Symbols & Instruments was an early collaboration between Derrick Carter, Mark Farina and Chris Naazuka. And, although they only released once, on Kevin Sauderson’s KMS, it’s amazing they didn’t do more. Derrick Carter went on to become arguably the greatest ever to get behind the decks, with Mark Farina on a par. Chris Nazuka meanwhile was behind some very specific and notable releases, both under his own name and collaborating with Carter on a number of occasions as Rednail (Kidz) and Shock Therapy, to name but two. The sound design of this track, indeed the whole release, is incredibly rich and deep and, like a lot of Carter’s later releases, seems to straddle a house/techno/ambient netherworld into which almost anything can be sonically decanted. There are strong hallucinogenic overtones throughout, and at times the tune feels like the industrial outpourings of the midwest set to music. Slightly more techno than house? A moot point. It’s just a wonderfully detailed piece of music that coalesces often enough to rein in its many abstract elements into a coherent, jacking behemoth.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Somethin Sanctified - Happens At Night (Citizens Of Vice)
Title: Happens At Night
Artist: Somethin’ Sanctified
Label: Citizens Of Vice
Cat Number:
Genre: Discotec
1: Happens At Night
2: Happens At Night (Ron Basejam Remix)
3: Happens At Night (Bruise Remix)
4: Happens At Night (Bruise Dub)
5: Happens At Night (Radio Edit)
6: Happens At Night (Bruise Radio Edit)
‘Happens At Night’ is a sun kissed, Balearic chugger that builds warmly around a standout vocal and feels like it is moving at more than one tempo thanks to some deft shuffling percussion. That’s the original mix anyway, and as the package is one of remixes, is it improved on? Ron Basejam’s mix takes things in a more urgent direction, thanks to strategically positioned synth stabs and some shaky stuff. The Bruise remix isolates the vocal more, with drama in between. The dub does what dubs often do; chops and cherry picks the vocal’s peaks and troughs, pushing the housier edge in the process. This will probably be thought of as “one for the more mature crowds” (whatever that means) ; “and rightly so” as Steve McManaman would say.
Monday, May 29, 2023
Track of The Day: Bassomatic - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass (Virgin)
From the golden age of raving and bridging the gap between the new breed and the hippies, here’s Bassomatic, akaWilliam Orbit, sprucing up a Pink Floyd classic as only he knows how. What I like most about this track is its speed and, therefore, its versatility. The bpms are relatively low, so its the quintessential “bridging” warm up track, picking up the pace and the drama enough to hand the next DJ the crowd in the palm of his/her hand. The problem with that is how to follow it? Anyway, absolve yourself of that issue by playing it at peak time, focussing the crowd on the evergreen vocal. There’s a wet density about the track, such as that experienced in the rainforest of the mind; there’s also more than one electronic “ethnic” motifs, which work particularly well when you’re battered (ie: you give less of a toss about them)/ All in all though, a great track which., for no apparent reason popped into my head for the first time in years this morning.
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Track Of The Day: Trankilou - Atom Funk (Kif)
Bit of a nostalgia trip for me this one. Massive when I was living in Paris in the mid nineties. Filter disco was huge and has left a lasting impression, more regarding the artists and what they did next rather than anything else. It had its moment and its global influence belied the small quantity of people making the stuff. You could go to parties in Paris on most nights of the week and rub shoulders with the chaps behind these tracks and there was no pretence. Possibly the happiest most carefree few years of my life. This is one of the best bits to emerge and is an early piece of work by Pepe Bradock aka Julien Auger (his real name). It’s got great energy and was permanently on rotation at almost every party I went to in France for around a year or so. It recalls a time when the world was very different and even going to work felt like a holiday for 25 years ago me. Glory days.
Friday, May 26, 2023
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Track Of The Day: RV800 - Subsync (Formula)
Who are/is RV800, and why should we care? I first came across this record shortly after its release. It was the green vinyl that lured me as much as anything else. And on playing it I came to the rapid conclusion that rhythmically it embodied, not only my dub techno ideal, but my techno and house ideal also. Lovely clappy percussion sliding into a hypnotic netherworld encased in a sonic sphere of analogue warmth. That’s what I’m here for and I’m not leaving until the funk hits the fan, which it does throughout. Information on Discogs is scarce. Apparently it’s from Japan, and there’s another, on orange vinyl which is just as good, although not as sought after judging by the crazy money this one is currently going for. Some of these keys sound like they’ve come from classic trance tracks, but the bpms have been slowed down to funk things up. I think RV800 has also made an appearance of sorts on Verdant Recordings, but his/her/their last known trajectory is currently unknown. Whatever the case, I’d love to hear more. Oh, and the B side is a Haventepe remix, which is predictably ace.
