ALFOS EBS42 - Sean Johnston (25-08-2023)

EBS Clip 
Mixup Blender Jane in Palma
Down The Rabbit Hole Doctr & Roos
Beltane - Unkonwn Artist
Taxi Cabs (Glok Remix Instrumental) Fe Salamon
Timerider (Sandunga remix) Da Iguana
Caravana Balam
Right Down Here (Psychemagik Remix) Asha Puthli
Trance deux - Tushen Rai
My Friend Dario - Sunset Outro 
DAS KOMPLEX - LAGUN 
Dreamers (A Tribute to Laurie) (Cooper Saver Remix) Kasper Bjørke
Fluke - Insanely Beautiful - HBMMU dub 
Justin Robertson's Deadstock 33s - Spicey Shuffle 
Dinky Bird (Bjorn Torske remix) - Robert's Diary
Radio Slave ft. Cagedbaby - Amnesia (Instrumental Mix) 
40 Thieves, Gary Davis, Cinnamon Jones - The Gift (40 Thieves Disco Dub) 
islandman - Jambo Maro (Scorpio Twins Remix) 
I Want It Verdo
Mosaic Moray Serpentine Waters
Les Femmes Qui Ne Pleurent Pas
Alex From Utopia - Ask Ives
RIEDLENTE Solo Ansamblis
NameYourPrice Edit 007 Velmondo
Wide Music II Future Island
Fried Acid Aiku
Rearrange Your Face (Kenneth Bager Unreleased Edit) - Tolga Büyuk & Kenneth Bager 
Fireflies feat. Appaloosa Slove
I Hear Ghosts (Original Mix) Dad Of The Year & Eddy Romero
Kenneth Bager feat Jez Phunk, Peaking Lights & Islandman - Donuiorum 
Miss Zagato, Aurum Miles - Hideaway 
In Deep - Matt Dirt 
Iwanger Jürgen Paape
Tom Sharkett_- It's Not That Deep
Waiting For The Sun - Drum Tales
Antena-Be_Pop_(Deborah_Modem_Extended_Dub)
Futuro Tropicale - Velenoso 
What I Used To Play (Roman Flügel Remix) Sven Väth
Fizzy - Scientist Dub (RL Edit) 
Duncan Gray - Walrus 
Distorted Faces (Autarkic Remix)Drum Tales
The hand of god - Artist Unknown 
BELL TOWERS - IN A LOOP
7 More Minutes Of Funk (Richard Sen Remix) Solid State 
Afrika Afrika (John Talabot & Pional 'Lost Scripts' Rerub) Ekambi Brillant
Jour De Fête (Conrad Idjut's Quokka Dub) Gratts
Prins Verdo
Where I Am (Ofofo Remix) SIMPLE SYMMETRY
A Story Of Devotion -Alex From Utopia 
Allein in Italien Jürgen Paape
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust (Hunterbräu Rework) 
Stereo MC'S - Deeper - Grant dell remix 
As I Ran (Original Mix) YAME
Electrified (Carl Craig Headphone Hookup) Boris Blank
Look Like A Man (Extended Mix) Decius
Muzik X-Press (Club Mix) X-Press 2
Leaving the Station Gilligan Moss
The Question ft. Jonathan Lehmann (The Organism Remix) Franz Matthews
Some Lights Red Axes
Craehrzhd Global Goon
Zeven X-Press 2
Intruder_-_U_Got_Me 
Vinz Bleaching Agent
Kurokin (DJ Deeon mix 2) D KAWA
Dunn 4 Money (Paranoid London Edit) Paranoid London 
Bass Bumper ~Edit - Bass Bumper
Jaydee - Black Book (Original Mix) 
Comes Home (Pional Remix) - Pale Blue 
Can You Dig It (Original Mix) Moscoman
Layers (Extended) Terr
Fire Island Ft. Loleatta Holloway - Shout To The Top (Hifi Sean remix) 2023 Edit 
Fluke - Insanely Beautiful - HBMMU vocal mix

