Yeeeeeah…So we know it’s a little late. Blame Jesus and the lunar calendar for that. But we figured it would be a good would to kick off the new year.

So without further adu, we present you with…

SOAP’s TOP RELEASES OF 2007!

And now for the obligatory disclaimer: Instead of railing off 150 tracks like we did last year, we decided instead to focus on individual releases from similar sub-genres. This required a lot of recall and classification. Two things we’re not particularly good at. So take this list for what is is and feel free to let us know if you think we left anything out.

Makina Girgir - The Spell EP || Das Drehmoment - Das Drehmoment has slowly, but surely, become one of SOAPs favorite labels. For our money, nobody does electro-pop and wave music better. Makina Girgir is the embodiment of everything we love about Das Drehmoment. Squeaky-clean electro-pop, with a dark sense of humor. Every track on The Spell works as a single, but the cohesive tone of the EP is what makes it such a poignant a memorable release. Fit for the dance-floor or the living room, this is a truly beautiful record that is not to be missed.

Honorable Mention - Suicide Booth - Aura EP || Das Drehmoment

Glass Candy - Beat Box & Miss Broadway || Italians Do It Better - So we’re gonna cheat here and mention two releases by Glass Candy. Miss Broadway was without a doubt one of the best covers we’ve ever heard and really solidified Ida No’s position amongst modern day disco divas. Beat Box is just a solid all-around release. It’s pretty amazing how a song like Digital Versicolor, with it’s super-silly lyrics and super-simple melody, can convey such passion and sensuality. But isn’t that what Glass Candy is all about?

Nimoy - Untitled || Bunker - In 2007 we were reminded that electro can be unique, inspiring, and soulful. For us, Nimoy’s untitled Bunker release was the harbinger of this re-realization. Haunting but not dark, lush but not overwhelming, just the way we like it. Electro for electro’s sake.

Honorable Mentions - ERP - Vox Atomaton || Frustrated Funk & Duracel - Hole In Head EP || SD

Aeroplane - Aeroplane & Caramellas || Eskimo - Aeroplane has mastered the art of seduction. We’ve known this ever since we heard their self-titled track on the Lindstrom & Prins Thomas Essential Mix. What we didn’t know was that the EP would contain a B-side that was (arguably) even better then the aforementioned A. Aeroplane’s electronics just sound so, er, organic - a perfect blend between the natural and the synthesized.

Burial - Untrue || Hyperdub - We’re not going to pretend that we’re dub-step experts. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if Untrue is shunned by the dub-step community, as is the common fan-boy reaction when a piece of the underground becomes slightly popular. But the fact remains that Untrue is truly (pardon the pun) an inspirational album. We won’t waste your time trying to explain exactly why Untrue is so amazing. The appeal of the record is about as mysterious and unique as the producer himself. Give it a listen or read one of the 29032189438 other reviews floating around the blogosphere. If you’re not moved by this record your probably dead, deaf, or in denial. Brace yourself dub-step fan-boy, we’re gonna be hearing a lot more Archangel in the near future.

Honorable Mention - Boxcutter - Glyphic || Planet Mu

Newworldaquarium - The Dead Bears || NWAQ - There’s something so familiar yet so unique about Newworldaquarium’s music. Beautiful, atmospheric, slow-motion techno of the highest caliber. What separates this release from others in the same vein is its funky undertones. It seems that every track has some element that keeps it from running too deep. Top notch production.

November Növelet - Magic || Galakthorrö - We were a little late on November Növelet’s latest release, but it didn’t take us long to realize that Magic was indeed a worthy successor to 1999’s From Heaven On Earth. Dark and monotone female vocals can easily be dismissed as cliche, but Mrs. Arafna pulls it off and deserves a spot amongst the Beta Evers and Nancy Fortunes of this world. Beautifully haunting or hauntingly beautiful. You decide.

