Pheek

Read my review of Pheek's 'Supra Opto Cassis EP' here.

Some Words and Sounds

Title: Le Freaky Fry
Artist: Le K
Label: Floppy Funk
Cat Number: Floppy 15
Genre: Jack is Back

A: Johnny Rotten Disco Balls
B1: Jack Transmission
B2: Give Me A K

Floppy Funk are one of a number of label, Highgrade and Morris Audio in its various offshoots also spring to mind, that are preserving the funk of Chicagos particular brand of jacking funk. I don't keep up with his playlists these days, but this is so up Derrick Carter's street, and Mark Farina's, that they must be down with it. 'Jack Transmission' has the kind of pitch changes that can brighten up any dancefloor and takes 'Johnny Rottrn Disco Balls' a little further. 'Give Me a K', in name at least, is probably single-handedly responsible for the large-scale disappearance of this type of house music from many dancefloors over the last four or five years. A good EP, hardly innovative, but keeping this particular strand of house alive and providing a shot in the arm for many a flat set.



Title; Meiba EP
Artist: So Inagawa
Label: Minimood
Cat Number: Minimood002
Genre: House

A: Sekito (Seiul's Gyoza Addict remix)
B1: Sekito
B2: Usui

The Meiba EP is a ride through a desolate landscape populated by disembodied voices and flanged spurts of sound that come together to induce a funky but simultaneously unsettling effect. Seiul's 'Gyoza Addict remix' is ok, but long, and needs more action in it. 'Sekito' in its original form is more intersting, faster-paced and has some nice liquid vocal snippets that help the track come alive. 'Usui' isn't as funky as 'Sekito' but does share some of the characteristics of Seuil's remix.

Title: Moin Moin Basis
Artist: Freedarich & Stiggsen
Label: Freizetglauben Berlin
Cat Number: FGZ017
Genre: Bass-Heavy Moodiness

A: Moin Moin Basis
B: Maja

Classy, well-produced release from Freedarich & Stiggsen, with 'Moin Moin Basis' taking the honours as an understated stomper that is versatile enough to be played at almost any point in a set. 'Maja' slows things down and is more subtle, it also has a guarded spoken-word that travels down a spiral staircase of melody into the abyss. Both tracks have just enough sophistication to be influential in the right environment.

Title: Demons EP
Artist: Luke Solomon
Label: Crosstown Rebels
Cat Number:
Genre: Mid -Paced Italo-Inflected Meanderings

A1: Demons (Brennan Green remix)
A2: Demons
B1: Return to Darkly
B2: The evil is an Englishman

Now this I like. Luke Solomon shows his versatility here with three cuts classically-influenced electronic disco. Brennan Green's 'Demons' remix is the type of music you'd expect to hear at a fairground, albeit one totally funked-up and proficient in psychedelic voyages. I prefer the tougher original version though. It's much more gutsy and has some nice, kitsch background vocals. 'Return to Darkly' follows the same path as the previous tracks, but adds a sinister acid synth line that squiggles and squirts nicely more or less along the whole length of the track. Oh, and there's also a nice reference to 'Close Encounters . . .' as well. 'The Devil is an Englishman' has a Brett Johnsonesque jaunt about it, indeed, it doesn't sound too dissimilar to his "World of Nonsense mix" of 'I'm Satisfied'. Whimsical and lively, with some off-kilter samples thrown in for good measure, it rounds off a quality package quite nicely.

I remember listening to Radio Nova when I was living in Paris and Luke as being interviewed by Ivan Smagghe the night after he played The Queen on The Champs-Elyssees (which was very good btw) and he wa speaking about wanting to make "slower" house music. Could this be what he meant?



Westworld (Medieval Funk mix)

Westworld (Termination mix)

-Chiapet (Yoshi Toshi)

Supplementing the immortal 'Tick Tock' from the first batch of downoads on the blog, 'Westworld' is an altogether more restrained affair that relies more on John Ciafone's Basic-Channelesque groove than its predecessor. The 'Medieval Funk Mix' is my personal preference, but they both do damage.

