Saturday, June 11, 2022
Friday, June 10, 2022
Thursday, June 09, 2022
BRC Vol 2 - Black Rave Culture
Title: BRC 2
Artist: Black Rave Culture
Label: Self-Released
Cat Number:
Genre: Black Rave
01. NEVER LEFT
02. CEREBRAL ATROPHY
03. ACTIVATE
04. MOROCCAN MIST
05. SOMETHING ELSE
06. PAY ME
07. DEEP BREATHING
08. SUB POPPIN
09. DOPPLER
10. ISSA BOP
11. LONG DISTANCE DILEMMA (PRACTICE)
12. IN MY BIZNESS feat. Dreamcastmoe
13. PACE PLAN (BONUS TRACK)
Black Rave Culture are “DC natives, Amal, James Bangura, and Nativesun” and with this release seem to be documenting and creating their own interpretation of floor-focussed electronic music. And it’s nothing if not engaging and polyvalent. Non-genre specific but united under the rave umbrella, this is indeed a piece of work. Along its layered length there are certain elements that I’m struck by more than others: the drum and bass of ‘Deep Breathing’ and ‘Never Left’; the subtlety of ‘Long Distance Dilemma (Practice)’, and ‘Moroccan Mist’; the deep, dynamic techno of ‘Activate’; and the dialled down oasis of calm that is ‘In My Bizness feat. Dreamcastmoe’, a track that feels more at home being pumped out of a yacht’s sound system, moored off the Amalfi coast, than in a sweaty Washington rave den. Other tracks like ‘Cerebral Atrophy’ and ‘Sub Poppin’ sound like they’re in a state of exponential entropy, where being locked into their groove is a voyage into the unknown with no apparent end until the chaos prevails. A notable piece of work that displays great range, ‘BRC Vol. 2’ has class, depth, range and invention, and is an imaginative take on subliminal sonic dynamics.
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Detroit Visions - Luke Hess (Rekids Special Projects)
Title: Detroit Visions
Artist: Luke Hess
Label: Rekids Special Projects
Cat Number: RSPX41
Genre: Techno
01: Two Prophets
02: The Way
03: Soul Purpose
04: Polymoon
I have a few records by Mr Hess in my collection, which does need some pruning. However, I won’t be getting rid of any of his bits. And it’s good to see that with this release he’s doing what I expect of him, making quality techno of a driving, dubby sensibility. All of the tracks here represent this approach pretty well, with perhaps ‘Polymoon’ feeling a little less fluid than the others. And ‘Two Prophets’ and ‘Soul Purpose’ being the most exemplary takes, the latter having a denser, deeper approach than the former’s more stripped-down, metallic groove. It’s a sound that no matter how often I hear it, and irrespective of the artist, always gets me going. ‘The Way’ fuses momentum, propulsion and space into a tunnel vision of dub, offering something less linear, but no less effective.
Tuesday, June 07, 2022
Eventide In Orbit - Manami (Viscera Transmissions)
Title: Eventide In Orbit
Artist: Manami
Label: Viscera Transmissions
Cat Number: VT001
Genre: Trance
1: Eventide In Orbit
2: Interaxial
3: Overture One
4: Overture One (Adam Pits’ Stomp Mix)
Trance is back! It’s been around for ever of course, and never truly went away. However, now it has returned as a fully-fledged noun and not just an insignificant adjective. Mind you, I never had a problem with the descriptive detail, it was the genre that often left me cold. There have been some excellent tracks over the years that fall into the category, but listening to a set composed of nothing else can leave one cold. So how does Manami do with ‘Eventide In Orbit’? Not bad. The title track evolves slowly to become a mature, elongated, electronic, hypnotic hymn, with shades of Goa. ‘Overture One’ shares similar characteristics, it’s less fluid melody slowed down to a frictional, tropical drag by Adam Pits. And as far as ‘Interaxial’ is concerned, it’s all out organised chaos. Pretty good effort all round on this one.
Monday, June 06, 2022
Sunday, June 05, 2022
Saturday, June 04, 2022
Friday, June 03, 2022
The Transcendental Deck Skills Of Alex Downey
I’ve never seen Alex play, but I listen to a lot of his sets and, while it would be good to have first hand experience of the skill and dexterity involved, I’m more than happy with what I’ve heard within the online medium. I regularly repost his mixes on here, as well as share them on social media and I’ve heard him referred to as the best there is from these here shores. This is a believable claim, and I’m sure that he would be more widely known and appreciated if he had the profile of a recording artist. He is “only” a DJ though; but what a DJ. I can only imagine how it must feel in the right environment when confronted by the machine funk smorgasbord at his fingertips. The sonic spectrum is explored, which means that one gives oneself up to a combination of breaks, electro, techno, idm and everything in between. On occasion there are life-changing moments when the music hits with such intensity that I’m constantly reminded of the bewildered looks on faces of Roma’s players as Liverpool gave them the runaround during the first leg of the 2018 Champions’ League semi final. The hypnotic sets I’ve had the pleasure to hear are built largely on a fusion of break beats and electro, the two becoming progressively denser and draped in atomic transcendentalism in constantly evolving peaks and troughs. This, however, doesn’t necessarily eschew a more traditional looped approach. His approach to DJing is as much about being caught in the sonic conflagration as anything else; and is a reminder that given the correct terms and conditions, we all have the potential to be in two places at once.
