83370 EP - SiNTEG (Fur Trade Recordings)

Read my Ibiza Voice review of some new music straight out of Montreal here.

Sealed EP - Dinky (Crosstown Rebels

Read my Ibiza Voice review of Dinky's 'Sealed' here.

Across the Sea - VVV (Fortified Audio)

Read my Ibiza Voice review of 'Across The Sea' here.

November Chart

Neurotic City EP - Means (Black Nation)

Me & The Machines - STL (Something)

Unbalance 1 - Unbalance (Unbalance)

Mysterious Intrigue - Kuba Sojka (Mathematics)

DRM - Merveille & Crosson (Visionquest)

Sphinx EP - Marcel Fengler (IMF)

Fantastic Voyage - Jeff Mills (Axis)

Blue Organ EP - Kevin McPhee (Hype Ltd)

The Voices From Hypothalamus - Fiat600 (Nice Cat)

Deep Deep Down - Cottam (Aus Music)

Conducted Mixed By Marcel Dettmann - V/A (Music Man)

Read my Ibiza Voice of Marcel Dettmann's brilliant 'Conducted' here.

Anytime You Please EP - Micha Klang & Kuroneko (Adult Only)

Lack of time means very little recent original material here on ye blog. I'll be putting a chart up by tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's the first of a few Ibiza Voice bits I've written.

Are Things Really That Interesting?

Awful, starting an article with a rhetorical question, isn't it? Stylistically at least. Not that anything on this blog is ever really intended as being for academic eyes though, just for those of you who like a read and are interested in the random ruminations of a person, like myself who, due to arrested development, hasn't stopped being passionate about, and incredibly interested in, electronic dance music. Make that all music, but particularly house, techno and its offspring.

However, it's very difficult to talk about this stuff just for the sake of it. It's clear why the printed dance media have never been able to manage publishing their propaganda more than once a month - DJ Mag used to be every two weeks of course, but now it's seen the error of its ways - and even then still resorting to pad out their publications with as much tattle involving drugs, dicks in dayglo t-shirts who answer random questions about their most outrageous embryonic sexual experiences on club stairways . . .there just isn't that much to say. This area of music is still without very many real characters.

It's a pity that Tonka's 'Weekly Review Of Dance Music' is having problems fulfilling its purpose only a few months after it started, but I'm not surprised. I'm sure it'll continue but calling it 'Weekly . . .' was a mistake. It's my favourite read at the moment though and I'm annoyed because I missed a trick there. Procrastination payback time. I was thinking about introducing a column here that would have done much the same as the 'WRDM' but indecision cost me and I didn't. Still could though.

Taking delivery of a new computer in a few days time which will change my life. I'll have it moored in the bedroom, away from prying eyes and will be able to get on with a lot of stuff I haven't been able to thus far. Once I come back home with shiploads of old printed media that's when things will really kick off. I've got most of the copies of 'The Face' and 'I-D', as well as stuff like 'Soul Undergroound' etc that were printed during the eighties. I'll be driving up to my Mum's place in a couple of week's time and bringing them all back down with me. I know the excellent 'Test Pressing' has been there before and done it, but I think I've got more stuff to publish, so expect to see some seminal articles and interviews to start appearing on this blog before the end of the year. I just have to buy a scanner.

I suppose the real reason I haven't been writing much here recently is because I've been writing lots of reviews and interviews for Ibiza Voice and RA. I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks though, but have got a lot in the pipeline. One assignment was to interview Harvey, which I did, but whether it sees the light of day or not is debatable. I called him last Friday night at home in LA, chatted for around thrifty minutes, once some Skype teething problems had been dealt with, said goodbye and instantly realised that I hadn't recorded the conversation. Schoolboy error, as Ron Manager would say. I'm going to see if I can do it again but I'm not optimistic. It's a pity because he's a great interviewee and, although we probably didn't cover much new ground in comparison to past interviews he's given, it would still make great reading. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can do it again, but in the meantime I've got to put some questions together for Marcel Dettmann.