Stereo - No More || CBS Disques

Darkness warshed over SOAP. Darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonless prairie night…I know daylight savings ended like two weeks ago now, but we’re still feeling the effects. Expect us to be at least an hour behind schedule for another month or two. I guess it’s time to hunker down. Which is cool…Maybe I should buy a new synthesizer…

1. Ruth - Polaroid/Roman/Photo || Paris
2. Cleavage - Barah || Studio
3. John Martym - Black Man At The Shoulder
4. Lindstrom - Feel PM || Eskimo
5. Daniel Wang - Twitchy & Scratchy || Balihu
6. Escort - All Through The Night || Escort
7. White Light Circus - Secret Operator || D.C.
8. Dubious - Deco Drive || Bear Funk
9. Le Club - Un Fait Divers Et Rien De Plus || Disques Vogue
10. Giorgio Moroder - Evolution || Casablanca
11. Betty Botox - Gysin’s Groove || Botox
12. Force Of Nature - Afroshock || Headinghome
13. Kotey Extra Band Feat. Chaz Jankel - Sooner Or Later (Chicken Lips Dub) || Bear Funk
14. Maximilian Skiba - Safari Jazz || Terranova
15. Telex - Do Worry (Lindstrom Remix) || Labels
16. The Winners - Get Ready For The Future || Ariola
17. Altz - Max Motion || Zi-Koo
18. Straight Shooter - My Time Your Time (Cosmo Vitelli Edit)
19. Alan Vega - Satrun Drive || Elektra
20. Chirs Jones - S.O.W.
21. Bernard Parmegiani - Mouvement 1 || INA-GRM

Take the survey

 WSOP radio, episode 013: Damned Farmers: Download

Every once in a while I’ll come across a record that triggers a double-take. Upon initial listen I dismiss it as crap, but something inside me tells me not to discard it. I’ll bring it home and listen to it, and try to figure out why I’m intrigued by it. Such was the case with X-Factor’s Chemical Romance. I mean, the song really sounded bad to me…that was until I pitched it down. Intended to play at 45 RPM, this track transforms from a super cheesy Euro Dance track to an eight minute Balleric groover when played at 33 (+8)…See what you think.

X Factor - Chemical Romance (@33 +8) || Scorpio

This is a special version of MMM, for the obvious reason that I (not Bosley)am posting it, and for the less obvious reason that the vocal on this track bears a striking resemblance to a certain Ida No, of Glass Candy, a Portland band that are playing all over everywhere this week in New York. It’s going to be a busy week, hopefully most of the New Yorker’s have recovered from Lollapalooza enough to show the incoming artists and acts a good time. Stay tuned for our super hot “Sounds of the Summer” Reggaeton compilation featuring sound clips of the Friends of the Boriqua Housing Authority of Manhattan Ave, recorded live during moments when I wish I were asleep.

Venus Gang - Space Woman (Original 12″ Mix) || P.B.I.

Before humans were launched into space, monkeys were used to investigate the biological effects of space travel. The first primate astronaut was Albert, a rhesus monkey, who on June 11, 1948 rode to over 39 miles on a V2 rocket. Albert died of suffocation during the flight. Or at least that’s what the government wanted us to think…

For decades the truth of Albert’s journey remained a secret buried deep within the annals of the NASA archives, shrouded in mystery…forgotten…until now.

This is Ablert’s story:

1. Unit Black Flight - No Turning Back || Strange Life
2. Xenon - Galaxy || Xenon
3. Skatebard - The Faun Enters The New Age || Digitalo Enterprises
4. Sylvia Love - Extraterrestial Lover
5. Hosomaki - Bauchamp || Foundation
6. Force Of Nature - Traderoute (Album Version) || Libyus
7. Studio - Life’s A Beach (Prins Thomas Mix) || Information
8. Sueno Latino - Sueno Latino (Guitar Edit)
9. Tread - Opacity Omen || Third Ear
10. Liquid Liquid - Scraper || Mo Wax
11. Quiet Village - Circus Of Horrors || Whatever We Want
12. Michael Chapman - Lescudjack (Lexx Edit)
13. Herbie Mmann - High Jack || Supreme
14. Johan Fotmeijer - Batucada Da Villa || Innertrax
15. Nick Chacona - A Cambria Heights Affair || Bear Funk
16. Munich Machine - Get On The Funk Train || Casablanca
17. Taana gardner - Work That Body || West End Records
18. Boytronic - Bryllyant || JDC
19. L.E.B. Harmony - Feeling Love (Disco Devil Edit)
20. Geoffrey Downes - Urbanology (Borderline Offensive’s Interpretive Re-edit)

