Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Track Of The Day: Abstract Thought - Bermuda Triangle (Clone Aqualung Series)
Friday, February 24, 2023
The Welcoming World Of Wiggle
The Welcoming World Of Wiggle:
As I’m sure everyone already knows, Nathan Coles passed away recently. Nathan was half of Wiggle’s engine room, alongside Terry Francis. There is, of course, also the considerable involvement of Eddie Richards to take into account. However, when all is said and done Wiggle was Nathan and Terry’s party I think. I first heard of it when I was living in Paris during the mid nineties, and Terry won the ‘Best New DJ’ award in Muzik magazine. For me, at this point Nathan’s involvement was under the radar. Eddie Richards had just scored an excellent Essential Mix, while Terry’s star was very much on the rise. In any case, after having heard Eddie’s mix via a cassette sent over to me, and sensing that Terry’s new found fame was well deserved, going to Wiggle was a priority. I was also fortunate to call Pete Hurst a friend; someone I had since the early eighties, Pete and me both come from Wallasey. Pete is a bit of a studio genius and had moved down to London towards the end of the eighties, getting work in various musical hotbeds, culminating with falling in with the Swag Records crowd in Croydon, the birthplace of “tech house”. Pete worked on various releases, and generally got to know everyone who mattered in that scene. Anyway, Christmas ‘95 or ‘96, I really can’t remember. I came over from france to travel back up to Merseyside, but stopped in London in order to go to Wiggle. Unfortunately, while at Pete’s flat in Camberwell, (17th floor of a tower block), I came down with such an awful bout of the flu that I couldn’t go, and watched everyone I had planned the night out with bugger off without me. Worse still, as they were coming back, I was getting up to walk with my suitcases to Oval tube, get to Euston and then take the train up. It was intensely frustrating to hear about how good the night, and the drugs, had been. Christmas wasn’t great as, due to being ill the day of Wiggle, I had made it up to Charing Cross Road and bought everyone in my family books, because I didn’t have the energy to drag my carcass any further. My mum was really pissed off. God knows what she expected, but there was no way I had the strength to think, or physically buy anything else. In any case, it would be a year at least until I was to experience Wiggle for the first time. I moved back to The UK from France in August 1997, getting driven over by my partner’s dad and arriving at our house on St. Matthew’s Rd on a Saturday afternoon amidst the overspill from a gay pride festival taking place in Brockwell Park. I say at least a year because although know when I actually went to Wiggle for the first time, I really can’t remember when my flu-ridden trip was. It was 1995 or 1996, but when? Anyway, December 1997, myself, John and Jim (at least I think Jim was there), went to watch Palace play Liverpool. Liverpool won 3-1, played in an all yellow away kit and we got there due to a combination of trains and taxis. Once back in Brixton we started looking forward to what was going to happen later. Wiggle was at Happy Jaxs/Jacks; housed in an arch under London Bridge station. I can remember queueing to get in: cylindrical brickwork, beans coursing through the system. I remember it being pleasantly full, but not at all overcrowded. There was a girl from Ipswich who said she cam all the time and had a tattoo on her stomach or thereabouts (a scorpion?). It was a rave in microcosm. All social types were represented, almost stereotypically. Council estate rastas, footie hooligans, those who, like me, were first timers but looked like they’d taken more of a risk than me. Obvious club types, less obvious club types, dealers, pill heads, drinkers, music lovers, insomniacs, and so on. Anyway, the party had been in existence since 1995 I think and during that time a self-governing after hours ecosystem had been created which answered to nobody. This is not an easy thing to bring about, and my overriding impression was that it had been a completely spontaneous evolution, the beauty of which lay within its total lack of pretence and warmth. This was an aspect that was personified by its organisers and resident DJs, Terry and Nathan. And while I’ve taken the high road to get here, first impressions are never easy to shift. In this case they were another example of a life-changing instance. Something that is always alive on a level of my subconscious and, along with countless other nights that I went to, something that breaks through the surface tension of my mind daily. I had already met Terry a few months before, so of course I bumped into Nathan and he instantly struck me as one of the most genuine people I’d ever met. Of course I can’t remember what we spoke about, probably the music and the atmosphere. What do recall, however, is that he was a force of nature an amazing DJ and producer and an immensely likeable person. And the whole crowd was like this. Down to Earth with zero bad vibes. The outpouring of grief on social media confirms the high opinion that everybody had of Nathan, and the tremendous hole his loss will leave. It’s some comfort to know though, that he contributed so much to the enjoyment of so many, and he leaves a legacy that is untouchable on so many levels. From the artistic to the social.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Track Of The Day: The Aloof - On A Mission (Cowboy Records)
