Showing posts with label big beat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big beat. Show all posts

Monday, August 7, 2023

The Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive 2021

fsoldigital.com: 2021

Of course this was up for a modern remix album. Aside from Papua New Guinea, it's possibly FSOL's most well known single. Not that it was their best, oh no. It's just when all of '90s electronic music reached its 'electronica' fever pitch, the blunt, big beat brashness of We Have Explosive made all the rounds of the compilation circuit. One can't help but suspect Brian and Garry made this as stupid-simple as possible, a far cry from all the psychedelic, 'future sounding' music they'd been making since signing with the Mighty Virgin. But hey, the trick worked, We Have Explosive remaining one of their most recognizable productions to this day. Nothing will get you hype speeding down super-sonic racing tracks like hearing those blaring digital alarms and funky guitar licks.

That did have me mulling over a question though: what else can you do with We Have Explosive? Or more importantly, was there anything else I cared to hear? The original and Herd Killing are all I know, and was quite content leaving it at that. Unlike various forms of Cascade and Lifeforms, I've never heard alternates of We Have Explosive floating about, leading me to conclude all that was ever needed out of it was accomplished with the album variants, the extended takes unnecessary to all but completists. And given the FSOL boys have long been uninterested in returning to boshy dance music, there didn't seem much room for further exploration of the track. Still, that doesn't mean they wouldn't give it the ol' London college try.

The original kicks things off, and though given a little extra production beef and flair, it's basically as you remember it in the years 1996 and 1997. Ah, the memories of that utterly bizarre music video with the bobble heads and plugs come rushing back. Implosive, meanwhile, takes things into rockier pastures – or psych-rock in this case, followed upon by a heavy, trip-hop take with Abandoned Housing Blocks Of Prypiat. Jonesing for something more experimental and modern? Tracks like Vaporise and Slide Door will have you covered, all skittery broken beats and minimalist soundscapes – almost sounds like they'd be more at home on an Environments CD.

Okay, so FSOL can take We Have Explosive into some nifty tangents, but c'mon, let's hear some real kick-ass stuff, mates! Detonation basically chops and screws everything up into a funky freak-out, Herd Killing is also given the 2021 're-beefening' treatment, Exploding ramps things up into drum 'n' bass territory, and Exotype... Holy shit, this is some menacing-as-fuck frantic breakcore shite! Ah, the 'what if' possibilities of FSOL going full IDM, eh?

A few more sampledelic groovers round out the rest, including Waiting Your Return, which borrows more from Vit Drowning and Through Your Gills I Breathe than We Have Explosive. Ah sweet, those are some of my favourite 'deep cuts' out of the classic FSOL catalogue. Well played, good sirs, you've given me more than I'd hoped for.

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: NORMAN COOK

The man, the myth, the legend: Norman Cook. Everyone knows at least a couple songs out of his catalogue, whether they want to or not. To this day, I'll hear Praise You on a grocery store speaker, or Right Here, Right Now at a sporting event. What about the rest, though? With a career spanning some forty years, surely he's done more to be known for other than tunes like The Rockafeller Skank.

Some, yes, but I realized my own knowledge of these various bands, productions, and projects was severely lacking. Heck, I only have two of his Fatboy Slim albums as it is - well, if you consider a 'kiddie clean version' a proper copy of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars. Digging through Mr. Cook's extended discography, however, yields plenty of material to sift through, more than enough to satisfy my survey requirements. Sounds about right to finally know the rest of the Norman Cook story, as Paul Harvey might say. (he'd never say that ...don't know if Paul Havery would even know what a Fatboy Slim is)













Well, that was a lot more music than I was expecting, especially so in the acid jazz lane. And yet, I still feel like I only scratched the surface, so much of Norman's career defined by DJing accomplishments as much as anything he did in the production booth. Wish I could say much of it inspired me to nab a few more items proper-like, but it does appear I already got the cream of the crop.

That one dusted, think it's about time I tackle a band that, while maybe not be the best for 'sportsing' to, has been on the perifery of my curiosity: Stereolab! I've a feeling it'll be a rather... challenging outing, especially coming off the 'what you hear is what you get' simplism of Norman Cook.


Saturday, February 11, 2023

Speedy J - A Shocking Hobby

NovaMute: 2000/2021

The final Speedy J album I've yet to review, and possibly the most significant one for Mr. Paap in terms of where his career was going. Loudboxer put a permanent stamp on his turn towards techno bangers, but the notion of releasing a singular, uncompromising audio assault for a full LP starts with A Shocking Hobby. Prior albums typically offered a variety of tempo, tunes, and tones, and while the same can be said for most of this one too, there's no denying this record is best enjoyed – and perhaps properly only enjoyed – as a single sit-down experience. From front to back, A Shocking Hobby hardly deviates from its future-shock, broken-beat aggro-techno vibe.

You might sense familiar territory with opener Terre Zippy, starting an album similarly to Public Energy No. 1. Yet whereas Tuning In instilled a bit of uneasy calm before Jochem unleashed Patterns on you, Terre Zippy is all abrasive industrial drone, increasing the tension to fever pitch before unleashing an even nastier piece of big beat business in Borax. I wouldn't go so far as to call this track drill n' bass though, as there's a certain level of measured structure going on here compared to the frenetic pace the IDM camps generally enjoy. As for melody, forget it. Whereas Patterns had those big, rousing orchestral strings at its climax, Borax settles for some layered strings at its peak, finding whatever seams of boshing beats they can squeeze through.

And while you can tell when there's a shift into another track on A Shocking Hobby, everything's so aurally consistent that it almost sounds like a live session getting rinsed out rather than individual tracks. Interstitial piece Ferber Mudd may as well be a brief continuation of ideas already explored in Borax, while Balk Acid carries on with the booming, distorted rhythms just the same, with it's own nice little melody in support that will get all your Aphex Twin comparisons triggering.

Even more than the last album, those links to the IDM wonks of the '90s have been made with A Shocking Hobby, and I can't deny, the drill n' bass vibes of tracks like Vopak, Actor Nine and Drill are clear as any day. I dunno' though, this album still feels more rooted in techno's domain than IDM, using sonic experimentation as a tool for an LP narrative rather than for its own sake track to track. Even the downbeat pieces towards the end serve as a comedown coda to the audio assault that came before in this apocalyptic war of industrial breaks.

Still, though I'd consider A Shocking Hobby a far more successful outing of such sounds compared to the transitional Public Energy No. 1, it's still a noisy session from Speedy J, one I can see only a handful of folks would be down for. Plus, while critically solid, I doubt making such music was all that financially lucrative for Jochem. Now, that warehouse-ready, club friendly 4am techno, there's an untapped market...

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The Chemical Brothers - Brothers Gonna Work It Out

Virgin: 1998

The Chemical Brothers became known as producers elite so swiftly into their careers, their humble DJing roots were almost entirely forgotten by Dig Your Own Hole. For sure the heady-heads remembered the dodgy 'Dust Brothers' era, but as the '90s came closer to closure, the millions of new fans Ed and Ted had gained remained in the dark of their past influences. Sensing a chance to perhaps educate all these fresh faces attending their concerts, Misters Simons and Rowlands released this DJ mix between albums, a massive mash-up of the tunes that were rinsed out 'back in the day' with a bunch of b-sides and remixes of their current big beat hitters.

I'm not sure if it entirely worked. Oh, the set is great, with plenty of wonderful moments highlighting all that made folks fall sway to the Chem'Bros' charms. I just don't think many of them knew exactly what they were getting. “Is this their new album or not?” they'd ask me in that little music shop I worked at. And I'd reply, “Eh, not really. It's a DJ mix.” After a moment's blank stare, I'd add, “It's not a new album.” Said customer of straw would then move on, leaving Brothers Gonna Work It Out collecting dust, brother. At least, that's how it went down in my backwater corner of Canadaland. I'm sure it sold gangbusters in Great Britain, as most Chemical Brothers merch did.

If there's anything that hampered this CD's general success, it was the fact there are only five indexed tracks. Eagle eye'd spotters may notice twenty-three listed tunes on the back, making this one of those mixes, where bits and pieces are spliced into hefty portions for maximum punch. Like, that mash of Freestyle's robo-vocals Don't Stop The Rock and Metro L.A.'s acid stomp To A Nation Rockin'... I can't hear one without the other anymore! Sure, it'd be handy to skip to specific spots on this CD, but that'd ruin its proper flow, now wouldn't it?

Other highlights? How about The Micronauts' utterly mental, over-driven remix of Block Rockin' Beats, practically right out the gate? It's almost too much awesome too soon, and one of the reasons I really can't ever go back to the original version, so tame in comparison. That, along with The Jazz being featured here, it's small wonder The 'Nauts had so much momentum going for them at the time. Fusing them with some juicy acid care of Sidewinder doesn't hurt either. Elsewhere, '70s funk and psychedelic soul get their looks in, while acid techno and big Meat Beat lock horns.

Yes, there's plenty of bedlam on Brothers Gonna Work It Out, but it also feels like they end the party too soon, the final stretch getting on that Private Psychedelic Reel vibe without playing the actual tune (which would be redundant coming off Dig Your Own Hole anyway). I suppose it works for a nice comedown, but this was a party I could have enjoyed 'till dawn's early light.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Eastern Dub Tactik - Blood Is Shining (Original TC Review)

Waveform Records: 2001

(2021 Update:
I feel like a right idiot-jerk reading this back now, in that I inexplicably and completely neglected mentioning any Indian influence here. I have no idea why. Was I so utterly berift of cultural exposure that I couldn't recognize any? I mean, the Middle East certainly was more prominent on everyone's minds in the mid-'00s, but c'mon, man. I even made a tacky joke about it right in the brief!

This album still bumps mighty good though. I never fail getting hype hearing all these big-ass beats and ear-wormy hooks again, even after over-playing it something stupid way back when. Oh yes, this was another one of those CDs I was carrying a torch for, often whenever local festival goers would go on about some local hero. They'd be all like, "Isn't Bassnectar the greatest thing ever?" And I'd be like, "He's okay, but he doesn't play anything as dynamic as what's on here!" And they'd be like, "What? Who are you? I was talking to my friends over here?" And I'd be like "......." Good times.)



