I feel like I've spent a ton of time in the past year listening to music that's much more dance-y than the stuff I typically listen to. Not that I didn't enjoy danceable, disco-punkish fare before - LCD Soundsystem has certainly been a favorite since I first heard "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" - but recently I've been branching out, trying far more clubby-sounding new things and hunting down more adventurous remixes. It helps that this kind of stuff has seen a surge of popularity in the music blog world lately, and it seems like it's everywhere - Justice, The Rapture, Simian Mobile Disco, MSTRKRFT, Muscles, !!!, Girl Talk, etc - all of a sudden dancing seems to be a hell of a lot more acceptable in indie rock circles. But I personally blame the gym for my recent obsession with all of this. Once I realized DJ mixes were more than suitable for kicking my ass with an hour of cardio, I started tracking down the most motivational beats I could find and working on my own perfect workout playlists.
So this is why I ended up listening to Boylife, by Lo-Fi-Fnk. I initially downloaded "Wake Up" off another blog and the track found its way onto the massive "Get Goin'" playlist on my iPod, where I dump all the good beat-driven stuff that falls within an appropriate BPM range (yes, I check the BPM on tracks - I'm a girl who likes to work out to the beat). The song went unnoticed for a bit while I was perfecting my last proper workout mix, but after a few spins I fell in love, and it's been my warm-up track ever since. In fact, it will most definitely kick off my second workout mix, which I'm in the process of perfecting right now.
Anyway, before long I was listening to Boylife, which I of course tracked down once I caught myself listening to "Wake Up" fifteen times in a row on repeat. The whole album is just as sugary and delicious as I had hoped, electronic pop for the disco-ball lit dance floor, glittery and sequined in all the right places without ever becoming nauseating. The songs are catchy and melodic, which is sometimes lost in the realm of dance stuff, filled with playful blips and bleeps that almost make you want to strap on some roller skates. The album has certainly become a staple in my workout soundtrack, but it also easily made the transition out of the gym, and it's the perfect thing to play whenever I need a little perking up.
Leo Drougge and August Hellsing are the Swedish duo that make up Lo-Fi-Fnk - the two met in high school (in 2001, which means they're pretty young) and have been playing together ever since. I can't vouch for their live experience (yet), the duo made a few appearances at SXSW, but I unfortunately wasn't clued-in enough at the time to make a point to see them. Those performances in Austin were part of a month-long trek around North America, which probably (and unfortunately) means they won't be back incredibly soon, but we can cross our fingers.
"Wake Up"
"Adore"
Once again, I'm writing about something that's only available as an import, but I promise I'll let you know if Boylife gets a domestic release. And I promise the next album I write about will be cheaper, and available here.
