A real nostalgia trip this. I remember being very much into John Foxx era Ultravox, and then really going off them once he left. Of course Midge Ure turned them into something else; which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just different. And this track was one of the most memorable, if not only for the line “Riding inter-city trains, Dressed in European grey”. There’s also a strong Roxy Music feel to this, with the synth work and the sax. (Bryan Ferry released a same-titled song later on). I saw the eponymous Alan Resnais - directed film later on, but haven’t got around to reading Marguerite Duras’ novel on which it was based yet.
Monday, September 30, 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Paris The Black FU v The Exaltics - Paris The Black FU v The Exaltics (Engineroom)
Title: Paris The Black FU v The Exaltics
Artist: Paris The Black FU v The Exaltics
Label: Engineroom
Cat Number: ER15
Genre: Electro
1: The Exaltics feat. Paris The Black FU – Propaganda DNA (The Alternate Universe Mix)
2: Paris The Black FU & The Exaltics – An Alien’s Commentary On What He Observes From The Edge Of Space
A couple of short but sweet electro vignettes to put you in a parallel sci-fi universe. More the America of the fifties than anywhere else. There’s a strong, consciously kitsch component to both tracks here. ‘Propaganda DNA (The Alternate Universe Mix)’ is built around a spoken word which, with its “We Want Your Mind . . .” refrain over stripped back beats is coming from the realms of brains in fishtanks. ‘ An Alien’s Commentary On What He Observes From The Edge Of Space’ is a richer composition, the lyrics are delivered more in tune with the beats and there is a nice pitch change about a third of the way through to plateau the piece and set it on its way again. A couple of keepers from the tethered imaginations of Paris The Black FU & The Exaltics whichare over all too soon.
James Welsh - Ternary 2 (Strid)
Title: Ternary 2
Artist: james Welsh
Label: Strid
Cat Number: STRID002
Genre: Techno
1: Invisible
2: SMC
‘Ternary 2’ is the second release in a three part series from James Welsh, and I don’t have any more context than that I’m afraid. So, ‘Invisible’ is an epileptic break beat backed banger with a repetitive concave sound that sounds like an empty glass bottle being beaten. It’s a nervous throbber. ‘SMC’ comes from a similar place, but is all low end, heavier and has more intent. A heavier stepper built on its own linear bounce and energy.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Track Of The Day: Will Buckley pres. Buki Cole & Free Radikal - Travelling (John Ciafone Travelling Remix) (Latenite Productions)
I mean, what more could you ask for. One of house music’s most singular and potent producers in the shape of John Ciafone, using his skills to push a tune to its tracky limits. There really isn’t that much more to add except that this is the type of stuff that Ciafone used to make in his sleep, and in doing so he would highlight the deficiencies of the vast majority of like-minded artists. It’s almost three tracks in one: the vocal could almost stand on it’s own; then you’ve got the tracky grinding layer sitting on top of the meandering keys like a couple of sonic tectonic plates. Lovely stuff.
Monday, September 23, 2024
Ammonite-Blueprints Revisted (Ransom Note Records)
Title: Blueprints Revisited
Artist: Ammonite
Label: Ransom Note Records
Cat Number: R$N44R
Genre: Diaphanous Spectrum
1: You Don’t Know Me (David Holmes Remix)
2: When You Don’t (Salamanda Remix)
3: Too Close (Midori Hirano Remix)
4: Forgive Me Forget (Franz Kirmann Remix)
5: What If I Knew Me (Dot Never Remix)
6: ARP (Lapalace Remix)
I’ve just seen an ammonite fossil sell for £90 on ‘Antiques Roadshow’, so this piece feels very relevant indeed. And what a package it is. Kicking off with David Holmes’ remix of ‘You Don’t Know Me’, which is a modern folk masterpiece, soaring on a solid percussive foundation. There’s a lot more to it than that, but mere words don;t do it justice. Just be assured that it’s an uplifting, anthemic, hands-in-the-air masterpiece. ‘When You Don’t (Salamanda Remix)’ is a subaquatic downtempo symphony with far eastern flourishes. ‘Too Close (Midori Hirano Remix)’ slows things down and minimises the beats, highlighting the vocal which seems to come from all directions. ‘Forgive Me Forget (Franz Kirmann Remix)’ is a lost transmission from beyond the stars. The effect is of a short wave radio being tuned into a wall of sound. ‘What If I Knew Me (Dot Never Remix)’ and ‘ARP (Lapalace Remix)’ terminate this collection, the former dabbling in broken beat, the latter ambient; the third law of thermodynamics finally being realised as almost total abstraction brings this package to a close, the overall effect being one of alleviation and bliss split into a multitude of sonic facets.