As you can probably see from my previous post, I've just reviewed Seth Troxler's 'Lab 03' double mix cd for NRK. While it's not perfect, it's still a very good mix and as good an indication of current trends in house and techno as any. Of course it all depends what you like, but Troxler seems to be up to the task and not just a party animal per se. The Visionquest label, which he partly runs, is very good indeed and seems to be interested in going places no other label currently is, or has. It's not that it's super original, but it is definitely very adept at putting an interesnting, out-of-kilter twist on a range of genres. Not a one-trick pony, that's for sure. Meanwhile Hot Natured seems to have hit the wall. Not that the music being issued isn't any good, but there's only so many hip-hop, r&b and eighties influences one can stomach. In truth though there's life in the project yet and I'm sure that once Foss and Jones regroup they'll have the stamina to go off on even more interesting tangents. Wolf & Lamb and Double Standard push the synthetic eighties slow to even more extreme limits though. It's fine, and interesting in small doses, but they're still churning out facsimiles of the sound a good few years after they started. It's over gentlemen. Use your undeniable talent to explore new worlds, seek out new civilisations, etc. I know that the three collectives mentioned are all pretty tight with each other and all have these separate identities to save themselves from themselves, as well as so we can tell them apart, but Hot Natured and Wolf & Lamb had better take different forks in the road because there's a hideous convergence coming up if they don't. Only Visionquest can survive on current form.

Marcel Dettmann's forthcoming 'Conducted' is as good a techno mix as I've heard. I've reviewed it for Ibiza Voice and, as already mentioned, have to put some questions together for him for an email interview. I'd prefer to Skype him but I've heard he doesn't think his English is that good so is worried he may not come across properly. False teutonic modesty I'm sure. I bet he knows his present perfect simple and continuous inside out. He's also about to become a father, so congratulations Herr Dettmann. Talking of techno, FACT Magazine have just put together one of their normally very-well researched lists on Jeff Mills, complete with commentary from the man himself. I say "normally" because while the article is very informative, Jeff Mills apparently stopped making essential music in the twentieth century. Of course these lists can never be too exhaustive, neither will they please everyone all the time, but methinks the gaping hole of the last decade could have been accounted for without too much trouble.

Great albums just released, or forthcoming from Planetary Assault Systems on Ostgut Ton, Dro Carey on Ramp and VVV on Fortified Audio. Crosstown Rebels more recent offerings seem to have fallen in to the bottomless pit that is slowly being filled by those deemed bland enough to provide filler for Hot Natured and their ilk's sets. Thankfully Dinky's latest is better than that, but the first release on Maceo Plex's new label, Ellum Audio, is just more of the same. As long as they're bedding loads of birds due to their new found fame as purveyors of sexy, groovy house that's ok I suppose. One more thing. Speaking of Hot Natured I bought the latest issue of DJ Mag yesterday to get the free Lee Foss mix cd. Haven't listened to it yet but his skills are not in doubt. Anyway, it happened to be their annual top 100 DJs issue. The complete absence of any female DJs from the list has already been the subject of an Ibiza Voice article. However, I wasn't at all prepared for the onslaught of airbrushed muppets who, by and large, make up the list. Who are these fuckwits? The only reason they're there is because they got their mates to vote for them. Isn't it about time that ability and artistry was recognised instead of spiky hair and shit taste? These twits are clueless. David Guetta may be top of the list, and he is popular, but he's crap. I'm older than him but I couldn't sell out and limit myself in the way he has. Bob Sinclair is another one. I used to bump into him regularly in Rough Trade in Paris in the mid nineties. Hasn't changed much superficially, lovely hair still, but any good taste he had has been slowly squeezed from him as he sold out. Carl Cox looks innovative compared to these lemons.

The Lab 03 Mixed By Seth Troxler - V/A (NRK)

Read my RA review of Seth Troxler's new double mix cd here.

The Circle Stops Somewhere - A Sagittariun (Elastic Dreams)

Read my RA review of 'The Circle Stops Somewhere' here.

Random Film Clips Of DJs Playing: 6

Back From The Fatherland

I've just spent almost a week back in the land of my fathers. Saw Liverpool draw 1-1 against a well-organised Norwich side, but they should have won and on another day could have had three or four. Anyway, while I was away from my desk a couple of reviews were published by RA.




The first, a write-up of 'The Boardroom Presents Radical Majik's Mental Health' can be found here.



The second is of Douglas Greed's 'KRL' and that can be found here.

