Salem Al Fakir - Split My Personality (Bassflow Remix)

"I leave the good and bad behind"

Bassflow is one of my favorite production houses out there right now. Their trademark, surging sound never disappoints. I'm convinced that they can take any song and make it magic. This track, one of the least memorable from Salem Al Fakir's solid 2010 album, has been turned into something quite epic with this radio remix. One of the biggest gripes I had with the album last year was that Salem only seemed to take his new electronic direction halfway. The tracks that were more experimental were amazing, but the second half of the album was bogged down by more traditional fare (the original of this song being an example). Luckily, by replacing some tracks and scrubbing up the playlist order, the album was easy to rejigger into something great. And now I can add this fantastic club hit to the fold. It may just end up eclipsing everything else. The production brings out the melody to perfection.

Salem Al Fakir - Split My Personality (Bassflow Remix) by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Track-by-Track: Salem Al Fakir - Ignore This

"Ignore this," indeed. Seemingly out of the blue, Salem al Fakir's made his most adventurous, left-field album and also his best. The first half, especially, goes for the synth-pop jugular and is impossible to ignore.

1. The Song I Never Wrote - A short, atmospheric instrumental introduction that sets up the synth elements of the album. Nothing spectacular, and it's an instrumental so I'm not grading.

2. 4 O'Clock - Kicks off with a catchy marimba-sounding synth beat with hand claps. It's a midtempo, but the gorgeous layered vocals and bright instrumentation will have you dancing. 10/10

3. Virgin Mary - The album's most instant, and best, track. The frenetic synth hook reminds me of Prince in his 80's heyday and the chorus is inescapable. I'd go so far as saying it's his best song yet. 10/10

4. Red Rock - The first of several tracks that rely on the vocoder, this doesn't even sound like Salem. It's a mostly instrumental piece that builds up into some dramatic orchestral flourishes. It's fascinating, if not instantly catchy. 9/10

5. Keep On Walking - This is his Melodifestivalen entry, and already a hit single. The synths are a bit more subdued here, but the melody is anything but. The chorus is almost transcendent. 10/10

6. This Is For - An aggressive electro song that reminds me of Robyn quite a bit. He kind of raps the verses, and the chorus uses the vocoder prominently again. 8/10

7. Part Of It - A very atmospheric synth ballad with a subtle melody that creeps up on you. Drags the energy down a bit, but it's beautiful. 8/10

8. Brooklyn Sun - This is much more like his older stuff. It's very pretty, but feels out of place on the album. It's a much more organic sounding ballad. 7/10

9. Don't Wanna Talk About It - Another squiggly synth interlude. Instrumental. Doesn't add much.

10. Bloody Breakfast - Sort of a companion to This Is For. The lyrics are pretty dark and so is the sound. The electro elements are back again, but muted. It feels more like an experiment than a pop song, but it's succeeds in being interesting. 7/10

11. Split My Personality - Another atmospheric downtempo. I can take it or leave it. It sounds a lot more like his older stuff. The melody's not particularly engaging, though. 6/10

12. Cowboys & Dinosaurs - The other song that I can take or leave. It's pretty (and pretty short), but totally brings down the energy. It's got much more of an acoustic sound to it. 5/10

13. I'm So Happy - And we're back! This is a funky close to the album that features an old school boogie/disco beat and some ridiculously happy chimes (even though the lyrics are less than positive). It's one of his best melodies on the album. 9/10

Album Grade: 8.1/10

(Hint: Bring the score up a full point by tacking on older songs Backseat and Roxy, which fit the sound of the album's best tracks perfectly.)

Salem Al Fakir - Virgin Mary

"Home is the place I thought I'd found"

After the brilliance of last year's Roxy, Salem Al Fakir went in the exact direction I hoped he'd go with his new album Ignore This. Compared to his first album, this is like a totally different artist. Almost all of the songs are synth-based and there are more than a few uptempo, radio-ready hits. The sound is a lot more like the collaborations Salem's done in the past than his actual stuff. Virgin Mary is the initial standout, and one of the catchier tracks on the album. From the burst of synths that kick off the song, you get the feel that this is a different stage in his career. It's more than a little Prince, actually, much like his excellent collaboration with Staygold earlier this year. It's got the driving energy that was missing from his dreamy (and also excellent) Melodifestivalen entry. This had better be a single. Bravo, Salem. This is my kind of stuff!!

Salem Al Fakir - Virgin Mary  by  alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Staygold - Backseat

"Get a job done in the parking lot"

I'm not the first to write about this track, but it's worthy of another mention because it's soon going to be ubiquitous (at least if you live in Sweden - or imaginarily live in Sweden, like me). Staygold are an electro production duo utilizing guest vocalists and performers for their songs. This single features the ever-reliable Salem Al Fakir (under a Prince-like alias Damien Adore) on lead vocals, as well as Spank Rock and Lady Tigra. Come to think of it, the whole thing sounds like a great, long-lost Prince track. From the cheeky lyrics to the funky falsetto, it's more of a pastiche than an original track. But it's fantastic, and ridiculously catchy. The chorus alone has been in my head for the past week, refusing to budge. Beneath all the attitude it's a flawless pop song, simple as that. They need to get Salem on every track for the album.

Staygold - Backseat by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Top 50 Singles of 2009: 45-41

45. Tinchy Stryder - Take Me Back



My sole hip-hop track on the countdown, this successfully fused an intense electro beat with unstoppable (and ungrammatical) hooks.

44. Alexandra Burke - Bad Boys



Proving that she’s more interesting than Leona, this track is so ahead of anything else she’s done that it may end up as both her opening salvo and career pinnacle.

43. Fibes, Oh Fibes & Kim Wilde - Run To You



The unexpected duet of the year, this was easily the most shimmering, romantic look back at the 80’s in a year full of retro singles.

42. Sebastian Karlsson - Serial Lovers



His most upbeat song yet, the instant melody and hook proved impossible to live up to on the subsequent album.

41. Salem Al Falir - Roxy



The most joyous sounding song about STDs that I can remember, this power-pop masterpiece redefined the genres of music that Fakir could pull off.