Ninja Drive-By EP - DJ Spider (Rekids)

Title: Ninja Drive-By EP

Artist: DJ Spider

Label: Rekids

Cat Number: REKIDS091

Genre: Techno

A1: Dirt Nap

A2: TMC

B1: Planetary DisFunction

B2: Montag

DJ Spider’s sound lies somewhere inbetween the political radicalism of the best post-punk, driving minimalism and a pervasive, funky ambience. There’s a strong dose of darkness as well. Easy listening this is not so if you’re coming up on the little fellas when one of his tracks comes on, and of the squeamish variety, best retire to more convivial surroundings. There’s a claustrophobic quality to this music, and the jungle isn’t too far away either, add to that a sample-heavy sense of drama and you have Spider in a nutshell. Great stuff.

Abstract Frequencies (Rarified Air Mixes) - Keith Worthy (Aesthetic Audio)

Title: Abstract Frequencies (Rarified Air Mixes)

Artist: Keith Worthy

Label: Aesthetic Audio

Cat Number: AES020

Genre: Deep House/Techno

1: Rarified Air (Keith Worthy’s Original Mix)

2: Rarified Air (Keith Worthy’s Original Dub)

3: Rarified Air (Hieroglyphic Being’s Experience 43 Mix)

4: Rarified Air (Steven Tang’s Dense Air Mix)

Keith Worthy’s twin interpretations of his own track don’t differ considerably. In fact the dub is just an instrumental version which has had the spoken word (from which the track title is taken) purged for the most part, but kept it at the end. It’s a linear, technoid jam which nags insistently, and whose effects are further emphasized and toughened up by Jamal Moss’s remix, which, while again, dispensing with the vocal, sets the cosmic gradient a lot steeper. Stephen Tang opts for much the same approach, with a more sparing use of the vocal. My pick is the Hieroglyphic Being take, but it’s all good.

Nick Craddock

Sophie's Choice

Soaked through.

One of my worst nightmares occurred the other day and I’m still going through it. The situation: Manet’s garden in Giverny, family day out. Shit weather but beautiful surroundings. I’m just starting to assume my Monty Don persona, along with a side order of requisite silliness for the children present when I receive a call. It’s Antonin, my stepson, who is back in the UK. I take it and immediately enter a world of pain.  He happened to be passing by the house and went in, presumably to steal food, and was greeted by water spurting everywhere. He’s panicking so I get it together enough to tell him where the stopcock is and then start panicking myself.

At this point I’m relaying info to Emmanuelle, who tells me to call the emergency plumber through the insurance, which I do. Further communication with Ant reveals the situation to have been resolved, but not before quite a lot of flooding had occurred, SOAKING SHITLOADS OF MY RECORDS! By this point I’m starting to visualise the scene that will greet us on our return., so I urge Ant to get as many of them as possible out of the water and onto anything dry.

We return home more than a day early to be greeted by tons of wax all over the place. It’s an ongoing process. I’m trying to save as many as I can, but a lot are lost. I estimate around a thousand. They say your whole life flashes in front of you when you die, but it’s already happened to me, well the last twenty years or so anyway. Everything in plain sleeves, particularly black or white, will live to fight another day. What’s frustrating is that those with the artwork, the most original packaging, are the ones which depreciate the quickest. As can be seen from previous posts, I’d just started cataloguing on Discogs, but the last hundred or so will have to be struck off, as they’ve succumbed to the mess. I’ll also have to resume the filing at a much later date. Half of the ground floor has to be ripped out and replaced first.

Still in shock, but life goes on. Still looking for my brand new clear vinyl copy of the new Der Zyklus album.

Ruf Dug

Serge

Veronica Vasicka

The Storytellers EP - DJ Bone/Deetron (Subject Detroit)

Title: The Storytellers EP

Artist: DJ Bone/Deetron

Label: Subject Detroit

Cat Number: SUB041

Genre: Techno

Side D: DEETRON

D1. The Core

D2. The Core (Beats)

D3. The Core (Reprise)

Side B: DJ BONE

B1. Black Patterns

B2. Black Patterns (Beats)

B3. Black Patterns (Reprise)

DJ Bone and Deetron, whoever thought this was as unlikely as Hibernian winning the Scottish Cup had better think again.(Someone did, but it wasn't me). This is the first in a series of releases by the duo, who also plan to tour together this year. ‘Black Patterns’ is a melodic, piano-led, uplifting galloper, whereas ‘The Core’ is the harder of the two pieces, being all bubbly bass and swirling synths, The beats offer another side, being much rawer takes and predictably functional, the reprises the electronic gossamer cloaking them. ‘Black Patterns’ is more of a tune, ‘The Core’ is its shadow.

DJ Stingray

John Johr

Procrastination

Your Cradle – Trux (Office)

Nocturnal Passions Pt 2 – Area 41 (Delsin)

Level Above Human – Telkhin (Shipwrec)

Shinar – Nicuri (Sound Theories)

Man With The Red Face (Svek Mix) – Laurent Garnier (F Comm)

Don’t You Worry – Jorge Zamacona (Mosaic)

Lone Passenger – Obsolete Music Technology (Dolly)

Counting Sheep – Gemini (Peacefrog)

It’s You I See – Doms & Deykers (3024)

Track 2 – Globex (Acting Press)

Slow Swing – Inverse Cinematics (Pulver Records)

Synth Sparkle – OB Ignitt (Obonit)

Beyond The Dance (Mr Fingers Mix) – Simoncino (L.I.E.S.)

Punta Christo – Our Mutual Friend (Voodoo Down)

We Will Be There Yesterday – ITPDWIP (Frustrated Funk)

Guh Ik Trigger – Neuroshima (All Caps)

Time Running Down – Life Recorder (Sound Reflection)

Mark Foreshaw

Hashman Deejay & Eranthos Beretta

Uta

DJ Qu & October

Alexey Volcov