IN BRIEF: Funky fresh bloopity bloop, Allah.

Uh oh. Middle Eastern themes? A name with the word ‘dub’ in it? A promo spiel using adjectives like ‘worldly’ and ‘exotic’? Could this possibly be yet another unnecessary ‘world beat’ album consisting of noodly downtempo collages of Western and Eastern styles, where it’s blatantly apparent one or the other is in total control? Hardly.

Rather, producer Aaron Dysart has taken elements of East and West, and fused them together so his music wouldn’t sound out of place in either locale. Eastern Dub Tactik is as smooth a blend of funk rhythms, Arab harmonies, dubby psychedelia, and slummy street attitude as I’ve ever heard.

The reason for Dysart’s success is in his music’s simplicity. He doesn’t get bogged down in elaborate atmospherics or complicated arrangements. Tracks get down to business in short time, delivering all the pieces early on and having fun with them for the duration. And while some producers may overindulge embellishing their tracks’ components for tedious lengths (hi, Laswell!), Dysart keeps things concise and to the point, rarely letting a track go on for more than necessary. This does create a slight problem though. Because of their simplicity, tracks come and go without the kind of engagement reserved for intuitive songwriting; they come across as fun diversions but little else.

Such a release will often warrant a three star rating from me but you’ve probably noticed that extra half-star there by now (don’t lie; I know a bunch of you skip to the bottom first). So what, you ask, warrants that above above-average rating? Simply put, sheer diversity.

Even despite the similar themes and arrangements, no two tracks sound alike on here. Each cut has Dysart trying something different and aside from the plodding Day Of Despair and uneventful Asra, his works continuously surprise. And, whoo... are they ever catchy to boot. With their short running times and quick loops, breaks and hooks easily get lodged into your noggin.

The opening chunk of Blood Is Shining sees Dysart’s fusion at its most, shall we say, united; everything blends together so no influence overwhelms the other. The sounds of plinky organs, funky guitar licks, sitar strums, whispery woodwinds, and Arab vocals flow so smoothly, you’d think they’d all been a match since their cultural beginnings. Throw in a few turntable tricks and chunky beats with serious horsepower, and you can’t help but groove along.

Ah yes. Those beats. I’m not sure how much overdubbing Dysart did for them, but they pack a thick punch. Most of his breaks are time-worn from funk’s forefathers, so they’ll be quite familiar to anyone who enjoys hip or trip hop. They certainly are brisker than those styles though, and carry enough bass to piss off the neighbors. And even here Dysart melds cultures, gleefully allowing Indian drums to jam alongside the funk bands in overdrive. The rhythm heavy tracks - street-savvy Cultural Wisdom, the stompingly fun Brothers & Sisters, and screwy time-signatured Wicked Style - are irresistibly fun, and will light any dancefloor up. Well, maybe not Wicked Style as much, since it’s break isn’t quite as accommodating to folks weaned on standard rhythms; those funky organ licks will definitely have you trying though.

A few downtempo tracks help add to this album’s diversity as well. The aforementioned Asra doesn’t do much of note, but Like This, soaked in psychedelia, is a welcome dubby interlude. Meanwhile, closer Five ‘N’ Dub’s ominous atmosphere mixes nicely with chunky, clumping beats.

The odd-man out on Blood Is Shining is Eastern Winds, where Dysart allows the Eastern influences to totally dominate. Even the rhythms follow an Arabian pattern rather than the funky ones heard throughout. Fair game, I say, as it adds some vintage spice to the proceedings.

I suppose I should also mention the political content of this release. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it kept to a minimum: a couple sampled quotes looped at points, but no more. Dysart’s liner notes don’t dwell on the ills of society either, merely paying respect to those who’ve done what they could to change it. In this age of acts sacrificing musical content for sloganeering, it’s nice to hear less of it in tracks that Zack de la Rocha wouldn’t sound too out of place on. Then again, this was released in 2001, a year when music and politics weren’t quite so chummy as they are now.

Yes, this is an older release and, truthfully, there isn’t anything on here that makes it a necessary grab, fans of dubby breaks or otherwise. Even the melding of East and West, though exceptionally done, isn’t revolutionary. But regardless of these facts, should you decide to commit debit to disc, Blood Is Shining makes a worthwhile diversion from stressful days.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2006. © All rights reserved.

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Various - Blade - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

TVT Records: 1998

Plenty has been said how this movie ushered in a new era of comic book adaptations. That it rescued a quickly diminishing genre of film from the downward slide of Schumacher Batman into something once again credible and financially lucrative. That the cinematic juggernaut known as the MCU would never have gotten on the beachhead had this relatively unknown creative property of theirs been a box-office dud. Yes, all these things have been brought up by people who make it their business/career/hobby discussing such things, but that's not what I'm doing here.

Instead, I wish to make my own hot-take proclamation about Blade. More specifically the soundtrack: this was the last of a small but vital run of scores that people intimately associate with exactly one techno track, which everyone had to rush and buy because of needing that one techno track.

You know the type I'm talking about. Your 'Mortal Kombat Theme'. Your 'Trainspotting Theme'. Your, um, The Saint Theme. For a time in the '90s, a wave of movies featured some big thumping anthem as its centrepiece of music, forever tying song and cinema to specific scenes. For sure there were plenty of soundtracks that featured electronic music, before and well after Blade, but can you instantly identify That One Track out of any of them? No, Zion doesn't count. Even if folks do remember that scene (for all the wrong reasons), they definitely can't recall how its techno track sounds, preferably forgetting anything associated with the Matrix sequels.

You can't shake the image of Blade's blood rave and the pounding acid of Pump Panel's rub of New Order's Confusion though. There were plenty of other great artists with tunes in the movie – Photek, DJ Krush, Source Direct, Junkie XL, Solitaire ...Polygon Window? - but its this specific one everyone knows. I just have to say “that movie Blade”, and you instantly hear the acid again. Aww, and here I am, thinking Expansion Union's Playing With Lightning is just as dope.

“But wait!” you say, “what's with all those artists you mentioned above? I have the CD and only a couple of them are in there. It's mostly a bunch of hip-hop!” Right you are, oh man of straw. In fact, only four tracks as featured in the movie made the cut of fifteen here. Save a couple clubbier offerings from Mantronik and Roger Sanchez bridging the gap, everything comes from the lands of gangsta rap.

Though as they are tracks 'inspired by' the movie, it feels more appropriate to call this 'gothic rap'. Lots of raps about Blade, hunting vampires, wars between heaven and hell... pretty cool stuff, with a good mix of stars and unknowns. Gang Starr is here! KRS-One is here (breaking fourth walls, no less)! Mystikal is here (his track was great at showing off the bass of the JVC Kaboom)! P.A. is... wait, Parental Advisory? Oh, wow, they were also on the first rap soundtrack I ever owned. Small world.

Friday, June 26, 2020

Various - Big Dirty Beats 2: Bigger Dirtier Beats

Moonshine Music: 1999

Here's an audacious proclamation: Big Dirty Beats 2 may very well be the last, great big beat compilation ever made. Yeah, the genre still had some life in it for a number of years after, and the big players in big beat kept releasing albums for decades longer. Heck, there may even be a few solid DJ mixes scattered about in the 21st Century from said big players showcasing some extra longevity in the old girl. Plus, how can I make such a claim without having heard every big beat compilation released after this one? Honestly, I don't even know of any such releases from after the year 2000, nor am I anxious to trawl the depth of Lord Discog's tomes in search of such items to prove my audacious proclamation.

Yet I confidently make it, for a few reasons. One, the genre itself truly was on the outs shortly after this CD came out. As mentioned, the Fatboys, Chemical Bros and Propellerheads of the world could still make hay from it, while the soundtrack business remained quite lucrative. That was about the extent of its market penetration though, the top spots already filled, and little to no room for newer cats to stake a claim. Besides, there was a new-fangled sub-genre of breaks gaining positive underground cred; a nu-er 'skool', if you will. Sorry, big beat, but may as well make a name in that scene instead when Junkie XL is getting all the plush scoring gigs.

In my books (and my blog), what makes a great compilaton truly great is not stuffing a pile of recognizable hits and names and calling it a day. It's unearthing overlooked gems that properly represent whatever your CD's theme is selling. Unfortunately for big beat, such occurrences had grown exceedingly rare by the turn of the century due to the above factors. Even this series from Moonshine never made it past its second volume, but if Big Dirty Beats 2 was to be its swan song, it was a heck of a way to go out.

Right off, you know you're in for something better than the norm, as the CD opens with not The Wiseguys' huge hit Ooh La La, but their lesser hit Start The Commotion. Okay, the tracks are practically the same, but it at least shows Moonshine thinking outside the box. At the other end of the CD is Lunatic Calm, LC001 (Neon Ray Mix), and if you're drawing a big ol' blank on that tune, that's just because you never looked further into Lunatic Calm's discography post-Metropol. The only other 'star acts' here is Omar Santana and Cirrus, with their future video-game staple Time's Running Out, but I'll allow it, as it's a dope tune. (also, Afrika Bambaataa, but his cut isn't much of anything)

The remaining seven tracks feature acts with barely any Discoggian presence, offering up a variety of breaks that are as big, dirty, and dope as anything the stars of the day made. *chef's kiss*

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry

Skint/Astralwerks: 1996/1997

For a time, I considered this the superior Fatboy Slim album: no overplayed hits or blatant crossover appeal. Norman Cook's big-beat debut was pure underground t'ings, for the underground heads who kept things under the ground. Or something.

Then I came to learn of Mr. Cook's storied career, how he'd been responsible for the goofy Pizzaman project, and that his Fatboy Slim moniker was just the latest (and most successful) of a long line of chart-topping achievements. Goodness, does that mean everything I thought and believed about this album was a lie, a misled assumption that couldn't be helped due to the lack of available knowledge while residing in such a far-flung corner of North America? Must I re-assess my enjoyment of Better Living Through Chemistry?

