Nice track from Brooks Mosher from Dolly’s relatively early days. I used to buy all of the releases, but now I’m satisfied with the digital files, in much the same way as I am to buy 95% of my stuff that way. This track has a nice dissonant energy, underpinned by a propellant beat. E erything is going off in all directions. It’s ace, but really needs to be cranked up.
This track opens Colin Dale’s most recent Abstract Dance show, which I posted two days ago. And it grabbed me right away. Great jazzy feel, vocals work well and wonderful summer energy. I’m all for escapism these days. Living in the present is it. And although there are certain elements of this track which I could possibly do without, they coalesce brilliantly. Dropped at the right time this will slay the floor.
Throughout their short existence, The Desperate Bicycles were perennial John Peel favourites and this track, ‘Skill’, which had equal billing with ‘Occupied Territory’ on their penultimate release, featured in a session that they did for his show in the summer of 1978. In spite of not owning the record, this is the track by them that I remember the most, mainly because of the slightly dissonant guitar riff that runs through it. I had the’New Cross, New Cross’ release, which is currently going for an exorbitant amount on Discogs. Hearing this track, however, instantly takes me back to listening to my radio between 10-12 on a weekday night, (not Friday when the ‘Rock Show’ was on), it balancing next to my ear, often in total darkness.
Superior jazz-inflected techno from Ian O’Brien, on Ferox. One of the best labels for as long as it lasted. You can feel the roots of the genre in this one. It’s an undulating flying carpet of machine funk. Machine funk that also crosses over into jazz and house. There’s a real Brazilian feel to the percussion and a great attention to modulated detail. The dynamics are amazing and the sense of eternity implicit. Wondrous stuff.
A logical choice to follow Mark Stewart and a track that often bombs around my brain. ‘Beef’ takes me back to the heady days of 1990, the tail end of my first year at Sussex University and the Glastonbury festival. Three drug-fuelled days spent with friends from the campus. I have no idea how much I slept, or if I slept at all. I know I only went to the bog once and it was cathartic. I slept in someone else’s tent because mine had been hijacked, and there was a sound system about 50 metres in front of me blasting out ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ on repeat. Thankfully that changed to ‘In A Silent Way’ just before dawn. By then, however, the damage had already been done and, admitting defeat, I set off with John Hassay to the folk tent. It was in full swing and we ate ice cream and chatted to a Scottish lad there about different types of acid. ‘Beef’ was big on the main field sound system, which added to the apocalyptic nature of the whole occasion.
To my eternal regret, I never saw either The Pop Group or Mark Stewart live. And it’s too late now. We do, however, have a rich back catalogue of his uncompromising musical and idealistic vision to call upon at will. And ‘Hypnotized’ was his first solo release after the split of The pop Group, here extended and mixed into an industrial dub nightmare by Adrian Sherwood (who else?). And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just as much about the ambience as anything else here, with Mark Stewart’s vocals taking a minimal role, but overstatement is the enemy here. Concision is everything. Lovely Burroughs sample too. The instrumentation is provided, more or less, by Tackhead under the guise of Maffia Members.
Unmistakably Reed Planet, albeit not as banging,=. All of the recognisable elements are present. The string stabs, the instant groove, the spaced out, woozy synth and a constant beat. All combine to make this track one that feels more constant than most. There are some jazzy bits as well. The percussion rises and falls as if it were trying to accommodate soloists. This sounds like techno that could have been played at The Loft. It has that drama and aura of togetherness. Positive stuff.
This is from Coleman’s fourth album, and obviously a lot more conventional than what came later. And what came later is an acquired taste. ‘Ramblin’’ is aptly named. It pootles along nicely, like I do on some of my more recent runs. Loads of lovely soloes to enjoy. And, in spite of its relativity, it has a mind of its own.