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Monday, February 20, 2023
Luxus Varta - Crystal Dusk (In Abstracto)
Title: Crystal Dusk
Artist: Luxus Varta
Label: In Abstracto
Cat Number: IA04
Genre: Electro
1: Immaterial
2: Stereo Crime
3: Everlost
4: Crystal Dusk
Leaning towards a more cerebral, pensive strain of electro, Luxus Varta works his magic once again on this, his forth release on his own label. The tracks herein each seem to evoke a transitionary stage in the mind of the listener and suspend time in order for this to be properly realised. So, there is the glistening veneer of ‘Stereo Crime’, providing cover for the depths of depravity. The darkness and chasmic feel of ‘Everlost’, embossed with thick beats and fragile embellishment. ‘Immaterial’ is the underlay of a gloomier than normal film noir and ‘Crystal Noir’ with its dissonant but strangely soothing riff. It’s anything but sunshine music this, which is appropriate because it’s freezing were I am right now.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Track Of The Day: Paul Rutherford - Oh World (12'' extended mix) (4th & Broadway)
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Friday, February 17, 2023
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
J Shadow & Hypna - A21 (Plasma Sources)
Title: A21
Artist: J Shadow & Hypna
Label: Plasma Sources
Cat Number: PS001
Genre: Hardcore
1: Access To Infinity
2: Incubate
3: Automata
4: Motherboard
5: Force Lens
Hardcore is, conceptually, some of the most challenging and imaginative music around. Funny thing is it’s not at all my preferred genre. However, I find myself inexorably drawn towards it because of what it evokes. ‘A21’ is very much a work that I find endlessly fascinating because collectively it takes me to places outside my comfort zone and soundtracks a world which is, while alien, uncomfortably more and more familiar as time marches on. The sound here is incredibly well-focussed and the feelings it conveys prescient. The inhabited landscape is well known, but still manages to surprise. ‘Force Lens’ exemplifies this nicely with its bottom end spiralling in and out of focus to the rhythm of intermittent breaks and paroxysmal machine gun bursts. ‘Motherboard’ with its beatless sonic bass and arpeggiated ambience, and ‘Incubate’; a soundtrack to movement in the egg chamber on an uncharted moon. ‘Access To Infinity’ lays the groundwork for what is to come on the back of a largely beat less opening which evolves into a bottom heavy, depth charged snapshot of organized confusion, something which comes into much sharper focus on ‘Automata’. This is a synaesthetic piece of sound design that invites the listener to get lost in its layers, with an assurance of dislocation from the waking world.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Settle Down - Sniper (E-Beamz)
Title: Sniper
Artist: Settle Down
Label: E-Beamz
Cat Number: E-BEAMZ045
Genre: Hardcore
1: Sniper
2: No Shoes On The Carpet
This comes out all guns blazing. ‘Sniper’ uses tightly wound up drum and bass alongside rave motifs and tunnel vision paroxysms to create a warp drive through strobe lit nether regions. The beats are sped up on ‘No Shoes On The Carpet’, resulting in a bass-heavy, fractal soundclash of soundbites passing in the night. Both tracks compress reality in such a way as to percolate the mind. Mental images are filtered down to a fine essence, resulting in a true sensurround experience.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Reda Saiarh - Comfort Zone (Human Endeavoour)
Title: Comfort Zone
Artist: Reda Saiarh
Label: Human Endeavoour
Cat Number: HE003
Genre: New New Beat
1: Keyboard Warriors
2: Ego Slave
3: Hunters
4: Tele Music
5: I’m Not Your Friend
Nestling in the grey, but also very colourful area of techno, disco, jack and trancer, this release by Reda Saiarh offers, according to its press release, “his fresh, forward thinking take on Belgian New Beat.” Apparently influenced by said genre’s presence in his father’s record collection, ‘Comfort Zone’ comes correct with handclaps a plenty, twanging bass, swirling synths and rave samples before they were such, embedded in the mix. It’s nicely mid-paced for the most part, so the middle-aged disco dancing massive shouldn’t pull too many muscles while shape-throwing and, simultaneously having back in the day flashbacks. It’s nice and druggy too, which is important as its nice to be transported to messiness and delinquency in the comfort of your own home. Everything throbs appealingly, reaching a peak of sorts in the trance-inducing ‘Hunters’, but that’s only because I’m dancing around my back room with my dog while its on. This is a quality release from start to finish which could only be improved on if it came with a free pack of beans.