Same Old Story: Verdant Recordings

verdant-recordings · Same Old Story

Voyage de Lux with Alex Downey b2b Caldera - 23.08.2023

1BTN · Voyage de Lux with Alex Downey b2b Caldera - 23.08.2023

Alex Downey Live in The Warehouse at Houghton Festival 2022 (1st 55mins)

 

Alex Downey · Alex Downey Live in The Warehouse at Houghton Festival 2022 (1st 55mins)

Track Of The Day: Cabaret Voltaire - Blue Heat (12" Mix) (Some Bizarre/Virgin)

“So many amazing tracks, they can’t be counted.” And if you think that sounds like a vocal sample from a Cabaret Voltaire composition, you’d be right. This one, tucked away near the end of ‘Micro- Phonies’ and given a new leash of life as an extended 12” mix (when this was released, if indeed it ever was, I don’t know.) Mallinder’s smooth but growling vocals, the synthetic, gothic instrumentation, the result of a distilled electronic Pandora’s box of sound, in which everything can be heard. Has the dance floor ever merged with the mosh pit so effectively? An EBM tour de force.

Vladimir Ivkovic at rural2023

rural · Vladimir Ivkovic at rural2023

Mutant Radio STAR MAPS w. Jaye Ward [11.08.2023]

 

Mutant Radio · STAR MAPS w. Jaye Ward [11.08.2023]

Track Of The Day: Pat Metheny - Ferry Cross The Mersey (Warner Bros)

I only recently discovered this version of Gerry & The Pacemakers song from the film of the same name. Pat Metheny featured it on an acoustic album, ‘One Quiet Night’ and, after having featured The Durutti Column’s ‘Sketch For Summer’ a couple of weeks back, I thought why not. It’s a languid, soporific interpretation, perfect for a hot summer’s day of not doing anything in general and nothing in particular. So I’ll just leave it here.

Laurel Halo | HÖR - Aug 21 / 2023

Eric Cloutier at Floresta - Waking Life '23

Waking Life · Eric Cloutier at Floresta - Waking Life '23

Slow Life Friends Podcast - 022 - RAFON

Slow Life · Slow Life Friends Podcast - 022 - RAFON -

Eli Verveine at Floresta - Waking Life '23

 

Waking Life · Eli Verveine at Floresta - Waking Life '23

Track Of The Day: Nightmares on Wax - Aftermath (Warp)

A piece of immediately recognisable, early breakbeat science courtesy of Nightmares On Wax, before downtempo set in. Proto hardcore, or something like that. All of the elements are present and correct, and it’s oh so simple. An undulating sub bass and break beats coalescing with an eerie vocal sample along with equally eerie backing vocals. Has Warp’s longest serving artist ever bettered this early effort? Not that he’s ever thought this to be a relevant question. One thing is certain though. In spite of the change of musical direction this piece of rave history, set in sonic amber, will never lose its lustre.

Bjørn Torske, DJ Sotofett & Skatebård - Live @ Kennel Bergen (2023-07-19)

DJ SOTOFETT · Bjørn Torske, DJ Sotofett & Skatebård - Live @ Kennel Bergen (2023-07-19)

Budino at State Of Play

 

Horst Arts & Music · Budino at State Of Play

Track Of The Day: Second Hand Satellites - Orbit 1.4 (Hallucination)

From the ‘Multiple Mirrors’EP, which contains  three variants on the same theme, I prefer this one because it’s the heaviest. I think I bought this from Tag in Rupert Court on a hunch. Featured on Craig Richards and Lee Burridge’s Essential Mix over 20 years ago, this is a timeless piece of tech-trance that exudes mood, unquantifiable mystique and has the wow factor. A brilliant crossover tune, that can hold its own in any type of house set, it is drug music par excellence, and works so well because it inhabits a level of consciousness not exploited often enough. Still ahead of its time.

