Techno, trance, deep house? Rhetorical questions abound. This is, for me, typical of what I want from a good piece of all of the above. Driving and chasmal, music to lose yourself in. Peak time layering that is all about subtle control and steering the dance floor in the right direction. Also a wonderful bridging tune that could end the warm up, providing the right kind of DJ is coming on next, but I suppose that’s any tune really. Camelia definitely favours quality over quantity, and he’s not the only person making tracks like this, but he hits the nail on the head here. Atmospheric, buoyant and hallucinogenic, and the Arapu remix on the other side is great as well. Lovely stuff.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Track Of The Day- Fast Eddie - YoYo Get Funky (DJ International Records)
Hip house, a short-lived fad. Fast Eddie was the best though. This, and ‘Acid Thunder’ were genre defining. And maybe they might have come and gone, like machine funk ships in the night, had it not been for myself and some sidekicks seeing him perform live at ‘Storm’, a series of hermetically sealed raves held on the south coast, in my case the Brighton Top Rank from 1989 onwards. When Fast Eddy came on stage, along with his dance troupe, all bopping and popping in incredible synchronicity. It left a mark never to be erased. I suppose it’s the energy of this track that gets you the most. The sampling had been done before, specifically by Rob Base & EZ Rock, but to see and hear it performed live was something else. Tyree was there as well, and they may have performed together, but memories are fading.
Theiz - All That Remains (EPMmusic)
Title: All That Remains
Artist: Theiz
Label: EPMmusic
Cat Number: EPM104
Genre: Techno
01: (Intro)
02: Incredible Colours
03: Sam’s Song
04: (Interlude 1)
05: A Beautiful Off Day
06: Tormented Beauty
07: (Interlude 2)
08: Infinite Compassion
09: (Interlude 3)
10: 1000 Year Cycle Of The Dragonfly
11: Hobbes
12: (Interlude 4)
13: Greetje
14: Hazy Shades Of Acid Dub
15: All That Remains Is Love
16: (Outro)
This is Mathijs Schippers’ aka Theiz, 4th release on EPM, having revived his recording career in 2015 after a long hiatus. And there’s no rush apparent here, just a patient piece of work composed of a collection of compositions that roll into each other, evoking some of techno’s most important characteristics as they do. That said, although the pace is consistent throughout, it’s anything but uniform. Bookended by an ‘(Intro)’ and ‘(Outro)’, and then punctuated by 4 ambient interludes, each of which uses spoken word to heighten a sense of otherworldliness, the tracks contained within feel reflective and distilled to an essence of their own functionality. ‘Incredible Colours’ sets the scene well. It’s a hazy, dream like tune that doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get out of second gear, nor does it need to. The break beats of ‘Sam’s Song’ follow in a tempered mist, and it’s not until ‘Infinite Compassion’ that a bit more momentum is gained. A peak of sorts is reached with ‘1000 Year Cycle Of The Dragonfly’ and ‘Hobbes’ before the descent into ‘All That Remains Is Love’ which once more steps outside the fug of electronic atmospherics. All in all there is a balance to this carefully assembled collection that oozes souls and warmth. Schippers has waited a long time to put all of this together, and he should be very pleased with the finished article.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Track Of The Day: Lindstrom - I Feel Space (Original Version) (Feedelity)
Of course the title borrows from you know what, and there is an essence of said track within, making this a sort of tribute, or not, as the case may be. Synths gallop in a controlled canter alongside drums that just beat, I mean what else do drums do? Something that I’m always conscious of when listening to “new disco” whatever that might mean, ALFOS sets et al, is that while I love the music, the drums are almost always so simple. Providing various coat hangers for peripheral sonics, which coalesce to take control. This is certainly true here, all unified by a melody that sticks in the mind. Space is indeed the place.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Track Of The Day: Fit Siegel - Carmine (Fit Sound)
Already quite a few years old, but it doesn’t feel like that. An absolutely exquisite piece of deep, mid-paced techno that has the effect of making you want it to last forever. An instant classic that came out of nowhere but isn’t going anywhere. More or less genre defining, if you like that sort of thing. Simple elements do a classic track make. Like the soundtrack to your dreams, the good ones naturally. Lovely sparing use of the 303 and a constant analogue warmth, real or not amongst other things, characterise this track whose energy takes you on a real journey.
