG čtverci avizuje vůni pražených ořechů (OK) a dřeva (ach) a v chuti žádnou kyselost a příjemné hořké zakončení.

Dal jsem si tedy cappuccino (59 Kč), protože jsem doufal, že tady by vzhledem k volbě suroviny nemuselo být podšlehané. A opravdu! Textura, krémovost, propojení základu a nalitého mléka bylo v pořádku a člověk cítil po napití hebkost na patře.

Nebylo to filigránské cappuccino, jaké umí třeba šéfová Friedricha, ale to ostatně není cílem a v reakci na dotaz, jak mi chutnalo, jsem majiteli řekl: super; tohle je poctivé cappuccino z boční ulice v Bologni nebo Padově (skoro 14/20).

Proč tedy relativně nízké hodnocení? Protože teplota mohla být o trošinku nižší (nic hrozného, jazyk ani rty bych si určitě nespálil, přesto jsem ale cítil, že mnou přinesený bílý Ancap je docela horký a to ani nebyl nahřátý vodou z výdejníku, což by v ideálním případě mělo proběhnout). A hlavně: hořčinka v chuti byla docela výrazná i na mě, který má italské pojetí espressa a cappu moc rád...

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Nový polep bohužel úplně přesně nelícuje, respektive nezakrývá perfektně vrstvu pod ním. Je to vidět v horní části centrálního panelu, dále na levém i pravém boku, kde za určitého světla a úhlu pohledu vystupuje logo Kafe Halasák a konečně po těch několika málo týdnech se vlivem tepla a deště začíná velmi pozvolna avšak jistě vzdouvat.

Na vstupních dveřích už hodně dní visí nevzhledná a přelepená stránka s údaji o bývalém provozovateli. A je pěkné mít cedulku open/closed na špagátku, ale ta by měla být o víkendu, kdy je zavřeno, otočena správnou stranou k zákazníkovi...

Specifické vrstvení je neštěstí českého gastra. A dělají to samozřejmě i mnohé jiné podniky. Chápu, že s původní fólií s údaji Kafe Halasák byl problém, ale toto je nejhorší možné řešení: křiklavým zakrytím upozorňujeme na to, co chceme skrýt...

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Zadní tabule s nabídkou byla sice na můj podnět přepsána a písmo zvětšeno, ovšem i tak by šla napsat úhledněji, lákavěji, roztomileji, atraktivněji, svůdněji...

Levá vrchní část budky pod prosvítajícím logem je stále naprasklá a stále je vidět zářivku. A je to patrné okamžitě po přiblížení se k obrázku usměvavé slečny s kafíčkem.

Proč mají všechny mléčné nápoje 200 ml? Kde je diverzifikace nabídky? Proč má lungo stejný objem? Pokud stojí espresso 49 Kč, což mi přijde na kafe s sebou z trafiky s přihlédnutím k surovině mírně nadsazené, jak může být espresso tonic za 59 Kč? Když uvážíme nákupní cenu toniku, náklady na led a kelímek, absolutně mi to nevychází... 200ml horká čokoláda za 39? Jak to navíc zapadá do letní nabídky? Jinak ovšem ceny vcelku odpovídají lokalitě i surovině: cappuccino a latte po 59, flat white za 69 a babyccino za 22 Kč (pán po mě si ho tu dal z nostalgie).

Jestliže jsem v úvodu článku, který vznikal 14 dní před následujícími řádky, uvedl, že si myslím, že má místo potenciál (a totéž jsem řekl provozovateli), nyní si tím nejsem tak jist.

Uplynulá sobota po 18 hodině a momentka z okraje budky. Vzadu pak prázdná 1.5l petka od vody. Vzhledem k tomu, že bývalý majitel po sobě vůbec neuklidil a nechal trafiku pořádně zpustnout, stala se tato před pár měsíci lákavým místem pro nejrůznější pochybné existence, jež zde zanechávají doklady své přítomnosti. A to je další problém, se kterým se bude nový provozovatel potýkat.

Dám-li stranou, že podnik otevřel v nevhodném čase (začátek prázdnin), kladu si otázku, zda bude dost maminek s kočárky, běžců nebo ranních přestupujících, kteří podnik uživí. V průběhu července jsem tu totiž viděl minimum zákazníků.