Deep Tech - Acid House. Colin Dale 'Abstrakt Dance' show 17.08.2023

Slam | HÖR - Aug 18 / 2023

Raresh - Live at Dimensions 2022

 

Dimensions Festival · Raresh - Live at Dimensions 2022

Track Of The Day: Anthilia Waters - Alpha Omega Strings (Isophlux)

Anthilia Waters, aka Gosub, released the ‘Barcelona’ EP around 3 years ago I think, and it’s an absolute treat. Isophlux has been in existence for over 25 years and this release shows that quality control hasn’t flagged and that the cutting edge is still sharp. All of the tracks on this EP are worth your while, but I always return to this one. Why, because it’s a great set opener and it drips with sleaze and decay. It’s a slow, low ride tempo wise, backed with snarling, invertebrate synths, the type that breath insect menace and will claim your corpse once the rot sets in. Isophlux is a Miami-based label, a city that has a long electro history. And tracks such as this shows that there are still other avenues being explored. It’s corrosive stuff, forged in the sub-tropical humidity of America’s wang, and it’s made for bumping loud on your cars sound system when everyone else is in bed and it’s still 25 degrees. Or, most probably, 77.

Track Of The Day: DJ Boom - Kinda Kickin' (Phonography)

DJ Boom, aka Herbert & Charles Webster, released this single sided piece of compressed minimal funk in 1999. It was another world back then. Hector, one of my sons, was only a few months old and the Internet was still finding its feet. More Herbert than Webster I think. Stripped down and painstakingly put together using microsamples as material, this sublime piece of Basic Channel flavoured house gathers momentum as it hurtles towards its zenith, peaking with the aid of a web of vocal samples that add to its counterintuitive density. It’s often possible to look at a record and have a Proustian moment, remembering its purchase as if it were yesterday. This one was interesting because it was one of many from Atlas Records on Archer Street in Soho. I was there during my lunch break, chatting to John Reynolds as I bought this release when who should pop up behind the counter but the shiny, cueball head of Richie Hawtin, buying the exact same record. This was ‘Final Scratch’/’DE9 Closer To The Edit’ era Hawtin, and, I’m guessing here but he could have been dropping off a shipment of ‘Minus Orange’. Maybe I bought the two releases at the same time? In any case Riche was a nice chap, we had a chat and I left, not knowing that in the not too distant future chance meetings like that in record shops would cease to be.

Track Of The Day: Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - Bustin' Loose (Source)

Was this the track that started the go go movement? I honestly don’t know. IU came into it via Troublefunk, seeing them a couple of times in London at the height of their British fame in the late 80s. This track predates that period by 10 years and is as good as anything that followed it. Go Go was characterised, amongst other things, by long, drawn out jams and call and response, and this feels influenced stylistically by afrobeat. There are also elements of big band salsa within it, all of which adds up to an infectious groove.

OpenLab Live Sessions: Jonny Rock

 

OpenLab Radio · OpenLab Live Sessions: Jonny Rock

Track Of The Day: E.B.E. - Lucidity (Solid Trax)

One of many E.B.E., aka Lucas Rodenbush, productions that I was playing a long time ago, ‘Lucidity’, from the excellent ‘Square One’, is typical of him in that he knew how to keep a groove going. Full of energy with enough elements over its 10 minutes to keep things interesting, ‘Lucidity’ is a piece of funky house music that contains enough of a techno edge to make the most of whatever substance has been consumed at the time. I always thought these tracks were produced with too many bpms, so my preference is always to play them pitched down a little. Excellent panoramic mixing fodder that seems to be having its day again.

Track Of The Day: Mikey Dread - Zodiac Sign (Dread At The Controls)

From the ‘SWALK’ album, released 40 years or so ago, this is one of the more memorable tunes which, as soon as I play it, evokes Proustian sensations and I’m back in Canty’s room. Because while I have this album somewhere on an aged TDK cassette, the copy belonged to Ian. I think the title of the collection was trying to target the lover’s rock audience. We never saw it that way though, getting a totally different vibe out of it altogether. A great album in any case, and I could have picked almost any track, such are the stoned memories I have of us listening to them all on repeat. The first time I heard of Mikey Dread was when he was recruited by The Clash to guest on ‘Sandinista’. He certainly made an impact through that and doors were opened as a consequence. ‘Zodiac Signs’ is a typical melodic skanker, and joins other similar tracks, such as The Floaters ‘Float On’ in the Mystic Meg approved astrological annals.

