Kraftwelt - Retroish

Hypnotic: 1998

I’d be first in line piping up the group that started as Audio Science never got their due, though I can’t say they’ve had an unsuccessful career either. To this day they’ve kept busy, mostly operating as a remix group called Patchworkz, providing rubs to some of dance-pops more notable names (Billy Ray Martin, Camille Jones, Ida Corr). Meanwhile, as Merv, they released a smattering of singles that fit quite snuggly within the early German dub techno domain that Basic Channel outright dominated, and continue using the alias for DJ mixes. Then there’s Kraftwelt, a project that almost certainly started out as nothing more than adding a few additional tracks to Cleopatra’s Tribute To Kraftwerk CD, but got a significant mileage with afterwards. Too much, in fact, as it’s clear by this second album of Kraftwelt material the ideas had worn thin.

The first one, Electric Dimension, was about as solid an ‘electro album by way of Kraftwerk in the ‘90s’ could have been, considering the genre was practically dead mid-decade. The electro revival was still a few years off, and even though a few outlier acts were found making the stuff, fewer gave it much heed. A deliberate throwback though? Sure, why not, there had to be a few folks feeling the early pangs of retro in their soul – an escape from big funky beats and bangin’ rave techno-trance. Bring back the original German robots, yo’.

And they did, but that’s for another review. Instead, I’m talking about the follow-up to Electric Dimension, Retroish. The album kicks off promisingly enough, the titular cut featuring plucky hooks, a bare-bones 808 break, and enveloping bassline as heard in an huge, empty robot factory. There’s even a little warbly solo that sounds like it was performed on an old, unkempt Moog, about as retro as anything could sound in 1998.

Following that, however, Kraftwelt settle into a schizophrenic game of not knowing whether they want to go proper techno or remain retro electro. It’s as though the group is lost in a transitional year between the two, sounding a bit of both but not committed enough to the other for things to work. It’s no surprise the best tunes - Metro, Centershade, Beautybox, The Eighth Approach, Au Revoir - remain firmly in the era Kraftwelt are drawing influence from, though even some of those are kinda’ chintzy. Okay, Beautybox gets away with it, only because it’s got such a silly, happy rhythm going for it.

Compared to Electric Dimension though, these sound like leftovers from those sessions, rounded out by some of the group’s techno tracks given the ‘Kraftwelt aesthetic’. Quite a few of these tunes - Slipstream, Back Seat, Rush - would have sounded brilliant in the year 1988, when Detroit was forging ahead from electro of old and creating its own, unique brand of electronic music. Unfortunately for Kraftwelt’s Retroish, the year is not ’88, but rather ’98, and sounding out of time in the here and now.

RZA as Bobby Digital - In Stereo

Gee Street: 1998

Within the intro of RZA's debut solo album, he makes a snarky comment about other hip-hop producers still relying on breaks samples for their beats. It's the new era after all, on the cusp of a fresh millennium - digital dominance was nigh. So, instead of relying on more funk and soul loops that defined his early production, Mr. Diggs set out to create a digital orchestra with around a dozen synths at his disposal. Laudable goals, daring even, but here's another theory: he lost a ton of sample-based beats in that studio flood of his, thus forced to redo everything from scratch. Okay, 'forced' is harsh – 'inspired' into a change of direction sound better?

As for the concept of Bobby Digital: In Stereo, the notion RZA would have another pseudonym to play with isn't surprising. By this point he'd already been Prince Rakeem (aborted pre-Wu solo career), RZArector (Gravediggaz), and Bobby Steels (mafioso alias for Raekwon's Only Built For Cuban Linx...), so here’s Bobby Digital, something of a super-id identity reflective of his irresponsible days as a youth. Taking cues from blaxploitation flicks and superhero comics, Bobby is the ultimate male power fantasy, getting into all sorts of street shenanigans without any consequence for his actions. And oh yes, you bet he’s smooth with the ladies, casually fucking his queens while tossing them bitches to the curb.

If this all sounds just a bit on the sleazy, irredeemable side of things, that’s kind of the point. Even though, as Bobby Digital, it seems like RZA’s glamorizing this lifestyle, I get the sense he’s actually criticizing the narrow world view the alias operates from. He brags about being incredibly suave with women, yet his come-ons are blunt, immature, and pornographic. He boasts of his carefree ways in the slums, but surely there must be more in life than what he sees around the projects. Bobby Digital believes he has everything figured out, a king in his domain, when the truth of the matter is he knows shit. It paints him as a tragic figure that he cannot see the light. No surprise the relatively smooth My Lovin’ Is Digi is followed by the harrowing, wretched Domestic Violence (which also serves as the end of the album-concept proper, yikes!).