The Spy-chiatrist - Foremost Poets (Soundmen on Wax)

Johnny Dangerous on more sterling spoken-word form. This is an imagined couch classic between a psychiatrist and his patient. Disco licks mean that this one comes straight from the disturbed section of the dancefloor. A slept-on classic.

I'm Satisfied (Brett's World of Nonsense mix) - Scopper and Bubba (Classic)

Brett Johnson at the height of his powers on great remix form for Classic. Typical BJ elements are all present, a grinding electroey groove complete with distorted sinister/silly vocals. I'll post Chris Nazuka's 'Experience' as soon as I lay my hands on it.



Celestial Highways - M5 (Metroplex)

Gerald Mitchell on lush techno form for Juan Atkins' Metroplex. Nothing particularly special about this one except that i presses al the correct Detroit buttons. More Gerald Mitchell to come in furture installments. 'Soulsaver' remains his finest hour though.

Still Here EP - Jamie Jones

Read my RA review of Jamie Jones' 'Still Here EP' here.

Machines Playlist 3/11/07, Indispensable Tracks and Hypercolour

Here's the playlist for last nights show:

Suspended (album version) - Chloe (Kill the DJ)
Interspherical Tensions - Jackmate (Freude-am-Tanzen)
Electric Soca (Kaos remix) - Rodion (Gomma)
Be Like the Sun - Dave Aju and the Invisible Art Trio (Circus Company)
Ginebra (Onionz Corrosion remix) - Funk d'Void (Soma)
People from the South - Cesare Vs Disorder (Mean)
Rackadoom - Petre Inspirescu (Cadenza)
Superstar - Micronauts (Citizen)
Sick Note - Mark Henning (Cynosure)
The Whisper Had It - Simon Flower (Poker Flat)
Tick Tock (Jesse Rose dub) - Deadset (Front Room)
Red Coffee (Redshape Sweat remix) - Markus Enochson (Imprime)
Felaz - Glimpse and Alex Jones (Hypercolour)
We Are 10 (A) - Raudive (We Are)

Steve Bug Fabric Mix:

Joparish - Manoo (Deeply Rooted House)
Touched the Sky (Joe's dub beats) - Dennis Ferrer (King Street Sounds)
C'mon Dance - Whitelabel (Wasnotwas)
Spam Bot - Einzelkind (Playhouse)
De Bou! - Petre Inspirescu (Arpiar)
Unreliable Virgin - Argy (Cocoon)
Hunter - Martin Buttrich (Cocoon)

And as if all that wasn't enough, I've once more motivated my lazy fat arse to post four more from the vaults.








Alpha Wave (Plastikmans Acid House mix) - System Seven (Big Life)

Quite simply, your collection isn't complete without it. Probably the longest track I'll put up for download. Nearly twenty minutes of acid house madness courtesy of Mr Hawtin. An evergreen piece of twisted madness that always comes back for more.

The Preacher Man - Green Velvet (Relief)

Quite simply, your collection isn't complete without it. That's the second time I've said that today but it's the truth. Green Velvet proves that he's just as out there as Plastikman, even more so. The title defines itself. Velvet made loads of great tracks but, in my opinion, never bettered this.




Beyond - Glenn Underground (Cajual)

Quintessential piece of house that manages to blend electro. italo and more traditional disco influences effortlessly. It would have been ruined by a vocal, so Mr Underground wisely left it as it was. Spiritual and uplifting. This track and Velvet's define Relief and Cajual for me.




Gravelifter - Foremost Poets (Soundmen on Wax)

I posted 'Moonraker' a while back, so here's 'Gravelifter' the next in Johnny Dangerous' warped spoken word sequence, having said that, the utterances in this track are chanted rather than spoken. It's a minimal tribal 'ting. I'll put 'The Spy-chiatrist' up as soon as I've found it.