Well, there is an air of bandwagon jumping here. Cook broke out the Fatboy moniker with the single Everybody Needs A 303, a fun acid jam for sure (and a winner of a title!), but clearly riding on the wave of acid anthems that Josh Wink's Higher State Of Consciousness set off. Not that I suspect insidious intents in making the tune on Norman's part. Nay, here's a silly one-off alias for a one-off single and oh my God, this thing is blowing up in the clubs! Maybe there's some potential after all.

UK interest in breakbeats that sounded as big as rock 'n' roll of yore was taking off, and sampling funk and soul was always a major part of that scene. Well, ol' Norman had a woodshed full of records from years of DJing he could pilfer. Surely there's enough material there to knock out a full-length album's worth of 303 retreads? Well, maybe.

I'd honestly forgotten how loopy this album is. Yeah, they layer and build and all, but compared to the songwriting leaps the Fatboy project took in subsequent albums, this is some raw, basic stuff. The second half in particular doesn't do much to dispel the notion Better Living Through Chemistry was made mostly in service of capitalizing on a big single. The chill, psychedelic outing of Santa Cruz and trip-hop funk of The Weekend Starts Here show off some diversity, but generally there's only so much acid builds with big breaks can do before it all starts sounding the same.

Fortunately, the Astralwerks version added a couple winners, some of my favourite Fatboy Slim jams ever! Michael Jackson is Norman at his best with cheeky sampling, rockin' leads, and wailin' hooks with beats to back 'em up. Meanwhile, Next To Nothing is another chill outing like Santa Cruz, and a strong, proper capper on an album that originally got redundant by Milwaukee's end.

Whether Better Living Through Chemistry doesn't hold up as well as I remembered is irrelevant though, as its status as a Very Important record is already enshrined. The Chemical Brothers' Exit Planet Dust may have kicked off big beat, but this solidified it as a genre with big things ahead of it.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Howie B. - Turn The Dark Off

Polydor: 1997

When 'electronica' was the new hotness, I recall seeing Howie B.'s name everywhere, but as I look back on his compilation game, I fail to remember why. Yeah, I got a small jump on him when he appeared on the Waveform Records compilation Frosty (ten minutes of Birth!), and he was repped on the MuchMusic 'electronica' show CD tie-in RU Receiving, but that was the extent of my exposure.

He was featured on a number of trip-hop and big-beat collections at the height of those genres' commercial success, and carried on into the new Millennium to a respectable degree, including contributing to the FabricLive and AnotherLateNight series. I dunno' though, it still feels like I'm missing something, like Mr. Bernstein was at a higher level than even that, almost on par with the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack. Give me a second, I need to check the Wiki... *one search result later* OOOoohhh... He helped produced U2's Pop album. Yeah, that'll get your name in the mainstream rock rags, no doubt.

Coming up through the studio ranks, Howie B. was primed to make a prominent mark upon UK clubland by the mid-'90s, finally getting his debut with Music For Babies. That... was a tad too specialized a sound to make much impact, so the follow-up Turn The Dark Off is generally considered his proper debut, with all his major singles. Switch is here! Fizzy In My Mouth is here! Take Your Partner By The Hand is here! Uh... Who's Got The Bacon? is here? Wait, Angels Go Bald, Too was a single as well? I guess it has that spy-caper vibe going for it, and Howie did help with that Tom Cruise staring Mission: Impossible score a little. Can't say it's the Howie B. stylee I was expecting going into this though, so brisk and breakbeaty for a dude more known for the down 'n' dirty side of trip-hop funk.

Turn The Dark Off features a solid assortment of those sounds, essentially where big-beat and trip-hop meet in the grand scheme of things. In fact, I can't help but feel it's a little too solid, too polished for a record seemingly inspired by the gritty underground beats that were churned out by Mo'Wax. I suppose that can't be helped, Mr. Bernstein's experience on the production side of the things smoothing out whatever free-flowing roughness emerges from one's inspiration. It's far from BT-itis, but certainly around Junkie XL's level of studio sleekness.

Whenever he has a chance to solo out some sounds over his hunky-chunky rhythms, the music's all the better for it. The gentle keyboards and weird wobbly wail in Limbo. The raunchy-raw squealing synths in Butt Meat. The spoken-word tale of noir clublife as narrated by Robbie Robertson in Take Your Partner By The Hand. Not to mention the building guitar licks and hip-hop rhythms that aren't too dissimilar to The RZA's beatcraft. Album could have used more tracks like that one.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

Take Me To The Hospital: 2009

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

This honestly felt like a 'do or die' outing for The Prodigy. They had their stumble, but after so much earlier success, plus the long gap from Fat Of The Land to Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (what single between?), it seemed appropriate such a thing would happen to Liam Howlett's troupe. That all gotten out of the system, reflection on past mistakes done and dusted, and a re-assessment of what properly made The Prodigy of old fire so brilliantly while putting together the Their Law retrospective, everyone knew there were no more excuses to be had. Let's hear what Liam's got cooking for a new era of post-Pendulum rock-n-rave antics, and whether they still fit in a scene long since removed from whatever the '90s offered.

And the answer was... inconclusive. I recall Invaders Must Die had just as many fans as it had detractors, equal amounts of folk claiming this was the return to form everyone had been waiting for as there were those bemoaning The Prodigy were now trend-chasers rather than innovators. I admit I was more in the latter camp at the time of its release, hence my general disinterest in anything they released after, but that was a decade ago. We've had plenty of time now to digest its lasting impact, where it fits in The Prodigy's greater canon, and whether any of its obvious trend-chasing was really so bad given its surrounding context. Time has been kinder to Invaders Must Die than I was expecting, is what I'm getting at, but it doesn't negate the problems the album had when it first dropped.

Right from the jump, you sense something's still not quite right in Prodigy-Land, a stiff, jerky titular cut that sounds far too reliant on Pendulum's brand of screachy d'n'b to have ever come from the mind of someone that created brilliant openers like Break & Enter and Smack My Bitch Up. Follow-up Omen doesn't fare much better, and if old-school fans had deleted/thrown Invaders Must Die out after that, I wouldn't have blamed them.

Sneakily though, Liam starts luring you into this (then) contemporary sound of bosh by throwing in winking nods to his raving roots: rasta vocals in Thunder, vintage synth stabs in Take Me To The Hospital. It's so subtly effective a nostalgia trigger that when the full-blown throwback track Warrior's Dance hits, you're right back in that zealous vibe from the days of yore'. Small wonder this was hailed as The Prodigy track everyone had been waiting a decade for, though how it fared with the Pendulum kids, I haven't a clue.

What I do know is Invaders Must Die doesn't sound too bad for its final stretch, somehow looser and more confident in what it's trying to be. Maybe it's residual buzz from Warrior's Dance, or maybe Liam finally figured out where Prodigy fit in that new rave world. It likely wasn't enough to convince Jilted purists, but worked enough for the group to carry on a decade longer.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

The Prodigy - No Tourists

BMG: 2018

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

I may have passed on The Prodigy post-Millennium, but that doesn't mean I didn't keep some tabs on them, the lingering question of “are they still going?” always tugging at my curiosity. Truth is, questions of 'relevancy' were long since dashed after Liam Howlett failed to keep pace with electronic music's mutations throughout the '00s, and it seemed he spent a lost decade of figuring out just where his brand of thrashy-bash stadium fodder fit. I think he eventually sorted it out, and No Tourists finds the Prodge machine running as smoothly as one could expect/hope for in the year 2018.

Which, for all intents, may end up being the final official Prodigy album, what with Keith Flint's passing and all. Yes, Liam was the brains behind nearly all the music that ever came from the Prodigy banner, but as a live act, 'Keef's presence was what catapulted the group from rave favourites to something marketable across the globe. For good or ill, it was Mr. Flint and his iconic double-'hawk hairdo that got him front and centre on Spin Magazine (and lampooned by Weird Al's quickie Lousy Haircut), not Maxim's cat eye lenses, Liam's nose-ring or Leeroy's... gangling legs? Howlett long claimed the tunes he made were just as much in service of Keith's antics as anything ear-catching or club smashing, knowing he'd struck upon a winner if his stage jester went completely ape-shit to it as the tune blasted from stacks of speakers. It's difficult imagining Liam finding the same level of musical confidence without Keith's moshing approval.

And that's the vibe I get from No Tourists, ten tracks designed with maximum thrash appeal for those who still have a fondness for Prodigy of old. Still, I won't deny almost fearing the worst with opener Need Some1, the track sounding like it's cribbing from the school of Pendulum rather than anything Liam built. Fear not, my friends, for follow-up Light Up The Sky brings back the big boshing beats of yore, with red-lined acid thrash and sped-up rasta vocals. Yes, it's way familiar of Prodigy of old, but isn't that what we've always wanted from them anyway?

The other track that treads into contemporary festival cliches is Timebomb Zone, and only because those chipmunk vocals aren't of vintage rave stock. Boom Boom Tap too, I guess, though I sense that one's more a pisstake of trap anthems than a sincere attempt – how else to explain a curt “fuck you” at the drop before unleashing fierce jungle on your ears? As for the rest, No Tourists is all fine, the sort of tuneage intended for quick, explosive release, then just as soon passed on by. There little that sticks with you like classic Prodigy of the past, but for the time you spend with them here (a rather brisk thirty-seven minutes!), it's a fun ride. And, given the circumstances, if this does mark the final Prodigy album, it's a fine final send-off as well. Respect.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Cirrus - Drop The Break

Moonshine Music: 1997

For as much as Moonshine Music pushed Cirrus as one of their premiere acts, I seldom gave them much attention. It never seemed prudent, see, so often appearing on compilations like Big Dirty Beats 2, Moonshine Overamerica 98, This Ain't Trip Hop?, plus assorted soundtracks (I've reviewed a few). The Los Angeles posse were well promoted by their label, making sure they could hang with all the big big-beat boys of the day (The Crystal Brothers, The Chemical Method, Junkie So Slim, Fatboy XXXL). As Cirrus never got name-dropped in discussion of “most essential breaks albums”, I just forgot about them, save the occasional spotting in a used shop. As in this case!

