Track Of The Day: John Beltran - Deluge (Peacefrog)

 

From the brilliant ‘Ten Days Of Blue’, which surfaced in the mid nineties, ‘Deluge’ really is an onomatopoeic track. And although the album is probably more defined as an ambient album more than anything else, it’s not really. The beats in this tune eventually give way to a dramatic, symphonic clash at the end, so there’s more than a bit of genre-bending going on. Above all this is a great piece of techno, and it’s sad that the label doesn’t hold it’s artists in high regard. This was posted almost ten years ago on the album’s Discogs release page.

”This Is John Beltran. This release is illegal. Peacefrog has ripped me and many others off for years. I've never been paid a cent. Now they must be in need of money or something. Don't give it to them. I released the LP on Band Camp for free yesterday and or for a donation to an animal shelter in Peacefrogs country. They have blocked that release with a copyright infringement letter. It's not about the money anymore. Now it's personal.”

Om Unit - Oracles (Local Action)

 

Title: Oracles

Artist: Om Unit

Label: Local Action

Cat Number: LOC 092

Genre: Breaks

1: Remember

2: Rustt

3: Ripples

4: Healing Tool

5: Survivor

The hook of ‘Remember’ sounds like it came straight out of the court of Henry Vlll. It’s some weird Tudor melody injected into a loose break beat context. There’s also the Enya - like vocals to consider as well. So you can probably appreciate the dynamics within which are being worked. From then on it’s probably correct to say that ‘Rustt’ and ‘Ripples’ are the heavier of the four tracks left. ‘Rustt’ has great definition. Every part feels distinct yet works in complete tandem with each other. It’s a bouncy, yet deep tune where the break beats often give way to space and time. ‘Ripples’ is heavier due to a grinding low end and god use of echo. It’s a tad more urgent, but this is kept in check by what sound like frantic hand claps. ‘Healing Tool’ deploys erratic beats over a more relaxed, therapeutic backdrop, and ‘Survivor’ feels like a clear fusion of more than one sphere of influence. I’m getting strong jazz vibes from it, as well as string led soul. The whole EP is a dynamic piece of work, built on a foundation of break beats, but defined by the myriad of flourishes that play across them.

DMX Krew @ Kiosk Radio 28.03.2026

 

Sun Ra Arkestra - When There Is No Sun (Curated By Ricardo Villalobos) (Omni Sound)

 

Title: When There Is No Sun

Artist: Sun Ra Arkestra

Label: Omni Sound 

Cat Number: 

Genre: All Over The Place

01. Underground Resistance - When Angels Speak featuring Saul Williams 5:24
02. She Spells Doom - Somebody Else’s Idea featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (SHE Spells Doom Remix) 5.17
03. Chez Damier & Ben Vedren - The Three Dimensions of Air featuring Anthony Joseph (H2H Kora Mix) 6.12
04. Calibre - Chopin featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (Calibre Remix ) 8.29
05. Ricardo Villalobos - I have Forgotten featuring Tara Middleton (Ricardo Villalobos Earlier than Late Remix 2) 10.23
06. Chez Damier & Ben Vedren- The Endless Realm featuring Tunde Adebimpe (H2H Mix) 6:20
07. Underground Resistance – The Outer Darkness featuring Saul Williams 5:07
08. A Guy Called Gerald - Message to Black Youth featuring Mahogany L.Browne (Gerald Rework) 3.15
09. She Spells Doom - Portrait of the Living Sky featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (SHE Spells Doom Remix) 5.34
10. Ricardo Villalobos - I Have Forgotten featuring Tara Middleton (Ricardo Villalobos Earlier than Late Remix 1) 11.55
11. Baris K – Somebody Else’s Idea featuring Abiodun Oyewole 6:34
12. Calibre - Chopin featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (Calibre Ambient Remix) 6.22

