THE REPORT: 11/22/24

CLOWNIN’ AROUND WITH MARIE DAVIDSON

Marie Davidson “Sexy Clown”

Marie Davidson’s 2018 single “Work It” was the canary in the electroclash revival coal mine. It’s a perfect four-minute and twenty-second motivational track, with Davidson playing dancefloor Tony Robbins: “You wanna know how I get away with everything? I work. All the fucking time.” Six years and a few side quests later, the Canadian producer is “back on her bullshit,” as they say, with a forthcoming record partly produced by Soulwax. Her newest single asks a couple questions about the nature of performance. The song title should provide clues.

DMX Krew “Warp Zone”

Hanging on the electro tip for a second, DMX Krew put out something new last month. Edward Upton has been rocking for 30 years now—much longer than the gap between the genre’s origins and the artist’s first stabs at revivalism in the middle of the ‘90s. The days get dark so early. I’m trying to stay busy. Let me enter the Warp Zone.

Z Money (Feat. Jeremih) “Ain’t My Fault”

It’s not 30 years, but Chicago veteran Z Money has been sounding both slick and casual for over a decade now. “Ain’t My Fault” sees his style pushed into different territory. The Jeremih collaboration has a Timbaland-style stutter beat and a hook lifted from a Silkk the Shocker record, which Silkk lifted from a classic New Orleans jazz tune. And that’s just a bit of “musicology” for you on your Friday morning.

DJ Manny “Only U”

It’s a major week for both electro and the city of Chicago here on John’s Music Blog. I’m not saying that this DJ Manny diva-chop pumper is electro, but it would potentially fit somewhere in a mix with the above Marie Davidson and DMX Krew tracks. It might take some creative use of pitch control, but I can see the vision.

Fievel is Glauque “Somebody Got Murdered (Live at Cafe Oto, London, 6/1/24)”

One of the most affecting experiences I have had staring at a screen and listening to music in 2024 has been a chance encounter with a Clash cover by Fievel Is Glauque. First off: Great song. The Clash: Great band. They have been outside of the zeitgeist for a minute now, but, obviously—tunes for days. And it’s satisfying to hear such an accomplished, jazzy group of players bang out a fairly straightforward punk song with almost no practice. When Ma Clément does those flute trills with her voice?

MIX OF THE WEEK: “TAGABOW / Julia’s War NTS 18th November 2024”

Not unlike your favorite funky family restaurant, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water and Julia’s War Records do things a little differently. They are a free-thinking node within a shoegaze scene that doesn’t always color outside the lines. Their radio show keeps things loose, with music from the crew alongside music that nobody in their right mind could confuse with the kind of project that might, I don’t know, use a blurry photo and star graphics on their album cover. What I’m trying to say is that at one point Egyptian Lover gets played.