Various Artists - Voice Notes 002 (Voice Notes)
Title: Voice Notes 002
Artist: Various
Label: Voice Notes
Cat Number: VN002
Genre: House
1: Alphonse – Rujac
2: Rodney Bennett – Palm Sunday
3: Toby Tobias – Streets Of Gold (Alphonse Remix)
4: Pyramids Of Space – Quantis
5: Dance – Amber
This release spans an evolution of beats in no particular order. The final couple of tracks, ‘Quantis’ and ‘Amber’, are both downtempo shading into ambient, in that order of deterioration. Very good and deserved of your patience. Whereas the first three have already picked up the pace somewhat. Alphonse, who I am aware as having seen some action on the peerless Tone Dropout, lays down the heaviest beats here, with ‘Rujac’ being a breaks-driven sunlit uplands of a track, and his remix of ‘Streets Of Gold’ a more fidgety, glistening, clean tune infused with a similar optimism. ‘Palm Sunday’, with its vibes-driven bass is the most individual piece here, and is prime deep house with a stellar edge. All good and worth your time.
Monday, March 27, 2023
Track Of The Day: Gesloten Cirkel - Submit X (Murder Capital)
An almost perfect track. There’s really not more to be said, except that it comes from Gesloten Cirkel, an artist who still manages to nestle behind a veneer of secrecy. This is the title track from his double 12” release on IF’s Murder Capital back in 2004, and is the last release on the imprint up to now. It’s electro Jim, and very much as we want it to be, except for one thing. I did say almost perfect, so how about making it better by releasing an extended version that is at least twice as long? Go on Mr Cirkel, you know you want to.
J. Albert - config (Couldn't Care More)
Title: config
Artist: J. Albert
Label: Couldn’t Care More
Cat Number: NT015
Genre: Ambient & Beats
1: Armor
2: config4
3: config5
4: config2
5: Court
The redoubtable J. Albert shows off his range with three compositions of varying ambient intensity, alongside two which are more beat-orientated. The three ‘config’ tracks are what they are. ‘config4’ and ‘config2’ dip their feet in the murky, swirling waters that make up beatless ectoplasm. ‘config5’ has more shape, the beats accompanied by what sounds like a distorted vocal. These are, in the first two instances, vague, fragmentary comings and goings; in the third, something trying to audibly assume structure. ‘Court’ is an itchy, urgent piece of stripped down electro, lacking low end but assuming more body once a synth courses in to furnish it with drama. And ‘Armor’ uses break beats alongside a busy, bubbling accompaniment in a track that feels disorientated, but manages to keep to the straight and narrow regardless.
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Friday, March 24, 2023
Track Of The Day: Tony Watson - Passages (Ibadan)
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Track Of The Day: Maurizio - M-4.5 A (Maurizio)
Title: Introspektiva
Artist: Pheek & Kike Mayor
Label: Mosaic Digital
Cat Number: MOSAIC DTL 06
Genre: Dub Techno/Minimal
1: Aube
2: Introspective Tool
3: Patterns
4: Son Coeur feat. Theia
5: 007
I always though Pheek and Mosaic would be a good fit, so it’s no surprise at all to find the Quebecois artist making his debut on the label, in conjunction with Peruvian Kike Mayor. One of the main threads that runs through this release is the presence of lively percussion over dubby house workouts. For the most part, atmospherics are offset by a range of syncopated textures. As noted in the press release, ‘Aube’ seems to float on a swirl of ambience over which is a superimposed UKG rhythm pattern, (we’ll try not to hold that against it). Both ‘Introspective Tool’ and ‘Patterns’ trade in breakbeats of varying intensity, while ‘ Son Coeur’ and ‘007’ elongate the groove, with the final track ensuring a strong, driving finish. Great release that reveals a little more on each listen.