Většina českých zákazníků si chce u kávy stále posedět (hodinu a lépe dvě) a tohle nabízí vedle umístěný RAST. Přál bych si, aby zdejší provozovatel uspěl, protože mě jeho cappuccino potěšilo, ale z pohledu lákavosti objektu a péče o nabídku je ještě ještě mnohé co zlepšovat.

A ještě jedna věc, kterou jsem také řekl majiteli. I když mu dodavatel vybavení umožní občas zařadit jiné než jeho zrno, nemyslím si, v souladu s klasickým článkem Adély Zugarové, že je to dobrá cesta. Kavárník by prostě měl mít svůj kávovar i mlýnek a pokud na to zatím nemá prostředky, je vhodné přišetřit a vyčkat.

Rebelové otevřeli další kavárnu. Stalo se tak 8. 7. uprostřed Hybešovy na Starém Brně. Je to ovšem spíše espresso bar pro rychlé objednání a koupi balíčků než plnoformátový podnik jako je Vlněna nebo Pole.

Málokteré téma tu probírám tak často jako právě Rebely, takže opravdu jen stručně. Byl tu velice příjemný a ochotný mladík (stojí na fotce z otvíračky mezi otci zakladateli) a nikoli Denis Kramář, jenž u kávovaru pózuje a na 99.752 % zde kávu připravovat nebude. Kdo by také chtěl vstávat a otevírat podnik v 6.30?

Možná má firma lepší informace než já, ale Hybešova na mě nikdy nepůsobila jako místo, kde by si pracující chtěli dát cestou do práce cappuccino za 75 a flat white za 95 Kč. Je to totiž tradičně docela drsná ulice se spoustou lidových provozů...

Druhá verze Hrnčeku je zvenčí, mírně řečeno, nefotogenická. Naštěstí to návštěvníkům vynahrazuje příjemná atmosféra uvnitř...

Minulý čtvrtek jsem cestou do IKEA z okénka autobusu pozorně sledoval, v jakém stavu se nachází Hrnček na konečné tramvaje 12 v Komárově a s pomocí Instagramu naznal, že přišel čas zopakovat náštěvu. Proč? Podnik se totiž posunul do druhé verze a budku s generátorem nahradil kamennou provozovnou s tekoucí vodou a hlavně: lepším kávovarem.

Má-li někdo z kavárníků stejnou značku stroje jako já – byť přítomný model disponuje pouze vibračním místo rotačního čerpadla – je to samozřejmě pokušení a výzva. Typ Boxer měli na úvod v Buchta B a poloprofesionální stroj značky je ještě v de facto prezentaci pražírny Liškafé na Úvoze. A to je v Brně vše.

Samozřejmě není důvod, aby na takovém kávovaru ve spojení s klasickým Macapem nešlo připravit dobré kafe. A přesně to se stalo zde a majitel a barista v jednom byl navíc milý, ochotný, přátelský a vysvětlující a nedal najevo ani stopu uraženosti z toho, co jsem o první verzi napsal dříve.

Po mém ujištění, že absolutně nespěchám, si dal velice záležet s přípravou a já mohu s potěšením pochválit výsledek, který jsem dostal v podobě doppia (75 Kč a silných 14/20) z blendu, který pro ně dělá Liškafé (70 % Etiopie a 30 % Kolumbie fermentované s mangem).

Výsledek opravdu hodně ovocný, šťavnatý a v dobrém slova smyslu juicy. Z obou výpustí to teklo moc pěkně a výsledný objem menší a emulze intenzivnější, s nadsázkou doppio ristretto, tedy jak to mám rád. A dokonce zde mají v Brně raritní věc, tedy druhý mlýnek a opět Rocket. Na něm je konzervativnější a obecně přijatelnější zrno.

Líbil se mi i interiér, protože je střídmý a jednoduchý a chybí zde otravné a všudypřítomné atributy třetivlnné kavárenské kultury. Zato tu na jednom ze stolků mají moc pěkné šachy. Dovedu si představit, že by se kavárna mohla stát oblíbeným místem děvčat z nedalekého dvanáctipodlažního domova mládeže a zkusím se v září pozeptat ve škole, zda tam někteří ze studentů bydlí a Hrnček navštěvují.

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O deus do Lula não é o Deus do Malafaia e nem do Bringhenti @AmigosdoBringhenti

@MarcioBringhenti, Dark, Dramatic, Electric Guitar, Doublebass, Drum’n’Bass, Complex, Sad, Emotional