Dustin Pacino Approved: Verdant Recordings

 

verdant-recordings · Dustin Pacino Approved

Track Of The Day: G Strings - The Land Of Dreams (G Strings)

I first came across this track when I was studying at Rutgers, New Jersey 1991-92. There was a record store in New Brunswick called Planet X which was managed by a guy named Spike. I bought some bits from him but, mindful no doubt of the impracticalities of lugging a load of vinyl home from The USA at the end of the academic year, I asked him to put me together a mixtape or two. This track was on the first cassette he gave me, and it’s been in my head ever since. The groove is insistent, heavy and turbulent, smashing through whatever is put in its path. Contrast comes in the shape of a fluctuating, low end theremin – like synth line, which makes it sound like a Buddha machine on speed. A brilliant, minimal track that feels raw, spiritual and cosmic and totally unique. Big thanks to 7th Sign for reissuing it because it may have fallen by the wayside otherwise.

drizle.010 PLO man

 

PLO man · drizle.010

Track Of The Day: Theo Parrish - Falling Up (Carl Craig Remix) (Third Ear)

The original is a raw jazz jam that is characterised by a thumping bass drum, a handclap like squelch, rimshots and what sounds like a fluctuating electric bass. It’s this bass that Carl Craig mutates in order to provide the central motif of the remix, which isn’t that far removed at all, but ends up sounding like a new track in any case. After a while the keys enter the fray, which is the element of the original closest in tone to that of the remix. It seems to me that what Carl Craig has done is put Parrish’s composition through a process of electronic cleaning. The remix is much more pristine than the original and has more volume, clearly an advantage when playing in a packed club. The pitch clearly goes up a notch as well. That’s not to say the original isn’t equally groovy, it just occupies another level of syncopation. When I first heard it I imagined it having been a backing track on a Tom Waits song from one of his 80s albums, when he went all carny. A brilliant, timeless piece of reinvented jazz inflected techno.

Monument Festival 2023: Eric Cloutier

 

MONUMENT · Monument Festival 2023: Eric Cloutier

Track Of The Day: Shinehead - Billy Jean + Dub (African Love Records)

“She was more like a beauty queen with an M16”. Dancehall reggae has a long tradition of reconfiguring best selling pop songs and giving them a new lease of life. And Shinehead’s excellent version of ‘Billie Jean’ is one of the best. Massive in my, and my mate’s bedrooms when it came out, this is a dub version, not the best seller, which is half the length and doesn’t go off on a tangent. I remember going to see Shinehead play at the ICA, supported by They Might Be Giants I think. What a weird pairing. Having said that I could be wrong, but I can’t recall watching another gig at that venue. Anyway, ‘Rough & Rugged’, the album that ‘Billie Jean’ appears on is an absolute classic and a collection of tracks which is as good as any other dancehall album that was released in the 1980s. Listening to this track again after such a long time has inspired me to barbecue some jerk baby back ribs later this afternoon, which is as good a reason as any for repeat listenings.

Track Of The Day: Dark Comedy - War Of The Worlds (Epic Mix) (Transmat)

Arguably Kenny Larkin’s most recognisable piece of work, ‘War Of The Worlds’ is a brooding, symphonic and timeless piece of Detroit techno. Listening to it is like imagining a soundtrack to a journey into another dimension. It simmers throughout, because reaching boiling point would mark a point of no return, and the function of a track such as this is to provide a platform for future missions. Its minimalism adds to its versatility, so it’s a great tune not only to open, close or provide a mid point highlight, but also to layer under and over other busier compositions. There’s a medieval quality to it, the synth flourishes that decorate it sounding like clarion calls from the castle battlements. And its pace and depth is such that it could be played at a funeral, as well as a turbulent rave,

Track Of The Day: The Durutti Column - Sketch For Summer (Factory)