Hypercolour are a Brighton-based label who have been kind enough to send me some of their releases, and five tracks old with another about to be released they've hit their stride early. The upcoming release on their schedule is called 'Felaz' and is by Glimpse and Alex Jones, the B side features a remix of the A by the up-and-coming Matt Starr. This is Glimpse's second outing on the label, as well as Alex Jones' having also been behind the first and second releases respectively. Sebastien Bouchet and Frankie Flowerz have also released tracks on the label, and remixers have included Jamie Jones and Jens Bond. Everybody's favourite Chilean maverick Ricardo Villalobos has recently been very positive about the Matt Star 'Felaz' remix, so momentum is gathering and the future looks bright.

Like-minded labels are springing up all over the place at the moment. The UK used to be a techno wasteland. Little by little things are starting to change.

I'd also like to make a little correction to the UR Warehouse Project review in my last post. My erstwhile scribe must have missed it, but I've been assured by the festival promoters that there is, in fact, a smoking area at the venue. I can only imagine he was kippered.

Interstellar Fugitives at The Warehouse Project

UR, Jeff Mills and Francois Kevorkian played The Warehouse Project on the 19/10. Here's a short review that one of my chemically-enhanced operatives wrote for the blog. He also sent me some quite disturbing photographs, but I'm having trouble getting them off my phone. Cheers Pete.

After the disappointment of last years Warehouse Project, because of the deficiencies of the sound system in such a large venue as Boddington's Brewery, this years Detroit themed night was eagerly awaited. With both Jeff Mills and Mike Banks on the same bill the night was promoted by the team at the Warehouse Project as something of a unique event, as well as allegedly being the last time that any of the UR personnel would go out under the name of " Interstellar Fugitives ".

This year the venue is an underground car park adjacent to Piccadilly station. The venue is smaller, with a much lower ceiling. The sound system is excellent with speakers all the way to the back and around both sides. The only problem is the inadequate number of toilets. At least twice as many are required, in my opinion.

Francois Kevorkian was about 20 mins into his set when I arrived and warming things up very nicely with a pretty eclectic set of techno, electro and some old school house thrown in for good measure.

After Kevorkian, Interstellar Fugitives took the stage dressed in black combat gear complete with bandannas and ski masks. Highlights of the set were " Final Frontier ",

" Moor Horsemen on Belarus Five ", " Crackzilla " and the new single " Kill Your Radio Station ". It was an energetic performance that was generally well received although a few people I spoke to complained about " this resistance shit " and asked me " what time is Jeff Mills on this is rubbish". For those who know for those who don't know. The lure of the big name DJ is still prevalent.

After having been introduced by UR as " the greatest DJ on the planet and the reason why we are all here " Mills appeared at 3am. He played a tightly controlled and programmed set which gradually built over two hours. In a word, quality.

Overall the Warehouse Project is much improved this year. Apart from the toilet facilities and the lack of a designated smoking area it was pretty much perfect. It is bizarre not to be able to smoke in a venue where amyl nitrate was on sale! Still a visit to Manchester is highly recommended.

And although this has been heavily blogged already, go out and buy this months Wire. resplendent with a Mad Mike interview.

Simon Flower

Read my RA review of Simon Flower's 'The Whisper Had It' here.

Todd Bodine & Goldfish und der Dulz

Read my RA reviews of Todd Bodine and Ludwig Coenen's 'Globetrotter' EP and Goldfish und der Dulz's '13 Klange here and here.

End of the Month Necessities

Posts are becoming few and far between at the moment but at least I can always squeeze in a few essentials for those dark winter nights ahead, so here's four more of the best.














You Can Dance If You Want To (D) - Moodymann (KDJ):
Bit of a rarity this one. Released as a double 12" in a plain black sleeve, all tracks untitled and coming correct with soft porn labels (all of which I've gratuitously stuck above), this was ,as far as I know, hastily withdrawn due to it using uncleared Prince samples. This, of course, makes it highly collectable and it has apparently gone for around £200 on Ebay. The track above is the floor filler of the quartet.

I'll always remember the review in Jockey Slut when this was released. The reviewer spent almost as much time bemoaning the "sexism" of the label art as talking about the music. I wonder if I'll get the same treatment?