Ben Pest/Maelstrom - For The Floor Vol. 4 (Cultivated Electronics Ltd)
Title: For The Floor Vol. 4
Artist: Ben Pest/Maelstrom
Label: Cultivated Electronics Ltd
Cat Number: CELTD015
Genre: Techno/Electro
A1: Ben Pest – Who Would Have Thought I’d Be
A2: Ben Pest – 26 Hybrid
B1: Maëlstrom – ASCII TWINS
B2: Maëlstrom – PERMANENCY
No arsing around here. As the title suggests, these tracks aren’t for easy listening. Ben Pest’s double header is characterised by bass heavy beats, distorted vocals and an urgent syncopation, all of which fuse together in his sonic blast furnace. ‘Who Would Have Thought This’ is the heavier of the two, with ‘26 Hybrid’ being more fleshed out. Maelstrom’s ‘ASCII TWINS’ has a marshal feel to it, underpinned by linear percussion and overseen by apocalyptic synth flourishes. ‘PERMANENCY’ takes the electro train and is all tightly wound and compressed. Denser than dense, this release feels like a quartet made for a fetish club.
Friday, September 20, 2024
Track Of The Day: The Egyptian Lover - Egypt, Egypt (Freak Beat Records)
The Egyptian Lover, or Gregory James Broussard to his mum, is as Egyptian as I am, which is not at all. Yet he has conjured up a parallel world in which Egypt is a den of iniquity over which he presides. Not only that, but he’s done it to an electro beat from Los Angeles looking like the president of the Rick James fan club. Of course, emerging in the early 80s and keeping going throughout that decade also meant that his style crossed over into embryonic hip-hop, and he is also considered to be a West Coast pioneering influence. The lyrics are repetitive and ridiculous, but good fun, as are the beats, complete with cliched stylophonic middle eastern squiggle. I wonder what Mo Salah would make of this?
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Track Of The Day: Nana Vasconcelos, Jack Dejohnette - Preludio Pra Nana
Nana Vasconcelos was an amazing musician. I saw him perform with Jan Garbarek at The Bluecoat in Liverpool in the mid 80s, and it was his percussive presence that stood out for me then, and that I remember the most now. It’s amazing to think that this gig was in February 1987, a time just before I was to take the steps to change my life. Moving out of the family home to go down to London, then Brighton for university, The USA, Greece and France before coming back to live in The UK with Emmanuelle, whO I met at Sussex and, amazingly, still finds me tolerable. One of those watershed performances that means so much, considering where I was.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Track Of The Day: Underground Resistance - Jupiter Jazz (Underground Resistance)
A combination of breakbeats and synth stabs, not a million miles away from those on ‘Strings Of Life’, with a lush acid underlay and a choral accompaniment come together to result in one of the greatest techno records ever. Along with the recently repressed ‘Final Frontier’, ‘Jupiter Jazz’ highlights the 303, but not quite in the same way, feeling lush and optimistic as opposed to heavy and portentous. They are both incredible records, with ‘Jupiter Jazz’ being the more euphoric and, with those keys, more for the house heads.
Monday, September 16, 2024
Lizz - Chords Locator EP (Handpicked Music)
Title: Chords Locator EP
Artist: Lizz
Label: Handpicked Music
Cat Number: HP006
Genre: Groove
01: Chords Locator
02: Synth Dimension
03: No Mood
04: No Mood (Halo Varga Remix)
It’s no surprise that this package comes with a Halo Varga remix, as right from the get go we’re submerged in the type of dubby, tribal house that was all the rage in yer fin de siecle underground warehouse sites. I mean ‘Chords Locator’ could have come straight from the minds of H-Foundation. Not an issue. Far from it. Things come in cycles and this is an inevitability. ‘Synth Dimension’ goes down the same road, but is a little bit perkier. Where ‘Chords Locator’ plumbs the murky depths, here there are flourishes that indicate a propensity to frolic. And then we have ‘No Mood’, in which bass and percussion play a unified role in scurrying across the shape throwing consciousness. Halo Varga’s remix is a little more minimal than the original and feels like a fleshed out to its fundamentals piece of bass-driven techno. It still has that all-important swing though. Essential for those messy get togethers that thrive on more than one witching hour. Sweet spot hit!