The opening track on their debut album ‘The Return Of The Durutti Column’, and a track that I will always associate with Dave Hoey’s bedroom on Earlston Rd, Wallasey. ‘Sketch For Summer’ really shaped the template from which all Durutti Column compositions would evolve. The nucleus being Vini Reilly’s heart-wrenching guitar plucking. This music ran counter to most of what I was listening to at the time. However, while it existed in a self-perpetuating ecosystem of its own making, it was there to bridge genres and feelings and open one up to the endless possibilities of harmony and art. “The name was derived from a misspelling of the Durruti Column, an anarchist military unit in the Spanish Civil War, named after Buenaventura Durruti.” And at our tender ages this added dimension fascinated us as much as the music. I was lucky enough to see them live, at The Warehouse in Liverpool in the early 80s, and the crowd was very much like me. Kids who had started out being inspired by punk but had gone on to branch out into new things. Vini Reilly was recently interviewed by The Guardian, and it’s well worth you time. Here.

Track Of The Day: Róisín Murphy - What Not To Do (Moodymann Remix) (Ninja Tune)

It’s rare that ‘Track Of The Day’ features a piece of music that has been released in the past year, let alone month, but this is such a composition. It’s a great piece of languid, modern soul that lives in its own headspace and, thankfully, lots of others as well. Minimal and infectiously funky; it’s a coming together of autonomous minds that deserves to sell shitloads and elevate its creators to the higher plain they deserve to sit on. The sound of two artists well ahead of the curve doing what they want and not giving a shit. The consequence of which is perfect out there pop music.

Aurora Halal | HÖR - Aug 9 / 2023

LPY Mix Series 06 - Fletcher

 

lempuyang · LPY Mix Series 06 - Fletcher

Track Of The Day: Joey Anderson - Earth Calls (Deconstruct)

Not his first release, but certainly the one that made me aware of him; Joey Anderson’s ‘Earth Calls’, released on Anthony Parasole’s now defunct Deconstruct, and famously featured on Levon Vincent’s Fabric mix, very quickly became a favourite of mine. This is also possibly related to having a radio show on Cambridge 105 with Harry Sword where we used to play it a lot, as well as tracks by Vincent and other NYC artists, such as DJ Spider. Anderson, for me at least, occupied a sonic space which was recognisably techno, but one step to the side. This track is a good example of what he is about. A low key beat shrouded in various levels of abstract sound design which all coalesce to produce something quite unique and jazz-inflected. The dominant element here, which I’ll say is the high end string sound, something like a rogue violin, puts me very much in mind of Robert Hood’s early M-Plant sound. Anderson recently released the excellent ‘Exotic Sequence’ album on Deeptrax, and the Inimeg Bandcamp has some great releases on it which show that he hasn’t lost his edge and continues to make challenging, totally out there stuff.

Alex Downey Live in The Warehouse at Houghton Festival 2022

 

Alex Downey · Alex Downey Live in The Warehouse at Houghton Festival 2022

Martyn | HÖR - Aug 8 / 2023

Plant 43 - Reflection/Reaction Parts 1, 2, 3 (Plant43 Recordings)

 