Hologram Teen - Day-Glo Heatwave EP (Ransom Note Records)
Title: Day-Glo Heatwave EP
Artist: Hologram Teen
Label: Ransom Note Records
Cat Number: R$N32R
Genre: Retro Electronica Reshapings
1: Mid-Tempo Neophyte (Luke Temple Remix)
2: Radio Staccato (Mother Of Mars Remix)
3: Midnite Rogue (James McNew Remix)
4: VHS Nemesis (ILHA Saturday Nights Remix)
5: Teen Beats Highway (Rich Good Remix)
6: Midnite Rogue (Flug 8 Remix)
7: Abstract Daddy Vol. 1 (Yoann Pisterman Remix)
This is a remix package of tracks that first appeared on the 2022 cassette only album, ‘Day-Glo Chaos’, an album inspired by driving around Los Angeles at night. For this package, the remixers have been tasked with imagining the same tracks but in daylight. And it’s an interesting ride. On the whole, the collection is one of optimistic synth pop that reeks of nostalgia but is clever enough to feel it’s been able to reconstitute itself on a whole new level. Without picking out individual tracks, there are whiffs of all the standard bearers woven into this composite, cinematic listening experience. Perhaps the most all-encompassing of all, is the bittersweet, foggy tonal extravaganza that is Flug 8’s remix of ‘Midnite Rogue’. You can imagine a slow-motion drive-by with this playing sombrely in the background. Compared to that, ‘Mid-Tempo Neophyte (Luke Temple Remix)’ is almost gabber. Thankfully it’s more a sped-up take on ‘Autobahn’, evoking driving into a brave new future very well, considering that future has long since passed. The other remix of ‘ Midnite Rogue’, that of James McNew, has beats where Flug 8 doesn’t, and is less sinister. Maybe less of a soundtrack to an act of wanton violence than one to accompany an escape from its reality. If you’re after funkier stuff with a large dollop of mood, look no further than ‘Teen Beats Highway (Rich Good Remix)’ and ‘Radio Staccato (Mother Of Mars Remix)’. Both reliant on some eloquent synth work, with the former leaning on its remixer’s past with the Psychedelic Furs to produce a piece of work redolent of a riff born to dominate the senses. ‘VHS Nemesis (ILHA Saturday Nights Remix)’ and ‘Abstract Daddy Vol. 1 (Yoann Pisterman Remix)’ both use breakbeats of varying intensity atop of mattresses of electronic symphonia; the former a bass-driven electro – falvoured beast, the latter taking us back to the nascent days of 80s synth-pop, and sounding like the lost theme music to ‘Tomorrow’s World’.
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Track Of The Day: Unknown Artist - Urges 3 (Appleheadz Remix) (Primitive)
Another from Swag’s Primitive, this time with Appleheadz, aka Asad Rivzi & Charlie Inman on the remix. This is an absolute bass heavy belter. It’s a dark one, the prevalent mood being lifted only by the occasional synth squiggle. There’s a wonderful hyper-bass fart that comes in and out and reminds me of that used on E-Dancer’s ‘The Human Bond’, (soon come). It’s a genuinely mesmerising piece of deep, dirty house music and designed to be on when the drugs kick in and you’re lost in sonic bliss. Lovely stuff.
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Track Of The Day: Havantepe - + - (Grounded In Humanity)
Dub techno, there’s a lot of it about. And it all sounds the same innit. You can’t dance to it either, and it really needs to make its mind up. Is it a chin stroker’s delight, or a more visceral experience? It’s definitely true that the template is well-worn and there are few surprises. So it’s down to the skill of the artist to capture the moment and to project something, anything, onto the cosmic void that is the sonic abyss. This record doesn’t depart that much from the blueprint, but the production is so on point, and the strength of sound so solid, that once you’re in its grip, there’s no escape. I have almost identical tracks to this, but none of them sound quite as good. I love texture, and no where in techno is texture as tactile as in its dubby offshoot. Call me kinaesthetic, but I can feel these tunes as well as hear them. Obviously Maurizio is the don and the man for the big room hypnotic experience, (has to be in the hands of a skilled DJ though); but this sweeping piece of grandeur is up there as well.