Track Of The Day: Simple Minds - I Travel (Virgin)
Pre ‘New Gold Dream’ Simple Minds were responsible for a few memorable tracks beside ‘Themes For Great Cities’. ‘I Travel’ possibly being the most played out of them all. It’s a great blend of synths and guitars, as well as Jim Kerr’s intermittent vocals. Great energy and one that I remember from my nascent clubbing nights in Liverpool, as well as many a stoned session in various Wallasey bedrooms. I haven’t come across an edit of this yet, but there’s plenty of time.
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Track Of The Day: Tangerine Dream - Betrayal (Sorcerer Theme) (MCA)
Part of the soundtrack to the eponymously named film, which is a remake of the classic Henri-Georges Clouzot movie ‘Le Salaire de la Peur’ or ‘The Wages Of Fear’. The film tells the story of the deadly transportation of nitro glycerine across rough, rural terrain. The Friedkin version was also very well received and Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack equally so. And it took me a long time to come around to this. When it was released it was often advertised on full back page spreads of the music press in the summer of 1977, the precise time when I started buying the papers to keep up with what was happening. This piece is particularly evocative. A piece of creepy synth work whish may not have enjoyed the same commercial success as what Jean-Michelle Jarre was having, but is just as influential and vital.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Track Of The Day: Alex Kassian x Mad Professor - A Reference To E2-E4 By Manuel Gottsching (Test Pressing Recordings)
Just a couple of months old, but already a classic. Already one of the best grooves ever heard gets a dubby makeover, which is wonderful because not only does it feel that little bit more out there, but it’s still very cohesive and arguably more danceable than any previous incarnation. Great pace and production which has just been smeared enough to become even more wistful, if that were at all possible. It’s so on point that it confirms that perfection does exist and I really want to hear it out. Hopefully at the end of this month.
SIT - Urban Chronicles EP (Amphia)
Title: Urban Chronicles EP
Artist: SIT
Label: Amphia
Cat Number: AMP025
Genre: Groovetastic
1: Synth City
2: Dreamworx
3: Parallel Pulses
4: Fabricated Odyssey
SIT is an acronym for Sideways Invisibility Theory and it is. for the uninitiated, Cristian-Ioan Munteanu and Vlad Caia. This is their first release since 2019 and it’s gratifying to know that the hiatus hasn’t made a jot of difference to their ability to craft mind-bending deep sounds. ‘Dreamworx’ being a case in point; bearing more than a passing resemblance to Wulf & Bear’s classic ‘Raptures Of The Deep’, it embodies this duos efforts to create a groove that tunnels inside your cortex until it embeds itself in your soft and tenders. It’s this track and ‘Synth City’, a proggy piece of stellar symphonics that get my vote here. That’s not to say the others aren’t equally as good in their own way. Both ‘Parallel Pulses’ and ‘Fabricated Odyssey’ are great, but while the former is everything its precedents are, barring a life-defining low end, the latter could lose its vocal samples and come up trumps as a result. All in all though, a strong release that shows an innate understanding of the messy dimensions of the dance floor.
A-Tweed - Riot Disco Punk (Human Endeavour Records)
Title: Riot Disco Punk
Artist: A-Tweed
Label: Human Endeavour Records
Cat Number: HE009
Genre: It’s Chugging
1: Kabuki Spin
2: Riot Disco Punk
3: Akira Danse!
4: Dusty Rumble Fish
‘Kabuki Spin’ sets things off nicely, as it is a piece of low slung chug with vocoders. VOCODERS! Or something similar. And this release is at its best when it goes down this path, as it does with ‘Dusty Rumble Fish’ and ‘Akira Danse!’. These tunes are far from being carbon copies of each other, containing enough respective idiosyncrasies to distinguish themselves from each other; often in the shape of detailed, synthetic flourishes all of which emphasise the “disco” rather than the “riot” or the “punk”. The title track is slightly different in that its edges are more polished and the consequential sonic veneer sharper. However, it’s all academic and ultimately adds up to an interesting release that expertly distills a whole gamut of sound through the aural Liebig condenser.