Title: Reflection/Reaction Parts 1, 2, 3 

Artist: Plant43

Label: Plant43 Recordings

Cat Number: 010, 011, 012

Genre: Electro/Electronic Nebula Circling

Pt. 1

1: Fierce Machines

2: Silent Core

3: Dark Veneer

4: Life In The Pod

Pt. 2

1: Submolecular Shifting

2: Eccentric Elliptical Orbit

3: Encased

4: The Forgotten Storm

Pt. 3

1: Tidal Flexing

2: Reflective Waves

3: System’s Edge

4: Mind Drift

These three quartets of tunes, released over June, July and August 2023, were composed by Emile Facey, aka Plant43, over the winter of 2022/23. Each edition of the trilogy is beautifully realised,  and conceptually marks the time from winter through to spring. Now I don’t know about you, but I had very little fun last winter, falling on my arse a handful of times and spending nine hours in my local A & E with a suspected broken wrist. That was in early December so, by my reckoning, somewhere amongst ‘Fierce Machines’ and ‘Silent Core. It’s a sure thing that I wouldn’t have been indulging in any break dancing in my sorry state. That’s not to say that these tunes aren’t conducive to such physical activity. ‘Fierce Machines is anyway, starting things off in a sci-fi electro boogie stylee, perfectly balanced between various shades of grey with some high end tinkling sprinkled across the top, like electro chocolate chips. ‘Silent Core’ is a much more deliberate and bass-propelled track, but it has its own brand of funk, the type you can still throw shapes to while avoiding thin ice. The pace is picked up once more by the synapse snapping ‘Dark Veneer’, and ‘Life In The Pod’ adds a flourish of apprehension. Pt. 2 opens with ‘Submolecular Shifting’, which throws more punches than Conor McGregor at a wedding, bringing us to ‘Eccentric Elliptical Orbit’, a pairing which has much in common with how ‘Pt. 1’ opened proceedings.

Like ‘Silent Core’, ‘Eccentric Elliptical Orbit’ is more an internalisation of physicality and corporeality. Something eponymously perceived on ‘Encased’ which, in spite of its narrow confines, manages to throw mind bombs. ‘The Forgotten Storm’ once more indicates a change of pace and puts the listener in a finely detailed landscape of frictional electro gloom. ‘Tidal Flexing’ opens ‘Pt. 3’  in a similar way to how ‘Pt 2’ signed off. Which is one way of building up to ‘Reflective Waves’, possibly the densest and most epic track across all three releases. It’s a piece of techno/electro drama, swirling synths and mucho big room potential, without feeling in the least bit played out. It reminds me of vintage Sterac/Steve Rachmad, so you can’t really go wrong innit. We’re back in more familiar territory with ‘System’s Edge’, which clearly nails its electro credentials to the categorisation checkpoint as well as melodically bringing the chills. I thought we were in spring by now? Definitely not if Mind Drift’ is anything to go by. We’re in a spell of prolonged cold weather with no improvement on the horizon. Rather like this shite British summer, although it’s quite nice today. Anyway, despite this slight deviation, this is a perfectly proportioned fluctuating package. I suppose what I mean by that is that the peaks and troughs are all in relative equilibrium across the three releases. Each of them are essential and on coloured vinyl, which I’ve noticed is suffering a small backlash on the socials recently. Don’t believe everything you read and treat yerselves. You won’t regret it.

Track Of The Day: Gasper Lawal - Kita Kita (Cap Records)

Possibly the stand out track from an album I’d forgotten I have until I was reminded about it by an old friend a few weeks ago. Gaspar Lawal released the album in 1980, having returned to Nigeria from London, where he had been living for the previous 10 years, during which time he had worked with, amongst others, Ginger Baker, The Rolling Stones and Funkadelic. ‘Kita Kita’ is a mid-paced percussive dance floor bomb with strong dubby overtones and comes correct with characteristic west African guitar licks and backing vocals. The whole track feels like a mirage that gradually takes shape only to shift and decompose before finding its feet again and reanimating itself. African music was pushed a lot by The NME during the early 80s, and this was one of the first albums I bought during that time. Of course others followed, and I have that time to thank for making me aware of so much good music, which in turn made me go out and see so many amazing seminal artists. The musicians feel like they are playing their instruments so effortlessly on this composition; it comes so naturally to them. Infectious and contagious stuff. I wish I could remember where I bought it, I think it was probably Reaction in New Brighton. The acid vinyl temple by the seaside.

Voyage de Lux with Alex Downey - 26.07.2023

 

1BTN · Voyage de Lux with Alex Downey - 26.07.2023

CCL | Boiler Room x Primavera Sound Barcelona x Cupra

Tracklistings Radio Show #141 (2023.08.06) : Illektrolab (After-hours) @ Deep Space Radio

 

Tracklistings · Tracklistings Radio Show #141 (2023.08.06) : Illektrolab (After-hours) @ Deep Space Radio