Monday, May 22, 2023
Track Of The Day: Pure Science - I Can't Stand It (Deeper Mix) (Pure Science Communications)
This could have been just about any track from an illustrious back catalogue. I chose this one, however, because it’s one of the longest and also because I saw it mentioned on Twitter a few weeks back. Someone was asking for a lossless copy, which led me to believe that there is still a demand out there and, rather like yesterday’s ‘Track Of The Day’, now is the time. Raw, unadulterated, underground house music is having a moment once more. You could convincingly argue that it never stopped having them, and I would agree. However, I feel we’re getting to a point now that electro was at a few years back. And if we’re talking about music of that sort coming out of The UK, what better example than the music of Phivos (Phill) Iatropoullos, aka Pure Science. Making a name for himself as a live performer in the London house underground at the end of the 90s, becoming a stalwart at parties such as Wiggle, and also at various night at Fabric and contributing a cd to their famous mix series (all tracks by him, a few years before Villalobos had the same idea. Phivos’ productions have a certain swing and depth to them. Characterised by long, rolling basslines, with kicks and tribal riddims crystallized to perfection, the vocal samples used sparingly; the tracks themselves feel straightforward enough, but it’s the producer’s eye for detail that embellishes them with a veneer of class. And of course that’s just the house side of things; Phivos was also behind some seminal drum and bass prior to becoming Pure Science. This is another track that takes the listener on an emotional journey and stretches time for miles and miles.
Suburban Knight - Winds Of Fear EP (EPMmusic)
Title: Winds Of Fear EP
Artist: Suburban Knight
Label: EPMmusic
Cat Number: EPM26V/EPM106
Genre: Techno
A1: Winds Of Fear
B1: Winds Of Fear (Robert Hood Edit)
B2: Winds Of Fear (Eddie Fowlkes Edit)
This is Suburban Knight’s first release since 2022’s excellent ‘Hi8tus’ album on Deeptrax, which was a very inventive and varied piece of work. ‘Winds Of Fear’ is much more conventional and straightforward. Built around a loop that is draped with the sound of swirling wind, it’s a passable piece of techno for sure. Robert Hood’s edit doesn;t do that much to the original, and certainly doesn’t improve on it. Some effects and that’s about it. Eddie Fowlkes slows things down a little and squelches along a route of more studied syncopation. Again it won’t pull up any trees, but it’s certainly a more interesting departure than Hood’s mix.
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Track Of The Day: Grant Dell & Gareth Oxby Presents Tribalation - Why Did You Do That? (Loaded)
There’s nothing like a good groove. And this track from Grant Dell & Gareth Oxby, from the turn of the century is low slung heaven incarnate. What I like about it is that it has all the swing of something more linear, but its drum pattern is anything but. Samples are well used and its got more layers than a mille-feuille. Tracks like this are having a renaissance at the moment, but they’ve always been present on a pervasive level for many DJs. Track length again is very important. It’s all about sustaining the mix. ‘Tribalation’ was a very apt moniker for these two, and I’m amazed that their tunes aren’t better known. Still, all it takes is the right person to have it id’d in their set.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Track Of The Day: The Martian - Wardance (Red Planet)
One of many Red Planet tracks to be featured, eventually. ‘Sex In Zero Gravity’ already made the grade last November, sans mots. What I like about this track is its length, it’s a great one to keep in the mix (although with your WAVs, aiffs & MP3s, this is an irrelevant point innit). And it’s tribal riddim. It doesn’t go overboard. There’s a solid percussive pattern and the phasing flange, a la ‘Stardancer’ makes a welcome appearance, but not to such a frenetic extent. The vocal, courtesy of Astral Apache, sounds a little like the repetitive whoop used by Rolando in ‘Aztlan’, so there’s a few recognisable motifs. Above all though is the confidence and power a track like this exudes. UR, (Drexciya in this case?), don’t have to try too hard, it’s in their blood. And this composition is so multi-layered it’s impossible to frame it in any way other than a recurrent passage of technified unearthliness.