Asphyx - Sterac (100% Pure):
Sterac, aka Steve Rachmad, is one of my favourite producers having never let his guard down and always produced state-of-the-art high quality emotive techno heavily influenced by Detroit and, in most cases, surpassing these influences to create melodic mood music that is difficult to equal in any genre. 'Asphyx' was released back in 1995 and I remember Laurent Garnier opening a set with it at one of the infamous Soma parties in Paris (nothing to do with the Glaswegian record label). Ostentatious trance is blended with techno to great effect.







Contemplation (King Britt's Funke Mix) - Josh One (Electromatrix):
A repetitive "open up you mind" vocal amidst driving disco strings is all this one needed to become a classic. Simplicity is the key. It does what it says on the tin, etc . . . Highly effective.





Freaky (The Bar Heads Mix) - Lou 2 (Strictly Rhythm):
Louie Vega and Little Louis united to make this deadly deep house battle weapon. I'm a sucker for spoken word vocals and this is one of the best. As far as I know this was a one-off and they didn't collaborate again. Am I right? Answers in comments below if you can be arsed.

Last Nights Playlist and some Classics

Here's the playlist for last night's show:

Desertification - Matt Chester (11th Hour Recordings)
Squeeks and Kaos (Jamie Jones Pacific remix) - Active Kaos (Immigrant)



PBD - Cobblestone Jazz (Wagon Repair/K7)




Meteor Im Eis (Tadeo remix) - Tom Clarke (Highgrade)
Vacuum - Teenage Bad Girl (Citizen)
Mumbling Yeah - Kabale und Liebe feat. Daniel Sanchez (Remotearea)



Hunted - Martin Buttrich (Cocoon)
What's Up Adults? - Peter Grummich (Sthmlaudio)
Cure (Oil of Mars Vs Samim remix) - Miguel Toro (Moon Harbour)
Every Week - Miss Fitz (Freak n' Chic)
Fixation - Three Channels present Catz n' Dogz (Dirtybird)



Eclipse - Oener Ozer (Vakant)
Sacred Time - DJ3000 (Motech)
Tin Solidier - Red Robbin and Jacob Hilden (Trapez Ltd)
Innocent Robot - Animaltek (Treibstoff)
Arsid - Infant presents Burnski (20/20 Vision)
My Black Sheep (LB Dub Corp remix) - Len Faki (Figure)
Noh Ngamebo - Arto Mwambe (Brontosaurus)

The competition question is, I've got a couple of copies of Gui Boratto's new double mix cd "Addicted Vol 2" (Platipus) to give away. Here's the disgustingly easy question.

What is the name of Gui Boratto's breakthrough single, which featured a remix by Supermayer?

Answers to paulcorey1@yahoo.com, or machines@209radio.co.uk. Mark your emails "Boratto Comp" or you can leave a comment in any comment box on this blog from this post to the next playlist post. In all cases, leave full contact details, plus your email address if you leave a comment. Good luck.

Now here are some more succulent temptations.



Paper Moon - 51 Days (Touche)

All time deeper than the Mariana Trench epic from the mid nineties on the classic Touche label. All tracks on this 12 are the business, but it's this one that will go down as an all-time classic. Superb deep tech-house hybrid from the once ubiquitous Dobre and Jamez.



Purple Heart - Tan- Ru (Trelik)

Peter Ford's other label, in addition to Ilfach. Trelik was that little bit more clubbier and a little less experimental than it's sibling. "Purple Heart" was a favourite round these parts for its rolling, popping bassline. The brains behind this track is also responsible for R Rash, whose "Smoking Jakkit" was remixed by Luciano. I'll post the original soon.



Jungle Bill - Yello (Mercury)

From "Baby," an epic pumper in its own right. Remixed by Andy Weatherall. This is the original and its all good. I need to dig out a bit more Yello. Goes down a storm if correctly inserted in a set.



Version 5 - Swag (Junior Boys Own)

Same thing with Swag. Chris Duckenfield and Richard Brown were my favourite producers for a very long period, almost until they stopped making records together. Having said that, they may just be having a hiatus. In any case this was one of their first, and best. It's the one with the sirens.