Actually, I'd already heard Drop The Break, one of my old Rupert peers having a copy for himself. I recall generally liking what I heard from it, surprised by the diversity on display for a supposed big-beat group. It honestly sounds like it was made a couple years prior, before big-beat was really a thing, much less a genre to board a bandwagon upon. Besides, Cirrus were still mixing things up with the acid breaks scene of California, their ravey roots far more prominent than any aspirations for rock-approved crossover success. Maybe they were hedging their bets a bit in dipping their fingers into any genre they could at the time, though once it became clear their biggest hits were big funky breaks, it's no surprise they committed to that road.

For now though, anything hot with the Moontribe crew was open game. You like house music? Then Cirrus has the hook-up with Superstar DJ and the slightly proggier Nassau. Or how about that good ol' tweakin' chemical breaks action, with the acid knobs twiddlin'? Then Leap Into The Light or the titular cut have you covered. Big obvious breaks anthems with all the James Brown samples you can handle more to your taste? Break In should sate your needs, especially the Transatlantic Move Mix (original's more proper big-beat bosh). Eh, you don't vibe with breaks at all, as it don't compare to the real business that is jungle? Well hey, guess what, Cirrus made a d'n'b cut too, the super peppy, piano jam October 27! Okay, this one might also be Venn Diagramming with happy hardcore.

If this all sounds too upbeat and hectic for you, then don't fret, as Cirrus show off their chill side throughout the album as well. Ghetto Of Life is breaks on the downbeat, Superstar is funky breaks on the downbeat, and Yallah Babibe is breaks on the su-u-u-per downbeat, suffocating in a thick smoke of hashish. Finally, there's Bionic Hippy, a tune that sounds like it should have been on an old-school progressive house collection rather than the closer of a supposed breaks record. No, wait, there's also a right funky slow-jammin' jam as a secret song as the proper closer. Man, Drop The Break is about as mid-'90s an 'electronica' LP as it gets with that.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Chemical Brothers - Elektrobank

Astralwerks: 1997

Nope, still haven't gotten Dig Your Own Hole. It's just not high on my priority list. In fact, it doesn't even register on such a mythical list. Like, if I find it super-duper ridiculous cheap, maybe I'd consider it just for the sake of “90s 'electronica' completionist” sake. No, the $0.52 at Amazon is still too expensive (d'at $3.49 shipping, tho'!). It'd have to be pennies, or given away by someone offloading their old CD collection in a beat-up cardboard box. Yes, I remain that jaded towards Block Rockin' Beats and Setting Sun. You cannot understand my annoyance, frustration, irritation, exasperation, and vexation hearing those songs ad nauseam though '96-'97, so desperate the rock world was in getting The Chemical Brothers over as the next Oasis or something. It ruined whatever hype I had in hearing Dig Your Own Hole when it first came out, and soured every playthrough with dreaded anticipation of hearing those tunes one... more... fucking... time.

“But wait,” say you, “even if you dislike the two big singles, there's other dope tunes on that album.” I agree. In fact, I distinctly recall having my head forcibly twisted about upon hearing Elektrobank during my initial listen way back when. Those propulsive guitar riffs, furious looping beats, random explosions recalling WipEout's frenetic action, and an instantly ear-wormy sample wherein Keith Murray ponders who might be making manufactured, trippy alpha-beta seti-zappa funkiness. Throw in one of the most badass codas to a big-beat tune I've ever heard, where everything slows right the fuck down and gets cranked beyond the eleven, and you've a classic Chem' Bros. cut that I was almost willing to get Dig Your Own Hole for alone. Almost.

Fortunately, a single option for Elektrobank exists, and for whatever stupid reason, it only occurred to me this year that I should get it. And now I do have it, and can enjoy all that psychedelic funkin' to my heart's content. There's even other cool tunes on this single, so let's dig into these too!

Not Another Drugstore is the official b-side, which you might know from the opener of Brothers Gonna' Work It Out, The Chemical Brothers' DJ mix from the same period. It's got a boozy-woozy arp for a l-o-o-o-ng lead-in before diving into some funky big-beat action and raps from Justin Warfield. Don't Stop The Rock, a surprising techno banger from Dig Your Own Hole, gets an extended Electronic Battle Weapon Version here. And if you liked the Block Rockin' Beats b-side Morning Lemon, you can hear a drab prototype of it with These Beats Are Made For Breakin'.

Then there's the Dust Brothers Remix of Elektrobank. Yes, the same Dust Brothers that The Chemical Brothers initially cribbed their handle from, and were threatened to be sued over if they didn't change their name. It's a funkier outing, heavier on showing off samples than the original, but really, you want to hear it just for the daft scenario of it all. No shame.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

The Prodigy - The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One

XL Recordings: 1999

DJ mixes were proving rather bankable at the end of the '90s, some shifting equal numbers of units as LPs from established artists. Well shit, son, a few of those established artists were DJs before they made it big with their original productions. Wouldn't hurt to put out a mix or two while between albums, keep the brand out there, maybe drop a little music knowledge on unsuspecting crossover fans in the process. Actually, I don't think that worked. While working at a music shop when such mixes came out, every time a curious costumer only familiar with the radio hits would sample one, they couldn't figure out why there were so many songs all mashed together - they didn't even sound like the radio hits in the first place. (every. time.)

For those more boned up on rave culture, DJ culture, and trainspotting culture though, such mixes were fun items to indulge in. A chance to revisit history, hear the origins of famous samples, discover the influences of a current crop of stars, and be reminded that big acts like The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy had more in their arsenal than a knack for a catchy hook and a beefy beat.

The Dirtchamber Sessions was Liam Howlett's stab at a commercial DJ mix, and is as much a study in everything that created his unique brand of brash, bold dance music. Having come up through the sample-heavy era of DJing, laying out a dozen tunes in a computer-perfect sequence just wouldn't do for him either. There are forty-nine tracks listed in the credits, some barely twenty second snippets, all ranging from classic rave, vintage rap, bratty punk, and Madchester rock. Plus a Barry White tune lodged between Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, because why not?

There's also Bomb The Bass, Jane's Addiction, Frankie Bones, Sex Pistols, Meat Beat Manifesto, Herbie Hancock, James Brown, Ultramagnetic MCs (gotta' get in those Kool Keith verses), Digital Underground, Primal Scream, Renegade Soundwave, LL Cool J, T La Rock, KRS One, and loads more I'm not familiar with. Plus don't forget newer cats like Fatboy Slim, Propellerheads, and London Funk Allstars. The one that threw me for a loop though, was The KLF's What Time Is Love? - at that point I only knew them for their anthem house hits off The White Room. Of course the anti-establishment manifesto of Cauty and Drummond would be something Howlett would relate to, but all I thought was, “wow, never thought I'd hear such a commercial tune in a mix like this.”

As the above attests to, the tracklist is hectic and eclectic, with tons of mash-ups and quick mixes keeping the pace going. The Dirtchamber Sessions is also surprisingly short, not even forty-three minutes long. No sense blowing one's load in a Volume 1 I guess, but we never got a Volume 2. Might be interesting to hear a 'post-Millennium' follow-up, though I can't imagine it containing as dope of tracks as found here.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Various - WipEout XL

Virgin: 1996

WipEout didn't introduce the world of gaming to electronic music, but it sure built one of the biggest, strongest bridges to its culture. The first game scored a coup in getting the legendary Designer's Republic to create its futuristic aesthetic, while Tim Wright of Psygnosis' music studio supplied several original techno and trance tracks that fit the vibe of racing at super-high speeds. It didn't hurt that a beta version of the game appeared in the 'raver' movie Hackers either.

Sensing they could do more nods to the burgeoning 'chemical generation', Psygnosis also licensed out a few tracks from prominent 'electronica' acts of the day, including Leftfield, The Chemical Brothers, and Orbital. This factoid wasn't seen as a major selling point for the game though, especially since the tracks never appeared on the American version of WipEout. When a sequel to the game was announced, however, the mighty Virgin realized they could license out a bunch of their signed acts to the game, giving them even greater exposure with a totally untapped gaming demographic. Throw in other 'rave culture' landmarks like Red Bull ads (when 'energy drinks' were still a new concept for the West) plus associated music videos, and you have one of the defining touchstones of 'electronica' in the '90s! Or just a fun racing game with kick-ass music.

I'm almost tempted to do two reviews of WipEout XL (aka: WipEout 2097), as the game version and soundtrack version do have differences. Most interestingly, the game features some ridiculously rare cuts from The Chemical Brothers and FSOL, not to mention the exclusive Cold Storage tunes from Mr. Wright. Maybe I'll save it for *gasp* video reviews.

As for the CD, the track list isn't too surprising if you know your mid-'90s 'electronica': We Have Explosive, Loops Of Fury, The Third Sequence, Afro Left, P.E.T.R.O.L., Firestarter, Atom Bomb. Actually, the Fluke single is somewhat different here, slower and with bigger beats than the video tie-in. Underworld is also repped, though by way of the ultra-fast, loopy Tin There (a sorta' remix of Pearl's Girl), and a remix of The Chem-Bros' Leave Home that somehow sounds nothing like either group.

Easily the most intriguing thing about this compilation are the two exclusive cuts that never appeared in either WipEout game: Source Direct's 2097 and Daft Punk's Musique. The former I can see either as a tune that didn't make into the game, or Photek getting his pals a little extra rub, being something of students of Mr. Parkes' approach to tech-step. That Daft Punk track though, it's totally a case of Virgin promoting one of their new acts. And why not, the French duo already making massive early buzz with their initial singles. Sure, Musique's “what if Plastikman did a house track?' vibe totally clashes with the rest of WipEout XL's roster of big beat, d'n'b, and Brit techno, but damn, feel that funky filtered low-end. Virgin's trick worked, as I couldn't wait to hear it on the forth-coming album!