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Friday, February 10, 2023
Thursday, February 09, 2023
Caim - Lupatan EP (Deeptrax)
Title: Lupatan EP
Artist: Caim
Label: Deeptrax
Cat Number: DPTX-34
Genre: Techno
1: Nepi
2: Final Pad
3: Eleco Coly
4: Lupatan
5: Kapura
Caim, aka Mark Peeters, has produced an EP of perfectly paced deep techno which motors aloong at house pace, which is just how I like it. Nothing breakneck here, just voyage-orientated head music that also works the feet. There’s a strong trance element present in tracks like ‘Final Pad’ and ‘Eleco Coly’ whioch, purely employed adjectively, is all good. ‘Lupatan’, ‘‘Kapura’ and ‘Nepi’ are more percussive, with the the first two feeling more compressed, while the latter stretches its legs. All in all, this is a classy piece of work that spans the stellar techno divide and will fit into any discerning deep house/techno set in a range of positions. Lovely stuff!
Wednesday, February 08, 2023
Fear-E - Pigs Do Fly (Super Rhythm Trax)
Title: Pigs Don’t Fly
Artist: Fear E
Label: Super Rhythm Trax
Cat Number: SRTX038
Genre: Jacktastic
A1: KRS
A2: Not Getting In
B1: Colonel
B2: Off The Bat
Is the spoken word sample in ‘KRS’ KRS 1? It could be. It’s very effective whoever it is and, with the handclaps, the synths and the nicely paced percussion Fear E has created a monster. ‘Not Getting In’ uses an addictive off-key drum that, when combined with other complementary percussive elements feels like distilled mayhem. ‘Colonel’ uses a recognisable Colonel Abrahams sample to underline minimal percussion and a bubbling 303. And ‘Off The Bat’ keeps the home fires burning with gloom-infested synth swathes and concave bells. This is elemental stuff, extremely well-produced and carried off with swagger and imagination. Try sitting still.
Tuesday, February 07, 2023
Monday, February 06, 2023
Leftlow - Distractions (Exit Records)
Title: Leftlow
Artist: Distractions
Label: Exit Records
Cat Number: EXITMINILP005
Genre: Dubby Excursions
!: Queasy
2: Green Eyes
3: Pistons
4: Distractions
5: Adrift
6: Thoughtful
One of the things that struck me while listening to ‘Queasy’ was how purposeful and deliberate the composition is. Dancing or just listening to it, how would the expereince differ? I think that with this album Leftlow have managed to distill both the physical and auditory experience to a fine essence. A characteristic that I can’t shake off is its lack of flab. Everything is paired down to an economical efficiency. Not a moment is wasted. The tracks themselves are all relative snapshots of what feels like a dread-infused, post-traumatic, antediluvian epoch which, paradoxically, finds echoes in the present age. Peaking with the slightly more frenetic and studiously fractured title track, this mini album is a detailed collection of rhythmic templates layered and shifted over time in order to create a cohesive picture of an imaginary ideal suitable for the electronic holistic listening experience and, as such, is very good indeed.
Sunday, February 05, 2023
Saturday, February 04, 2023
Friday, February 03, 2023
Track Of The Day: Tech Trax Inc - Tech Trax Inc (Xplanitory Mix) (Nu Groove)
Thursday, February 02, 2023
Plant43 - Silver Streams (Plant43 Recordings)
Title: Silver Streams
Artist: Plant43
Label: Plant43 Recordings
Cat Number: 008LP
Genre: Floatation Tank
1: Silver Streams
2: Counting Imaginary Comets
3: Frost Walk
4: Deep In The Soil
5: Progress In Paces
6: Cold Spiral Steps
7: Five Lakes At Dusk
8: They Don’t Tell You
‘Silver Streams’ is an 8 track trip into introspection and also scrutinises external headspace. The textures that are born and evolve as a consequence of both playing and listening to the individual compositions, and the composite whole, map out mood, radar-like, without descending into self-indulgence. Stepping aside from electro duties into a more fragile world was a natural move for Plant43. His delicate beat draping soundscapes that characterise his sound, while not necessarily reproduced here, are versatile and capable of seeking out new sonic destinations. Ergo, everything fits and connects very well in this collection without feeling like it’s trying too hard. And, without going into exhaustive detail, conceptually it works. ‘Progress In Paces’ is eponymously evocative of what it claims to be. ‘Counting Imaginary Comets’ has a static magnificence that comes from the activity in question, while another numerically-connected tune ‘ Five Lakes At Dusk’ chimes in with track 2 to provide symmetry and balance. This is music to drift off to and find security within life’s chaos.