Not being your well-rounded Sun Ra scholar, I see no relevance in reviewing this release as a comparison to the original material. I first became aware in Sun Ra in the early 1980s. However, in spite of that passage of time, I’ve never really listened to him. And I think that’s the situation for a lot of people. Sun Ra remains an enigma. Someone who we’ve heard of but never dipped our toes into. An interesting element to stimulate conversation when it might be flagging. “Oh, have you ever heard Sun Ra, he’s really out there”. Anyway, whatever the case, this Ricardo Villalobos compilation is a lot more cohesive than anything Sun Ra himself ever produced. And although I guess that also means it’s a lot more conservative as well, there’s a lot of variety within the general structure. Standouts for me are ‘Chez Damier & Ben Vedren- The Endless Realm featuring Tunde Adebimpe (H2H Mix)’, a full-bodied keys led house shuffler; ‘Underground Resistance – The Outer Darkness featuring Saul Williams’ spoken word alongside some sharp minimal syncopation; ‘Baris K – Somebody Else’s Idea featuring Abiodun Oyewole’, a respiratory-inspired sounding remix which melds percussion and disembodied voices into a chug-friendly stomper; and finally the other Chez Damier contribution, which blends a subtle kora with Anthony Joseph’s clear and concise proclaiming ‘The Three Dimensions of Air featuring Anthony Joseph (H2H Kora Mix)’.

Track Of The Day: The Future Sound Of London - Flak (Virgin)

I played all of ‘Lifeforms’ before. It was a lovely morning and this weekend has been the first time this year that we’ve been a blue to have coffee in the garden without putting a coat on. Anyway, I was able to hear some bits better than others over the outside ambience, and the melody that floats over the top of this really stood out. Sort of like an electro flute over primitive, tribal percussion. One of those melodies that takes one back to a pastoral prehistory and always makes me think of the many raves and outdoor parties I went to in the middle of nowhere. The sun slowly coming up and illuminating everything and everyone. Also something that, no matter how silly it sounds, feels quantifiably of this place.

Track Of The Day: Boogie Down Productions - South Bronx (B-Boy Records)

 

Before I got into house, etc, I was really into hip-hop, and when I moved down to London, Elephant & Castle, in June 1987, I had just started seriously buying it. Of course I can’t remember the name of the shop, but it was a small one off Walworth Rd., much closer to the Camberwell end than the Elephant one. There were record shops on every street corner back then, or so it seemed. Anyway, this particular one was mostly US imports I think, and it had a small, but perfectly formed hip-hop section. I’d heard that Scott Le Rock had recently been murdered in New York, but wasn’t that familiar with his music, so I bought ‘Criminal Minded’ on sight and found out all about the beef between the Bronx and Queens. I’ve still got this record within a few metres of me, but I doubt I’d find it in five minutes. I saw BDP live at The Town & Country club a couple of years later and it was one of the best hip-hop Gigs I ever went to. Better than EPMD mumbling and miming their album.

Track Of The Day: Larry Heard feat. Mr White - The Sun Can't Compare (Alleviated Records)

This track needs no introduction, except to say that it was being played by everyone and no one could possibly ruin it, unless they didn’t play it all. A contender for the best vocal acid track, as well as evidence that Larry heard can do no wrong. And the reason I’m posting it is because I just heard in on an Optimo mix. Which is nice.

LAST DRESDEN RECORDING AT CORSICA

DRESDEN · LAST DRESDEN RECORDING AT CORSICA

Recorded at Houghton - Vlada (2025)

Houghton Festival · Recorded at Houghton - Vlada (2025)

Recorded at Houghton - Al Wootton ( Pinters Set - 2025)

 

Houghton Festival · Recorded at Houghton - Al Wootton ( Pinters Set - 2025)

Track Of The Day: Sloth & Dormant - Yellow Cake (Thrive)

 

Posted as ‘Yellow Cake’ on Youtube, but as ‘Bush Life’ on a recent Instagram post on the real_tech_house account, I’m not too sure what to put. However ‘Bush Life’ on Pete’s Bandcamp comes up as a different tune. I could look for it downstairs, but would probably be incommunicado for the rest of the day. Anyways, this is a great piece of hypnotic, driving, druggy, groovy music. Everything was pitched up in those days so, in the spirit of some recent posts I’m going to say that I’d pitch it down. Not by much, but just enough to make it sound funkier and more lubricated. Another piece of magic from Mr. Hurst which has aged well.