Friday, May 19, 2023
Track Of The Day: The Smiths - Barbarism Begins At Home (Rough Trade)
A sad day when someone from a band you grew up with passes away. So, in memory of Andy Rourke, here’s a track that I haven’t listened to for decades, but one that showcases his excellent bass playing. I’m getting a bit of a Proustian moment on hearing this. Bedroom full of sun, records scattered to the four winds, my life ahead of me. How’s that gone you may say? OK, but not at all as I envisioned it, although I did realise my dream of living in Paris (I’d set 30 as the time this was to happen. I was a couple of years out). I liked The Smiths a lot, and had a girlfriend who was a big fan. None of my mates liked them though, so they existed in a sort of romantic vacuum for me. They came and went in a glimpse, which is a good lifespan for a band I think. Imagine if they were still going now. Great days, and RIP Andy.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Track Of The Day: Discocaine - Back 2 Back (Club Mix) (Zoom Records)
Such a classic track. It’s got everything: depth, funk, energy, tribal percussion, and Hursty engineering. Sweaty, single strobe in the corner of a dark and dingy basement music. There’s not too much more to say really, except that everyone should still be playing this great piece of raw, unadulterated house music today. Along with their other production on Zoom ‘House The Crowd’, you’ve got two of the best British house tracks ever made. Dub sonics taken to new and confounding levels. I confound you not to dance. I remember bumping into the guys who made this, with Hursty, at a party in North London around 20 years ago. I don’t know if they made any money from this, but he didn’t see any of it.
Sota - Indigo Days (Joule Imprint)
Title: Indigo Days
Artist: Sota
Label: Joule Imprint
Cat Number: JOULE013
Genre: Deep House
1: Indigo Days
2: Pathways
3: Origins
4: Strobe Society
Only up to their thirteenth release, and clearly favouring quality over quantity, France’s Joule Imprint further their mission to spread linear, full bodied, groove-laden cosmis house music to the masses with this, their latest release, courtesy of Sota. Now, while it wouldn’t be fair of me to say that all releases on this label sound the same, there is definitely a sound that’s being pushed here. And if your taste in house music runs to deep, druggy, dubby, warm and trancey, then there is no better place to call. Sota, a Dutch producer currently based in Berlin is in control of the beats here, and turns in a textbook four tracker full of depth and emotiveness. Tech house has become a negatively charged genre in recent years, largely due to the genre not really existing, and a gap being filled by any old shite. However, if I reminisce over my days spent sweating out good quality class a’s under the archways of London Bridge station, it was largely when dancing to music like this. So, without going into unnecessary and boring detail, the first three tunes here all have that vibe, with ‘Strobe Society’ inexplicably going down the road of what feels a little like Good Looking era drum and bass. It’s all good, but put it out on a different release. Another reason to buy digital.
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Track Of The Day: Traumprinz - 2 The Sky (Metatron's What If There's No End And No Beginning Mix) (Gielgling)
It’s amazing what can be done with a few disparate elements. A looped, eponymous vocal sample, breakbeats, a tinkling piano, bongos and strings which gently rise and fall. ‘What If There’s No End And No Beginning’ gives the game away, and therein lies this track’s beauty. You can come in at almost any point and not feel like you’ve missed anything. It’s the test match of tracks. The pleasure is in the ritual of time passing and not necessarily the spectacle, although it does provide a focal point. Another one to get lost in.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Track Of The Day: Herbert - Non-Stop (Phono)
It’s getting on for thirty years since Matthew Herbert broke through, courtesy of four twelve inch singles released on Phono in the mid nineties. I was living in Paris at the time, and spent most of it, and my money, at Rough Trade near Bastille, which was the epicentre of the Parisian scene, along with BPM around the corner, and Salinas, to a lesser extent, in Montmartre. Listening to so many records in a shop really crystallises the memory, and I can see a much younger Ivan Smagghe handing me this record in my mind’s eye. I really should have had an account there, I spent so much. I worked in La Defense and would often take the metro right across town during my lunch break on a hunch, or to pick an order up. This record is one of many that reminds me of those days, so its value to me is as much sentimental as sonic. However, if asked to pick a track from those four releases that typifies them, it would be this bass quaking monster. A true minimal, deep house classic that has more than stood the test of time.
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Track Of The Day: Jean Louis Murat - Te Garder Pres De Moi (Dream Remix) (Virgin)
Having just been reminded of how effortlessly great this track is, courtesy of Rebolledo’s recent Resident Advisor podcast, here we are. The sun’s out after a long hibernation and tracks like this make everything feel good again. There’s plenty of shit going on, but allow yourself to escape down a rabbit hole of glorious French synth pop, resplendent with breathy gallic vocals. The type of stuff that makes hay on the cosmic disco dance floor and allows you to throw shapes at your own pace while still safe in the knowledge that there’s life in the old dog yet.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Track Of The Day: Omar S and OB Ignitt - Wayne County Hill Cop's (FXHE)
This Omar S and OB Ignitt collab is one great piece of 80s throwback disco electro. It’s unlike anything else Omar S has been involved with and has one of the brightest, most optimistic melodies to ever come out of Detroit. When this came out I hammered it, and then life took over and it was only earlier today that, when doing some spring cleaning, I came across it once more. Had to play it immediately of course. Echoes of Harold Faltermeyer and the label parodies ‘Beverly Hills Cop’.