Pan-Pot, Szenario and Some Other Things

Read my reviews of Pan-O-Rama by Pan-Pot here and Pleaseasy by Szenario here.

And while I've got a bit of time for once, here's some feedback on some other things that have recently come my way.




Title: Another Day EP
Artist: Peter Grummich
Label: Sthmlaudio Recordings
Cat Number: SAEP014-6
Genre: Lush Techno

A1: What's Up Adults!?
B1: Another Day

'What's Up Adults!?' indeed. A deep voyage through the psyche and out the other end. A lush, undulating bass guides you along the River Styx while high-pitched bat squeaks give you the willies. This track has plenty of gravitas.

'Another Day' takes a while to get going properly and seems content to tease with a ploddingly insistent bassline that cries out for more action. There's a lovely analogue warmth throughout the holds your interest to the end and it's deliciously understated landscape





Title: Hum Hum/Roc(k)ambolesque
Artist: Digitaline/Knor
Label: Grubenstrasse Zurich
Cat Number: gs02
Genre: It's All In The Groove

A1: Hum Hum
B1: Roc (k) ambolesque

'Hum Hum' sounds like a robot choir singing individually on cue. A squidgy kick drives the track through sparse surroundings while a robotic baritone chimes intermittently with a higher-pitched complement. Various effects chime in and out, but the track is a bit too long for me. Great mixing tool though.

'Roc(k)ambolesque' is a lovely off-key flamenco tinged bouncer. A robot fart keeps things in the twenty-first century while the guitars are lushly strummed in accompaniment to a chugging beat. There's a dodgy voice coming in and out later on saying stuff like "I want you, now dance," I'm not sure if we need to be told. Great tune!



Title: New Tendencies
Artist: Davor O
Label: Home Made Electronica
Cat Number:
Genre: From The Dark Side


1 Moka Bay
2 Chiq Pearls
3 Ice Baby
4 Betray Me
5 Whales Making Love
6 Moka Bay (Juho Kahilainen Modern Pop Remix)

Six tracks on this ep and it's not for the faint-hearted. I'm reminded in parts of the Pan-Pot album I've just reviewed for RA. Davor sent me links to these tracks after having read my Louderbach review, again on RA, and thought I'd like this stuff, which I do, but it isn't too popular around the dinner table at meal times. My personal picks of the bunch are the awfully titled 'Whales Making Love' which, along with 'Moka Bay' is a little bit more uptempo than the rest of the tracks. This is generally the stuff of nightmares though.

Title: Innocent Robot & Karmic Loops
Artist: Animaltekl
Label: Treibstoff & WIR
Cat Number: TREIBSTOFF73 & WIR010
Genre: Techno For Sure

A1: Innocent Robot
B1: Night Of Tvarok

A1: Karmic Loops
B1: Da Bridge



Solid stuff from Animaltek on two seperate labels. Dancefloor fodder with a liberal sprinkling of all the necessary ingredients. 'Innocent Robot' (Treibstoff) subtly peaks and troughs by slightly adjusting the pitch, there's room for a little bit more though. 'Night of Tvarok' (Treibstoff) strolls purposely but a little too dirgeful for my liking. It gets more interesting when what sounds like a sampled soul vocal comes in and out of the mix. These will work but are quite modest.



'Karmic Loops' (WIR) goes down the same road as the Treibstoff release relying on simplicity and frequency modulation to get its message across. 'Da Bridge' starts off like classic Daft Punk and keeps the grungy feel throughout. It's the pick of the bunch along with 'Innocent Robot.'


I've also received a few bits from Hypercolour, which I like very much. I played the Matt Star remix of their forthcoming release 'Felaz' by Glimpse and Alex Jones on my first FM show. The next one is this Saturday the 20/10 and I've got some good things to play. More on Hypercolour later in the week.

Birthday Beats

It's my birthday today so, as I wade through my new house, still knee-deep in boxes, I've fished out four more of the best.




