I saw Trouble Funk twice. The first time, at the Town & Country Club I caught the encore. Thanks to someone who will remain nameless saying that there was no need to rush to get to the gig. I mean I only wanted to be there when it started. Thankfully the encore was around 45 minutes long. The second time was at the Brixton Academy. Again, I won’t reveal who my partner in crime was. He did think it would be a good idea to approach a group of lads and ask them if they were Spurs fans (they were), and then chant “yiddos, yiddos” at them. Not smart. He thought he was being friendly, they were gobsmacked. In between all this there was the music, which was amazing. Go-Go briefly reigned supreme for a small time in the mid to late eighties and when you were in the midst of a Trouble Funk show it wasn’t difficult to see why. I just wish I could have picked better company.
Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Monday, October 06, 2025
Track Of The day: Jibaros - Nite Drive (Ban Con Tim)
Ban Con Tim was a short-lived label, but it definitely made its mark. And this track, ‘Nite Drive’ is typical of the groove it deployed. It’s by Eric Cycle, who was the brains behind the label and if he left us with anything, it was how to fill a room with bass, space and rich analog warmth. There’s not much to it, but it’s relentless, funky and intense. Not quite matching the power of ‘Colora (Dub)’, but pruned from a different grade of trance – derived deep house and just as effective in its own area.
Sunday, October 05, 2025
Track Of Yesterday: Jonny Greenwood - One Battle After Another (Nonesuch Records)
I went to see this film yesterday and the soundtrack plays as much a part as anything, or anyone else. Throughout the action, there is a constant undercurrent of music, mostly piano. This accompaniment feels so close to the kinetics of the scenario that it completely blends in. And even though it’s very noticeable it never gets in the way. It put me on mind a lot of music that would be used with lots of fifties and sixties American cartoons. Very jazzy, tipping over into improvisation, but organised in such a way as to feel completely natural.
Track Of The Day: JS - JS-02 (JS)
JS Zeiter has been brining his particular brand of dub techno to the collective ossicles since 1998 and, while what he does isn’t necessarily groundbreaking as far as the genre is concerned, he makes very good tracks. The type that when heard on the mix have a singular presence and have one Shazaming or searching the Internet’s various track id outlets. Anyway, JS Zeiter has made some great tunes, the type that gives you faith in the expectancy that dub techno isn’t the soundtrack to flatworms evolving in the primal sludge. The price of the vinyl on Discogs is starting to get silly though, which is probably because, as the comment on its page says “This record is now in serious demand after being identified on one of Nina Kraviz techno/electro mixes. Its a one sided, limited edition release [only 506 presses] so grab it while you can, the value is only going to rise ;)”. It can be found on Bandcamp, fortunately.
Friday, October 03, 2025
Track Of The Day: Cybotron - Clear (Fantasy)
What is left to be said about this seminal track? Has it ever been bettered? Equalled probably, but there is so much depth in its rhythm that everything since carries echoes of it. Having said that it’s also very much of its time, check other stuff released back then to be sure. It’s doubtful that any of its peers has had as much influence or as much of an impact though. Years ahead of its time. Still is.
Thursday, October 02, 2025
Track Of The Day: Ability II, Dj Steve & Luca Lozano - My Definition of Bass (Deep In Dub Mix) (Klasse Wrecks)
This, a collaboration between Luca Lozano, DJ Steve and Leeds rave pioneers Ability ll, is a straight up piece of dub, albeit with an electronic edge, rather than being a piece of dub techno. Maybe a harder edged version of a lot of what was issued on the likes of Grayhound and Worship by Rob Paine. Anyways, that memory just came to me ad I’m far too lazy to “do the research”, but I trust my instincts. It’s good, and another piece of evidence to prove the longevity and versatility of the artform.
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Track Of The Day: Autechre - Montreal (Warp)
This track is on ‘Amber’, which came out 31 years ago. An important and seminal piece of work by Autechre. And ‘Montreal’ is quite a funky workout for them. A beat – driven track which sits within the ambient/hip-hop hinterland. It’s almost like an IDM take on G-funk. Definitely one to be pumped from a low rider in a parallel world. One of those tracks whose different layers shift and evolve on multiple levels, like sonic Tetris, but much more melodic. Oh, and I was in Montreal a couple of years before this came out. Does it fit the vibe? Anything does in it's specific time and place.