Friday, May 12, 2023
Track Of The Day: Nico Awtsventin - Techture Two (Superbra)
It’s the 12th of May, but look outside and it’s more like November. British weather has a reputation to keep up doesn’t it? Thank god then, for music like this. Nico Awtsventin, aka Vince Watson put this out back in 2005 as the final release on Superbra. It’s a glorious piece of rolling, trancey techno that has the wind beneath its wings and could go on forever.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Track Of The Day: Tata Box Inhibitors - Stabilizer (Touche)
On hearing about the death of Jamez earlier on today, courtesy of a Bill Brewster post on Twitter, I thought I’d post this. This is the third Tata Box Inhibitors track I‘ve put up, the one before being the immortal ‘Protein’ just over a month ago, the A side to this B side. What we’ve got here is a piece of what sounds like Maurizio through a wind tunnel. A great piece of work, wonderful mixing material, and production which may have been Basic Channel influenced, but sound like something Shed might have made ten years later. Jamez and Dobre invented this tranced out techy sound with a house swing in the mid nineties. Is it tech house? You won’t find it defined as such, but it’s perfect 4/4 cross pollination and a simultaneous glimpse at the underground and overground. RIP.
Various - Northern Lines (Catch Recordings)
Title: Northern Lines
Artist: Various
Label: Catch Recordings
Cat Number: CR018
Genre: Groove
Hardacre – Higher Level Of Communication
Nadsat – Crash 101
Annie Errez – According To Daneeka
Leoleoleo – Other Words For Jupiter
A various artist offering that is a game of two halves. Nadsat and Annie Errez each falling into the more linear, minimal category, whereas Hardacre and Leoleoleo are caught in a denser, more acidic, break beat fug. ‘According To Daneeka’ is a great mixing tool and, depending on the clarity of the sound system, should do plenty of damage in its own right. ‘Crash 101’ has a bit more body, and the bpms go up a notch, its relatively uncomplicated composition belying its power. ‘Higher Level Of Communication’ is a transcendental piece of break beat blended 303 action, while ‘Other Words For Jupiter’ is a stirring, turbulent piece to get lost in. There’s a great range across this release, the tracks are all very versatile, and are more than the sum of their parts. Very good indeed.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Track Of The Day: The Morning Glory Seeds - The Mindflower (Djax-Up-Beats)
The second track on Djax-Up-Beats to be featured in this ongoing series of randomness. And again, it’s one of those tracks that could only have been produced in The Netherland or The UK in or around the early 90s. Where IDM and techno cross paths; obviously influenced by Detroit, but then going off on an emotionally fuelled tangent. There are only three releases by The Morning Glory Seeds on Discogs, this, and one on 100% Pure, as well as a collaborative release on Remote Area. Neither of the others comes close to this release. All of the tracks are excellent, but I’ve gone for ‘The Mindflower’, mainly because it eloquently brings together a few different machine funk textures and has all the power of a more aggressive, but much less melodic tune.
De-Bons-en-Pierre - Card Short of a Full Deck (Dark Entries)
Title: Card Short Of A Full Deck
Artist: De-Bons-en-Pierre
Label: Dark Entries
Cat Number: DE-301
Genre: Mutant Disco
1: Card Short Of A Full Deck
2: Le Rale du Male Alpha
3: Accidental Surgeries
4: Puddle Points
5: Scene Serpents
6: Une Fuite Chaussee Mais Sans Lacets
De-Bons-en-Pierre are Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti and this is their third release on Dark Entries. According to the press that comes with it, it’s “a noxious hybrid of 80’s DIY cassette electronics and 90’s Birmingham techno.” What it feels and sounds like is concise, cerebral sleaze calibrated to the demands of a hermetically sealed fetish cult with a predilection for dissonant dancing. There’s a reasonable range of tropes across the 6 tracks, but none is more omnipresent than a general aura of doom. Side-by-side, ‘Accidental Surgeries’ and ‘Puddle Points’ take the listener from a syncopated industrial stomp, to a gnarly break beat exposition. Either side of this core, however, the production feels like it is geared to a more smacked out feel. There’s also an epileptic feel, as if the music itself is self-sustainable only through its immediacy and it’s seedy urban underbelly vibes creating the overriding impression that we’re all going to hell in a handcart.