Monday, May 22, 2017

The Crystal Method - Vegas

Outpost Records: 1997

The only Crystal Method album you’re supposed to have, even if you’re not a Crystal Method fan. Hell, even fans might argue this is their only album worth having, a hefty chunk ditching the duo once big beat fell out of favor with popular tastes. I know I did, albums Tweekend and Legion Of Boom failing to spark much interest from me for a purchase. They still held a significant following with those albums though, which is more than can be said for The Method’s recent ventures into festival friendly mind-rot bosh. Not that folks shouldn’t have seen it coming - Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland have long kept their foot in the world of commercialism, whoring out their music to the highest advertising bidders in Hollywood and beyond. The difference is they’re lost riding overcrowded bandwagons now, whereas back in the day, they were at the forefront of the zeitgeist.

They couldn’t have picked a better time to drop their debut album Vegas than the year 1997. America was tentatively coming around to electronic music thanks to ‘rockier’ acts from abroad making profitable inroads (heavy Virgin promotion didn’t hurt). Just so happened that a little duo out of Las Angeles was also buzzing, reppin’ the Westcoast acid-tweakin’ breaks action, but implementing beefier beats too. It was similar yet distinct enough to stand out from the likes of Chemical Brothers and Prodigy, and damn skippy American media was eager in promoting a homegrown ‘electronica’ act. Thanks to compilation duty on Moonshine, City Of Angels, MTV’s Amp, and TVT soundtracks, The Crystal Method was everywhere you turned. You could not exist in the year 1997 without having Busy Child and Keep Hope Alive penetrating your earholes.

Still, Vegas isn’t continuously name-dropped in reverence to this day if it lacked the tunes to back it up. Yeah, Busy Child was ridiculously overplayed, but it remains a fun slice of acid funk. And Keep Hope Alive will never get old, big-beat acid action at its crystallized perfection. Trip Like I Do, which had that Spawn tie-in with Filter, if possibly one of the best album openers ever, while Cherry Twist, She’s My Pusher, and Vapor Trail make for agreeable chemical breaks filler on an album full of killer.

Elsewhere, Crystal Method slow things down to trip-hop’s domain in tracks Bad Stone and the spaced-out High Roller (“you got it”), all the while retaining their crunchy acid sensibilities (I think Moonshine tried calling this sound ‘hard-hop’, or ‘trypno’ – you do you, Moonshine). And to prove they aren’t just all about those block rockin’ beats, a couple ‘poppier’ tunes in Comin’ Back and Jaded add vocalist Trixie Reiss to the mix, though Jaded is darn ambitious for a seven-minute, crunchy, acid-soaked radio jam.

If my mentioning any of these tunes had them flaring up in your memory membranes, it just goes to show the impact Vegas made on electronic music. Two decades on, it still reverberates and overshadows everything The Crystal Method has done.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Various - Trancespotting III

Hypnotic: 2000

A third Trancespotting! How was there enough interesting in this middling series to warrant a trilogy? And if it is so middling, why on Earth do I own this CD? Easy answer on the latter question: it came bundled in a Trancespotting box-set, titled Complete Trancespotting, released a couple years after it was clear Hypnotic had run the well dry on the concept (whatever the Trancespotting concept may be). “But wait,” proclaims thee, “for a box-set to truly be box-set worthy, there must be a minimum of four CDs in the package.” Right you be, o’ Pedantic One, which means there was a Trancespotting IV in this series. That I must review as well.

Look, the box-set was a pretty good deal, four CDs for the price of one, and I hazily knew the first volume was decent enough for a Hypnotic compilation. I figured there had to be at least another disc’s worth of good material between the remaining three to make it worth the asking price. Juno Reactor and System 7 on II, Synaesthesia on III, James Brown and Dead Or Alive on… oh. Oh dear. Trancespotting IV is one of those CDs, isn’t it.

That’s for a Newer Review from this one though. For now, we dive into Trancespotting III, a CD that already gives signs of what’s to come from this series. Yep, that’s Kelly Hansen among the featured artists, and if you don’t know who that is, you probably never bother with your classic rock station. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the current Foreigner lead singer, but the song being sung (and remixed by Razed In Black into a plucky club anthem) is Dream Police by Cheap Trick. A couple tracks after, and we get a Mark Pistel rub of The Sweet’s Fox On The Run. Huh, that ain’t so bad, but I’ve faith any member of Meat Beat Manifesto providing the goods, even if his big-beaty remix makes zero sense on a compilation called Trancespotting. In fact, nearly a third of this CD’s taken up by big-beat action, including Filter Section’s Action-8 and Bill Leeb side-project Pro>Tech’s Recalcitrant. Surprisingly, Transmutator’s Equal Opportunity Slut doesn’t go the ‘aggrotech’ route!

But we’ve already come to expect these genre dalliances from this series, if not so overt about it. We still get some trance out of our Trancespotting deal, even if it’s an incredibly ragtag selection. We’re a long ways from Hypnotic’s glory days in the year 2000, though funny enough we do get a Talla 2XLC opener, even if it is a track from a few years past. Not so far back as Juno Reactor’s Labyrinth though, a track found on the Samurai EP, but initially lurking as a B-side to The Overlord’s 1994 single God’s Eye (as The 7th Stage (Labyrinth Mix)). The Synaesthesia cut sounds more like early Delerium mashed with Pro>Tech, a couple vintage-cut acid tunes round things out, and we end on breakcore action from Spaceship Eyes. ONE JOB, Hypnotic!

Monday, December 14, 2015

The Chemical Brothers - Surrender

Astralwerks: 1999

The Chemical Brothers were kings of the big beat castle, a deserved title considering they practically built the damn thing themselves. A string of classic singles, two seminal albums, and a live show then unparalleled in electronic music, it'd take much to dethrone them. As the 20th Century neared its end, however, many would-be usurpers were storming the gates, ready to nab the crowns off Simons and Rowlands. The Crystal Method came with the pitchforks; Fatboy Slim with the battering ram; Junkie XL with the wire-fu crew; The Wiseguys with a donkey. The Chemical Brothers were seasoned veterans though, and ain't no way they’d go quietly into the night. They had their own counter-attack in the works, y'see, a third album ready to hit shelves with just as much aplomb as Exit Planet Dust and Dig Your Own Hole. Surely it would be another big beat masterpiece, proving once and for all they could never be knocked off their peak, their summit, their- No, wait, that's not right. They instead abandoned big beat altogether, releasing an LP of house and techno grooves. So that's why they named the album Surrender.

Really, The Chemie Bros had nothing to prove, deciding the time was right showing off other genres they could tackle. Making things easier in getting playlisted by all the very important progressive house DJs probably didn't hurt their decision either. Surrender thus comes with very simple caveats for all potential listeners: if you like their block rockin' beats and only their block rockin' beats, you won't dig this album. If you're a Chemical fan for life though - through the fun times and the 'artistic' ones – then you already have Surrender in your collection, don't you.

The more interesting question, then, is whether it was love at first listen, or it took some warming up to. I can't deny Surrender wasn't what I was expecting, especially with such a lacklustre lead single in Hey Boy, Hey Girl, at least compared to previous leads. I was also stupid burnt-out on The Chemical Brothers anyway, all the hype that went into Dig Your Own Hole necessitating a brief break from their sound. I think it was hearing the sub-whoofer demolishing Under The Influence on the WipEout 3 soundtrack that got me curious again. Video games can do that.

And there’s still vintage Chemical Brothers on here. Opener Music: Response has them big, beefy beats hitting, but this time coupled with some psychedelic electro. Let Forever Be once again teams up with Noel Gallagher as they forever chase The Beatles, while Asleep From Day, Dream On and the titular cut fear no starry-eyed sunrise at Glastonbury. On the other hand, Out Of Control sounds tailor made for the action movie crowd, The Sunshine Underground a massive festival climax, and Got Glint? a deep house club on acid (those claps!). All this is enough that I can vibe with Surrender on its own merits, a worthy capper to their trilogy of ‘90s albums.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cirrus - Stop & Panic

Moonshine Music: 1999

I feel Moonshine Music oversold us on Cirrus being The Next Big Thing. Not that I blame the label in marketing the Los Angeles breaks duo as their answer to The Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method. Big beat was big business as the ‘90s drew to a close, but there was only so much big money a label could gather with compilations that (possibly) required big licensing fees. DJ Aaron Carter and Stephen J. Barry had a good look to them, in that so-‘90s L.A. way, and were more than capable of kicking out the jams in various genres, though acidy breaks was their main call of expertise. They could have simply carved out their niche and stayed on the low-key, but after Moonshine had so much success in their promotion of “Superstar DJ” Keoki, another kick at the Crossover Can couldn’t hurt. Or not, if it meant licensing out Cirrus tracks to all manner of receptive video games.

Anyhow, Stop & Panic was the second single from the group’s second album, Back On A Mission. There were no other singles from the LP following this, Cirrus quick to move on from big beat before the year 2000 reared its head. This cut is all big beat though, with guitar licks, fierce crashing percussion, tweaked as fuck acid, siren calls, time stretched vocals of the title, and a little record scratchin’ for good measure. In other words, a good thrashing time.

This being Moonshine, you can’t have a single without a DJ Dan remix, and Dan does the deed with his typical disco funk rub of house. Just in case you felt the original was too much big beat and not enough proper breaks, The Coffee Boys (re: just one guy named Paul Grogan) strips things down some, giving space for the acid to shine without a bunch of other sounds cluttering things up. I’ve talked about DJ Micro’s go on DJ Aaron Carter’s mix CD Lit Up, in that I just mentioned it there as a surprise ending to the hard acid techno set. Still, it was used well in that context, whereas on this single it’s possibly the driest of the remixes. There needs to be more than just siren-wailing bosh in my acid techno.