Carl Finlow - Plasmoids (Science Cult)
Title: Plasmoids
Artist: Carl Finlow
Label: Science Cult
Cat Number: SCV 07
Genre: Electro
1: Carrier Wave
2: Trimonogogo
3: Plasmoids
4: Modus Operandi
5: The Lowdown
6: Relic
7: Compliant
8: Reach
9: Work It
10: Thought Process
11: Monomers
12: Echo Location
It’s a safe bet that Carl Finlow, under his own name or in one of his various guises, is a shoe in to be one of modern electro’s standard bearers. It’s not hard to see why either, as he’s still riding the crest of his own machine funk wave that began unfurling almost 30 years ago. This his first album of all new material for a few years and I’m happy to say that it sticks to what he does best. Razor sharp electro that covers most bases, but is underpinned by a strong sense of drama and foreboding. The album starts as it means to go on, with ‘Carrier Wave’, a slow, noirish track, not too dissimilar in tone to ‘Descent’ which came out on Craigie Knowes three years ago. ‘Relic’ is another track in which you can feel the cold hand of crime, while ‘Monomers’ has some great drum programming, resulting in a pervasive bounce and instinctive head nodding. At the heart of this collection is an understanding of what makes people dance, hardwired into each distilled detail. ‘Trimonogogo’ uses featherlight beats aligned with spacial interplay to get its point across, and the albums last track. ‘Echo Location’ finishes on a sombre, but highly syncopated drive through electro’s nether regions. All the tracks on this album are given ample room to breath and evolve, under the auspices of an omnipresent aura of unsettled gloom that is underpinned with as much levity as the funk will allow.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Track Of The Day: Insync vs. Mysteron - Exit 9 (Peacefrog)
A Man Called Adam - Fight Or Flight (Other Records)
Title: Fight Or Flight
Artist: A Man Called Adam
Label: Other Records
Cat Number: I Don’t Know
Genre: House Music Innit
1: Fight Or Flight (Original)
2: Fight Or Flight (Loft Piano Vocal)
3: Fight Or Flight (Loft Piano Instrumental)
Having a career that started back in the nascent days of acid house should always be an excuse in itself to garner some sort of attention. Of course it helps immensely to have the product to back yourself up. And so it’s just as well that ‘Fight Or Flight’ does the business. In its original form its a deep, ethereal shuffle of a tune, with the instrumental backing to Sally Rogers’ incantatory, beckoning vocal consisting of a lonely sounding piano atop a jazz-inflected rhythm foundation. Look no further than the ‘Loft Piano Vocal’ to hear this track unleash its full potential, where it occasionally drifts into dubby interludes and the drums feel that bit more muscular.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Track Of The Day: Dan Curtin - Airport Martini (Peacefrog)
Ste Roberts - Eliza (Faux Poly)
Title: Eliza
Artist: Ste Roberts
Label: Faux Poly
Cat Number: FP004
Genre: Deep Trackiness
A1: Eliza
A2: Dirty Politician
B1: Enjoy More Freedom
B2: Diego’s Mad Hour
This is a gritty, but well-rounded piece of work, and I mean that in the best possible way. ‘Eliza’ named after Ste’s new baby daughter (congratulations!), is a haunting, propellant piece of deep house that builds dramatically, aided by spoken word snippets. ‘Dirty Politician’ is similar, but more bass heavy and darker. ‘Diego’s Mad Hour’ is more stripped back and tracky, with an unnerving whir in the background, and ‘Enjoy More Freedom’ is a dense piece of effects-laden dance floor surgery which feels slightly less pacey than what went before, but is full of compressed energy. Aimed squarely at the dancers, and all the better for it, this release is more than the sum of its parts, with the title track standing out.
Monday, March 20, 2023
Track Of The Day: The Egyptian (Remastered) - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (Blue Note)
Lake Haze - Coordinates Of A Decaying World (Paraiso)
Title: Coordinates Of A Decaying World
Artist: Lake Haze
Label: Paraiso
Cat Number: PARAISO010
Genre: Techno
A1: Galactic Federation
A2: Jamming In Dracula’s Castle
B1: He Called Himself The Italo Legend
B2: Acid Genesis
The title has a sense of theatre and, as soon as ‘Galactic Federation’ kicks in, so does the drama. Acid is blended with soaring, synthetic, symphonic strings to create a tempoarary autonomous zone in which to dance. ‘ Jamming In Dracula’s Castle’ is arpeggiated ‘Captain Nemo on the 303 in The Nautilus’. Need I say more? ‘He Called Himself The Italo Legend’ is pretty self-explanatory, and carried off with such confidence that there’s no reason to believe that it wasn’t hatched out of a 1982 synth egg. ‘Acid Genesis’ is a departure in tone, using break beats that cross the line into drum and bass interspersed with a sparing use of squelches. My only gripe is that the tracks aren’t longer.
