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.

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.

Chart: February 2021

ROTOC – Fastgraph (Klakson)


Spirits EP – Andrew Tighe (Palinoia)




                                                                                                                                                                                 Nogbad The Bad - Bit folder (Analogical Force)



Subfriction EP – O-Wells (Mojuba)



Blithe Spirit – Don Williams (Childhood Records)


Moonlight Shift – Hidden Sequence (Mosaic Digital)


Imperfect Silence – Duncan Gray (Tici Taci)











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.




Friday, February 05, 2021

Chapelle XIV Music : Cabanne

Unsung with Crack Magazine - DJ Stingray

 

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.