Finally, progressive trancer Deepsky rounds out the single with a decidedly old-school take on the genre. Seriously, that pitch-bending sawwave is straight out of the bible of Jam & Spoon tricks, even right down to the breakdown where you hear nothing else. I’d keep thinking I’m hearing Follow Me instead of a Stop & Panic remix were it not for the vocal being dropped in throughout. This couldn’t have been a coincidence. Deepsky had to have done it deliberately, just figured no one listening to a Cirrus single would ever know the truth. Well, fool’s on Mr. Blum, as I am one such person! Clearly though, this is among the utmost useless information I have in my possession.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

ACE TRACKS: February 2013

And I’m finally done getting through albums starting with some form of “sound” at the start of its title. Who’d have thought so many musicians would associated their music with sounds, eh? And yet, even after going through a dozen of them, that’s still but a blip in the behemoth that is all of ‘S’ – we’re a long ways before getting out of this letter, my friends.

Speaking of lengthy runs of letters, anyone remember ‘E’? Man, that was a beast too, eating up nearly two month’s worth of reviews way back when. I also feel February 2013 was something of a turning point for this blog. It marked the half-year point, plus the 100th review too (what am I at now, 750?), convincing myself I could keep going at the clip I was without serious fatigue or disinterest creeping in. More importantly though, it got a lot of big albums from Very Important Artists into the archives, including BT, Prodigy, Underworld, Moby, and Madonna. Also, remarkably, this month was the first point of entry for two names that would come to fill many a month with their releases: Neil Young and Wu-Tang Clan. Wouldn’t surprise me if folks thought I got all my rock and hip-hop fixes from Pink Floyd and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony prior to that.


Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Various - Evolution Of New Sounds
Various - Euro Dance Pool, Volume 1
Various - Euro Dance Pool, Volume 2
BT - ECSM
Erol Alkan - One Louder

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 33%
Percentage Of Rock: 5%
Most “WTF?” Track: Busta Rhymes featuring Mystikal - Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Getting Rowdy Wit Us (because like Hell you’ll keep up with the words they spittin’)

BT’s ECSM is not on Spotify. How is BT’s ECSM not on Spotify? Every other BT album is on Spotify. Okay, neither is that drone ambient neo-classical album Nuovo Morceau Subrosa, but that always struck me as a pure pet project, not intended for major commercial release. Then again, neither is This Binary Universe, another arty album but far better regarded than nearly anything Mr. Transeau’s done in fifteen years. So his super-serious music doesn’t get on Spotify, is that it? Still doesn’t explain ECSM’s absence though. Get with the program, Perfecto!

Not much else to say about this Playlist. As the opening number of tracks indicate, it’s a very ‘90s assortment of tunes, but then the ‘90s has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to electronic music. Yes, including the overplayed tunes that you just can’t get out of your head, even while transcending to outta’ space. (can you find another place?)