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Track Of The Day: Maas - Another Saturday Knight (Nail Mix 2) (Soma)
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Track Of The Day: J.V.C. Force - Strong Island (B-Boy Records)
Friday, March 17, 2023
Track Of The Day: Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos' Apocalypso Now Mix) (Skull Disco)
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Track of The Day: Callisto - Meta (Guidance)
Pampidoo - Synthesiser Voice (Rhythm Discs)
Title: Synthesiser Voice
Artist: Pampidoo
Label: Rhythm Discs
Cat Number: RHYTHMDISCS007
Genre: Dancehall Abstraction
1: Synthesiser Voice (Legowelt Remix)
2: Synthesiser Voice (Remastered)
Legowelt remasters and remixes a dancefloor classic by Jamaican deejay Pampidoo, whose gravelly voice was his trademark. It’s a track that would have a granny twerking, it’s so catchy. Anyway, Mr Wolfers stretches it out and more or less doubles its original length deploying some dubwise sensibilities in the process. It’s a bit like a reggae version of the law of thermodynamics, the track gradually breaking down along its length, all the while still maintaining a strong semblance of rhythm. Quite a lot of Pampidoo’s voice is lost as a consequence, but that’s ok. It’s different, as all remixes should be, and this one exists in some sort of toasting subconscious. The way everything is phased through a vocoder and Fisher Price effects is excellent. And you’ve got the remastered version on the other side too.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Track Of The Day: Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene, Pt. 4 (Les Disques Motors)
Strapontin & Zillas On Acid - Acid Straps Vol II (Optimo Music)
Title: Acid Straps Vol II
Artist: Strapontin & Zillas On Acid
Label: Optimo Music
Cat Number: OMDD48
Genre: Disco From The Darkside
1: Dial Up
2: Reading Comments
3: Another Job
4: In Your Mind
Well this comes correct on all the right frequencies. With the optimum amount of edge and confusion, ‘Dial Up’ frogmarches through your aural receptors, riding roughshod across your brain on account of its shapely, yet undeniably wonky approach. ‘Reading Comments’ is a splendid piece of screwed up disco from the wrong side of the asteroid belt, its depth and flagrant contempt for your mental safety being important components in its grandiosity. Once the upside-down acid of ‘Another Job’ kicks in, it’s already too late to have second thoughts. And ‘In Your Mind’ is the icing on the proverbial. A confident track that seems to have the stamina of an ultra runner, it has layers aplenty which, when peeled back, allow the listener to enter the promised land. The EP is proper drug music, the type that dance floors were built to evolve into housing and fostering. The type which when someone asks you “What music do you like?” you really should tell them that it’s this.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Track Of The Day: Heaven And Earth - Prescription Every Night (Prescription Underground)
Unloved - Polychrome (Heavenly Recordings)
Title: Polychrome
Artist: Unloved
Label: Heavenly Recordings
Cat Number: Dunno
Genre: Chugtastic
1: Polychrome
2: Thrill Me
3: Polychrome (Raw Silk Remix)
4: Thrill Me (Justin Robertson’s Temple Of Wonders Remix)
As a foretaste of the eponymously titled long player, this pair give a very good account of themselves. Both tracks are dominated by echoing vocals that deadpan themselves through a Spectoresque wall of psychedelic sound. Tension builds and subsides, pushing itself to breaking point. ‘Polychrome’ is a shuffle underpinned by a bass last seen in the care of Peter Hook, while ‘Thrill Me’ is looser and seems to have a life of its own. The voices are all important and really carry both tunes along. Mad, implicit late sixties Californian vibe as standard. The Raw Silk Remix of Polychrome takes the track off in a trance direction, neatly sidestepping any cheese. It’s a remix that manages to sound original while not abandoning its source material. Justin Robertson fleshes things out for his remix, taking a sonic feather duster to the echo chamber of the original and bringing the profile of the vocals into sharp relief against more emphatic dub stylings.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Track Of The Day: DMO - Movement (Infrastructure New York)
Jerome Hill - Flow Mechanics (Hypercolour)
Title: Flow Mechanics
Artist: Jerome Hill
Label: Hypercolour
Cat Number: HYPELP022
Genre: Techno/Breaks/Acid/Electro Innit
1: Walk The Plank
2: Don’t Be Afraid
3: The Doctor Will See You Now
4: Deafening Lull
5: Brought Up Badly
6: Knob Jitter
7: Stax Had The Funk
8: I Don’t
Jerome Hill has a career in production that stretches into the 20th Century, so it’s a little surprising to discover that this is his first long player. Maybe it’s because of an emphasis on producing club-orientated bangers, which kind of describes this album. All very effective stuff. Wonky and fluctuating in all the right places, but hardly “a journey”. And that’s really heartening, because the last think anyone wants is depth for the sake of it. Talented as he is, I’m sure Mr Hill could put something out which hangs together and “tells a story”. Furthermore, it’s not to say that this collection doesn’t. However, it probably doesn;t set out to. What we do get is a collection of uncompromising floor fillers from across the rave spectrum, each expertly produced and observed, that want you to do nothing more than throw shapes. What’s more, their versatility ensures that they should be on any self-respecting cross-pollinator’s playlist. A Nod to electro, in the shape of ‘Deafening Lull’, garage, (‘Brought Up Badly’), acid breaks, (‘ The Doctor Will See You Now’), chugging acid, (‘Walk The Plank’), and Relief era Chicago in the shape of ‘Stax Had The Funk’, show an imaginative master in control of his machines churning out banger after bomb, and isn’t that what it really is all about?