Take the survey

 WSOP radio, episode 002: Monkeys In Orbit: Download

There appears to be an official park along the water in Williamsburg, a public reclamation of gravel and rocks narrowly wedged between the decaying piers of two warehouses. A couple Sundays ago, this public park played host to a Sunday afternoon of music and BBQ’ing, courtesy of the folks at No Ordinary Monkey. The music wound its way lazily through the afternoon, building in bpm and festivity as the crowd picked up around sunset. Here’s a greater than/less than recap of the afternoon:

The view of the water > the smell of the East River

The old school shoulder wedge headphones > the communal presence of any blue tooth accessories

Matching outfits on little kids > everything

Open fire hydrants > gated community pool (though public community pools (includes oceans and most rivers, as well as sneaking into private pools > open fire hydrants)

Homemade Wonder Chair (with reinforced umbrella, cardboard neck support and sail-like wind channeling side arm > matching outfits on little kids (thus winning)

The Duke Of Burlington - Flash || Pink Elephant

Fighting the good fight with onlinestoragesolutions.com right now. They’re our alternate file hosters and they store pretty much all the music that is posted on this blog. I guess one of their servers went down today or something, so you may have to wait until it’s back up to download older (before this post) content. We figure this may be a good time to announce that SOAP v2.0 is in the works and will hopefully be up sooner than later…Get excited!

Force OF Nature - Traderoute (Album Version) || Libyus

You ever listen to The Dark Side Of The Moon while watching Wizard Of Oz? Thought it was pretty cool when things almost synced up? Try listening to the first 45 minutes of Lidstrom & Prins Thomas’ latest Essential Mix (I know, I know) while watching the “Deep Ocean” episode of Planet Earth. It’ll friggin’ blow your mind.

No Theory - Devil’s Dance || Sin & Soul

At the risk of sounding over-dramatic…

Loss…rage…acceptance…forgivness…gratitude…motivation…pride…all emotions which I’ve experienced in MASS quantities over the last two days.

Now I’m not going to launch into a long-winded explanation about why I love the CBS because I could go on for days. That’s for you to find out yourself. But I will say that, as a music lover, I’ve been a part of many online and offline music communities/scenes/whateverthehellyouwannacallit, and none have even come close to rivaling the CBS’s breadth of musical knowledge/resources. It truly was a virtual haven for me…a library…a teacher…

At approximately 17:18:45 CET on May 1st it was all taken away. I felt empty…gutted… As despair set in across the CBS forums I began considering the alternatives. Was I really about to embark on a journey to find a suitable replacement? My efforts would have been futile.

If you are wondering about the effect that the CBS has on people, considering the following events that took place over the last 48 hours:

Unwilling to accept the apparent loss of their virtual home, CBS robots banded together in an attempt to rectify the situation. The first step was to clearly identify the reasons why the CBS shut down in the first place. After some prying, it was revealed that the issues were financial and promotional. Basically, it cost RobotDJX (Ferenc, I-F for those who don’t know) a ton of money to keep the CBS alive. Unfortunately, the revenue generated from advertising and the CBS shop don’t come close to covering the expenses that are associated with maintaining such a high-quality stream and online community. And although most robots are willing to pay for the stream, any sort of subscription service would sort of go against the CBS ethos. To make a very long story short, it became clear that donation was the only way to go. Once this was determined an amazing thing happened: Robots began throwing money at the CBS in a last ditch effort to keep it going. As the dollars and euros continued to flow in from around the globe, mourning turned into hope. Even if the CBS was done for good, at least everyone got the chance to show their appreciation for years of incredible music…

About two hours ago we received the word that our efforts were a success. The CBS is to continue (with some new conditions, of course). DJX fired up the system and Don’t Let Me Down Again blared through the speaks of robots across the universe.

Personally, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I’ve never been part of such a focused and passionate collaborative effort that actually ended successfully. Obviously, there will be the added pressure of keeping it going now. But it’s a welcomed challenge…a fair trade for getting my home back.

So let the bandwith flow…robots for robots –

Auto Bahn - Do You Like This Beat (Chip E London Calling Mix) || Fierce Records

R.I.P. CBS

12-23-2002 to 5-1-2007

Let us mourn