Off on holiday tomorrow for a few weeks. New sonic adventures to be had on my return. More of that before the end of August. In the meantime here are some summer vibes.
It's getting to the point when I can't remember if i've already posted stuff. Whatever. Always a pleasure.
Solar powered.
Check yesterday's post for inspiration.
Back of the net!
Percussive storm.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
DJ Mixes Revisited Nite Life 09 - Nu - York Nite Life Mixed By Joeski & Onionz
If I ever needed a good reason for penning a random article about a mix that I really used to hammer the fuck out of back in da day, it's the memory of a holiday about ten years ago when this mix was on heavy rotation and its latin-house tinged beats accompanied my aperitifs and subsequent descents into beer and wine-sodden slumber. Joeski and Onionz were, along with Hipp-E and Halo, at the vanguard of the turn of the century tribal house sound, the principal difference being their respective geographical positions and, as a result, influences. Joeski goes out on a limb more than Onionz whose contribution is a little more obviously a product of his environment. There are great contributions from Joey Negro, Terry Francis, Mr G, Wally Callerio and Aztech Sol amongst others. Even more than the Hipp-E and Halo Fabric mix, as well as their Nite:Life 02 which, like this one, was a double CD but, unlike this one, didn't separate the two DJs in question, Onionz and Joeski throb their way across around two and a half hours of claustrophobic, tribal house which never has anything else but the feet and the floor in full focus. Electronic, yes, and spiritually uplifting too.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
July Chart
Gutter flex EP - Amir Alexander (Argot)
No More Lies EP - Herzel/Genoveva (Other Heights)
Weldiya - Abdulla Rashim (Prologue)
Dream EP - Simoncino (LIES)
Owain's Lagoon EP - V/A (Crow Castle Cuts)
Donato Dozzy & Hieroglyphic Being Reworks - V/A (Morphine)
In The Air EP - Brooks Mosher (Dolly)
The Dark Side Of The Earth EP - JS (Earth Mothern)
Four Hallucinating House Figures - Roger 23 (Neurhythmics)
The Protect U EP - Protect U (Vibrations)
Tunes Of The Day
The heady days of 1989. Oakenfold playing this at Storm, Top Rank, Brighton.
Can't get that opening melody out of my head.
Remember hip-house, or would you rather forget it?
. . . and there's more . . .
The definitive Euro take.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Growing History - Sir Vinyl Instinct (Itchy Pig Records)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Find Your Way EP - Noah Pred (Affin)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Tracks Of The Day
Better than the Fluid System remix.
Busy, high-end Detroit business.
Does everything right even better than you thought possible.
Sharp, brittle, heavy all in one package.
One of the most influential . . .
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Dexit - Claude Young
Claude Young in full flow on a cassette recording from the mid to late nineties. I don't think this is a one-off though. I've searched for info on it and it could be a promo mix. Anyway, keep it locked.
Better Days - Theo Parrish
A cassette recording from the dusty boxes of forgotten time. I bought this off someone at the turn of the century, the only thing I remember about it is that it came from one of the Peabody estates in London and that it was advertised in a free mag (I think). It's not great quality, but the music is worth it. Melding the African-American artists of today with those of the past, there's a little bit of everything over the course of ninety minutes. I reckon it was recorded shortly before I bought it, which would make it around twelve-thirteen years old, could be wrong though.
Internal Empire
It can be difficult to quantify exactly how much influence one area has over your life. I like to think of myself as a bit of a renaissance man, only in the sense that I like and am actively interested in a diverse range of different things. From football, food, film, literature, art, hedonism, politics, current affairs to music, it can sometimes be difficult to focus on one thing, and maybe that's why I have never been involved in any of these things to the degree that I really want to be; it's been difficult to find the time free of distractions and now I've got kids, even more so. No matter, there's always the time to change, and that's in the offing.
The worse thing though is not really having the opportunity much these days to discuss and debate the finer points of what you hold dear. "But that's what the Internet is made for" I hear you say. Agreed, but the lack of thoughtful argument is frightening. It's there in spades of course, but it's dwarfed by bullshit and I really don't have the time or the inclination to start wading through it. I suppose that's why the blog was set up in the first place, to negate that necessity for engagement on the terms of others, but I'm getting bored and maybe it's time for a change.