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. The Prince Of Rap B°TONG B12 Babygrande Balance Balanced Records Balearic ballad Bålsam Banco de Gaia Bandulu Barker & Baumecker Battle Axe Records battle-rap Bauri Beastie Boys Beat Buzz Records Beat Pharmacy Beatbox Machinery Beats & Pieces bebop Beck Bedouin Soundclash Bedrock Records Beechwood Music Benny Benassi Bent Benz Street US Berlin-School Beto Narme Beyond bhangra Bicep big beat Big Boi Big Dada Recordings Big L Big Life Bill Hamel Bill Laswell Bill Leeb BIlly Idol BineMusic BioMetal Biophon Records Biosphere Bipolar Music BKS Black Hole Recordings black metal black rebel motorcycle club Black Swan Sounds Blanco Y Negro Blasterjaxx Bleep Blend Blood Music Blow Up Blue Amazon Blue Hour Blue Öyster Cult blues blues rock Bluescreen Bluetech BMG Boards Of Canada Bob Dylan Bob Marley Bobina Bogdan Raczynzki Bombay Records Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Boney M Bong Load Records Bonobo Bonzai Boogie Down Productions Booka Shade Botchit & Scarper Bows Boxed Boys Noize Boysnoize Records BPitch Control braindance Brandt Brauer Frick Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band breakbeats breakcore breaks Brian Eno Brian Wilson Brick Records Britpop Brodinski broken beat Brooklyn Music Ltd Bryan Adams BT Bubble Buffalo Springfield Bulk Recordings Burial Burned CDs Bursak Records Bush Busta Rhymes Buttertones bvdub C.I.A. Calibre calypso Canibus Canned Resistor Capitol Records Capsula Captain Hollywood Project Captured Digital Carbon Based Lifeforms Caribou Carl B Carl Craig Carlos Ferreira Carol C Caroline Records Carpe Sonum Novum Carpe Sonum Records Castroe Casual Cat Sun CD-Maximum Ceephax Acid Crew Celestial Dragon Records Cell Celtic Centaspike Cevin Fisher Cheb i Sabbah Cheeky Records chemical breaks Chihei Hatakeyama Children Of The Bong chill out chill-out chiptune Chris Duckenfield Chris Fortier Chris Korda Chris Liebing Chris Sheppard Chris Witoski Christmas Christopher Lawrence Chromeo Chronos Chrysalis Ciaran Byrne cinematic soundscapes Circle of Pines Circular Ciro Berenguer Cirrus Cities Last Broadcast City Of Angels CJ Stone Claptone classic house classic rock classical Claude Young Clear Label Records Clementz Cleopatra Cloud 9 Club Culture Club Cutz Club Tools Cocoon Recordings Cold Spring Coldcut Coldplay coldwave Colette collagist Columbia Com.Pact Records Coma Eye comedy Compilation Comrie Smith Congo Natty Conjure One Connect.Ohm conscious Control Music Convextion Cooking Vinyl Cor Fijneman Corderoy Cosmic Gate Cosmic Replicant Cosmo Cocktail Cosmos Studios Cottonbelly Council Estate Electronics Council Of Nine Counter Records country country rock Covert Operations Recordings Craig Padilla Craig Richards Crazy Horse Cream Creamfields Creedence Clearwater Revival Crockett's Theme Crosby Stills And Nash Crossing Mind Crosstown Rebels crunk Cryo Chamber Cryobiosis Cryogenic Weekend Cryostasis Crystal Moon Cube Guys Culture Beat Curb Records Current Curve cut'n'paste CYAN Cyan Music Cyber Productions CyberOctave Cyclic Law Cygna Cypher 7 Cypress Hill Cyril Secq Czarface D-Bridge D-Fuse D-Topia Entertainment Daar Dacru Records Daddy G Daft Punk Dag Rosenqvist Damian Lazarus Damon Albarn Damon Wild Dan Terminus Dan The Automator Dance 2 Trance Dance Pool Dance With The Dead dancehall Daniel Heatcliff Daniel Lentz Daniel Pemberton Daniel Wanrooy Danny Howells Danny Tenaglia Dao Da Noize Daphni dark ambient dark disco dark psy darkcore darkside darkstep darksynth darkwave Darla Records Darren Emerson Darren McClure Darren Nye DAT Records Databloem dataObscura David Alvarado David Bickley David Bridie David Cordero David Guetta David Morley DDR De-tuned Dead Coast Dead Melodies Deadmau5 Death Grips death metal Death Row Records Decimal Deconstruction Dedicated Deejay Goldfinger Deep Dish Deep Forest deep house Deeply Rooted House Deepwater Black Deetron Def Jam Recordings Del Tha Funkee Homosapien Delerium Delsin Deltron 3030 Denshi Danshi Depeche Mode Der Dritte Raum Derek Carr Detroit Deviant Records Devin Underwood Devroka Deysn Masiello DFA DGC diametric. Dido Dieselboy Different DigiCube Dillinja Dirk Serries dirty house Dirty South Dirty Vegas Dis Fig disco Disco Gecko disco house Disco Pinata Records disco punk Discover (label) Disky Disques Dreyfus Distant System Distinct'ive Breaks Disturbance Divination DJ 3000 DJ Brian DJ Craze DJ Dag DJ Dan DJ Dean DJ Gonzalo DJ Heather DJ John Kelley DJ John Storm DJ Merlin DJ Mix DJ Moe Sticky DJ Observer DJ Premier DJ Q-Bert DJ Shadow DJ Soul Slinger DJ-Kicks Djen Ajakan Shean DJMag DMC DMC Records Doc Scott Dogon Dogwhistle Dooflex Doom Poets Dopplereffekt Dossier Dousk downtempo dowtempo Dr. Alban Dr. Atmo Dr. Dre Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Dr. Octagon Dragon Quest dream house dream pop DreamWorks Records Drexciya drill 'n' bass Dronarivm drone Dronny Darko drum 'n' bass DrumNBassArena drumstep drunken review dub Dub Pistols dub techno Dub Trees Dubfire dubstep Dubtribe Sound System DuMonde Dune Dusted Dyadik Dynatron E-Mantra E-Z Rollers Eardream Music Earth Earth Nation Earthling Eastcoast Eastcost Eastern Dub Tactik EastWest Eastworld Eat Static EBM Echodub Ed Rush & Optical Editions EG EDM World Weekly News Ektoplazm Electric Universe electro Electro House Electro Sun electro-funk electro-pop electroclash Electronic Dance Essentials Electronic Music Guide Electrovoya Elektra Elektrolux em:t EMC update EMI Emiliana Torrini Eminem Emmerichk Emperor Norton Empire enCAPSULAte Encym Engine Recordings Enigma Enmarta Ensiferum Enya EP Epic epic trance EQ Recordings Equal Stones Erased Tapes Records Eric Borgo Erik Vee Erol Alkan Escape Esko Barba Esoteric Reactive Espacio Cielo ethereal Etic Etnica Etnoscope Euphoria euro dance eurodance eurotrance Eurythmics Eve Records Everlast Ewan Pearson Exitab experimental Eye Q Records Ezdanitoff F Communications Fabric Facture Fade Records Faex Optim Faint Faithless Falcon Reekon Fallen False Mirror fanfic Fantastisizer Fantasy Enhancing faru Fatboy Slim Fax +49-69/450464 Fear Factory Fedde Le Grand Fehrplay Feist Fektive Records Felix da Housecat Fennesz Ferry Corsten FFRR Fictivision field recordings Filter filters Final Fantasy Firescope Five AM Fjäder Flashover Recordings Floating Points Flowers For Bodysnatchers Flowjob Fluke Fluxion Flying Lotus folk Fontana footwork Force Intel Fountain Music Four Tet FPU Frame Francis M Gri Frank Bretschneider Frankie Bones Frankie Knuckles Frans de Waard Fred Everything freestyle French house Front Line Assembly Frou Frou fsoldigital.com Fugees full-on Fun Factory funk future garage Future Sound Of London Futuregrapher futurepop g-funk G-Prod gabber Gabriel Le Mar Gaither Music Group Galaktlan Galati Gang Starr gangsta garage Gareth Davis Gary Martin Gas Gasoline Alley Records Gee Street Geffen Records Gel-Sol Genesis Geometry Combat George Issakidis Gerald Donald Get Physical Music ghetto Ghostface Killah Ghostly International Glacial Movements Records glam Gliese 581C glitch Glitch Hop Global Communication Global Underground Globular goa trance Goasia God Body Disconnect Gorillaz gospel Gost goth Grammy Awards Gravediggaz Green Bay Wax Green Day Grey Area Greytone Gridlock grime Groove Armada Groove Corporation Grooverider grunge Guru Gustaf Hidlebrand Gusto Records GZA H:U:M H2O Records Haddaway Halgrath happy hardcore hard house hard rock hard techno hard trance hardcore Hardfloor Hardly Art hardstyle Harlequins Enigma Harmless Harmonic 33 Harmonic Resonance Recordings Harold Budd Harthouse Harthouse Mannheim Hawtin Headphone Hearts Of Space Hed Kandi Hefty Records Helen Marnie Hell Hercules And Love Affair Hernán Cattáneo Hexstatic Hi-Bias Records Hic Sunt Leones Hide And Sequence Hiero Emperium Hieroglyphics High Contrast High Note Records Higher Ground Higher Intelligence Agency Hilyard hip-hop hip-house hipno Hollywood Burns Home Normal Honest Jon's Records Hooj Choons Hope Records horrorcore Hospital Records Hot Chip Hotflush Recordings house Howie B Huey Lewis & The News Human Blue Humanoid Hybrid Hybrid Leisureland Hymen Records Hyperdub Hypertrophy Hypnotic Hypnoxock I Awake I-Cube i! Records I.F. I.F.O.R. I.R.S. Records Iboga Records Icarus Music Ice Cube Ice H2o Records ICE MC IDM Iempamo Ignis Fatum Igorrr Ikjoyce illbient ILUITEQ Imogen Heap Imperial Dancefloor Imploded View In Charge In Trance We Trust Incoming Incubus Indica Records indie rock Indisc Industrial Infastructure New York Infected Mushroom Infinite Guitar influence records Infonet Inhmost Ink Midget Inner Ocean Records Innovative Leisure Records Insane Clown Posse Inspectah Deck Instinct Ambient Instra-Mental Intellitronic Bubble Inter-Modo Interchill Records Internal International Deejays Gigolo Interscope Records Intimate Productions Intuition Recordings ISBA Music Entertainment Ishkur Ishq Island Def Jam Music Group Island Records Islands Of Light Italians Do It Better italo disco italo house Item Caligo J-pop Jack Moss Jackpot Jacob Newman Jafu Jake Stephenson Jam and Spoon Jam El Mar James Blake James Holden James Horner James Lavelle James Murray James Zabiela Jamie Jones Jamie Myerson Jamie Principle Jamiroquai Javelin Ltd. Jay Haze Jay Tripwire Jaydee jazz jazz dance jazzdance jazzstep Jean-Michel Jarre Jefferson Airplane Jerry Goldsmith Jesper Dahlbäck Jessy Lanza Jimmy Van M Jiri.Ceiver Jive Jive Electro Jliat Jlin JMJ Joel Mull Joey Beltram John '00' Fleming John Acquaviva John Beltran John Digweed John Graham John Kelly John O'Callaghan John Oswald John Shima Johnny Cash Johnny Jewel Jon Hester Jonny L Jori Hulkkonen Joris Voorn Jørn Stenzel Josh Christie Josh Wink Journeys By DJ™ LLC Joyful Noise Recordings Juan Atkins juke Jump Cut jump up Jumpin' & Pumpin' jungle Junior Boy's Own Junkie XL Juno Reactor Jupiter 8000 Jurassic 5 Kaico Kay Wilder KDJ Keith Farrugia Ken Ishii Kenji Kawai Kenny Glasgow Keoki Keosz Kerri Chandler Kevin Braheny Kevin Yost Kevorkian Records Khetzal Khooman Khruangbin Ki/oon Kid Koala Kiko Killing Joke Kinder Atom Kinetic Records King Cannibal King Midas Sound King Tubby Kitaro Klang Elektronik Klaus Schulze Klik Records KMFDM Koch Records Koichi Sugiyama Kolhoosi 13 Komakino Kompakt Kon Kan Kool Keith Kozo Kraftwelt Kraftwerk Krafty Kuts Kranky krautrock Kriistal Ann Krill.Minima Kris O'Neil Kriztal KRS-One Kruder and Dorfmeister Krusseldorf Kubinski KuckKuck Kulor Kurupt Kwook L.B. Dub Corp L.S.G. L'usine La Luz Lab 4 Ladytron LaFace Records Lafleche Lamb Lange Large Records Lars Leonhard Laserlight Digital LateNightTales Latin Laurent Garnier Layer 3 LCD Soundsystem Le Moors Leaf Leama and Moor Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee Burridge Lee Norris Leftfield Leftfield Records Legacy Legiac Legowelt Lemony Records Leon Bolier Les Disques Du Crépuscule LFO Linear Labs Lingua Lustra Lionel Weets Liquid Frog Records liquid funk Liquid Sound Design Liquid Stranger Liquid Zen Literon Live live album LL Cool J lo fi Loco Dice Lodsb LoFi London acid crew London Classics London Elektricity London Records 90 Ltd London-Sire Records LongWalkShortDock Loop Guru Loreena McKennitt Lorenzo Masotto Lorenzo Montanà loscil Lost Language Lotek Records Loud Records Louderbach Loverboy Lowfish Luaka Bop Lucette Bourdin Luciano Luke Slater Lunarian Records Lustmord M_nus M.A.N.D.Y. M.I.K.E. Mack 10 Madonna Magda Magik Muzik Mahiane Mali Malignant Records Mammoth Records Mantacoup Marc Simz Marcel Dettmann Marcel