Truthfully, I’m far more interested in RZA’s beats than the lyrical content. Mr. Diggs’ rhymes have always been a little forced, worming complex vocabulary into phrases where they struggle to fit, and that’s no different here, even with an alias that isn’t so deep on the philosophical metaphors. That don’t matter though, as the music he’s created here is fascinating, abstract melancholic keyboards and weird discordant rhythms, all the while retaining his distinct grimy funk and soul. I could have done with a couple less of the Slow Grind intermissions though.

Bobby Digitial: In Stereo most definitely isn’t for casual fans of Wu-Tang Clan. If you’re down for RZA at his most unhinged though, give this album a shot.

Various ‎– π - Music For The Motion Picture

Sire Records Company: 1998

As promised in the last review, here is your Pi. What do you mean this isn't what I meant? Look, it’s not my fault you misheard what I typed, but what did you expect? I can't manifest baked pastry goods from the intercloud and have them promptly delivered to your computer desks and palms of your tablets. And even if I could because you're one of the lucky few who have a 3D printer, I guarantee it’ll taste awful, even with whipped topping. So how about a delicious assortment of late '90s 'electronica' that soundtracked a movie about puzzling mysteries related to the number pi? (get lost, Geogaddi - you're last month's joke)

Okay, I haven’t actually seen the flick, though it’s on my ever-growing ‘check out someday’ list. I cannot deny some curiosity in how a paranoid thriller could work in Banco de Gaia’s Drippy in there, one of Toby Marks’ more chipper tunes at the time. I highly doubt it was assembled through studio and label dealings, this being an indie film and all. Maybe former Pop Will It Itself member Clint Mansell, who handled the music duties (and kicked off a successful run as a film composer in the process) is just a Banco fan too?

Even within the context of Pi, the CD, Drippy is an odd one out. The only other light-hearted track on here is Aphex Twin’s Bucephalus Bouncing Ball, and that goes all scatter-skitchy after awhile, just like protagonist Maximillian Cohen’s head, if I’m reading the IDMB synopsis right. I guess Spacetime Continuum’s A Low Frequency Inversion Field is upbeat too, if you count psychedelic space ambient as positive energy flow.

Mostly though, Pi features smatterings of electronic genres on a darker tip. There’s the Ed Rush & Optical Remix of Roni Size’s Watching Windows, combining two of drum-n-bass’ then-trendiest sub-genres under the sun (tech-jazzstep!). Trip-hop’s taken care of in Massive Attack’s Angel (of course). Downbeat EBM sludge gets a nod from Psilonaut’s Third From The Sun, though I suspect this genre’s only here due to TVT Record’s massive influence on soundtracks at the time. And hey, do you remember ‘technorganic’ tribal? You will after hearing GusGus’ Anthem. Naturally, big-beat must be featured, and that’s handled by from Clint Mansell himself We Got The Gun; his other track, 2πr, goes jungle). Finally (or initially, since it’s the first proper track on here), there’s… whatever the awesome P.E.T.R.O.L. from Orbital is. I’m calling it evil techno-electrocore, because why not.

Like the movie itself, Pi earned something of a cult following way back when, an edgy alternative to all the mainstream mega-selling soundtracks with obvious names and tunes. True, Roni Size, Orbital, and Massive Attack weren’t exactly under the radar when it came to ‘electronica’ collections, but their selections here were definitely off the beaten path (wow, Orbital had more licensed songs than The Saint and Halcyon & On & On?). Easily worth the fiver it’ll be selling for in a used shop.

Alio Die - Password For Entheogenic Experience

Hic Sunt Leones: 1998

Don’t for a minute think we’re out of the single-track ambient-drone woods (The Noodle Forest!). The albums I reviewed at the start of September were only the ones in the back-half of the alphabet – we’ve still a whole second-half to navigate through, and you can bet there’s a few more super-long pieces of minimalist synth work lurking in the shadows. I think, I hope, JLIAT’s piece was the worst of it, because I can’t take any more mind numbing hour-length anti-music compositions like that one. I don’t care if it’s just two notes looping; at least the second note provides variety.

Still, there’s usually an interesting backstory behind these musicians and artists that I can shoot the shit for a couple hundred words over. Like this here Alio Die, or Stefano Musso to the Italian demographics bureau. Between solo output and collaborative work, he's released some forty-plus albums in twenty-five years of music making. That's a ridiculous amount of material for someone that hasn't gained much attention for his efforts beyond the most discerning of ambient connoisseurs. Then again, the whole 'post-Eno' scene is filled with such producers (Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich, Tetsu Inoue,Mathias Grassow... the list is nigh endless), to say nothing of the amateur ambient acts that have been inspired by their work. Standout names and captivating compositions are all too often overlooked by folks with only a passing interest in ambient, many quite content settling for your Enos, Roaches, and Namlooks while ignoring the rest. I mean, how bloody dedicated must you be to diligently buy everything from even one of these guys when they have dozens upon dozens of albums to their names? No wonder it’s easy losing sight of them in The Noodle Forest – every release is a tree!

