Happy New Year!
I want to thank all those who’ve consistently read my blog, written comments (good or bad) and particularly those who’ve helped spread the word of Pelski. Without your kind feedback the blog would have folded long ago.
So…it’s 2009 – a time for Pelski to look back on the good, the bad and the downright ugly of 2008…
2008 saw plenty of change in terms of dance music genres. Dance music took a house-ier form this year – with fidget, disco-house, glitch and vocal house pumped out from the likes of Institubes, Cheap Thrills and Dubsided. Meanwhile the new Mad Decent and Fool’s Gold labels focused on hip-hop infused beats and crunky fun. This year we also saw an obsession with big, twisted, thrumming basslines (think Tiga’s ‘Mind Dimension’, Fake Blood’s ‘Mars’ or ZZT’s ‘The Worm’).
Underplayed tunes:
The Yank – We Can’t Be Stopped
If there was any justice in this world The Yank would have blown up this year.
The Black Ghosts – Let’s Get Physical
Why was this not on the album?
Moby – I Love To Move In Here (popof remix)
Humming tech-house with a destructive bassline
Digikid-84 – B.Boy Underground
Addictive, glitchy disco-house.
Distinctive, buzzing tech-house. We should’ve heard this everywhere this summer.
Fake Blood was inescapable. Tonnes of brilliant, hammering remixes intent on ripping up the dancefloor. My personal fave didn’t receive its deserved play time.
Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses At Night (D.I.M. Remix)
This re-issue spawned tonnes of remixes. Yet D.I.M’s criminally underated, rumbling, techy remix was low-key but brilliantly constructed.
Overplayed tunes:
Fake Blood – Mars
Awesome tune. But enough’s enough.
MGMT – Kids (Soulwax Remix)
Another brilliant Soulwax remix, but I can barely remember a time when DJ sets were Kids-less.
Crookers – Love To Edit
A huge drop into the biggest bassline imaginable…that only got boring after hearing it in 3 tents in a row at Gatecrasher S.S.
The Count & Sinden – Beeper
I think people have finally stopped playing (and remixing) this one (and have at last learnt to stop reaching for their phones every time they hear the ringing)
Proxy – Raven
Decoy and Dance In The Dark are bigger, better and dirtier. Yes they are.
SebastiAn – Dog/Motor
Um… apparently I just don’t ‘get’ it. (But merely recording a revved up motor is surely pushing it).
Kid Cudi – Day ‘n’ Night (Crookers Remix)
This has been added last minute due to popular demand. You’re absolutely right, I don’t know how I forgot this one, maybe I hadn’t heard it for a couple of hours…
Good year for…
Fake Blood – consistently crafting perfect dancefloor bangers by fusing weighty, rasping basslines with bmore and hefty drums.
Crookers – the blogs went mad. And Crookers got famous very quickly.
Soulwax - edging yet closer and closer to world domination, what with an acclaimed DVD and that near-flawless discography
Fidget house – no more scorning the silly name, it’s officially here…
Mad Decent – Diplo’s record label released tunes by Crookers, Boy 8-bit, DJ Sega, South Rakkas Crew, Bonde Do Role
Bmore – Detroit, Baltimore and the rest are fed-up with it. Over here we’re only just getting started….(and it’s even crossing into the mainstream: Paper Planes, anyone?)
Herve – Joshua Harvey’s been a busy boy, what with his suberb track output and his new label Cheap Thrills
Disco-house – 2008′s huge focus on 90′s sounding house – pulling in elements from disco, modern glitch, vocal house and ravey build ups. Surkin takes the biscuit.
Dubstep – 2008 saw dubstep get alot dirtier
Trouble & Bass – Luca Venezia (Drop The Lime) and his crew continue to push things forward
Boy 8-bit – one of the most consistent artists of the year. Shame Pelski managed to piss him off at the beginning with a cheap dig at his haircut…
Bassline – bassline, speed garage and 2-step saw a revival
Machines Don’t Care – an almighty ‘who’s who’ of UK electro-house teamed up. A bloggers wet dream.
Neon wayfarer sunglasses – you bump into things in clubs for two reasons: you’re too mashed or you’re wearing sunglasses. Take ‘em off dammit.
A-trak – proved he’s not just Kanye West’s DJ, but a brilliant underground producer. And a founding father of the brand-spanking-new Fool’s Gold label.
Bashment – cheesy, fun loving and tropical. Those a little wary ought to check out Detboi.
Turbo Recordings – when electro met techno. 2008 saw some huge releases from this Canadian label.
Bad year for… 
Nu Rave – like yoyos and pogz… that was a short lived craze.
Grooverider – banged up for a mere 2 grams of weed
Ed Banger – our sudden dislike for the Parisian crew could be dismissed as hipster backlash… but who are we kidding, we love all that scenester snobbery….
Distortion – 2006/7 were filled with big fuzzy, crashing noise. This year we turned to wobbly bass
Kissy Sell Out - after a brilliant 2007, he sold out (in keeping with his name) to radio1 and his anticipated live performances were a disappointment
Brit festivals – packing the sun cream was a touch optimistic…
Indie rock – good indie bands are but a distant memory, bar a couple of indie-electro crossovers: Late of The Pier, Foals, Friendly Fires…
The End & Turnmills – R.I.P.
MSTRKRFT – cast your mind back to 2007 and you’ll remember a time dominated by brilliant MSTRKRFT remixes. They’re long gone. And as for B.O.U.N.C.E… well, at least A-trak managed to save that one.
Club Volume – all clubs were ordered to hush up. Volume was turned down nationwide to save us from Tinnitus. Damn you, you responsible, sensible government folk…
Annie Mac - us trendy bloggers and DJ’s hate it when people come along and commercialise our much loved underground scene. So maybe it’s unfair to slate her. But… drum’n’ bass at the end of an electro set? That’s pure populist bullshit.
Trance – because every year’s a bad year for trance
A side note:
Alot has changed on You Can Call Me Pelski. The year began with Pelski wantonly plundering tunes from other blogs, thoughtlessly posting tunes by big names, or tunes soon due for release. Pelski hastily diregarded the ramifications and unscrupulousness of this blogging.
Despite this…slowly but surely YCCMPelski worked up a considerable following: before long being personally sent tunes. I now receiving a vast number of tracks, mixes and remixes on a daily basis (many of which I simply cannot post due to sheer volume and time restraints). I also learnt the rules of the game – this time last year I’d have seen no shame in posting a Justice or Digitalism track.
These days I try to gain express permission, make sure the tunes is a remix or mash-up, or has been cleared for blog posting. There is a fine line between blogs aiding and stealing from music artists. I now predominantly post tunes emailed to me; tunes I’ve directly requested from the artist; tunes from up-and-coming producers wanting to get their names out there. A number of promotional boutiques and record labels email me new material – sometimes at high quality, others at low quality – by request of the label or artist. If your looking for a touch of Tiga, or the new Chemical Brothers’ banger, don’t go looking round Pelski’s block. This blog tries to maintain a greater respect for the artist.
But if you see a tune on here I have not asked you for, please contact me via my email and it will be removed sharpish.
Many thanks to all those who have sent me material and sincere apologies for not posting your music or not replying.
yours bangingly, Pelski x