The Established Order Of Things - Point B (Frijsfo Beats)

Read my RA review of 'The Established Order Of Things' here

A Quick Round-Up

There really hasn't been much time to write recently. Most recent posts have been links to reviews on other sites, and I'm going away for a week this Friday so that'll mean more dead air. At the very least I can hopefully point some of you in the direction of some good recent mixes. Some I've listened to, some not, so you'll have to take those on approval. I'll have much more time to listen to more mixes now though as the Mrs bought me one of those excellent IPod adapters for the car. You know, the ones that lock into a radio frequency and play the music through it. Wonderful what they can do nowadays innit?

So lets start with something that I've literally just come across. So fresh in fact that I didn't know of it when I started this article. It's Raiz at Berghain on the 5.7.11. Here's the link and I'm prepared to give this the benefit of the doubt because of the artists pedigree, the location and the comments from the listeners. Superficial? Maybe, but I'm sure it's worth it.

Next up here's an hour of Steffi live at the Boiler Room last month. One of the best around doesn't disappoint. I was cooking dinner most of the tkime while listening to this last night but I'm sure she got stuck into some dubstep as the hour draws to a close, or maybe it was the noise the central heating made as the pipes rattled when I turned it on for the first time this year.

Smear contribute the latest installment to the Electric Deluxe podcast series. You can grab that here. There's also an interview on the same site which you can read here.

The latest in the very good Louche podcast series is a set from Tama Sumo. Again, this is another one I haven't got around to listening to yet but the tracklist looks interesting enough:


1) Portable and Lakuti: A Deeper Love.
2) DJ Qu: Slidin' Thu.
3) The Mole: Johny Mc Hockey.
4) System 360: Super Tuesday.
5) Tin Man: Loev Sick (Tobias Remix).
6) Omar S: Gunup Runup.
7) Ramjac Corporation: Cameroon Massif!
8-) Mondo: Work Me Baby.
9) Tevo Howard: The Instruction (Acid Mix).
10) Steven Tang: Drone.
11) XDB: Apari.
12) Sigha: The Black House.
13) Big Strick: State Of Emergency.
14) Marcel Fengler: Thwack (Norman Nodge Remix).
15) Cosmin TRG: Fizic.
16) Anthony Shake Shakir meets BBC: Ngunyuta Dance Remix (Anthony Shakir Remix).
17) The Oliverwho Factory: Take Me Away.
18) Chicago Skyway: London Streets.
19) Matthew Styles: Don't Call Me Again.
20) Mary Boyoi: Zooz (Tama Sumo Remix).
21) Massimiliano Pagliara: In Order Of More Depth (BHFV Remix).

You can grab that here and subscribe to the whole series here.

Saarbrucken's finest, Roger 23, is always worth a listen, and he contributes the latest in the series of podcasts for Russia's Mixmag Info. Follow this link to download and for a q & a.

Head over to ASC's blog for the first in the 'Auxcast' podcast series. This is the tracklist so far, according to some forumite over at RA:

1.?
2.?
3.?
4.The Sight Below - New Dawn Fades
5.?
6.Kangding Ray - A Protest Song
7.Perc - ChoiceBuy
8.Cocteau Twins - Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires
9.Sam KDC - Marine Light
10.ASC - Neptune
11.dBridge - So Lonely (Morgan Zarate Remix)
12.?
13.Badawi - The Axiom (Vaccine Remix)
14.ASC - Error Code
15.?
16.?
17.?
18.Björk - Undo

At first glance it seems a bit fluffy, but that may be because I'm being unduly influenced by the inclusion of one Cocteau Twins track, the titles of which are enough to bring me out in a rash. Link here.

FACT is on a roll right now. Serious stuff from Appleblim, Morphosis and today Raime. Each of these can be downloaded from here. The Morphosis one really is a trip.

Clara Moto, who's made her name through her output for Infine, has contributed a fine mix for Fabric you can find that here. Also on the same page is a mix from DJ Three. His mixes used to be quite common but are now as rare as hen's teeth. Here's the second part of a mix recorded in Chicago in the summer. Last but not least on the Fabric page is a mix from the godlike genius that is Legowelt. Get that here.


Finally here's a nice house mix recorded in Venezuala last spring. It's in two parts and comes courtesy of the Pack Up And Dance crew. Only problem is that it doesn't have a download option. If you like it, badger him a bit. Link here.

