One of the stand out records of 1990, no matter how underground your tastes were. It was impossible not to like this cover of a Rolling Stones song from Out Of Our Heads.’ And while it definitely surfed the poppier edge of taste, it summed up a lot about why that year was so ace. Lacking the bite of The happy Mondays, but in reality not that different from ‘Step On’, another cover resurrected for the No Alla Violenza generation. Always a positive touch to get some proper vibes courtesy of Junior Reid in as well.
I don’t think electro gets any funkier than this. A slo-mo beat enveloped by hi-tec effects. It’s the sonar, subterranean soundtrack to deep sea exploration. Going down the Mariana Trench with this playing in your dodgy sub bought from the back page of a 1970s Marvel comic, along with a health supply of sea monkeys. Either that or its a slow glide through the Detroit boondocks during a hot and humid night. In a large car. Sansibar and Reptant have recently paid homage to this ‘Sansibar - My Boom (Reptant’s Lizard Tech Mix)’. It’s not the same but you get my drift I think.
This is taken from the latest release on Andrei Pushkarev’s Luck Of Access, and it’s a banger. As much as dub techno can produce bangers, then this is one. Comes on some sort of cloudy black vinyl, which makes me thin that whoever pressed it offered the label a sloppy seconds deal. Anyway, it’s great. All dub techno needs momentum, otherwise it’s just dub innit? This belts along nicely, eschewing the need for eqing and farting about with the mixer. Just let it play. It’ll blend itself. Tracks like this need to be used strategically, underlaying something more idiosyncratic in order to make it more palatable. And we’ve all bought tracks like that!
This lovely, deep acidic journey arrived at my house a few days ago. Hal is a new name to me, but on the strength of this release I’ll be checking his other stuff. One quibble. It needs to be pitched down. It just sounds better. Funkier and warmer. It’s personal preference of course. I think that all of the Wiggle releases, as well as associated croydon-based house labels, used to put out great stuff but would all have benefitted from dropping the bpms somewhat. Anyway this is great. Almost Jean Michelle Jarre like in its analogue feel. And as I was at Hardwax this time last week. TIP!
I’ve only recently come across Nate Krafft. He’s probably one of this names that I should be able to confidently throw at electric music nerds and geeks in conversations about real techno. So better late than never. This is from his album which has just been released on Musique Pour La Danse, a label that has it’s own section in Hardwax no less. (I know because I was there last weekend). ‘Mirror’ is a great cut. To be honest the whole album is great, so this is a bit random. It feels like a pinnacle of sorts for the genre. Very emotive and deep, but eminently danceable as w3ell. He had a handful of releases in I think the mid nineties, two of which appear to have been rereleased on MPLD. Some lovely electro on there as well. Buy it!
This came out a few years ago and, as far as a Gerard Hanson remix is concerned, slipped under most people’s radars. However, on yet another day when the June temperature record looks set to be broken in The UK, I’m here to remind you that this isn’t just another piece of looped techno. No. There’s a lot of hidden detail and nuance in this track. What drives it more than any other element though, is Hanson’s love of the deep crescendo. This is more subtle than your general “in your face” euphoria. Because as already eluded to, this doesn’t feel like a particularly sophisticated track. Stick the headphones on and go for a ride with it and journey deep into its psyche. Ten minutes passes by in an instant and you’ve been to the Kuiper Belt and back.
When in doubt, reach for Guidance, and what better than this under the radar production form Alton Millar, I have memories of watching him DJ in the final Soma (nothing to do with the still going strong Glasgow based label) party I went to in Paris in 1997 at then Bois de Vincennes. Some pavilion where Andy Weatherall had been booked to play, but he didn’t turn up. The excuse which was doing the rounds was that he’d gone to the dentist to have a tooth out, or something like that.Anyway, Alton Millar was playing in some sort of open area, while whoever had filled in for AW was somewhere else. Millar payed some choice deep house. No funkin’ around, just the good stuff, rather like this piece of percussive goodness.
This was bought as a consequence of coming into contact with Crass, and as far as a punk single is concerned, it’s got it all. Wailing voice, great, clipped guitar riff and an overwhelming feeling of dread. I mean what more do you want? It came into my head while I was in Berlin over the weekend. No idea why. Maybe I clocked someone whose appearance took me here. Who knows. It’s a great track though and couldn’t have come from anywhere else but The UK. Great tribal drumming to play it out. Having said all of that, it’s the repetitive siren like motif that sticks in the head the most. It’s a meeting of audio landmarks if nothing else.
The last one before Berlin. Brilliant from Dollar Brand, aka Abdullah Ibrahim, who has just slipped off this mortal coil.
If there’s one track that typifies Ron Trent’s sound, then for me it has to be this one. It’s not my favourite from him, but it is unforgettable. It manages to be deep, driving, soulful and woozy at the same time. And the percussion, that sounds like a slick, air-dampened batacuda barrage. One of the great deep house tracks and long enough to support two or three lesser tunes on the mix.