Kerrie - Waves Of Reverie (Cultivated Electronics)

 

Title: Waves Of Reverie PT 1

Artist: Kerrie

Label: Cultivated Electronics

Cat Number: CE 049

Genre: Electro

A1: Enter The Vortex

A2: Beware Of Monotony

B1: Waves Of Reverie

B2: Funk Fidelity

I get the “waves” element instantly. ‘Enter The Vortex’ is made up of just that. It’s a heavy, slightly fidgety piece of electro that eternally unfurls over the electronic matrix that supports it. ‘Beware Of Monotony’ is sparser but no less imposing. A vocoder intones something that I don’t quite understand, but has me craning towards my speaker in hope. The melody sounds like a flock of seagulls on acid (the birds, not the group). This one is all about the bass. The title track leans in a similar sonic direction to what has gone before, and maybe falls in between the opening two as far as weight is concerned. There’s a feeling of tempered relentlessness, something which is further emphasised on ‘Funk Fidelity’, whose abrasive beats and rawness round off this release in style. It’s no holds barred stuff this, the type of electro that reimagines the genre squeezing into that techno nether region and not escaping.

V/A - Minacore Vol. 1 (Mina)

 

Title: Minacore Vol. 1

Artist: Various

Label: MIna

Cat Number: MINA001

Genre: Beats

1: Phoebe - Swamp Head

2: Violet - Early Shift

3: BLEID - 8AM PM

4: marum - Nothing Gold Can Stay

It’s a mixed bag this; ranging from the acid-tinged stomp of ‘Swamp Head’ to the beatless 1970s-tinged electronica of ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’. In between ‘Early Shift’ gives us drum and bass with some interesting tempo switches and ‘8AM PM’ invokes tribal abandon through layers of percussion. If we’re picking faves, as would be the case on such a release where difference is such a calling card, ‘Swamp Head’ takes the plaudits, with its 303 infused chug. However, each tune is an exercise in shape throwing tenderisation, from the most pummelling (‘8AM PM’), to the lightest of palpitations (‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’). And ‘Early Shift’ being the most dynamic.

Intergalactic Gary at MITHA

 

MITHA · Intergalactic Gary at MITHA

Track Of The Day: Joy Division - Disorder (Factory)

 

The opening track from one of the best albums ever released, and one I remember buying very clearly., I was with my dad and brother on the way down to, or back from a holiday. He had recently left my mum and was showing some sort of paternal duty by taking us on a holiday to Seaford on the south coast. We stopped in London and I went to HMV at the tTottenham Court Rd end of Oxford Street. ‘Unknown Pleasures’ had just been released and was all you could see when entering the shop. Factory definitely had their marketing dept. On full alert with it. Anyway I think it cost £2.99 at the time and I remember thinking that it, along with ‘Electricity’ by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark both had very tactile sleeves. ‘Disorder’ is such an incredible opening track. Curtis’ lyrics are amazing and sonically it takes you to a place that most bands of that time weren’t capable of, or hadn’t conceived. You can feel the way things were going to evolve well before New Order started. Every element is perfect.

Track Of The Day: DJ Ali - In The Day (The Leaf Label)

 

Definitely a b anger this one. DJ Ali came up with some quite original tunes when tribal west coast house was at it’s peak. However, most of those he’ll be remembered for were vocal led by Tim Fuller. ‘In The Day’ is a more functional piece in that respect. However, there is a lot more to it than meets the ear. It drives along relentlessly, powered by level upon level of percussive bombast, all of which is topped off by the most subtle use of the 303 which is, as far as I’m concerned, it’s hallmark.