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Alright, so I realize I’ve spent a considerable amount of time talkin’ bout wonky beats, released a free sample pack (and plan to release a much larger 100-sample beat pack soon) and did that wonky tutorial…but I wanted to switch gears for a second and delve into some other newer styles of electronic music… Electroswing top ten! Here we go!

Electroswing might be seen as a second wave of late 90s swing revival (meaning it’s a… third wave of swing?) and artists have been killin’ out the big band swangin’ samples and swung rhythm for a few years now, which has gained attention partly because of vodka commercials – but also because of some suppsedly-awesome swing nights at clubs (both swing-themed clubs and otherwise) in luxurious cities such as New York City! I’ve not been to NYC, but if I ever did go, I’d definitely want to check out a swing club and jazz it up hardcore.

Well, without further ado, here’s what I would consider a top ten track list for folks and fan eager to get into this new swing revival…

1. Boby C Sound TV – Jelly Belly

Van_Tek from Glitch Hop Forum recommended this one. I definitely featured a few tracks suggested on Glitch Hop Forum, which I’ll talk about a little later in the top ten.

Now, first, I’d like to point out, electroswing has apparently been going on and is just now getting to America. So, to say that there are only ten great songs is not only ridiculous, it’s stupid! There’s a lot of great tracks out there, and I really suggest you take a look and see what else is out there. If you hit up youtube, you’re going to find tons of “15 Minute Electroswing” mixes, and things like that… it can be a good place to start, to be sure, but for individual songs and artists, you can always go off of the tunes I’ve brought to you, here, on this list!

2. Shemian – Happy Swingin`

This one’s some pure, bouncy, electroswing fun.

3. Odjbox – Birmingham

There’s a couple different camps to the modern swing revival… there’s the house stuff; electro, techno-sounding 4-to-the-floor dance stuff… and then there’s the more hip hop stuff; often a bit slower, more groovin, and not always as poppy… although to say that’s it not poppy is really a fucking lie, because almost all of it is… I mean, for god’s sake, the entire genre is based on pop and dance music from the 20s and 30s, so how could it not be at least a little popped out?

Anyway, this one’s from Odjbox, another killer in the electroswing style, definitely on the upbeat hip hop side of things. Check it out, it’s definitely worth a listen.

4. JFB – Wobble and Squeak

The name really says it all. Some funky, swangin’, loop-happy grooves to getcha’ going. The use of old jazz loops is pretty simple, not a ton going on in that department, and not much needs to be going on, when you consider how infectious, fun, and driving the track is. Some good mixing of modern funk’d out wobbledelic basses and grinds with the old-timey samples, for sure!

5. Mr. Scruff – Get a Move On

This one takes it back a few years, in more ways than one. Yes, its jazzy, and features samples from way back, but also, it was part of the original swing reivival from ten or fifteen years ago… I remember playing this one out when I was in middle school (or was it high school?) back in an awful time period in history known as ‘The Early 2000s.’ But it doesn’t matter when the song came out, it just matters that it’s a great track. It was released on the Ninja Tunes label – yes, that’s right, Ninja Tunes had some swingin’ stuff, believe it or not.

6. Spoonbill – Catfish

Here’s another bouncin’ and swangin’ number, this time by Spoonbill. I should point out, I got a few of these from Glitch Hop Forum, I asked folks for their favorite electroswing tunes, as soon as I got wind of the genre. So props go out to 4bstr4ck3r for this one, and the #1 track I added. 4bstr4ck3r has some good taste! That cannot be understated. Now, as far as GHF goes, someone brought the genre of ‘neurostep’ to attention a couple weeks ago, and, to be honest, I’m still figuring out exactly what makes a tune ‘neuro’ and not just ‘glitch hop,’ but I think, from what I understand, this one is kinda neuro-ish? Or perhaps I’ll get a grand ol’ scolding for assuming such a thing! Who knows… So, what does that make this track? NeuroSwang? Ha.. I sincerely hope that classification comes into existence. I should go back and delete that word, but alas, I’m writing out this blog post on typewriter, and backspaces are impossible on my end! Sorry! Anyway, enjoy Spoonbill – dude’s got some REAL good shit.

7. Caravan Palace – Clash

Caravan Palace is a very decent group from France (as many electroswing artists seem to be) that have released some REALLY quality tracks. So here’s one, and its definitely on the more house-tip of the genre.

8. Parov Stelar – Catgroove

Had to include something from Parlov Stelar, and this one’s really dope. The dude has some moves, too. Very catchy track, I must say. Parlov Stelar is a top-player in the electroswing underground, which is a secret underground series of clubs in France where folks go to jazz out… ah, I wish that were true. Well, it might be, I guess I wouldn’t know, since I’ve never been to France.

9. Electro Swing Lady – Give Me A Dream (Doc-Terry’s Extended Mix)

This one’s embarrassingly upbeat, and for whatever reason, it feels completely acceptable. Actually, the structure of the loops reminds me, a bit, of Fatboy Slim’s old aimlessly wonderful big beat material… One vocal refrain, over and over and over, ah! Just delightful!

10. Chinese Man – I’ve Got That Tune

I have a hard time getting sick of this one. I must’ve played it fifteen or twenty times when I was on the road a few weeks ago, travelling cross country to Seattle, before I decided to give it a rest. All I had to do was wait a couple weeks, and I instantly wanted to start playing it out again! The cartoon imagery of Bettie Boop really does a lot for the track, too… and when she starts playing the air-violin, something about the music and the visuals together just creates such a perfect funk… a perfect moment in poppy-jazz-groovedom. It’s so swangin’ it’s almost creepy. I think that’s a good thing.