A great track of weighty, slo-mo electro from Metamatics, aka Lee Norris, who has been releasing stuff from the mid nineties, but nowt since 2024. ‘Bodypop’ is electro suspended in amber. A track to gauge the retro in vitro. Cryogenically frozen beats inhabiting a strange funk hinterland where B-boys breakdance on elevated Persian rugs, levitating above their dreams to decompose and then regenerate, their body parts taking on new meanings and motions in the process.
In the nineteenth century ambience with rhythm was being produced. Erik Satie’s ‘Gymnopedies’ are almost certainly the precursor of the type. The first time I heard this was probably while watching ‘Diva’, when ‘No. 1’ is used in the scene in, I think, Le Jardin des Tuileries. Lovely stuff.
‘In The Good Times’ comes from Defunkt’s eponymously titled debut album and is, not surprisingly, inspired by Chic’s more famous track of nearly the same name. It’s a documentation of singer Joe Bowie’s drug addiction at the time and is a great piece of bass-driven heavy avant funk. The guitar work and effects burst out all over the place, kept in check by the vocals, bass and horns. It’s another one that takes me back to the smoke-filled bedrooms of my youth and hearing it now brings on a Proustian rush. Defunkt’s first two albums are brilliant, and I was lucky enough to see them at the New Morning in Paris in the mid nineties. And I think I touched Joe’s trombone.
This is from the just released ‘Hidden World’ EP from Swiss artist Idealist on Mojuba. And it’s a nice slice of dub techno which, while eponymous its intentions, isn’t as obvious as you might think. It has a dusty, organic feel and feels like an updated take on ‘outsider house’, whatever that was, or is. It’s as laid back as piece was you could wish for, with a dreamy feel that sets it apart and gives it an extra dimension. Very nice, and on red vinyl too.
I’m amazed I haven’t already posted this, well I have in a manner of speaking, around 15 years ago, with a WAV. Not in the modern world though. This for me is far and away Kevin Saunderson;s finest moment, along with the other side, ‘Heavenly’. This is the one that I come back to more, just for the weird vibe and bass. I bought it in IQ Records on Lexington St. Soho, in the late 90s, ’97 I think. It was a huge Wiggle tune, following on from ‘World Of Deep’, which had been released earlier. As already mentioned, this one is all about the growling bass, and to a slightly lesser extent, the raw percussion and what sounds like a sort of somnolent wailing. It’s a great combination.
I can’t remember where I was a when I first heard James Blood Ulmer, either Vinny or Dave’s bedroom. Once heard never forgotten though. And I wanted to post ‘Are You Glad To Be In America’, as that seems strangely appropriate at the moment, with the World Cup approaching, and the Somalian referee being refused admission, as well as the Senegalese team being searched publicly on arrival. The Iranian fans being denied visas, the Iranian team having to hole up in Mexico, etc. The list goes on. Anyway, ‘Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher’ is four or so minutes of unrestrained raw mayhem. I think being on Rough Trade was probably the main conduit for JBU’;s entrance in to my, and my mates lives and, although I wouldn’t by any stretch of the imagination call myself an obsessive, the two tracks named here, particularly this one, 2have been regular eagworms for the last 40 years.
This is one I haven’t played for a long time. A collaboration between Terry Francis and Tony Hewitt, ‘Basses Loaded (Late Night Dub)’ is a deep, pulsating piece of after hours house. The bass takes centre stage, allowing the vocal sample, skittering percussion and synth stabs, which aren’t a million miles away from the wild pitch aesthetic, free rein. Terry Francis’ productions still more than hold their own. A lot of what he made in the second half of the nineties and the beginning of the noughts was very minimal, pitched up huge with a n implicit wonkiness. This is, by comparison, straight forward and more derivative. Still does damage though.
There really is some lovely electro being released right now so, following on from yesterday, here’s another which has just hit the shelves. T Dave is an Italian producer who is responsible for the latest release on We’re Going Deep, a label that operates out of Bristol under the stewardship of Paul Wise, aka Placid. The back catalogue is growing and becoming ever more impressive, with release from James Shinra, E.R.P. and Carl Finlow amongst others. Anyway, the featherlight beats cascade before finally exploding on this track. And as you listen you can’t come to any more rational conclusion than you’re listening to some sort of regenerative sonic entropy. At least that;’s what I think, and I know what I’m talking about.
This has just come out on the ever essential Analogical Force from Madrid. Sound Synthesis comes from Malta where, no doubt, the cross-cultural ambience, as well as a unique geographical location, both positively contribute to productivity and imagination. Proof, if any were needed, that you don’t necessarily have to be in the midst of activity in order to invoke creativity and ideas. It can help immensely of course. The whole EP flits between drum and bass, electro and acid and so is a great example of what the label puts out. I think that this producer is best represented by his dreamy take on electro, which in many ways is similar to that of Plant43. Somewher on the spectrum between ghettotech and ambient.