I met with Harry Sword the other day. Harry writes for Little White Earbuds and The Quietus and has been a friend since we both had radio shows at 209 Radio in Cambridge. He still has a show on Cambridge 105 to which I recently contributed a guest mix. Anyway, one of the many topics that we squeezed into the thirdy or so minutes we chatted for was the lack of humour in much of the writing and coverage that accompanies electronic music. The principle sites, we concluded, are a little too serious and rigorous almost for the sake of being so. This isn't the fault of the artists at all, not necessarily the writers either who probably feel constricted by circumstance and pressure. I remember Kris Wadsworth and Omar S interviews on RA where comments drawing attention to the language used by the interviewees were full of righteous indignation. I remember it creeping into printed media a long time ago. One incident that sticks in the mind is that of a Jockey Slut review of Kenny Dixon Junior's epic prince-sampling release 'You Can Dance If You Want To' a double 12" the four labels of which are pictures of naked girls. I could be wrong but I'm sure the reviewer in question drew attention to this and said that it detracted from the overall quality of the release to have said photos there.
Electronic/Dance music journalism needs to stop taking itself so seriously and remember why it was there in the first place. The focus is the dance floor, without which there wouldn't really be much of a reference point and we'd all be sitting at home chin-stroking, internalising our instinct and whinging about the weather. There's always a time and a place for intellectualisation, it's always very interesting to read what someone genuinely thinks about something, eloquently put or not. The gobbledygook that infests a lot of reviewing (to which I have no problem owning up to myself) is perfectly acceptable a lot of the time. How else is a writer supposed to accomplish an undertaking, more often than not written for free, without having to wade through exhaustive amounts of reference material in order to cross-reference and add foundation to an argument? In addition you've got the much - maligned scoring system, which creates more problems than it solves and which I've never seen the point of, except to save readers the chore of actually reading the review, to take the edge off a particularly bad write-up, or to deliberately court controversy . . .
I suppose that's what blogs are for though, innit?
Sunday, July 08, 2012
DJ Mixes Revisited Fabric 07 Mixed By Hipp-E & Halo
One of my favourites of Fabric's illustrious series because it captured a moment. Nothing surprising in that as that's basically the reason why I'm writing this informal series, the style itself though was at its zenith. West coast tribal house was peaking and, even though this selection isn't really in all that debt geographically, it's inspired by southern California and San Francisco. Funny thing is though, it's just as much inspired by Croydon and south London.
Wiggle was where I was introduced to such sounds and if there's one thing this mix does effortlessly it's smooth house atmospherics. Depth with a kick. The track list doesn't really look that amazing but it's much more than the sum of it's parts. One record I was moved to buy the moment I heard it was the opening track by Inverse Cinematics. Never heard of them before or since but 'Slow Swing' is a corker, and the perfect opener. A Swag double ushers us further in until we get to the wonderful 'I'm Satisfied' by Northern Ireland's Scoper & Bubba. Without wanting to go through every individual track, it's a gentle, bass-propelled hallucinogenic journey redolent with synth washes and silence on steroids. Ernest St Laurent's brilliant 'Body Flowers (Fluid System Mix)' closes proceedings, making this, at the very least, one of the most well bookended mixes I've ever heard. Is it better than they double magnum opus 'Nightlife 02' as H-Foundation for NRK though? Answers on a postcard please.
Track listing
- Inverse Cinematics - Slow Swing - Pulver Records
- Nile - 3 In Tha Mornin' (Swag's Version Dub) - Independiente
- Swag - Metroride (Ken & Sam's Racketride) - Version Music
- Scoper & Bubba - I'm Satisfied - Classic Recordings
- Natural Rhythm - Freakinought - Doubledown Recordings
- Hanna - Time (Doza's Lawn Chair Generals Mix) - Viva Record Co
- Seafoam - Mumbo Jumbo (Kitchen Dwellers) - Guidance Recordings
- Guided Method - Rugburns (Original mix) - Compu_sol
- Simon et Bolivard - And I Know - Tropism
- Solaris Heights - Midnight (Dub mix) - Airtight Recordings
- Don't Bogart - Long deep decay - Spacecraft Productions
- UBQ Project - When I fell in love (Charles Webster Dub mix) - Music Plant
- Halo - Lakeshore Dr - Bluem Recordings
- Ernest Saint Laurent - Body Flowers (Fluid System Mix) - BMG
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Tunes Of The Day
One of the year's best so far.
Just go with it . . .
Charles Webster & Matthew Herbert on form.
Live from the land of clogs and tulips.
Mr Welt has a wonderful ear for a melody.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Monday, July 02, 2012
Sunday, July 01, 2012
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