Fengler Marco Carola Marco V Marcus Intalex Mark Farina Mark Norman Mark Pritchard Markus Schulz Marshmello Martin Allin Martin Cooper Martin Nonstatic Märtini Brös Marvin Gaye Maschine Massimo Vivona Massive Attack Masta Killa Master Margherita Matthew Dear Max Graham maximal Maxx MCA MCA Records McProg Meanwhile Meat Loaf Median Project Medicine Label Meditronica Melusine Records Memex Menno de Jong Mercury Merr0w Mesmobeat metal Metal Blade Records Metamatics Method Man Metro Area Metroplex Metropolis MF Doom Miami Bass Miami Beach Force Miami Dub Machine Michael Brook Michael Jackson Michael Mantra Michael Mayer Mick Chillage micro-house microfunk Microscopics MIG Miguel Migs Mike Saint-Jules Mike Shiver Miktek Mille Plateaux Millennium Records Mind Distortion System Mind Over MIDI mini-CDs minimal minimal tech-house Ministry Of Sound miscellaneous Misja Helsloot Miss Kittin Miss Moneypenny's Mistical Mixmag Mixmaster Morris Mo Wax Mo-Do MO-DU Moby Model 500 modern classical Modeselektor Mohlao Moist Music Moljebka Pvulse Moodymann Moonshine Morgan Morphic Resonance Morphology Moss Covered Technology Moss Garden Motech Motionfield Motorbass Mount Shrine Move D Moving Shadow Mr. Scruff Mujaji Murk Murmur Mushy Records Music link Music Man Records musique concrete Mutant Sound System Mute MUX Muzik Magazine My Best Friend Mystery Tape Laboratory Mystica Tribe Mystified N-Trance Nacht Plank Nadia Ali Nano Records Napalm Records Nas Nashville Natural Life Essence Natural Midi Nature Sounds Naughty By Nature Nav Bhinder Nebula Neil Young Neo Ouija Neo-Adventures Neon Droid Neotantra Neotropic nerdcore Nervous Records Nettwerk Neurobiotic Records neurofunk Neuropa Records New Age New Beat New Jack Swing New Order new wave Nic Fanciulli Nick Höppner Night Hex Night Time Stories Nightmares On Wax Nightwind Records Nimanty Nine Inch Nails Ninja Tune Nirvana nizmusic No Mask Effect Nobuo Uematsu noise Noise Factory Records Nomad Nonesuch Nonplus Records Nookie Nordic Trax Norken Norman Cook Norman Feller North South Northumbria Not Now Music Nothing Records Nova NovaMute NRG Ntone nu-italo nu-jazz nu-metal nu-skool Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Entertainment Nulll Nunc Stans Nurse With Wound NXP Nyquist Oasis Ocelot Octagen Offshoot Offshoot Records Ol' Dirty Bastard Olan Mill Old Europa Cafe old school rave Ole Højer Hansen Olga Musik Olien Oliver Lieb Olivier Orand Olsen OM Records Omni Trio Omnimotion Omnisonus One Little Indian Onyx Oophoi Oosh Open Open Canvas Opium Opus III orchestral Original TranceCritic review Origo Sound Orkidea Orla Wren Ornament Ostgut Ton Ott Ottsonic Music Ouragan Out Of The Box OutKast Outmosphere Records Outpost Records Overdream Owl P-Ben Pale Glow Paleowolf Pan Sonic Pantera Pantha Du Prince Paolo Mojo Parental Advisory Parlaphone Part-Sub-Merged Pascal F.E.O.S. Past Inside The Present Patreon Patrick Dream Paul Moelands Paul Oakenfold Paul van Dyk Pendulum Pentatonik Perfect Stranger Perfecto Perturbator Pet Shop Boys Petar Dundov Pete Namlook Pete Tong Peter Andersson Peter Benisch Peter Broderick Peter Gabriel Peter Tosh Phantogram Phonothek Photek Phutureprimitive Phynn PIAS Recordings Pinch Pink Floyd Pioneer Pitch Black PJ Harvey Plaid Planet Dog Planet Earth Recordings Planet Mu Planetary Assault Systems Planetary Consciousness Plastic City Plastikman Platinum Platipus Pleq Plump DJs Plunderphonic Plus 8 Records PM Dawn Poker Flat Recordings Polar Seas Recordings Pole Folder politics Polydor Polytel pop Popular Records Porya Hatami positivesource post-dubstep post-punk power electronics Prince Prince Paul Prins Thomas Priority Records Private Mountain Procs Profondita prog prog metal prog psy prog rock prog-psy progress house Progression progressive breaks progressive house progressive rock progressive trance Prolifica Proper Records Prototype Recordings protoU Pryda psy chill psy dub Psy Spy Records psy trance psy-chill psy-dub psychedelia Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia Psychomanteum Psychonavigation Psychonavigation Records Psycoholic Psykosonik Psysolation Public Enemy Pulse-8 Records punk punk rock Pureuphoria Records Purl Purple Soil Push PWL International Quadrophonia Quality Quango Quantic Quantum Quinlan Road R & S Records R'n'B R&B Ra Rabbit In The Moon Radio Slave Radioactive Radioactive Man Radiohead Rae Raekwon ragga Rainbow Vector raison d'etre Raja Ram Ralf Hildenbeutel Ralph Lawson RAM Records Randal Collier-Ford Random Review Rank 1 rant Rapoon RareNoise Records Ras Command Rascalz Raster-Noton Ratatat Raum Records rave RCA React Rebecca & Nathan Recycle Or Die Red Fog Red Jerry Redman Refracted reggae ReKaB REKIDS remixes Renaissance Renaissance Man Rephlex Reprise Records Republic Records Resist Music Restless Records RetroSynther Reverse Alignment Reverse Pulse Rhino Records Rhys Fulber Ricardo Villalobos Richard Durand Richard Stonefield Riley Reinhold Ringo Sheena Rising High Records RnB Roadrunner Records Robert Hood Robert Miles Robert Oleysyck Robert Rich Roc Raida rock rock opera rockabilly rocktronica Roger Sanchez ROIR Rollo Roman Ridder Rough Trade Rub-N-Tug Ruben Garcia Rudy Adrian Ruffhouse Records Rumour Records Running Back Ruptured World Ruthless Records RX-101 Rykodisc RZA S.E.T.I. Saafi Brothers Sabled Sun SadGirl Saitoh Tomohiro Sakanaction Salt Tank Salted Music Salvation Music Samim Samora sampling Samurai Red Seal Sanctuary Records Sander van Doorn Sandoz Sandwell District SantAAgostino Saphileaum Sarah McLachlan Sash Sasha Saul Stokes Scandinavian Records Scann-Tec sci-fi Science Scooter Scott Grooves Scott Hardkiss Scott Stubbs Scuba Seán Quinn Seaworthy Segue Sense Sentimony Records Sequential Seraphim Rytm Setrise Seven Davis Jr. Sghor sgnl_fltr Shackleton Shaded Explorations Shaded Explorer Shadow Records Sharam Shawn Francis shoegaze Shpongle Shuta Yasukochi Si Matthews Side Effects SideOneDummy Records Sidereal Signature Records SiJ Silent Season Silent Universe Silentes Silentes Minimal Editions Silicone Soul silly gimmicks Silver Age Simian Mobile Disco Simon Berry Simon Heath Simon Posford Simon Scott Simple Records Sinden Sine Silex single Single Gun Theory Sire Records Company Six Degrees Sixeleven Records Sixtoo ska Skanfrom Skare Skin To Skin Skua Atlantic Slaapwel Records Slam Sleep Research Facility Slinky Music Slowcraft Records Sly and Robbie Smalltown Supersound SME Visual Works Inc. SMTG Limited Snap Sneijder Snoop Dogg Snowy Tension Pole soft rock Soiree Records International Solar Fields Solaris Recordings Solarstone Soleilmoon Recordings Solieb Solieb Digital Solipsism Soliquid Solstice Music Europe Solvent Soma Quality Recordings Songbird Sony Music Entertainment SOS soul Soul Temple Entertainment soul:r Souls Of Mischief Sound Of Ceres Soundgarden Sounds From The Ground soundtrack southern rap southern rock space ambient Space Dimension Controller space disco Space Manoeuvres space music space synth Spacetime Continuum Spaghetti Recordings Spank Rock Special D Specta Ciera speed garage Speedy J SPG Music Sphäre Sechs Spicelab Spielerei Spinefarm Records Spiritech spoken word Sport Spotify Suggestions Spotted Peccary Spring Hill SPX Digital Spy vs Spice Squarepusher Squaresoft Stacey Pullen Stanton Warriors Star Trek Stardust Statrax Stay Up Forever Stealth Sonic Recordings Stephanie B Stephen Kroos Stereolab Steve Angello Steve Brand Steve Lawler Steve Miller Band Steve Porter Steven Rutter Stijn van Cauter Stimulus Timbre Stone Temple Pilots Stonebridge Stormloop Stray Gators Street Fighter Stuart McLean Studio K7 Stylophonic Sub Focus Subharmonic Sublime Sublime Porte Netlabel Subotika Substance Suction Records Suduaya Suicide Squeeze SUN Project Sun Station Sunbeam Sunday Best Recordings Sunscreem Suntrip Records Supercar Superstition surf rock Susumu Yokota Sven Väth SVLBRD Swayzak Sweet Trip swing Switch Swollen Members Sykonee Survey Sylk 130 Symmetry Sync24 Synergy Synkro synth pop synth-pop synthwave System 7 Tactic Records Take Me To The Hospital Tall Paul Tammy Wynette Tangerine Dream Tau Ceti Taylor Tayo tech house Tech Itch Digital Tech Itch Recordings tech-house tech-step tech-trance Technical Itch techno technobass Technoboy Tectonic Telefon Tel Aviv Telstar Terminal Antwerp Terra Ferma Terror Cell Terry Lee Brown Jr Tetsu Inoue Textere Oris The Angling Loser The B-52's The Beach Boys The Beatles The Black Dog The Boats The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Bug The Chemical Brothers The Circular Ruins The Clash The Council The Cranberries The Crystal Method The Digital Blonde The Dust Brothers The Field The Frozen Vaults The Gentle People The Glimmers The Green Kingdom The Grey Area The Grid The Hacker The Herbaliser The Human League The Irresistible Force The KLF The Micronauts The Misted Muppet The Movement The Music Cartel The Null Corporation The Oak Ridge Boys The Offspring The Orb The Police The Prodigy The Real McCoy The Roots The Sabres Of Paradise The Shamen The Sharp Boys The Sonic Voyagers The Squires The Stills-Young Band The Stray Gators The Tea Party The Tragically Hip The Velvet Underground The Wailers The White Stripes The Winterhouse themes Thievery Corporation Third Contact Third World Tholen Thrive Records Tiefschwarz Tiësto Tiga Tiger & Woods Tijuana Panthers Time Life Music Time Warp Timecode Timestalker Tipper Tobias Tocadisco Todd Terje Toki Fuko Tom Middleton Tom Tom Club Tomas Jirku Tomita Tommy '86 Tommy Boy Ton T.B. Tone Depth Tony Anderson Sound Orchestra Too Pure Tool tools Topaz Tosca Toto Touch Touched Tourette Records Toxik Synther Tracing Xircles Traffic Entertainment Group trance Trancelucent Tranquillo Records Trans'Pact Transcend Transformers Transient Records trap Trax Records Trend Trentemøller Tresor tribal Tricky Triloka Records trip-hop Trishula Records Tristan Troum Troy Pierce TRS Records Tru Thoughts Tsuba Records Tsubasa Records Tuff Gong Tunnel Records Turbo Recordings turntablism TUU TVT Records Twisted Records Type O Negative Týr U-God U-Recken U2 U4IC DJs Ãœberzone Ugasanie UK acid house UK Garage UK Hard House Ultimae Records Ultra Records Umbra Underworld Union Jack United Dairies United DJs Of America United Recordings Universal Motown Universal Music Universal Records Universal Republic Records UNKLE Unknown Tone Records Unusual Cosmic Process UOVI Upstream Records Urban Icon Records Utada Hikaru V2 Vagrant Records Valanx Valiska Valley Of The Sun Vangelis Vap VAST Vector Lovers Venetian Snares Venonza Records Vermont Vernon Versatile Records Verus Records Verve Records VGM Vibrant Music Vice Records Victor Calderone Victor Entertainment Vidna Obmana Viking metal Vince DiCola Vinyl Cafe Productions Virgin Virtual Vault Virus Recordings Visionquest Visions Vitalic vocal trance Vortex Voxxov Records Voyage Wagram Music Waki Wanderwelle Warmth Warner Bros. Records Warp Records Warren G Water Music Dance Wave Recordings Wave Records Waveform Waveform Records Wax Trax Records Way Out West WC WEA Wednesday Campanella Weekend Players Weekly Mini-Review Werk Discs Werkstatt Recordings WestBam Westside Connection White Cloud White Swan Records Wichita Will Saul William Orbit Willie Nelson Wintersun world beat world music writing reflections Wrong Records Wu-Tang Clan Wurrm Wyatt Keusch Xerxes The Dark XL Recordings XTT Recordings Yahgan Yamaoka Yello Yes Ylid Youth Youtube YoYo Records Yul Records zakè Zenith ZerO One Zoharum Zomby Zoo Entertainment ZTT Zyron ZYX Music µ-Ziq