Every time I feature a Basic Channel track I wonder what I can say that hasn’t been said before. It’s never difficult with amazing music though, and if there’s one pair of artists who have the innate ability to create something that can elicit different reactions and feelings every time a piece of their music is listened to, it’s Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald. ‘Inversion’ is almost 18 minutes long, but it passes in an instant. It sounds like the backdrop to a longboat full of vikings raping and pillaging a small, helpless coastal village in Yorkshire back in the dark ages, but it’s so delicate that you could be stroking a cat while the berserkers are on the rampage thinking that all is right with the world. An eternal wormhole of sonic bliss, into which you can pour the entire contents of your imagination and get different results every time, going beyond beauty in the course of its wanderings.
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Monday, November 04, 2024
Track Of The Day: Quincy Jones - Ghana (Mercury)
Probably the most influential musician of the last 75 years. “Jack of all trades, master of all of them” for sure. Quincy Jones’ influence became more apparent once he became Michael Jackson’s producer of choice. However, his talent was widely known well before then. This track, from his album ‘The Great Wide World Of Quincy Jones’ from 1959, is a subtle big band extravaganza which feels very familiar, glamorous and evocative all at once. Something from the rat pack era that you feel you’ve heard before, but only because it’s probably been copied so many times.
Saturday, November 02, 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Shjva - Metazone (Viscera Transmissions)
Title: Metazone
Artist: Shjva
Label: (Viscera Transmissions)
Cat Number: VTD002
Genre: Trance Induction
1: Metazone
2: Polycaste
3: You Must Let It Go
4: Metazone (Eversines Remix)
Trance comes in many forms so like house I suppose it’s a feeling. And Shjva definitely gets it. Specialising in the deeper reaches of the genre, she explores it’s more interesting parts; where it collides with distant worlds and tempos. I may be trying to fit square pegs into round holes here, but in spite of the tones and textures being generally recognisable, there is more than one undercurrent flowing within these tunes that throws them all a little off-kilter. After the title track it’s all downhill, with the synths in overdrive. We never go full on Juno Reactor though, even though there are plenty of opportunities. What I really like about this EP, therefore, is its restraint, maturity and subtle hooks throughout. It’s trance Jim, but it doesn’t go the whole hog. There’s a healthy funk presence in there, something that allows it to flourish beyond its recognised confines.
Monday, October 21, 2024
Track Of The Day: Afro Cube - Muevete Mama (Broder Mix) (Strictly Rhythm)
First heard on ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards’ brilliant Essential Mix. A mix that defined the real sound of tech house; ie: playing anything we like at a specific tempo that generally fits into the house or techno template regardless of origin, back in 1995, ‘Muevete Mama’ is another from the underground hit factory that was Murk, (in this case a solo effort from Oscar Gaetan), and came at a time when latin house was definitely on the rise. There’s really not much to this track and compared to a lot of murk’s more famous tracks, it feels a little lite. It does the trick though. The percussion and the spoken word ushering it in, and then the bass comes in . . . even the horns sound good on it. You’re not standing still to this.
Voltaire -[QR]D.292.VOL1.24 (COD3 QR)
Title: [QR]D.292.VOL1.24
Artist: Voltaire
Label: COD3 QR
Cat Number: QRD292VOL124
Genre: Dark Electronic Mood Setters
1: Moment
2: Dance!
3: Connection Lost
The latest release on Laurent Garnier’s relatively faceless COD3 QR label comes from Voltaire, somebody who apparently operates outside the more traditional French electronic music milieu. He has an album, ‘Echoes’ slated for release next year and the three tracks on this release are a little taster for it. ‘Moment’ is a minimal, sinister builder with spoken word vocals across the top. It sort of recalls a little bit of the darker aspects of Chicago house/Murk mixed with a more reflective take. It’s over before it’s begun and would benefit with an extra couple of minutes to emphasise its seedier side. ‘Dance!’ does feel like an extension of ‘Moment’, in that the latter’s crescendo is built upon, thus creating a sense of progression. Maybe this was the plan all along? Both tracks have a similar mood at play. There’s some nice, robust synth work here that pushes it into the realms of goth funk, or something like that. ‘Connection Lost’ stands a little bit aside in that it’s an electro track, but one that veers into emotive, symphonic territory. It ebbs and flows which is crucial for its momentum and effect. An interesting and intriguing release which makes one wonder what direction the album will take.
Wave Arising - (The) Rooted Sky (Remixes) (Ransom Note)
Title: (The) Rooted Sky Remixes
Artist: Wave Arising
Label: Ransom Note
Cat Number: R$N42R
Genre: Techno/Ambient Moods
1: Subconscious (Azu Tiwaline Remix)
2: Electric Shrine (Davis Galvin Remix)
3: It Comes And Goes (Flug 8 Remix)
4: Monin Yiri (Symmol Remix)
A nice quartet of differing shades, textures and moods here. Azu Tiwaline’s take on ‘Subconscious’ is a nicely weighted piece of linear techno with trance and dub overtones. It’s a patient piece that gradually builds and climaxes with energy to spare. Davis Galvin’s interpretation of ‘Electric Shrine’ takes a more reflective route. The sounds it generates feeling like a literal accompaniment to ships passing each other in the mist. It’s like a Buddha Machine update. This approach feels like it’s being taken up a notch on Flug 8’s remix of ‘It Comes And Goes’, a track that grandiloquently bridges the gap between ambient and disco. And going out on the Symmol Remix of ‘Monin Yiri’, we have another, very atmospheric track in which the space between the beats is crucial to the overall comprehension of the track. All good in the hood, with Flug 8’s rendering of ‘It Comes And Goes’ being my personal pick.
Friday, October 18, 2024
Track Of The Day: The Normal - T.V.O.D. (Mute)
The first release on Mute Records came from its president, Daniel Millar as ‘The Normal’. It was a double A side with ‘Warm Leatherette’, in infinitely better track and one that went on to be covered by all and sundry, with Grace Jones’ version featuring on ‘Nightclubbing’ being the most famous. This is of no matter though. I had a sudden urge to post this because the isolated memory crossed my mind earlier today of seeing this performed live when The Normal and Essential Logic supported Belfast’s finest, Stiff Little Fingers, at Eric’s in Liverpool in February 1979. I would have been a mere 16 years old and not very gig hardened at that point. It was one of the best as I recall. And this track was undoubtably played, although I can’t remember that precise moment. It’s got the lot as far as nascent industrial synth pop is concerned. Deadpan, repetitive lyrics, and a few layers of synthetic madness that ratchets the momentum up and down, but remains intense throughout.
