the dfa

As my inaugural post, I guess I'll enter the blogsphere by talking about my favorite label, The DFA and some of the great music that its been churning out recently - which coincidentally is all I've been listening to as of late.

Leading of is Hercules and Love Affair. Essentially the work of one Andy Butler, H&LA enrolls the distinctive and unmistakable voice of Antony Hegarty (of Antony & the Johnsons fame), as well as the support of two female singers, Kim Ann and Nomi. The music itself harks back to the era when disco, homosexuality and NYC coalesced as the epicenter of underground club culture. The eponymous debut album combines horns, creative synth lines, four-on-the-floor drums, and an incredible vocal prowess throughout. Between straightforward dance tracks like "Hercules' Theme", "Blind", and "Raise Me Up" and more thoughtful tunes such as the opener, "Time Will" or "Iris", the breadth of H&LA surpasses that of a mere dance record, becoming instead an album that can sate your feet and mind at the same time. Andy has said that live dates will be announced soon for the States, which should be terrific. The only downside is that Antony will not be in attendance. It sounded too good to be true, didn't it?

Though one of DFA's earliest signees, The Juan MacLean merit recognition for the recent release of their stellar Happy House EP. The 12 minute track features a looping piano, auxiliary percussion, Nancy Wang (the keyboardist from LCD Soundsystem) on vocals, and more peaks and troughs than a small earthquake. I was never a fan of songs over the 7/8 minute mark, however Juan MacLean makes this track breeze by in such euphoria, their next LP - slated for a spring/summer release - cannot come soon enough. The Juan will also be going on tour at some point in the near future.

An offshoot of the Juan MacLean, Holy Ghost! released "Hold On" all the way back in October. However, that doesn't stop this song from being an insanely catchy track of analog synthesizers, gentle guitar plucks, and an irresistible bass drum line that demands the listener to do exactly what the track implies until the last pulsating beat has faded out.

mp3: hercules and love affair - hercules' theme

mp3: the juan maclean - happy house (lee douglas mix)

mp3: holy ghost! - hold on