This absolute beast of a track drifted into my consciousness during the wee small hours a few hours ago and I have to try and find it amongst the sonic Din Gir Dialect that lies on my many shelves. The label was set up by Amir Alexander, and this is the nest release on it. Grandiose, transcendental and deep, it’s got everything. Especially that well-planted vocal sample and the growling bass. This is spaced out house music of the highest order and it is absolutely criminal that it was slept on. Every time I listen to music like this I try to imagine what could have been going through the mind of its creator. What is it that pushes someone to make music like this and, equally, what is in Ed Sheeran’s mind when he put together ‘Shape Of You’? It’s a tough nut to crack, but I’m working on it.
I came across this album after having track searched an old Eli Vervain mix and finding something from it on it. The whole album is a series of dreamy, deep trance/tribal workouts and, for my money at least, hits that sweet spot better than almost any other album I own. That’s not to say it’s the best album I Owen, rather that every track on it does exactly what I want it to do when I want it to do that thing. ‘Deep In Your Heart’ straddles that hazy house middle distance where depth and minimalism give way to soul and emotion and, as such, it’s unsurpassable.
Dana Kelley had three releases as DKMA on Forensic, an unlikely destination geographically for his deep aquatic grooves, but one which showcases some of his best tracks. ‘Soul’ is as good, for example, as anything he pout out as Callisto on Guidance, and is similarly characterised by a g=hard drum sound draped with all manner of diaphanous sonic embellishment. Vocals mumble abstractly in the foreground while others emerge siren-like from the background. And the percussion. Jazzed up rimshots a foil to the Basic Channel like metronome. House doesn’t get deeper than this.
Title: For The Floor Vl. 5
Artist: Umwelt/DJ Mell G x Unklevon
Label: Cultivated Electronics Ltd
Cat Number: CELT016
Genre: Electro
A1: Umwelt- Memoryscape
A2: Umwelt - Morphing Sequences
B1: DJ Mell G x Unklevon - Get Down
B2: DJ Mell G x Unklevon - Get Down (Sync 24 x Controlled Weirness Remix)
Umwelt’s ‘Memoryscape’ really is that, although it must be said that the memories must be strange ones. It’s a driving piece full of the type of swirling noises only available at a Harry Potter picnic. The proverbial dementor wormhole as seen from the backseat of an Uber in the docklands. ‘Morphing Sequences’ is heavier and more menacing, making good use of squelches, its a disciplined battery in amongst the chaos of Goldorack’s universe. The Mell G x Unklevon track comes in two versions. The original, relying very much on some neat, bullet point percussion is crisp and full of unhinged depth. The remix doesn’t depart much from the original, there is an amplification of peripheral ambience though which makes a very positive difference and gives the imprsssion its been flung down a wind tunnel of uncertainty.
Title: EnerGIZer
Artist: DJ Haus
Label: Unknown To The Unknown
Cat Number: UTTU200
Genre: New Rave Interpretations
1: EnerGIZer (O.G. KLUBB MIX)
2: EnerGIZer (Shed Remix)
3: EnerGIZer (Zoriok Compressor Remix)
4: EnerGIZer (Yassokiiba Remix)
This is the 200th release on UTTU. So, what to expect? Well, it was the inclusion of Shed that brought me here. Then, on closer scrutiny, I find out that Zoriok is Legowelt, with Yassokiiba being a new name to me. I’ll start with Shed’s remix, as that’s what’s playing right now. Pounding, ambience dampened steam hammers with high frequency electronic squiggles. Then it takes off, meandering over the rave hills until coalescing with its beat. That’s what I expect from Shed so I’m not disappointed. The Yassokiiba Remix
seems to be a dub laid on top of the vestiges of DJ Haus’s ‘O.G. KLUBB Mix’. Everything is slowed down to a very manageable speed, which is nice as its 33 degrees outside right now. I’ve just taken the dog for a walk and we’re both knackered. The Zoriok Compressor Remix is an ingenious symphony of high frequency sonar dynamics underpinned by break beats, that is until it goes off on a tangent, marking for all its worth. The O.G. KLUBB MIX sounds almost conservative by comparison. Which it is, in spite of its heaviness and power. Moreover, not for the first time recently, I’m feeling the Neil Landstrumm influence here. Sort of Relief meets ghetto-tech with a more contemporary veneer.
It’s the start of meteorological Summer, with pagan summer starting in three more weeks. Typically the sun has chosen to take a nap, but it’ll be up and at ‘em again I’m sure. Anyway, here’s an essential cover version of Alexander O’Neil’s classic, delivered in suitable deadpan style by Orlando Occhio. Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly so effective if the backing instrumental didn’t jar in all the right places. A great cover version that has more than its fair share of dissonance, all of which grinds the sonic gears in order to produce a wonderfully harmonious and emotive piece of uptempo chug.
