gif by yours truly

Chrome Romeo is the perfect way to describe Dave1 and P-Thugg also known as Dave Macklovitch and Patrick Gemayel, collectively known as Chromeo. These international Casanovas of Cool have been re-contextualising 80s funk for a new generation, successfully manoeuvring the Internet Age AND the Age of Post Modern Irony with panache. This unlikely Canadian duo have somehow not only surfed a-top the new wave of music and media practices but have managed to avoid most of the backlash on hipster-ism and it’s post-ironic sensibilities to become an increasingly successful brand entity without compromising their artistic integrity - quite a magic feat in the current musical climate.

I think it honestly comes down to their careful balance of art and industry; just like how they manage to split time between alternate careers. Dave1 teaches French and French literature at university and P-Thugg is an accountant by trade. In fact, Dave1 flies out of Sao Paulo tomorrow to be back home in time for school next Monday. Keeping to this balance, like the way they conduct their careers as well as the name of their new album, Business Casual, can all be somewhat likened to that hotness from the early 80s that is The Mullet. It’s about business up front and party in the back, innit.

With what the boys are hoping to be the leak-proof album (sorry guys, it happened) set for official release on September the 14^th, we can expect a more harmonically and musically sophisticated Chromeo; the duo having evolved their funk to the next level without losing any of their trademark humor, sincerity or fun.

In the meantime though, we sat down to chat with the Dave1 and P-Thugg about music and the internet (what else?), they answer some critical questions about selling out and most importantly, they define exactly what they mean by Business Casual.

Check the interview, the making of their 'Night by Night' video and a new remix of the track after the jump >>

The Drums have a new video out for the melancholic ballad ‘Down By the Water’ (which you can download and read our opinion on by clicking here) and, according to the band, it’s a homage for the 50’s/60’s girls group - although all I can see is a darker and awkward version of Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’. If you like black, white and sad, you're going to love this one.

The debut album will be released on 14th of September via Downtown.

We love Kanye! His beyond ridonkulous-ness is beyond. This 'Power' remix features Jay-Z and Swizz Beats (who do fabulous work together) and a sample taken from the Snap's awesome 'I've Got The Power'. I have an odd weakness for tracks that make me feel like I got some mad swagger, and 'Power' is one of these. Kanye has mad swag, I don't care what y'all say. Here are some of Kanye twitter-isms, just for shits, and the remix below that...

The Wilderness Downtown is Chris Milk's interactive short film to accompany Arcade Fire's 'We Used To Wait'. I don't normally pay too much attention to "stuff you can play with on the internet" (except for Tetris - now THAT is addictive. I didn't even know what Chatroulette was until it was over) but the nostalgia thing about this little Googly/Chrome endorsed project piqued my curiosity...my dreams led me to wake up feeling kinda emo this morning, so this caught me in an appropriate moment to proactively go and 'close all unnecessary tabs' and wait for that shit to load. And it made me squeal with delight actually. If you haven't already, go listen to the single and have a play with it over at http://thewildernessdowntown.com/

In the meantime, The Drums actually did a lovely cover in their usual style of 'We Used To Wait', and here it is:

Hiya Kimbra

There was a time in which Miami Horror released an EP, got everyone excited and then disappeared. Two years later he's back with a full band, new image and an album with twelve new songs. Unfortunately, the first two singles – ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Moon Theory’ – from Illumination didn’t quite top the material from Bravado – ‘Don't Be On With Her’and ‘Make You Mine’. Fortunately, they don’t serve as a parameter for the album.

In fact, ‘I Look to You’ also doesn’t really reflect the sound of the album (it's one of the many Alan Palomo collaborations, and is the perfect blend of modern Australian synthpop with his Neon Indian sound) but it shares the same greatness you will find in the rest of it.

The track, sung by Aussie singer Kimbra (who works a breathy vocal sounding a lot like Penelope from The Golden Filter), is a pop bomb with a disco influence and is going to be massive. Basically because it has the same potential for radios as it does at the club – no remixes or edits necessary. The only bad thing to be said is that the video is the poorest in Miami Horror’s career, but who needs great videos with great music, right? Well...

If you live in Australia you can already buy Illumination, and for the rest of the world there's plenty streaming and blogs to keep you satisfied until you get the real thing – and we think you should get it.

If there is a band that I never felt any attraction to in my whole life it might well be Jamiroquai. I don’t like the name, the look, the sound and even that video that everybody thought it was so cool in the 90’s. Recently they were confirmed in Brazil to play alongside Air in a new music festival (Natural About Us, in case you were wondering) and all I could think of was: WHY?

I guess I just found the answer. The band is releasing a new single - which will eventually lead to a new album – and it’s like a funky disco track for the radio that will play in supermarkets, taxis and every place wherein you can’t control the music. Yes, that bland – although not that offensive.

Apparently, Jamiroquai wants to join the cool kids and ordered remixes from Penguin Prison and Monarchy. While Penguin Prison (you can read an interview we did with him here) makes ‘White Knuckle Ride’ sound more sophisticated and dancefloor-orientated, Monarchy controls (for once) their wish to become huge electronic stars and edits the track into something more pleasant, although they’ve still left some major cheesy moments.

I’m not saying that Jamiroquai has redeemed himself with those remixes, but if you find yourself with the original stuck in your head, there are better ways for you to enjoy it!

Best Coast just put together a mixtape for The Independent and while there are some things in there that are so Best Coast – like Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Beach House and Pavement – Bethany Cosentino also makes us proud, by choosing Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ and tells all the haters to fuck off! How can you not love her?

Check the mixtape below, head over to The Independent to read her comments for every song and wait for our long-awaited interview with her on Monday (23 of August). It's a good one!

Kids, when you do drugs, there's always the chance that something might run out of control. Like, a party full of beautiful women dancing and singing along to an amazing 8-bit track might swirl into something terrible when the acid you dropped turns the wrong corner.

The women might suddenly have hairy old man mouths; nice old ladies will spout another mouth on their foreheads and creepy men will get even creepier. You may also realize that the sound turned heavier and the beats got even faster - like the good old days of bangin' electro.

Or maybe you didn’t do any drugs and you're just watching the Soulwax remix video for Late of the Pier’s ‘Best In Class’ instead of the original (or the director's cut). That’s because Daniel Brereton “remixed” the original video from Sam Potter and made it look scarier than Madonna without make up.

You can buy the Soulwax and the Simon Bookish remixes digitally already, but will have to wait until Monday (23/08) to get the vinyl. Either way, you can listen to teaser in the player below.

Late Of The Pier Remix EP Samples by phantasy sound