Anyhow, here we are with Password For Entheogenic Experience, which I'm reviewing because, for all of Alio Die's lengthy music making, he doesn't often do the one-track album trick; two tracks breaching thirty minutes apiece, sure, but seldom a single one nearing the sixty-five minute mark. But here it is, officially listed as an album that I must honor in my mad listening endeavor. Ah well, at least this is ambient proper, good for the background.

Password For Entheogenic Experience is also good for meditation, given the style of ambient this is. While calming synth drones play a primary role, Alio Die occasionally adds field recordings, chimes, and synths resembling Indian instruments. Additionally, a curious bit of clicking in the background serves as a rhythm, which undoubtedly aids breathing exercises or yoga stretches. Remarkably, this is quite an engaging piece of music, Mr. Musso keeping things ever morphing and flowing as it plays out, arriving at quite a different place from where it started. While I can’t say I was one-hundred percent connected for its duration, I didn’t zone out as often as I have with other ultra-long drone pieces. That’s about as high of praise as I can offer with ambient of this sort.

Neotropic - Mr. Brubaker's Strawberry Alarm Clock

Ntone: 1998

Probably the biggest takeaway I got from King Cannibal's super-splooge Ninja Tune lovefest Way Of The Ninja was the blunt reminder of how many artists I should check further music on. Not so much the main roster acts, though Mr. Tobin was definitely a priority. Nay, it was the folks on the sub-label Ntone that got my attention. Truthfully, Ntone was my first exposure to the Ninja squad, with the compilation showcase Tone Tales From Tomorrow Too. Quite an introduction, though hardly representative of what the parent label was all about, Ntone serving as the more leftfield outlet of Coldcut's extended crew.

One of the mainstays of Ntone was Neotropic, or Riz Maslen to the London bobbies (did I get the slang right?). Though not there at the very beginning, she stuck around until the label closed shop in 2001, even earning the honour of having its final two releases, the album La Prochaine Fois and single Sunflower Girl. So yeah, an Ntone institution, and a necessary starting point in checking out anything further from the label.

That said, I had little idea of what to expect going into Mr. Brubaker's Strawberry Alarm Clock (man, is that ever a British sounding title). I expected some broken beats and trippy jazz-hop, because even as a sub-label, the Ninja Tune association couldn't be overlooked. Would Ms. Maslen take weirdly bizarre paths though? Play things a little safer? Confound all expectations and go shoegaze? What even is the Neotropic stylee to begin with?

I certainly wasn't expecting an eleven-minute long titular 'opus' for this album. As Grand Openings go, it isn't that long, but compared to the rest of Mr. Brubaker's Strawberry Alarm Clock's tracks, it's ginormous, outpacing nearly every other cut by at least twice as much – only the illbeat trip-jazz-hop You're Grinding Me Down gets close, and even that's a 'mere' seven minutes long. As for Burbank’s Strawjelly Alarmist Watch, it’s got orchestral segments, thick dubby beats, saxophone bits, creepy tits, and at least three changes of course in its duration. Quite the ambitious bit of songcraft, ‘tis, one that’d be difficult to top elsewhere on the album.

Erm, she doesn’t, if I’m honest. Still, there’s still good music found here for those who can’t get enough of Ninja Tune’s take on trip-hop and all that rot, with quite a bit of variety within the downtempo sphere of sounds. Acid jazz (Gutted), nu-jazz (Insane Moon, Vacetious Blooms), abstract jazz (Cremation), ambient jazz (Saucer Song), ambient-ambient (Sideshow Man), and other assorted ill-bent stuff (Under Violent Objects, Beached, Apple Sauce, Vent). Oh, and a big beat track too (Ultra Freaky Orange), because 1998.

The only trouble with M.BSAC is it doesn’t feel like a cohesive album; rather, a gathering of assorted tracks and productions Neotropic made whenever the muse struck her. Fine and all if you don’t mind an erratic trip-hop excursion, but you’ll forgive this chap’s suffered expectation when an LP starts with something as aspiring as this one does.

