Lizz - Chords Locator EP (Handpicked Music)

 

Title: Chords Locator EP 

Artist: Lizz

Label: Handpicked Music

Cat Number: HP006

Genre: Groove

01: Chords Locator

02: Synth Dimension

03: No Mood

04: No Mood (Halo Varga Remix)

It’s no surprise that this package comes with a Halo Varga remix, as right from the get go we’re submerged in the type of dubby, tribal house that was all the rage in yer fin de siecle underground warehouse sites. I mean ‘Chords Locator’ could have come straight from the minds of H-Foundation. Not an issue. Far from it. Things come in cycles and this is an inevitability. ‘Synth Dimension’ goes down the same road, but is a little bit perkier. Where ‘Chords Locator’ plumbs the murky depths, here there are flourishes that indicate a propensity to frolic. And then we have ‘No Mood’, in which bass and percussion play a unified role in scurrying across the shape throwing consciousness. Halo Varga’s remix is a little more minimal than the original and feels like a fleshed out to its fundamentals piece of bass-driven techno. It still has that all-important swing though. Essential for those messy get togethers that thrive on more than one witching hour. Sweet spot hit!

Track Of The Day: Simple Minds - I Travel (Virgin)

Pre ‘New Gold Dream’ Simple Minds were responsible for a few memorable tracks beside ‘Themes For Great Cities’. ‘I Travel’ possibly being the most played out of them all. It’s a great blend of synths and guitars, as well as Jim Kerr’s intermittent vocals. Great energy and one that I remember from my nascent clubbing nights in Liverpool, as well as many a stoned session in various Wallasey bedrooms. I haven’t come across an edit of this yet, but there’s plenty of time.

Nothing Special 003: Budino

 

Nothing Special · Nothing Special 003: Budino

Kenny Larkin | HÖR - August 26 / 2024

Jay Tripwire - Robot Heart - Burning Man 2023

 

Robot Heart · Jay Tripwire - Robot Heart - Burning Man 2023

Track Of The Day: Tangerine Dream - Betrayal (Sorcerer Theme) (MCA)

Part of the soundtrack to the eponymously named film, which is a remake of the classic Henri-Georges Clouzot movie ‘Le Salaire de la Peur’ or ‘The Wages Of Fear’. The film tells the story of the deadly transportation of nitro glycerine across rough, rural terrain. The Friedkin version was also very well received and Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack equally so. And it took me a long time to come around to this. When it was released it was often advertised on full back page spreads of the music press in the summer of 1977, the precise time when I started buying the papers to keep up with what was happening. This piece is particularly evocative. A piece of creepy synth work whish may not have enjoyed the same commercial success as what Jean-Michelle Jarre was having, but is just as influential and vital.

Track Of The Day: Alex Kassian x Mad Professor - A Reference To E2-E4 By Manuel Gottsching (Test Pressing Recordings)

Just a couple of months old, but already a classic. Already one of the best grooves ever heard gets a dubby makeover, which is wonderful because not only does it feel that little bit more out there, but it’s still very cohesive and arguably more danceable than any previous incarnation. Great pace and production which has just been smeared enough to become even more wistful, if that were at all possible. It’s so on point that it confirms that perfection does exist and I really want to hear it out. Hopefully at the end of this month.

SIT - Urban Chronicles EP (Amphia)

 

Title: Urban Chronicles EP 

Artist: SIT

Label: Amphia

Cat Number: AMP025

Genre: Groovetastic

1: Synth City

2: Dreamworx

3: Parallel Pulses

4: Fabricated Odyssey

SIT is an acronym for Sideways Invisibility Theory and it is. for the uninitiated,  Cristian-Ioan Munteanu and Vlad Caia. This is their first release since 2019 and it’s gratifying to know that the hiatus hasn’t made a jot of difference to their ability to craft mind-bending deep sounds. ‘Dreamworx’ being a case in point; bearing more than a passing resemblance to Wulf & Bear’s classic ‘Raptures Of The Deep’, it embodies this duos efforts to create a groove that tunnels inside your cortex until it embeds itself in your soft and tenders. It’s this track and ‘Synth City’, a proggy piece of stellar symphonics that get my vote here. That’s not to say the others aren’t equally as good in their own way. Both ‘Parallel Pulses’ and ‘Fabricated Odyssey’ are great, but while the former is everything its precedents are, barring a life-defining low end, the latter could lose its vocal samples and come up trumps as a result. All in all though, a strong release that shows an innate understanding of the messy dimensions of the dance floor.

A-Tweed - Riot Disco Punk (Human Endeavour Records)

 

Title: Riot Disco Punk

Artist: A-Tweed

Label: Human Endeavour Records

Cat Number: HE009

Genre: It’s Chugging

1: Kabuki Spin

2: Riot Disco Punk

3: Akira Danse!

4: Dusty Rumble Fish

‘Kabuki Spin’ sets things off nicely, as it is a piece of low slung chug with vocoders. VOCODERS! Or something similar. And this release is at its best when it goes down this path, as it does with ‘Dusty Rumble Fish’ and ‘Akira Danse!’. These tunes are far from being carbon copies of each other, containing enough respective idiosyncrasies to distinguish themselves from each other; often in the shape of detailed, synthetic flourishes all of which emphasise the “disco” rather than the “riot” or the “punk”. The title track is slightly different in that its edges are more polished and the consequential sonic veneer sharper. However, it’s all academic and ultimately adds up to an interesting release that expertly distills a whole gamut of sound through the aural Liebig condenser.

