X-rated: Kylie and Studio

Here’s the second post of the day containing the kind of stuff not usually usually featured on The Daily Growl. This time, pure pop.

It’s getting easier for me to get excited about pop music these days, as the world of indie rock/pop has become such a dreary place of late. Every time I check my inbox, there’s a message about another group of blokes (it’s usually blokes, but not always) with the requisite clothing and the right type of guitar riffs. I’m even getting tired of my former radio programme of choice – John Kennedy’s Xposure on Xfm – because it seems to be besieged by this kind of stuff at present. So many bands picked up on and heading towards the limelight before they’re anywhere near half decent. Even more should never have formed in the first place.

So it was with some relief that I come to Kylie. The Aussie superstar’s new album X is due to drop later in November and it’s being preceded by the single 2 Hearts. In the middle of the guitar-band message wasteland, I was pretty pleased to get a couple of Kylie-related emails the other day with interesting tracks attached. None of these are proper tracks from the album, but one is a sort of ‘megamix’ of tunes from X, crammed into six minutes or so. It all sounds pretty ace. The other is a reworking of 2 Hearts by Swedish exponents of Balearic disco, Studio, which drags the track out to over seven minutes, but in a good way.

Download: Kylie – X album sampler mix
Download: Kylie – 2 Hearts (version by Studio)


While I’m here, I may as well talk about Studio, since I’m listening to them right now. Rough Trade gave their album West Coast big props earlier in the year, which got me interested initially. It’s right in that zone occupied by all the proponents of nu / cosmic / Balearic disco of whom the likes of Lindstrom and Prins Thomas seem to be the leading lights. This album employs classic 80s synths and beats, taking in both dancefloor sensibilities and laidback beach vibes as well as elements of yacht rock (oh yes!) and makes the most of stretching the tracks out to lengthy grooves that never quite get tiresome, even at up to 16 minutes long. It’s basically disco music for bearded thirthysomethings, which obviously means it’s right up my street. Maybe it’s the wrong time of year to be listening to this kind of thing, but for now it’s taking my mind of the grey skies over the London Eye outside.

Download: Studio - Origin

Buy West Coast from Rough Trade, or download from emusic. If you’re not big on record collection, the latter is particularly recommended because with tracks that average nine minutes, it makes for particularly good value!