‘Afrogermanic’ is definitely one of those tracks that sounds a bit better pitched up. A sort of Detroit homage to Kraftwerk innit. So many layers and so heavy. It’s a real contrast because, in spite of this, it still manages to feel floaty and airy. I guess that is all down to the swathes of ambient noise that inhabit the gaps in the groove. It’s also far too short and could do with a couple more transcendent minutes. An amazing piece of electro that sounds like nothing else.
One of the most chaotic tracks I’ve heard. If music is a reflection of the mind then Terrence Dixon could possibly use some therapy. Then again, I might be talking complete bollocks. This is a meandering, drunken, sonic voyage that overspills at times, only to reign itself in. It’s an absolute bugger to mix as well. Even the sync button will find this a challenge.. The world was a different place back in 2012 when this came out on Frustrated Funk offshoot Harbour City Sorrow. Terrence Dixon followed this up with, amongst other things, the minimal series of releases on Reduction. This is anything but minimal. However, the various elements which make it up are sounds that are characteristic if those later used. Always an interesting producer and one who often slides under the radar of most.
Around twenty-twenty five years ago (said in the voice of the harry Enfield character), Swag, aka Chris Duckenfield and Richard Brown, were a veritable underground hit factory, their sound founded on funk, breaks, tribal beats and hedonism. And this is a great example of their sound. Incredibly clean, bottom heavy and with a sound the ricochet’s throughout that sounds like an octopus juggling and sharpening knives. It’s definitely them, even though they don’t say it is. Primitive was their label for tools and a distillation of the style that had seen them become remixers du jour, as well as extremely accomplished headline artists. I still have almost all of their stuff and it has dated very well indeed. There’s still a place for them at the head of the table.
One from the recesses of the mind. I played this for the first time in maybe 35 years the other day and immediately everything came rushing back. The various bedrooms of my youth and their smoke-filled ambience. Having said that, there was always a constant debate in progress within those autodidactic confines. One of those tunes made for squats. We were all anarchists back then.
This track is everything that I’m not at the moment. Energetic, effervescent, full of vim and vigour. In contrast to its vitality I am a proper wet lettuce, having laboured under the misapprehension of being alive for the past week or so. Nothing lasts forever, so that’s nice. In the meantime get this tune. It’s bursting at the seams. Typical Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. Constantly in full flow. Love the tribal interlude that starts between 4-5 minutes.
This is one I didn’t have when it was originally released, so a.r.t.less did the business and released a double pack on coloured vinyl a couple of years ago that compiles the first two two Convextion releases on Matrix, the other being ‘Miranda Remixes’. (There is also ‘E.P.’ by E.R.P. currently going for a king’s ransom over on Discogs). As Gerard Hanson adopts a more tecchy approach for Convextion, that’s what you get here. Eight or so minutes of sublime, interstellar machine funk which takes its cues from everywhere that matters and ends up being completely original. It feels very much influenced by European techno, particularly that from the UK and The Nehtherlands at the time, rather than Detroit. However, the sci-fi vibe that creeps through from time to time definitely echoes some of Jeff Mills contemporary productions.
Elemental dub from Scientist. The first track from ‘Scientific Dub’, one which I didn’t have. The reggae racks in Reaction Records New Brighton used to heave under the weight of Scientis albums, with their comic book covers. ‘Scientst Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires’ was my favourite, but I also had a lot of time for ‘Scientist Meets The Space Invaders’. ‘Scientific Dub’ drafted Augustus Pablo in on piano, as well as Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett on guitar, and Robbie Shakespeare on bass, so has maybe a more star studded line up than some of the other dub albums. Not that I ever used to pay that much attention to detail back then.
Superior minimal/dubby west coast house from the turn of the century. So much good music came from that region around that time. All of the trailblazing tribal house on the likes of Siesta and Tango, and then the more purist house on this short-lived label, and others like Tweekin’. The coastal Commission was a chap called Sam Robson, whose career seems to run in parallel with the longevity of Pacific Coast House, and other splinter labels. Apparently about to get a new leash of life sometime soon. And nI guess by more purist house what I’m doing is separating the likes of this from those other labels which relied on a highly percussive, intense sound. This is almost the opposite. However, it’s not Kerri Chandler.
This is free on Bandcamp at the moment, so there’s absolutely no excuse not to own it. Wonderful, sinister ambient dub that is fit for any occasion. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, you name it, there’s a place for it. Could this be the backdrop for a new interpretation of ‘West Side Story’ in which the aJets and The Sharks fight in slow-motion to this Beatles morass? Sort of like ‘The Matrix’ meets ‘Bugsy Malone’? What waffle.
