Classically Trained Musical Assassins

I really dig on classically tripped out Electro, mainly because the music is just so well put together. That melding of powerful, theatrical music with that down and dirty party song-style grips me and pulls me in. I'm talking about that large cathedral feeling you get from songs like "Have Mercy on Us" off the Bloody Beetroots Romborama and Justice's "Stress". You know that vibe I'm talking about when you listen to DatA's "Blood Theme" or Wolfgang Gartner's "Wolfgang's 5th Symphony"? I love that big, grimey sound. I think a big part of it is the organs and STRINGS used in those songs, which leads me to my big obvious segway into Paris's Something A La Mode, the dj duo that just dropped their first album by the name of SomethingALaMode (yes that's right, no spaces to be found here). I talked about them in a previous post, because of their work with the aforementioned Bloody Beetroots but here's a bit more in depth info. If you don't feel like reading or just don't care skip on down and pick up the tunes.

Made up of Thomas Roussel, a violinist, and Yannick Grandjean, a cellist, these two have been putting it down for a minute. This new album is their first LP release from indie label Yellow Productions, run by Bob Sinclar of "Love Generation" fame and somebody I barely recognize, DJ Yellow. While Bobbo might have ridden Thomas Banglter's coat tails with "Gym Tonic"and DJ Yellow seems to produce less than stellar reggaeton, something must have clicked because they signed these two. Roussel and Grandjean mix up some bad ass tracks in their new album two of which, G-String and Rondoparisiano, have been out for a while chilling on the music blogs and can be picked up here.

That sound I was talking about earlier is something relatively present through their whole album, the strings adding a sense of scale to the music and the classical training the two received shows in the complex song structures. The griminess I loved is lost in this album, however, for a more airy, french house feel similar to Daft Punk, which isn't surprising considering they come from the same relative scene around An-Fer (apparently some big electro club in Paris). What the album feels like to me is a Ratatat's first album. The whole strings thing is intriguing and it's cool, but it seems limiting in a way. Because they feel the need to have strings in every song, the unique sound that makes those strings so interesting begins to get stale. The album has its peaks, for me A Little Bit of Feel Good (a cover of a Jamie Lidell song), 5 AM, and Rondoparisiano, but some of the later tracks wane in style and sound a little samey. The tracks that do stand out though are fantastic and that's the best you can ask right? Not all albums can be Cross. Cop the the LP at Beatport or on iTunes after listening to the tracks here. There's a Valerna remix of 5 AM too, which I think shows what the duo could be if they added some more drive to their tracks toned down on the strings. It's way too ill to pass up so grab that as well and head out the door.

Something A La Mode - G-String (256 kbps)
Something A La Mode - Rondoparisiano (256 kbps)♥
Something A La Mode - 5 AM (Valerna Remix)♥

Bonus:
Here are two of the tracks I mentioned plus this Subs and Party Harders song that sounds just Mustard Pimp. Fucking great.

Wolfgang Gartner - Wolfgang's 5th Symphony (320 kbps)
The Bloody Beetroots - Have Mercy On Us (feat. Cècile) (256 kbps)♥
Party Harders and the Subs - The Pope of Dope (256 kbps) ♥♥♥