Thursday, February 25, 2021
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Early Morning - Rude Audio & Dan Wainwright (tici taci)
Title: Early Morning
Artist: Rude Audio & Dan Wainwright
Label: tici taci
Cat Number: tictaci066
Genre: Dub House Disco
1: Early Morning
2: Vermillion Sands
Chug, dub, cosmic/new/neu disco, whatever you want to call it, tici taci has hit upon a formula which is ubiquitous, far reaching, uncomplicated and readily identifiable. By no means the first to rubber stamp such a sound, but definitely one of few to have assumed it so well. Both tracks here are slow burners full of familiar calling cards, but heavier on the dubbed out leanings than most. ‘Early Morning’ makes headway through a fug of chiasmic, frictional fog amongst which what sounds like an Ian McCullough vocal sample repeats longingly. ‘Vermillion Sands’ is a micron looser, but not much more. Both tracks lay with well established dub riddims and tropes and, even though you’ve heard them before, bring something inexplicably new to the table.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
In A Lonely Place (A Tribute To Andrew Weatherall) - IWDG (Rotter's Golf Club)
Title: In A Lonely Place
Artist: IWDG
Label: Rotter’s Golf Club
Cat Number: IWDG
Genre: Cosmic Disco Dub
01) In A Lonely Place
02) In A Lonely Place (David Holmes Rework)
03) In A Lonely Place (Keith Tenniswood Remix)
04) In A Lonely Place (Hardway Bros Axis Dub)
IWDG aka Ian Weatherall and Duncan Gray (famously interviewed in these hallowed pages here), aka Sons Of Slough, combine once more. This time to rework New Order’s ‘In A Lonely Place’ as a tribute to Andrew Weatherall, who passed on to his next stage of cosmic development a year ago today. It’s a poignant interpretation in its original form, leaning heavily on some sterling guitar and melodica work. ‘David Holmes’ Rework’ is a grandiose swirl, incorporating vocals and topped off with a spoken word snippet of AW paying homage to Tony Wilson while waxing lyrical about Factory Records. The ‘Hardway Bros Axis Dub’ is a fabulously piece of stoned immaculate dissipation, putting me in mind of Augustus Pablo (as does the original, but that’s the melodica for you; also an obvious New Order reference). And Keith Tenniswood delivers a time stretched, panoramic post industrial symphony. I still remember exactly how I felt when I heard that AW had gone. Although there’s still a sense of loss that lingers and will continue to do so, it’s made easier knowing that a like-minded community exists in his memory dedicated to spreading positive vibes. This release, in spite of its mournfulness is full of them.
Saturday, February 13, 2021
Friday, February 12, 2021
Eleusis - 8 Ball (Sneaker Social Club)
Title: Eleusis
Artist: 8 Ball
Label: Sneaker Social Club
Cat Number: SNKRLP008
Genre: Hardcore Ambient
1: Can’t Hold On
2: Equator
3: Explain
4: Kommence
5: Lifes Lost
6: Many Shapes
7: Only Time Will Tell
8: Planetz
9: The Moons
10: Tigers Eye
11: Trail
“Leicester producer and Out Of Joint record shop boss 8Ball makes his debut on Sneaker Social Club with the slick 11-tracker 'Eleusis'. His EPs and album on the Grade10 label, which he runs with mates, celebrate the afterparty and are rife in moody atmospherics and post-hardcore references. 'Eleusis' is a perfectly executed contribution to the continuum demonstrating a weightless take on Hardcore and Jungle.”
So sayeth the press accompanying this here collection. It’s funny that as a DJ I would never play releases like this. However, long before this pandemic became a thing, I regarded this level of sonic experimentation as home listening. One of the reasons I suppose might be that this sound is a distinctively British one and, while not wanting to sound musically patriotic and turn this text into anything Brexit, I do find the evolution of this substrata fascinating. As far as this album is concerned, it’s relatively beat less until the silence is abruptly, but intermittently shattered, on ‘Many Shapes’. Thus far the listener has been guided through ambient extremes of the type pioneered I suppose, by Burial, but here given more edge. A peak, of sorts, is reached with ‘Only Time Will Tell’, and then the descent is back into the darkness. This is music very much of these times, something which is all suppressed power and turbulence. It’s the sound of letting off steam in a vacuum.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Minor Malfunction - A Sagittariun (Kneaded Palms)
Title: Minor Malfunction
Artist: A Sagittariun
Label: Kneaded Palms
Cat Number: KP87
Genre: Techno
1: Minor Malfunction
2: Heresy
A Sagittariun starts 2021 with a double header which plays fast and loose with your, by now, imaginary dance moves and shape throwing. Both tracks here plough a linear techno furrow, but ‘Heresy’ is the more dynamic track. ‘Minor Malfunction’ combines the minimal inflection of skippy percussion alongside a sped up beat, its high points merging a breathy flange with bleeps. ‘Heresy’, has more energy and a pleasing familiarity about it. Bleeps are present here as well, accompanying a manic melody in order to serve as an indication of lost control. Something to patrol the alleys of your mind.
Tuesday, February 09, 2021
Friday, February 05, 2021
25th Anniversary Edition - V/A (Ugly Music)
Title: 25th Anniversary Edition
Artist: V/A
Label: Ugly Music
Cat Number: UGM014
Genre: House
A1: Female – D. Ren 1
A2: Sex Chants – Bobby Wright
B1: House Of LZ – Faze ll
B2: All Mine – K Alexei
Ugly Music, once straight outta Brighton, have seen fit to reappear a quarter of a century after first materialising on our turntables, with a lovingly curated quartet of tracks which were chosen, I imagine, to represent the label’s direction and remind those of us who were there first time around what we’ve been missing. This release draws a slight distinction between the more languid (‘Female’ and ‘All Mine’) and the limber (‘Sex Chants’ and ‘House Of LZ’). I veer towards the deeper sounds of the former pair myself, but it’s all good, having a tangible veneer of class within its grooves and well able to hold its own all these years later, in spite of advances in recording technology.
