Track Of The Day: DJ Compufunk - Beyond Mind (Beltran's from Detroit with Love Mix) (Vibes & Pepper Records)

 

DJ Compufunk is a Japanese producer from Osaka whose reverence for deep house, and particularly Detroit, runs deep. And in order to crystallise that devotion, who better to enlist for a remix than John Beltran. The analogue warmth is tangible, as is the evocation of that timeless techno ambience that here nods heavily to the type of emotive machine funk that was augmented by a host of British producers throughout the nineties. The label art nods to that of the Underground Resistance ‘Interstellar Fugitives’ releases that straddled this century and the last. And an embellishment of the vintage electronic ambience on show here comes in the form of a spoken word vocal that lifts the track into the realms of some of the best on the DNH label. Lovely stuff.

Track Of The Day: Metal Urbane - Paris Maquis (Rough Trade)

 

Metal Urbaine were standard bearers for French punk, and with ‘Paris Maquis’ they give a great account of themselves.They also have the distinction of this track being the very first release on Rough Trade. The catalogue number is 001, so I suppose it must be? Anyway, ‘Paris Maquis’ is a great ;piece of work. The guitars sound great. Loads of fuzz, and a drum that sounds like it’s being hit with balsa wood. The group were relatively ignored in France, with arguably a bigger audience in The UK. They also used a synth, which was pretty unique at the time. This probably contributed to a wall of sound approach. Sounds great through headphones. 

Track Of The Day: Fusion - Jack The Voltage (Ferox)

 

Ferox, a label that never released a bad tune. Some are better than others, obviously, but quality control was high. And this one comes in from Fusion, aka label boss Russ Gabriel. A great track that predates the minimal boom of around ten years later and, for the most part, surpasses most of it. The exact type of track that I used to love to play out and layer with complexities. More than just a whiff of Dan Bell about it. Lovely stuff!