The Irresistible Force - Nepalese Bliss

Ninja Tune: 1998

Won't front, I was disappointed in this single. Totally my fault, of course, expecting Nepalese Bliss to show as much diversity as the Fish Dances EP, but I failed to realize the two are totally different wee-beasts. Fish Dances was more of a mini remix album, nicking various tunes from It's Tomorrow Already for re-rub duty rather than a sole focus on a single song. Hell, another remix of Nepalese Bliss was added to Fish Dances, as though there just wasn't enough room on its own single! Perhaps so if we're dealing with the vinyl version, plus it's possible a couple more remixing names were drawn in after the fact, missing the initial street date of the album's lead single.

Yeah, far as Lord Discogs can tell me, Nepalese Bliss was intended as an introduction of Mixmaster Morris’ style to the Ninja Tune, just in case a full album was too much to digest all at once. Released a month before It's Tomorrow Already hit the streets, this track’s about the closest thing on it at capturing the jazz-hop sound Coldcut's label grew famous for. Heck, Mr. Irresistible Force probably produced it specifically with their audience in mind, because the regular Ninja followers sure weren't likely to give a psychedelic ambient-techno noodler much care otherwise. Here, just try out some Nepalese Bliss, it’s like that ganja smoke you toke, only more, more, more so. Well, the voice-over claims it’s the street term for hashish with streaks of opium ash in it, definitely a vibe the acid jazz folks could dig on in their dens.

To further sell The Irresistible Force upon their dedicated clientele, Ninja Tune brought in two of their heaviest hitters for the rubs, DJ Food and Amon Tobin. As part of the label since its inception, it’s little surprise the Fooded Ones (Strictly Kev, plus Patrick Carpenter at this point in the project’s life) go deeper into the deep acid jazz vibes: less psychedelic flashes, more smoky haze. Amon being Amon, it’s all about the dip and drop into trip-hop skunk – something a bit heavy in that cut of Nepalese bliss, methinks. Fila Brazillia were also brought in from Pork Records for an upbeat funky nu-jazz remix, because it’s Fila Brazillia, and that’s just what they does.

So the music’s fine on this EP, but as mentioned, rather pedestrian as a package. The remixers offer exactly what you’d expect of the names, and I’ve no idea why a Radio Edit would be included here – Hell, would anything from Mixmaster Morris ever get airplay? No, modern micro-niche internet radio streams don’t count. This was the late ‘90s, yo’, this music’s only ridin’ proper AM or FM waves out there. Still, one curious thing about the CD inlay is how there are seams creating twenty-one equal-sized rectangles, as though intended for separation and used as a make-shift puzzle pieces of the cover. Cool idea if so, but wouldn’t that devalue the single’s resell worth on the used market?

Grooverider - Mysteries Of Funk

Columbia: 1998

For most of the '90s, I was incredibly ignorant of drum 'n bass. Though I knew of it by way of occasional crossover tunes like Goldie's Inner City Life and... um... hmm. Okay, so that was about all I knew of. Fortunately, the ‘deebee’ scene couldn’t be contained forever, and for a furious four months at the end of ’98, jungle was about all my pals and I listened to – mostly jump-up jungle, mind you, but it was a start. And yet, I felt something lacking in those two-step rhythms and bomber-style basslines - something clever, something with heart and soul, and something not so gimmicky. Putting my ace electronic music discovery skills to task, I dug around for a name that could fill that gap: asking experts, reading magazine, searching chat rooms, making the Vancouver pilgrimage...

Well, no, that’s bullshit. Grooverider’s Mysteries Of Funk was in fact a Christmas gift from a music warehouse working aunt. She knew I liked that ‘dance music’ stuff, and I’d get a tiny bundle most years. Why she included Grooverider’s debut album that winter of ’98, I’ll never know, but damn if it wasn’t exactly what I needed to hear from d’n’b.

The tale of Mr. Bingham’s only proper LP is one of years upon years of anticipation. Grooverider had been instrumental in nurturing jungle’s formative darkside era, and when it grew stale, became a leading figure in a new style, tech-step. Most of this was accomplished through his DJing, though he’d release the odd single and remix along the way too. It was enough to get folks itching at the chance to hear an album of ‘Rider’s production palette. Luckily, Mr. Bingham had an ace up his sleeve for making Mysteries Of Funk a success; or rather, an Optical in the studio.

Perhaps most surprising about this album is, for a release by a tech-step don’, there’s only a few such tracks. Where’s Jack The Ripper was the main ‘hit’ off here, which doesn’t sound too far off Optical’s typical sound of the time. There’s also Cybernetic Jazz at the start and Starbase 23 at the end, both opting for jazzy grooves and dark ambience before unleashing their feral basslines. Oh yeah, there’s a lot of jazzstep on here too.