Timothy Clerkin - Fading Remixed EP (Insult To Injury)

 

Title: Fading: Remixed EP

Artist: Timothy Clerkin

Label: Insult To Injury 

Cat Number: ITI#24R

Genre: Ravetastic

1: Fading (Posthuman Remix)

2: Fading (Maps Remix)

3: Sigma (Lapalace Remix)

4: Fading (All Trades Reconfigure)

I wrote a few words about the original release back in June, ending with a rhetorical question regarding the first remix in this package. And it sets things off nicely. It’s a break beat/acid/rave hybrid that has an arpeggiated waistband and a nice intensity about it. The type of tune that if I were to even contemplate dancing to it, would send me to the osteopath. The Map Remix of the same track is a slightly more serious venture, being symphonic, melodic, melancholic and phlegmatic. The type of tune that makes one feel unflappable amidst the ensuing chaos. Lapalace’s remix of ‘Sigma’ is undiluted hardcore. A genre that I don’t play myself, but have a lot of admiration for those who make it. It’s good. Relentlessly so. And then the All Trades Reconfigure version of ‘Fading’ takes its cues from dub, polishing its edges and bestowing some sharp relief. It’s all quite palalable and an improvement on its source material.

Track Of The Day: A.r.t Wilson - Rebecca's Theme (Water) (Growing Bin)

I first came across this artist via a track on a Luv Jam mix. Doubtless one that I posted on this blog a while back. And I can’t remember which track it is, but I have a feeling it’s this one. There’s a massive eighties production vibe on it; you could definitely imagine it being then theme tune to some sort of espionage romance. The levity of the music distracting from the film’s dark underbelly. There’s a slight whiff of Toto’s ‘Africa’ in there as well. No real resemblance, just the vibe. Excellent horizontal Balearic musings, nicely countering the autumnal conditions which have sprung up today.

Dub Series w/ Federsen - Radio Buena Vida 06.09.24

Radio Buena Vida · Dub Series w/ Federsen - Radio Buena Vida 06.09.24

Love Is Divine: Verdant Recordings

verdant-recordings · Love Is Divine

NI69 | Arash Ete

 

Neptunian Influence · NI69 | Arash Ete

Red Axes at Houghton 2024

Radioactive Man | The MUDD Show x Bonanza Festival

Track Of The Day: lll Most Wanted - Calm Down (Fever Records)

A proper hip hop party track, the energy just explodes from it as it plays. Nothing too complicated. James Brown vocal snippets, crucial electric guitar licks, a cavernous backing that houses break beats and multiple yelps, all brought together by the exuberant rhyming style of Most Wanted, aka Eric “Mr Action” Pena”, James “D.V.S.” Greco” and Omar “Sharif” Lindsay, who really make the most of this spot on ‘Dance Party USA’.

Dean Man's Chest X King Cutlass - Trip ll Insanity (Sneaker Social Club)

 

Title: Trip ll Insanity

Artist: Dean Man's Chest X King Cutlass 

Label: Sneaker Social Club

Cat Number: SNKR051

Genre: Hardcore Innit

1: Ride The Storm

2: We Control

3: Ananda Tandava

4: Heart Of The Sun

5: Trip ll Insanity

6: Kantankerous

I do like an aptly named track, and they don’t come moreso than ‘Ride The Storm’, which is a veritable maelstrom. Control is everything in such a tune. The chaos subdued by discipline and, paradoxically, disorder. And then ‘We Control’ pops up. Another romp in the rave chasm. It’s a cyborg call to arms with knobs on. There’s also a disembodied shout, the most recognisable word of which is “fucking”. Which is essential for dance floor nutcases everywhere..I mean I could never get away myself with playing music like this.I don’t think I really want to. DJing it must be like being at the wheel of a quickly sinking ship. “If I’m going down then you’re all coming with me!” It’s a real skill though, mainitaing the momentum and the energy. ‘Ananda Tandava’ sort of blends all the high points of a set into one honed sonic battle weapon. It’s absolutely raging. And in spite of me leaning much more to the electro, deep house end of the spectrum, it really is a pity that many more people don’t know that this music exists. ‘Heart Of The Sun’ does what it says on the tin. It takes you right there. You can feel yourself vaporising as you listen to it. It’s one long rave scream of pain. And you’d better be ready for ‘ Trip ll Insanity’. The title track slaps it on so thick that its almost impossible to breath. Finally, ‘Kantankerous’ is a fluctuating journey up and down the rave pit. It feels like you’re trapped on a lift that refuses to stop. It just goes up and down until your senses are percolated beyond belief. Put this on and listen to the whole lot through headphones. Better than any roller coaster, it’s so ridciculously good I can’t stop laughing. Laughing from the sensation of having a brain transplant with no anaesthetic. 

KEYI MAGAZINE#14: Helena Hauff B2b DJ MELL G

KEYI Magazine · KEYI MAGAZINE#14: Helena Hauff B2b DJ MELL G