Monday, September 09, 2024
Timothy Clerkin - Fading Remixed EP (Insult To Injury)
Title: Fading: Remixed EP
Artist: Timothy Clerkin
Label: Insult To Injury
Cat Number: ITI#24R
Genre: Ravetastic
1: Fading (Posthuman Remix)
2: Fading (Maps Remix)
3: Sigma (Lapalace Remix)
4: Fading (All Trades Reconfigure)
I wrote a few words about the original release back in June, ending with a rhetorical question regarding the first remix in this package. And it sets things off nicely. It’s a break beat/acid/rave hybrid that has an arpeggiated waistband and a nice intensity about it. The type of tune that if I were to even contemplate dancing to it, would send me to the osteopath. The Map Remix of the same track is a slightly more serious venture, being symphonic, melodic, melancholic and phlegmatic. The type of tune that makes one feel unflappable amidst the ensuing chaos. Lapalace’s remix of ‘Sigma’ is undiluted hardcore. A genre that I don’t play myself, but have a lot of admiration for those who make it. It’s good. Relentlessly so. And then the All Trades Reconfigure version of ‘Fading’ takes its cues from dub, polishing its edges and bestowing some sharp relief. It’s all quite palalable and an improvement on its source material.
Track Of The Day: A.r.t Wilson - Rebecca's Theme (Water) (Growing Bin)
I first came across this artist via a track on a Luv Jam mix. Doubtless one that I posted on this blog a while back. And I can’t remember which track it is, but I have a feeling it’s this one. There’s a massive eighties production vibe on it; you could definitely imagine it being then theme tune to some sort of espionage romance. The levity of the music distracting from the film’s dark underbelly. There’s a slight whiff of Toto’s ‘Africa’ in there as well. No real resemblance, just the vibe. Excellent horizontal Balearic musings, nicely countering the autumnal conditions which have sprung up today.
Saturday, September 07, 2024
Thursday, September 05, 2024
Track Of The Day: lll Most Wanted - Calm Down (Fever Records)
A proper hip hop party track, the energy just explodes from it as it plays. Nothing too complicated. James Brown vocal snippets, crucial electric guitar licks, a cavernous backing that houses break beats and multiple yelps, all brought together by the exuberant rhyming style of Most Wanted, aka Eric “Mr Action” Pena”, James “D.V.S.” Greco” and Omar “Sharif” Lindsay, who really make the most of this spot on ‘Dance Party USA’.
Dean Man's Chest X King Cutlass - Trip ll Insanity (Sneaker Social Club)
Title: Trip ll Insanity
Artist: Dean Man's Chest X King Cutlass
Label: Sneaker Social Club
Cat Number: SNKR051
Genre: Hardcore Innit
1: Ride The Storm
2: We Control
3: Ananda Tandava
4: Heart Of The Sun
5: Trip ll Insanity
6: Kantankerous
I do like an aptly named track, and they don’t come moreso than ‘Ride The Storm’, which is a veritable maelstrom. Control is everything in such a tune. The chaos subdued by discipline and, paradoxically, disorder. And then ‘We Control’ pops up. Another romp in the rave chasm. It’s a cyborg call to arms with knobs on. There’s also a disembodied shout, the most recognisable word of which is “fucking”. Which is essential for dance floor nutcases everywhere..I mean I could never get away myself with playing music like this.I don’t think I really want to. DJing it must be like being at the wheel of a quickly sinking ship. “If I’m going down then you’re all coming with me!” It’s a real skill though, mainitaing the momentum and the energy. ‘Ananda Tandava’ sort of blends all the high points of a set into one honed sonic battle weapon. It’s absolutely raging. And in spite of me leaning much more to the electro, deep house end of the spectrum, it really is a pity that many more people don’t know that this music exists. ‘Heart Of The Sun’ does what it says on the tin. It takes you right there. You can feel yourself vaporising as you listen to it. It’s one long rave scream of pain. And you’d better be ready for ‘ Trip ll Insanity’. The title track slaps it on so thick that its almost impossible to breath. Finally, ‘Kantankerous’ is a fluctuating journey up and down the rave pit. It feels like you’re trapped on a lift that refuses to stop. It just goes up and down until your senses are percolated beyond belief. Put this on and listen to the whole lot through headphones. Better than any roller coaster, it’s so ridciculously good I can’t stop laughing. Laughing from the sensation of having a brain transplant with no anaesthetic.
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