Title: Rotational Drift
Artist: Lewski
Label: United Identities
Cat Number: UI017
Genre: Electro
1: Rotational Drift
2: NaddD
If I’m correct, and I often am, ‘Rotational Drift’ marks something of a return to action for Lewski, not having put anything out for a few years now. Anyway, this is a double header of redoubtable quality. It’s quite fast, uptempo electro, but not straying into the excessively rapid and so preserving its funkiness. Both tracks showcase a multilayered, imaginative approach to beat pharmacy which reveals itself on continual listenings. The title track has a very appealing, soaring synth that feels raw on top of the angular beats and below the vocal stabs. ‘NaddD’ is a little bit more in control of itself, but no less powerful going for the jugular with the concave, synthetic steel bass drum balanced with a sense of the infinite relayed through a sonic sleight of hand that makes it feel like your floating in space. These tracks are way too short though. They’re an endless source of fascination.
Title: Noise Figure
Artist: Luxus Varta
Label: Shipwrec
Cat Number: #Ship076
Genre: Electro
A1: Building Peaks
A2: Lizardous
B1: Silver Girl
B2: The Resetter
The latest release from Annecy’s finest Luxus Varta, finds him on Dutch label Shipwrec for the first time since 2017’s ‘Aquamarine Puzzle’. The world was a very different place then and, I think it’s fair to say, this release is also a little bit different from Mr Varta’s previous efforts. There’s still an underlying sense of darkness and a feeling that listening to this stuff at any other time except the winter might not be appreciating its true worth. However, the beats certainly feel tougher and the funk less frozen. This is evident from start to finish. ‘Building Peaks’ deploys urgent, asymmetric beats that feel like fully charged whip cracks. ‘Lizardous’ is a slow and sure contrast between a cascading sonic glimmer and an enveloping low-end, with of which coalesce in order to reach a state of controlled euphoria. The pull of ‘Silver Girl’ is in its dissonance. Everything initially feels chaotic and it doesn’t really settle down, but if you’re already buckled in there’s a sense of destiny. And then there’s ‘The Resetter’ which puts a final, slightly more industrial flourish on a release, the direction of which feels like a goth/b-boy sound clash.
I remember when the Herbert series, 1-4, came out. I was living in Paris and dividing a lot of my free time between commuting to various record shops. There was Rough Trade (where I spent by far the largest amount of money), and BPM in Bastille, and Salinas in Montmartre. And for whatever reason I think I bought this release in the shadow of The Sacre Couer. These releases were revolutionary for the time, anticipating minimal house/techno by a good few years, while adding a depth that, with so few tools on show, has yet to be equalled. What is most notable about these releases though is their effortless swing and natural funk. The kicks, in particular, take you to another dimension.
‘Tropical Hot Dog Night’ features on ‘Shiny Beast Bat Chain Puller’ which is the album that turned me on to Beefheart. It would be a lot cooler to say it was ‘Trout Mask Replica’, but I’m not that old. So I got into everything else in retrospect. This particular track, along with ‘When I See Mommy I Feel Like A Mummy’, where probably the two most played tracks on this album in the hip bedrooms of Wallasey in the late 70s and early 80s. What I love most about this track is it’s organised chaos. It’s a psychedelic mambo the likes of which will never be equalled. It does go a bit weird towards the end though.
Another journey from Fred P. No one makes deep house quite like he does. Dubby, cinematic and eminently danceable; ‘Sonic Tour’ is a great example of his style. Hypnotic, multi-layered and immersive. Wonderful mixing fodder and a great highlight. It’s the type of track that has me wondering what goes through the mind of the creator of such a piece on an everyday basis.I guess he goes to the supermarket from time to time? There’s an active transcendent brain layer that not everybody has. And for those who thing this all sounds the same, get in the sea!
One of the great TV rock performances, nicely rounded off by Bob Harris’ smirkingly said “mock rock’, I was alive when this was broadcast, but not kicking. That is to say my knowledge of music extended to what was on Top Of The Pops, but not much more. Even so, Bowie, Roxy Music, T-Rex and The Sweet provided some idea of what was possible. Penetrating below that superficial veneer wasn’t easy until punk came along and opened a lot of eyes. And The Old Grey Whistle Test was always shown way past my bedtime so I found out about all of this retrospectively. And they were managed by Malcolm McClaren as well. All things aside though, this is one brilliant track. The Stones’ influence is clear, if not purely stylistic, and the essence of punk ism also there, a good three years before it became a thing. Lovely stuff.
The first track from ‘Histoire de Melody Nelson’, Serge Gainsbourg’s Magnum Opus. A very abstract, stream-of-consciousness composition on all fronts. At least that’s the impression it gives. The strings dive in and out, the bass furtively underlays it all and the guitar embellishes with electric flourishes. The total effect is a mesmerising one that condenses swinging London into a French man’s packet of ciggies. The sixties really happening in the seventies of course.
Following on from Pepe Bradock’s ‘Sakura Incident’, this is Nicholas Barnes’ contribution to cherry blossom mysticism. It’s good, uptempo dub techno. The type that throws shade but not in an intimidating or threatening way. There’s plenty of movement between darkness and light here, and it’s the type of track that was keeping me company a few hours ago when I completed a cross-country circuit in the driving snow along with around 500 other mentalists.