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Track Of The Day: Dillinger - Cokane In My Brain (Island)
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Track Of The Day: Depth Charge - Han Do Jin (Vinyl Solution)
ALFOS EBS39 - Sean Johnston (10-03-2023)
Pretty Boy (Robert Smith Remix) Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
AWAKENING (Cos/Mes Morikawa Mix) The Backwoods
Rodion_&_Mammarella_-_Ponte_Fabricio_feat._Hugosan_(Original_Mix)
Jack Butters - Shake it Up (Hardway Bros meet Monkton Uptown Dub)
Payfone & Kyd Nereida - I Feel You (Mudd Remix)
UFO (Andi Hanley Rework) Falk & Klou
Holy Youth Movement Better Together (Hardway Bros Dub Intervention)
Caramel 3000 - Ottagono Corse
Deux_Control_-_Im_Following_(Original_Mix)
Marius Circus - Lost on the path to nowhere (Jazxing Pathfinding Remix)
Urumi (Tushen Raï Anti-War Mix) Hary Shanthi
Don't Be Stupid Day (Original Mix) Len Faki
So Sprach Psychedelia (Rambal Cochet´s Trance Mix) Pyrame
Caramel 3000 - Super Rapido
Mamukata - Tantawina
ALI RENAULT for people
Sagittarius Am$trad Billionaire
Slow Burn 2049 (Cooper Saver Remix) Duncan Forbes
Never Coming Back ft. Annie (12" Dub Version) Alan Braxe
Re-arrange Your Face islandman & Kenneth Bager
Benamių Rojus (Jacuzzi General Remix) Shkema
Virtual Roots - Sonar (Virtual Version) (Ygal Ohayon Low Gravity Edit)
Hardway Bros - Saigon
DANGEROUS (SUNRISE HWY REMIX EXTENDED INST)
YAZOO - STATE OF FARM PK Edit
Burning Bridges (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) Phenomenal Handclap Band
Feels Like Home ft Prudence (Lost on the Dancefloor by Heidi Höven Remix) NEWEM
Nemesister Crooked Man
Hardway Bros ft Roses Sabra - Hello My Friend
Rock the Spectre - Mystic Thug
Oh, Lover (NTO Remix) Röyksopp
Bokaye - Ethno Groove (Double Beat Explosion Mix)
Red District Ballade (Zillas On Acid Remix) Adolpho & Franky
Crooked Man - PHOENIX (CROOKED GOTH)
Lonely Coyote refix
Alberato Gus Paterson
Crooked Man PHOENIX (CROOKED FIRE)
PBR Meet Front Left Stack_ Hardway Bros Remix
Toot Toot Emmet Read
I Heard It (Original Mix) Daco
We Still Believe (Original Mix) The Blessed Madonna & Jamie Principle
Dark Time (Original Mix) The Wolfgang Press
DELLA_&_Martin_Noise_-_Which_One_Is_The_Last-_(Original_Mix)
DAF - BROTHERS - STUDIO EDIT 1
Robot Voices (Westbam Edit) DJ Hell
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Billka Edit)
Strobe Queen Radio Slave
STEVE HILLAGE - FRAME BY FRAME
Energy Half Cut
Love Em Lear Em Tegel Boys
Can’t Replicate 12” Edit Róisín Murphy x DJ Koze
Didda Dae Fango
Mishell_-_Cocktail_Splash_feat._Vongold_(Original_Mix)
Santa Cruz Roller Coaster (DMX Krew Remix) Duncan Forbes
Cycles Defset
Intro (Original Mix) Alan Braxe, Fred Falke
Oh, Lover (NTO Club Remix) Röyksopp
Inversion Forty Fings Dynamo
Layers (Extended) Terr
Love On The Rocks LAMA
Hardway Bros ft Sarah Rebecca 1979