October Chart

Hurrah! It's my birthday today so, fresh after sampling the seven course tasting menu at Cambridge's Midsummer House, here's this month's chart. I've got to do something, innit? Too bloated and corpulent to do anything else.



The Pathway To Tiraquon6 - Space Dimension Controller (R&S)



The Purple EP - The Analogue Cops (Out-Er)



Visionquest Fall/Winter Collection - V/A (Visionquest)



Dayz - Mathew Jonson (Crosstown Rebels)




Deep Deep Down - Cottam (Aus Music)



Quemadura Del Sol - Alejandro Trebor (Hidden Recordings)



The Established Order - Point B (Frijsfo Beats)



The Messenger - Planetary Assault Systems (Ostgut Ton)



The Boardroom Presents . . . . Radical Majiks Mental Health - Radical Majik (The Boardroom Presents)



Kiss 'N' Tell EP - B Bravo (Earnest Endeavours)

The Space Dimension Controller collection is one of the best things I've heard all year and carries on from where his previous R&S release, 'Temporary Thrillz' left off. Also impressive is the latest Visionquest compilation. This label is real carving out a niche for itself, straddling the psychedelic/dark pop/house music divide with ease. All the above are worthy of a mention. Mathew Jonson is back on form, the Analogue Cops more than live up to their name, Cottam returns with one of his best yet, and Alejandro Trebor continues Hidden's recent run of good form, backed up by a horde of remixes. There's Point B's latest on Frijsfo and Radical Majik - expect to see them both reviewed somewhere else soon, an excellent album from Luke Slater and the debut funkified release on Earnest Endeavours. Maybe I'm just in a good mood because it's my birthday, but I love them all. xxx

Eats Everything

Read my Ibiza Voice review of the 'Eats Everything EP' on Dirtybird here.

Crazy P and Paul Woolford & Psycatron

A couple of links to some articles I recently wrote for Ibiza Voice. First up here's an interview with Crazy P's Danialle Moore, then a review of Paul Woolford and Psycatron's newie on Hotflush.

Exone 10 - Dave Vega (Exone)

Read my RA review of 'Exone 10' here.

The Isometric Dance Class Contd.

Here are parts three and four of the same show that I uploaded last week. I must have stayed in front of the cassette player for more hours than I care to remember in those days. I wish I'd been a little more studious when recording this, because there's a guest mix that starts towards the end of the first side, it may be from Nipper, where he cuts up 'LFO' with some hip-hop, or hip-house, or something like that. Anyway, this is the last one of these radio recordings I've got. Loads of old Tim Westwood though, which are worth a listen for him alone.

Isometric Dance Class 3: 19.9.90 by Cacophonousbling on Mixcloud

Download part one here.

Isometric Dance Class 4 19.9.90 by Cacophonousbling on Mixcloud

Download part two here.

The Isometric Dance Class: 19.9.90

For the first post of October, done during an unnaturally sunny day for this time of the year, I found a recording of an old Stu Allen or David Dunne show (I can't remember who) from Piccadilly Key 103 "back in the day." I can only imagine that I must have recorded this up at my mum's while waiting to go back to university for the start of my second year. Living in Wallasey meant that I had to twiddle around with the radio knobs to get reasonable reception, but normally seemed to end up doing so when it mattered. I didn't use to listen to the radio at university, preferring to play records and tapes constantly. Anyway, there was the occasional glimmer of light on Merseyside in 1990, but it came from Manchester every Sunday night. Listening to this tape now doesn't feel so much like the trip back in time it is, apart from analogue ruling the waves. There's a very eclectic approach, some of which comes off, and then again some of which doesn't. Sequencing skills are as smooth as sleight of hand and generally track selection is good. Not bad for a radio show that was broadcast between 7 and 9 I think.

I'll put another recording up next week.

Isometric Dance Class 1 19.9.90 by Cacophonousbling on Mixcloud

Download part 1 here.

Isometric Dance Class 2 19.9.11 by Cacophonousbling on Mixcloud

Download part 2 here.

Totalement EP - Andrew Grant, Tato & Tuccillo (Isgud Records)

Read my (badly written) review of the 'Toltalement' EP here.