There has been  a ‘snippet’ version of  Azari

A little nostalgia here for Kunk as our very first foreign guest act way back in early 2008 was indeed the boys of Blamma!Blamma!. Very cool pair, super nice, and great live set. Since that time the Blammas suffered the unthinkable: one of their members passed away. In the loving memory of Martin, a little while back, Nick released some of the tracks they had been working on. One of which we’re sharing below.

As you can quickly make out, it’s has the unmistakable refrain from Stevie Nicks epic early 80s opus, Edge of Seventeen. This re-work launches it into contemporary times — undergirding it with some sweet backbeat and electronica dancefloor flavor.

Kunkers have basically a perpetual hard-on for anything fleetwood mac, stevie nicks, or otherwise, so we’re more than pleased to see this track as one of the ones emerging from the vault. All hail the Blammas and let the beat go on.

Blamma!Blamma! - Beyond 17

Just got an awesome mail about a pretty highly bloggable remix. Aeroplane used to be a duo but they had split and Vito De Luca (who’s still Aeroplane) reworked Chromeo’s new single, “Don’t Turn the Lights On”. Fun fact: both acts played/gonna play this years Hungarian festivals. Chromeo was at Balaton Sound, Aeroplane is gonna be at the Sziget, Meduza stage on thursday around midnight. I’ve missed the Chromeo and gonna miss Aeroplane because of my general bad feeling about Hungarian festivals. Nevermind. So Chromeo’s track became really easy-listening funktro (just coined it for funky-ish electro house) summer jam. Chromeo’s full-lenght Business Casual is gonna drop in September. While you’re waiting (in the US), don’t forget to pre-order!

Couple days ago we’ve received a nice mail from Mutantek, an awesome producer from Mexico. What caught my attention is that he tackled The Talking Heads, their classic “Psycho Killer”. One might consider this an act of desecration, we at Kunk hq quite enjoy it. It became a cool, chopped and weird disco track. Love his Minitel Rose and Kavinsky reworks as well. The beat gets you dancing instantly and it’s not only smooth but intelligent too. I think this pleasingly monotonous and atmospheric sound could be his trademark. It was probably shaped by oceans and melting heat. He is part of the Mix Le Fun collective that is a nice addition to the great acts coming from the southern Americas.

Regular readers of this blog will know we’re big fans of the ‘homie outta LA’, Clockwork. Regular attendees of our Budapest gigs will also know what we’ve been dropping a lot of his stuff in sets of late. Here are a pair which aren’t brand new, but which we’re fond of. The first, with a lil’ help from a Deadmau5 sample, re-tools the hiphop mega-collab between snoop-cudi into an electronica-throw down. The foreboding build-up in advance of the chorus/drop is of particular appeal to our ears. More recently, he throbbed-up Crystal Castles’ Celestica into a dancefloor mover. Big time love on the ipods and on the floors round these parts. Be sure to keep up with Clockwork via soundcloud.

One of my favourite albums of this year is Wild Nothing’s Gemini. It’s a gorgeous indie/dream-pop record that’s gazing at clouds instead of shoes. Of course, it’s very easy to see through the influences from My Bloody Valentine to The Cure and treat Jack Tatum’s project as a revivalist ‘nothing-new’ hipster something. However, I think there’s some true beauty on this record. First of all, one has to admit that there’s a talent in creating a lively soundscape. Ok, it’s not a super-diverse and experimental album, but, what is more important, it has exactly the amount of exciting material to upset the boundaries of conventional indie pop. The projected honesty and simplicity is another appeal: while the lyrics and the sound might not be simple, the attitude is one of genuine expression, if such a thing exists. This gives the impression of child-like simplicity. The dream-like atmosphere, the jingling guitars, the weird synths and the swooning vocals all strenghten the uniqueness of the illusory world of Gemini. The illusory world from the bedroom of a guy who’s probably sad because of - hmm what could it be? - a girl. An this nicely invokes the old archetype of escapism that gave birth to many awesome creatures. I say this is a perfect record for boring/rainy/melancholic summer days when the happiness of the outside doesn’t really appeal to you. Buy the album at Amazon.

I’m going to celebrate our new, beautiful blog with a semi-comprehensive post about LightsoverLA since their remixes already appeared in our mixes and we love the shit out of them. I kinda don’t know anything about them him, except that they are a duo and he hails from Phoenix/(obviously)LA. For personal stuff (being in metal band, sandwiches, death of music industry and movies) check this interview at Ohh! So Famous! Nevertheless, in our cyberculture of name- and facelessness, they he does a pretty awesome job of creating a virtual image for himself through his sound. The sound which is amazingly diverse and have a unique feel to it at the same time. The most important compontent, taste, is almost tangible. Tastefully chosen tracks for remixing, tastefully remixed songs… you name it. It’s hard to pull of a sensitive and atmospheric, emotionally engaging sound on the one hand, and, on the other, heavy but intelligently banging shit simultaneously. I mean check out the hurtingly beautiful Stars remix, the laid-back Two Door Cinema Club, the epic-grand synth-dance of the Hurts, the schizophrenic beat of CC’s “Vietnam” and Miike Snow, the delicate atmosphere of the Delphic track or the brain-banging robotics of the Daft Punk

After 500 posts and a little spring/summer relaxation, we figured what better way to get reinvigorated with the blog, than to spruce it up a bit. Hope you like the changes. Comments will be enabled in another week or so. Stay tuned for a week of posts with our ‘BFFs’. In honor of the new look and feel, could there be any other possible song to share?

We also didn’t think so.

David Bowie - Changes

Those residing at the address of ‘Under a Rock’ are likely the only ones not to have taken fond notice of two stellar vids dropping into the interwebsphere of late. The first was for Grum’s new single, Through the Night. It’s an 80s-styled buddy cop bromance-a-thon. Cars are washed, asses are patted, hugs are had. And in the end, fittingly, pecs are flexed. We’re currently oiling ourselves as we watch.

Was making the mix a while ago and stumbled upon this remix by Death to the Throne who hails from Phoenix. He remade The xx’s “Shelter” and I was quite happy about it since most xx songs are undanceable. However, The xx is a good band and their songs deserve to be heard out loud and not just at their gigs. The Death to the Throne remix is very nicely done with a lot of sensitivity. It has the heartbreaking vocal parts and the atmosphere subtly rises to heavy but intelligent banging. This must have been difficult, turning this song into a dancefloor-filling demon but he accomplished it. There are not so many ways to transform stuff like this without raping it and it requires a good taste to do so. It became a dirty club hit that retains the pure sadness of the original. I know I’m quite late with this but will watch this guy from now on.