The second half of the show was a Harry Sword mastermix of old Blueprint and Downwards material. However, so deep in the zone was he that he couldn't be arsed doing a track list. I'm sure he will answer any trainspotter questions though.
The next show will be on the 12/1/13, with Harry at the controls. Keep it locked.
Thanks to the board at Little Detroit for the random, ridiculous, but brilliant photographs. The excellent photography which I used for earlier shows, of post-Soviet Bulgaria under the snow came from Timothy Allen, and you can find them here.
Released in 2002, the first full year I spent living in Cambridge, and like all essential purchases I can remember making it quite vividly. I bought it from Jay's Records on Burleigh Street, a huge space which sadly shut down a few years ago now to make way for that blandest of retail outlets, the pine furniture shop. Anyway, I bought Classic releases on sight, and this release has the distinction of being the only mix cd they had licensed which wasn't solely composed of the label's own output. It's a pretty superlative selection too. Not one which I'd necessarily have gone for had it been on another label either. Relatively eclectic within the four four framework, apart from the Schatrax opener it seems to be all nu disco during its early stages, but it's all about the pacing. Norway features strongly, and there's an early Lindstrom contribution in the shape of 'Green Tea' . . . New York house veteran Jaymz Nylon appears, as does Aaron Carl with his ode to blow jobs, 'Down' and Doc Martin sprinkles his remix dust liberally over the set. His Wax Mix of Blaze's classic 'Lovelee Dae' is the first track to start taking things a little bit higher, it's aided by his and Mark Bell's 'Blakdoktor Dub' of 'Deeper' by Blakkat, and towards the end of the mix, again introducing a change in tempo, he chimes in with the Blakdoktor Mix of 'Hold On' by The Barrio Brothers Feat. Troy Dillard. There's only one glimpse of the classic catalogue, in the shape of 'Fantasize (Instrumental Club Mix)' by Rob Mello Feat. Cecille. I prefer the vocal, but the instrumental is right for the time and place.
All in all an excellent mix, which leaves me wondering why Classic didn't release any more non-label related sets. Probably too expensive and and pain in the arse to license. Amazed that neither Derrick Carter nor Luke Solomon bothered. The label was instrumental in breaking the likes of Isolee and Markus Nicolai in the UK, and Solomon's A&Ring veered to the slightly off-kilter and experimental, so it's a pity the opportunity to maybe compile some of the more left field house sounds of the time wasn't taken up, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Anyway, I'm sure you all know that Classic is very much a physical imprint once more, and that they are releasing mixes, their "Seen Through The Eyes Of . . ." series. These are label-only offerings however. The latest is from Horse meat Disco resident Severino and came out last autumn. Last year Matt Tolfrey was at the helm, but his compilation was just released digitally.
So I finally got around to watching the September 2012 instalment of "Slices". Looking at the interviews the ones featuring Shed and Steffi caught my eye first, followed by that of Dave Aju, a producer who I have a lot of time for and who I feel is doing as much as he can to gently jog the foundations of house while remaining within its confines. Well, both Aju and Shed have some very interesting things to say regarding the time, perception and validity which frames the art that they produce, and Shed overlaps nicely with Steffi when making points about being part of a "scene". Aju's example, of Funkadelic playing Duke Ellington, is particularly relevant, while Shed, although a touch reticent, doesn't come across as uncooperative at all. Aju is the most engaging, while Steffi and Shed aren't as natural in the camera's presence. In any case, after drawing attention to Shed's rather taciturn interview with Resident Advisor in the first of these themed posts, he comes across much better on film. "Well done, my son", as he would no doubt say himself.
I'm going the whole hog as far as a lot of this "outsider" house stuff is concerned. L.I.E.S., The Trilogy Tapes, Pan, Hinge Finger, to name but a few . . . all embracing the left field but still having the funk . . . the trick is though, how to play this stuff side by side with releases on Hot Creations, Ellum Audio and Visionquest. I'm serious as well . . . why not? Anyway, I think that the music is now at a crossroads of sorts, such as only comes up every decade. The recycling of house and techno has now reached such an intense phase that there is nowhere left to go except back amidst the archetypes and disguise them with sonic posturing. But it's all good, and we've never, in my opinion, been at such an interesting juncture.
And, coincidentally, RA have just uploaded a podcast from Ron Morelli, the blurb of which reveals a healthy disregard for the trappings of modern DJing technology. I haven't listened to it yet, and no doubt there's a healthy amount of tongue-in-cheek being applied, but it's quite refreshing to read, particularly when one is used to reading about god knows how many aspiring unknowns who seem to shell out willy-nilly on technology to do their donkey work for them. Who are these characters that we never hear about except on forums, comparing their latest software and having an intuitive grasp of it, but not of the music? I find that side of things a little depressing, and I'm no vinyl-only luddite . . . far from it, but I am a firm believer in crawling before walking.
Serge & Alden Tyrell - House Countdown (Clone Jack For Daze)
Pitto - Richklap (Wolskuil Ltd)
A1 - Parasella (Parasella)
Forged - Trevino (Klockworks)
Magic (The Oliverwhofactory Remix) - Recloose (Rush Hour)
Never Give Up - Iron Curtis (Shift)
My Girls - Sex Judas feat. Ricky (Marketing Music)
Start - Jacob Stoy (Uncanny Valley)
Ivory 313 - Kris Wadsworth with Jimmy Edgar (Get Physical)
Bassline & Bobby Champs - Phobia (Kevin McPhee Remix) (Sourceunknwn)
The Analogue Cops & Ryan Elliott - Homeboys (Bass Culture)
Paul Mac - Sometimes It's That Simple (Stimulus)
Alexander D'niel - Downpour (B-Tracks Mix 2)
Last night's show was an enjoyable experience. I didn't get to play everything I had with me, but what's new? Track list above. The next show is on the 29/12/12 and will be jointly hosted by myself and Mr Harry Sword who, if rumours are to be believed, was safely tucked up in bed last night before 9:30 with a good book.
Last night's show was overseen by the redoubtable Mr Harry Sword, and this is what went down:
Rhythm and sound feat Paul St Hilaire – Music a fi rule (Ryhthm and Sound)
Old Apparatus – Hammerhand (Deep Medi)
Pangaea – Memories (white)
Objekt – Porcupine (Hessle Audio)
Soundstream – Good Soul (Soundstream)
Funkinevil – Dusk (Funkinevil)
G.H – Ground (Modern Love)
Actress – Machine and Voice (Non Plus)
Pangaea – Release (Hessle Audio)
NCR – Monoton Dub (Blackest Ever Black)
MJ Cole – Volcano Riddim (Soul Jazz)
Kaseem Mosse and Mix Mup – KM/MM End to Funk (The Trilogy Tapes)
Cut Hands – Black Mamba (Blackest Ever Black)
Rockwell – Aria (Critical)
Powell – Grand Street (Diaganol)
Pariah – Detroit Falls (R and S)
Willie Burns – Side A (The Trilogy Tapes)
Guido – Chakra (Punch Drunk)
Jus Ed – Trip to Hamburg (Underground Quality)
Moritz Von Oswald Trio – Yangissa (Honest Jons)
British Murder Boys – Dead Sun (Mute)
The Analogue Cops - OCP
Braiden – Paganini (Rush Hour)
The show will be uploaded when I get my hands on it. Next time it'll be me.