Leaving Ground - Joel Mull (Lask)

I first heard this on Terry Francis' Essential Mix back in 1998. Joel Mull put this out on his own label. Sounded good then and still does now. Classic cold-weather techno from the frozen north.





Kungstradgarden - The Persuader (Svek)

More Swedish goodness, this time in the shape of a simple groove from The Persuader, aka Jesper Dahlback. From the 'Stockholm By Night' 12", and it feels like it. Excellent.





House Da Crowd (Movin')
& Back 2 Back - Discocaine (Zoom)




Two peerless releases by one-time London house terrorists Discocaine, made even better as a good mate, Hursty (Sloth), engineered them both. Very dubby, very heavy, both belters. Zoom in Camden was a good shop and holds fond memories for yours truly.

Freakshow

Read my RA review of Andre Galluzzi and Raresh's recent mix on Cocoon here.

Gutterlevel

Read my RA review of Simon Baker's 'Gutterlevel' here.

First FM Show Playlist

Still covered in house move debris so, while I think of it, here's the playlist for last night's first ever FM show. Many thanks to Mark for dropping in, particularly as he'd been up all night previously playing at a place in the Elephant and Castle.



Another Day Acid - SCSI-9 (Speicher 55)
Bandit - Simon Baker (20/20 Vision)



Relentless - Jason Elmsley (Clever)

Mark Henning Interview Pt 1



Felaz (Matt Star remix) - Glimpse & AlexJones (Hypercolour)



Green Chocolate (Koljah's Exploding Cake remix) - Fusiform (Minimood)
Track 3 - Terence Dixon (Underline)

Mark Henning Interview Pt 2



Microenation (Original mix) - Andomat 300 & Jan (Morris Audio)
Bassline (Locodice remix) - Kevin 'Reese' Saunderson (Planet E)

Mark Henning in the Mix:

Royal Flush - Stereofuse (Salo)
The Alchemist - Marc Romboy & Stefan Bodzin (20/20 Vision)
Spam Bot - Einzelkind (Playhouse)
Run - Mark Henning (Monster in the Dark)
Dog Days (Pantytec remix) - Matthew Dear (Spectral)
And I Know It - Restless Soul feat. Zanzika (Seasons Ltd)
Dressless - Christian Burkhardt (Oslo)
Women Don't Cry - Cesare Vs Disorder (Mean)
Dragee - Christian Burkhardt (Raum)
Spaced - Tim Gregor (Monster in the Dark)
Kreiskollaps - Christian Burkhardt (Oslo)
Charly - Pan-Pot (Mobilee)
Nebokki - Fraktion (Resopal Red)
Briggle - Mark Henning (Cynosure)
Sparkling - Ortega & Stavostrand (Rrygular)

Here's the comp question again too. I've got two copies of Andy Weatherall's 'Sci-Fi Lo-Fi Vol. 1' to give away, courtesy of Soma. The question is . . .

What is the name of the night that Andy Weatherall runs with Ivan Smagghe at The T Bar?

Leave a comment in any comments box from today with full contact details, including email, or email me at
paulcorey1@yahoo.com, or machines@209radio.co.uk. again, with full contact details. The comp will be open until the next show on the 20/10.

Tomorrow's Show

Here's a blurb about tomorrow's landmark first FM show.

The first FM show will feature a guest mix and interview with Mark Henning (Freude-am-Tanzen, Einmaleins, Trapez Ltd, etc). There'll also be a competition to win copies of Andy Wetherall's latest mix on Soma, 'Sci-Fi Lo-Fi Vol. 1'.

If you live in Cambridge, UK you'll be able to listen to the show on 105FM. Otherwise, listen live on the internet, or to the archived show from Monday/Tuesday the 8th or 9th October.

General stuff, but very important. Still living in boxes at my new manor, but will be back up to speed at some point in the next few days. Really looking forward to tomorrow's show.

RA Kevin Saunderson Review

Read it here.

First FM show this Saturday and I'm up to eyes in boxes and plastic bags after having moved house over the weekend. More soon, but not yet as I still have to be reconnected by the phone company.