Marvellous, otherworldly (which is the point innit) electro from Kalkulator remixed by Nullptr. Slow and insidious which maximises the funk, this sounds like a description of an alien and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I first heard it. I don’t know of any other tracks by Kalkulator, this one comes as part of a gargantuan 51 track release on a usb stick. Thankfully it’s available separately on Bandcamp. Lovely stuff. Let’s put ‘The X-Files’ on.
This track came out in 1998, a time when Treibstoff was in full ascendancy. It was a label which effortlessly blended deep house and techno and although I don’t own many of its releases, (two I think), it was one I always monitored. I remember buying one release at Flying Records in Soho just before going to a Faith party with some of the DJs there. They opened the shop late on Saturday evening and we all piled in after the pub and played records together before going to the party. All I can remember about that was Maurice Fulton & Justin Robertson played, as well as the residents. And I’m going off on a tangent, which is a pity because this track by Rene Breitbarth is a killer. It’s mid-paced and as deep as you like. And what really raises the hairs on the back of the neck is the little vibey flourish that hovers above the bass which blends in with what sounds like a short wave radio being tuned. Lovely analogue warmth.
It’s getting late and inspiration is in short supply. Not a problem. Just reach for the Rhythm & Sound back catalogue. There’s something that hasn’t been plundered on these pages for a while. And the vibe on this is very much in tandem with the way I feel right now. There’s a positive sense of inertia that comes from this tune. Neutral stasis. The brain is lying in state while the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I struggle to think of anything original to write when commenting on one of Maurizio’s productions. So I’ll return to the inevitable and just wrap myself up in it.
French clairvoyant Cabanne started releasing music at the turn of the century and, by the time this track came out on Perlon’s ‘Superlongevity 4’, the minimal movement was at its height. Cabanne has never had a solo release on the label, but I guess having one tucked away on four slabs of vinyl is really as good as it gets, inasmuch as it forces the diggers to go that one step further. And ‘Smiling Papers’ is so very typical of the genre. Having said that, it shows a whimsical side and sounds like the type of music that the occupants of Bagpuss’ house might record if they were let loose with some good beans. It’s unerringly funky and around every corner there’s a wild animal. Small furry creatures make noises that can only come from the depths of a forest at midnight while the percussion sounds like the product of a hoodoo hoedown.;. And then you’ve got the vocal sample which feels like punctuation and percussion combined. This stuff is coming back better than before.
Lots of great electro coming out at the moment, and this release on the always interesting Kalahari Oyster Cult from Nicola Cruz from the ‘Telemagenta’ EP is something that gets it just right. It’s a nice, smooth glide through the intergalactic pathways of funk with enough going on around the beats to give it an extra dimension. Beat metamorphosis through a variety of tempos and environmental factors feels effortless. There’s also good use of a disembodied spoken word, the gist of which I’m yet to understand. But that’s what it’s all about isn't it? Fragments of futuristic consciousness coalescing at an undefined velocity.
Like many others I first heard this track on Terry Francis’ immortal Essential Mix back in 1998. And it really is a corker. Trance trace elements blend with wild pitch to create a piece of house that is both functional and show stopping. It probably has more in common with what was coming out on the likes of Tribal and Twisted than most other labels of the time. Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards all had a preternatural ability to seek out the best of the best. It didn’t matter what the labels was or whether it was techno or house. And it was inevitable that the terminology would be bastardised to describe the most overproduced and soulless stuff imaginable when all that it described was the best of multiple genres that could be mixed together and induce systematic shape throwing. Forensic put out some good stuff. Amongst which were three releases by DKMA, aka Dana Kelley, aka Callisto. All worth seeking out.
This track comes from ‘The Foot Therapy’ EP, which was the first Prescription release I bought, as well as the first time I heard Joshua on record. He became one of my go to producers for a while. There was something unique about the way he fused dub and house. This track isn’t like that at all though. Instead it blends disco cut ups with house and an overarching symphonic feel. It’s probably my favourite tune from this release, which is no mean feat when Abacus, Ron Trent and Chez Damoier are the other artists who contribute. There’s something very full-bodied and soulful about this track that is unsurpassable. Of course there are many as good, but none better. One from the burring heart of house music.
