Rive Gauche - Phillipe Chany (Dark Entries)

Title: Rive Gauche

Artist: Phillipe Chany

Label: Dark Entries

Cat Number: DE-122

Genre: French Disco Fusion

SIDE A

Aimez-moi

Fiction

Cinecitta

Cairo Connection

SIDE B

La mystique du mâle

Castor

Unsquare Dance

Lettre à Monsieur le Législateur (De la loi sur les stupéfiants)

Dark Entries isn’t all about reissuing italo classics, as this 1983 solo project from French songwriter, film music composer and producer Phillipe Chany proves. Seemingly revived just as much for its technical specifications as much as its curiosity value, it is French with a capital F, emphasizing the chanson just as much as everything else and blending the modern with the traditional. There’s even a passage read from “L’ombilic des Limbes” by Antonin Artaud. The attention to detail is great, and evokes a sense of nostalgia, not gained from a long lost dance in a disco on the Cote d’Azur, but more than likely a vague inflection from a transistor providing the ambience on holiday. Dark Entries are doing an interesting job curating the recent past and, while some of it will be hit and miss, it’s always interesting.

Crystal - Justin Cudmore (Honey Sound System)

Title: Crystal

Artist: Justin Cudmore

Label: Honey Sound System

Cat Number: HNY010

Genre: House

Side A   

Crystal

Side B

Crystal (Servito's 730 Reshape)

Crystal (G. Haslam Dekalb Avenue Remix)

Better late than never with this one, and I do like tracks which start as they mean to go on. The original version gets into its seedy, acid hoedown immediately. It’s well-paced and flows, never feeling like it’s pushing against any ulterior forces. Mike Servito distils the original’s essence, and eschews the 303 in favour of a squiggly, funky bass line adorned with slightly more extra-terrestrial outpourings. Gunnar Haslam reduces things further, until we’re left with a skeletal reinterpretation, which is all sharp edges high frequencies coming full circle back to the acid. All three, while treading a similar sonic line, are very much worth your while.

Bodyhammer DJs Live

Mark Foreshaw

Coordinated EP - Ben Buitendijk & Koen Hoets (An Der Grenze)

Title: Coordinated EP

Artist: Ben Buitendijk & Koen Hoets

Label: An Der Grenze

Cat Number: ADG002

Genre: Techno

A. 51°54'01.6"N 4°28'05.0"E

B. 51°54'33.0"N 4°29'13.7"E

It’s all about atmosphere with this pair of long, linear techy gems. And it’s no wonder Ben Buitendijk was selected to mix one of Steve O’Sullivan’s Mosaic mixes. This is spacey stuff, and a gift, both for the long, extended mix, in which tracks can dip their feet and barely break the surface tension, but also make a more telling contribution; or dominate the moment in their own right, adding emphasis and gravitas.  The B side feels more of this Earth, in that it has a slightly more solid structure, but this is a detail which could change on repeated listenings. Reminds me of some moments of Zadig’s ‘Kern Space Adventures’, which is almost as good as it can get.

Lee Gamble b2b Ron Morelli

Discogs Diary: 7

I finally came out the other end, the turn of the century American tribal house section is now behind me. That's not to say there won't be any more; the odd bit will continue to turn up, misplaced long ago in the archives. but the majority has gone. And I was more than surprised to discover that Casa Del Soul, a label out of Denver in the early noughts, seems to be a collectable one. I have most on it and was always attracted to the label's artists' way with a sample. I stopped when Philomena Cunk's new show started. In the midst of some mid-nineties French stuff right now.

Gwenan

Fred P

Palms Trax Beats In Space

Mike Servito

Martyn NTS

Eric Cloutier

Koehler

Silent Servant

The Trilogy Tapes NTS

DJ TLR

ASOK

Isabella Venis

Dark Delight & Isle O' Man

Joe Hart

Anna Nasty

Oscar Schubag

Ron Trent

Discogs Diary: 6

“The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills” so said Charles Bukowski while he was deep in the bowels of vinyl filing. For time has little meaning here and one’s life is completely taken over. I have barely scratched the surface of my collection so will be here for a long time yet. However, I’m hardly compulsive at this stage, taking my chance to register possession of the items in question randomly at best. When I first started out I predicted that it would take me a couple of months to put everything on line. Now I’ll be happy if I’ve got it done by the end of the year; with the possible caveat of alpabeticising my entire collection as well.

The last couple of sessions have been largely taken up with Californian turn-of-the-century tribal house. The type which was hammered down at Wiggle and which was best appreciated in the constant company of the little fellas. Great on the dance floor but anonymous elsewhere, save for a few which stand out. Siesta was one of those labels, but it’s stalwart artists like Onionz and Joeski barely register any interest nowadays. DJ Buck’s ‘Make It Hot’ seems to be the most sought after on the label, closely followed by Halo’s ‘Future’. The Inland Knights release also seems to be going for more than thirty pence, which is as much as a lot of collectors think most releases on this label are generally worth, regardless of condition.

So, in spite of providing many quintessential hedonistic dance floor moments, this stuff doesn’t seem to have been the best of vinyl investments. It’ll come around again though. The stuff on Jump, another Californian label, is much more valuable, however. It all boils down to the artist rather than the imprint as far as these releases are concerned.  I suppose this post, already being a repeat of the previous Discogs one to a certain extent, is destined to be repeated again and again over the next few months. I still can’t get over how much this is going for though.

Kokk N Roll

Optimo NTS