Tuesday, May 09, 2023
Track Of The Day: Gang Of Four - At Home He's A Tourist (EMI/Warner Bros)
If you don’t know about Gang of Four, do yourself a favour. This track, along with ‘To Hell With Poverty’, ‘I Love A Man In Uniform’ and ‘Armalite Rifle’ (these are probably the better known examples, but you’ve also got ‘Anthrax’, ‘I Found That Essence Rare’ etc), typified their abrasive, funk-laden sound, typified by Andy Gill’s jagged guitar playing. And then you’ve got the lyrics, political in both the outward and inward sense. Those of this track seem to describe an expanding and contracting relationship between trying to break free from routine, and then giving in to it, (amongst other thing, no doubt). A determination to not know one’s place, and then capitulation. A great piece of work condensed into the brevity of a pop song. Still relevant? You be the judge.
Kerrie - Transient Belief (Blueprint)
Title: Transient Belief
Artist: Kerrie
Label: Blueprint
Cat Number: BP070
Genre: Techno
A1: Transient Belief
A2: Nightwalker
B1: Theta State
B2: Find Your Tribe
This is Kerrie’s second release for James Ruskin’s Blueprint, a label that has been releasing music for the best part of the last 15 years, but certainly picks and chooses what it deems suitable. What seems to unite these four tracks is a pervasive feeling that less is indeed more. Not in the minimalistic sense, rather the simmering impression that these compositions don’t need to flex their muscles too much in order to address the power within. There’s also a rawness to them that in the hands of the wrong producer could feel contrived. ‘Nightwalker’ feels like it takes its inspiration from Suburban Knight; ‘Theta State’ is a skilfully realised vibrating, break beat backed bridge between techno and trance; ‘Find Your Tribe’ an ominous buzzing, call-to-arms throb of terminal viscosity, and ‘Transient Belief’ a powerful, but subdued flickering circuit board symphony of crackling potency.
Friday, May 05, 2023
Track Of The Day: Iz & Diz - Love Vibe (Dub) (Aesoteric)
So much great deep house came out in the early years of this century, and Iz & Diz were at the forefront of it. Iz (Joshua Michaels) & Diz (Diz Washington) released together over a ten year period, and this example is perhaps one of their more understated. It’s a relatively simple groove that mesmerises the more you become absorbed in it (natch). I’ve already posted a few of Joshua’s releases (Michael’s main production moniker), which are unrivalled in dubby funkiness. However, this is a little different. There’s a lovely bass line that is constant throughout, as well as a pervasive twilight ambience which combine in a wistful, driving dream of a track.
Thursday, May 04, 2023
Track Of The Day: Colonel Abrahams - Trapped (Hell Interface Remix)
Following up ‘Midas Touch’ from last week, we now have ‘Trapped’ getting the Hell Interface treatment. This version is arguably a much more overt make over than that given to Midnight Star’s classic. BOC really give Abrahams’ classic the chopped and screwed treatment, recalling others working on a similar vibe frequency, such as Games. There’s something about eighties production trends that just seems to lend itself to a bottomless well of reinterpretation. Particularly when a dark spin is put on things. Unlike ‘Midas Touch’, maybe one big difference is because of the way the vocals have been run through sonic sludge, there is a hint of parody. I’m not on board with that myself; there’s nothing funny about the way this sounds. If anything, it emphasises the eponym.
Wednesday, May 03, 2023
Track Of The Day: Atlantic Fusion - Sanctuary (Classic)
I was a Classic completist. I still don’t have them all mind, but up to their 100th release I probably had around 90-95. Anyway, so many great tracks came out on that label, but this one is something that I think flew under the radar for many. ‘Sanctuary’ is a driving, groove-laden, trance-inducing piece of work, notable for its spoken word sample that comes from ‘Logan’s Run’, a film I went to see when it came out, and still remember clearly because of its main premise that once you reach 30, you die. Atlantic Fusion is the nom de plume of Felix Hopkins, who, a cursory look at Discogs tells me, worked much more under his own name than this one. So it has the feeling of a side project, a bit of fun maybe. Nevertheless, this is a great piece of work that demands drugs and a dark dance floor for maximum impact. Definitely going to crop up in an online set by a Romanian DJ soon methinks.