Right, jazzstep was the commercial and critical hotness around the time, Goldie leading the way and Roni Size/Reprazent cementing it. Ol’ Groovy also having his hand in there makes sense. With his offerings just as solid as any of the heavy-hitters of the genre, by all means get on that double-bass slaps (On The Double), scat-jazz hijinks (C Funk), muted trumpets (Time & Space), and general nuttiness (Rivers Of Congo) action. Goes great with those fierce rhythms throughout (no, not Fierce; it’s Optical).

Mysterious Of Funk wasn’t a game changer in the d’n’b scene at large, though it did convince me of its potential. It’s also a strong showing from a man that’d earned his stripes. Grooverider’s contribution was good too.

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

Virgin Records: 1998

Friends, family, folks, and fairies: lend me your ears and eyes, for this is a tale of what could have been, but sadly wasn’t. Where the lights shone brilliantly for but a single slice of music-on-wax, then flittered away from a lack of confidence. Thomas Bangalter, he of the incredibly successful duo Daft Punk, riding high on the success of their debut album Homework; Alex Braxe, he of the not-as successful single Vertigo, but still a major component in an emerging French house scene.

The two paired up one chilly-warm Western European dusky-dawn, finding mutual love of vintage disco like Chic and Chaka Khan. “You know what would sound cool,” Bangalter said, “is if we took those disco rhythms and looped them a bunch.” “Like DJ Sneak is doing?” asks Braxe. “No, like Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez is doing,” Bangalter replied, his eyes glazing over at seductive filter knobs in the ramshackle, state-of-the-art studio they sat within. “Gee williker, Bangalter,” enthused Braxe-Boy, “that’s brilliant. Let’s make that track!” And so they did, unleashing Music Sounds Better With You as Stardust. The pseudonym was a nod to the Stardust casino from which they only had a passing familiarity with representing all that was wholesome and tacky of the ‘70s.

The single was a smash hit, almost outdoing Bangalter’s previous triumphs with Daft Punk. Moreso, it cemented the French house sound as endlessly loopy disco with a tight, funky ear for the filter. Such a simple idea, so often replicated, sometimes even bettered, but never as impactful as Music Sounds Better With You’s initial cataclysmic meteor drop. If this was their first track together, just imagine what their next efforts could be! No no, keep imagining them - it’s all you’re gonna’ get.

Bangalter and Braxe claimed they never made another tune under the guise because they lacked faith in themselves to better it. Well, that sucks, achieving your best on the first shot. You know what I think? I think Bangalter just wanted to hoard his filter-disco French house ideas to himself, hence having that “accident” with Homem-Christo that turned them into robots. Now freaks of nature, they could isolate themselves as Daft Punk exclusively, so tough beans to all of Bangalter’s former producing partners. Maybe if Braxe turned into a robot too, we’d get another Stardust single.

My copy of Music Sounds Better With You includes the original Bob Sinclar Remix, long since jettisoned when he and Bangalter had a falling out (woo, collector’s item now!). This was back when Sinclar was going from strength-to-strength with the rest of the French scene, and here he takes the track down smooth garage roads. Also here is the Chateau Flight Remix (more French folk), a choppier tech-filter rub-dub – handy for deeper sets. There was also DJ Sneak remixes, because of course there would be.

Eh? You say the tale I’ve told wasn’t entirely truthful? Well, what do you expect from a tale? If you want historical accuracy, go read the Wiki’.

Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children

Warp Records: 1998/2004

What is it about Music Has The Right To Children that's allowed it to endure as a classic album within electronic music's long history? Is it the positive impact it had on the IDM market, rescuing that scene from ever-deepening navel gazing experimentation? Is it how it lured in a tonne of proto-hipster kids after Boards Of Canada were NME and Pitchfork Approved, one of the first electronic albums made so during the net-‘zine's early years? Might it be the perfect timing of this LP's release, capturing the attention of an ageing raving demographic that found itself wistfully longing for the innocence of their youth? Will this paragraph have at least one sentence that isn't in the form of a question?

The answer to all but the last of these is “yes”. In a broader sense, Music Has The Right To Children was one of the few electronic albums of the ‘90s that had wide appeal no matter your background, surprising many with its charming tone. Just take an impossibly geeky style of electronic music like ‘70s analog synth work, and pair it with an impossibly cool style of electronic music, in this case trip-hop. It’s such a simple idea, one wonders why no one thought of it before Boards Of Canada. Who could have guessed that the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Ninja Tune getting sexed up was something folks longed for.

Much has been said about the nostalgic nature of Musically Right-Handed Children, many theories out there why this album touches folks the way it does. The playful bounce of Roygbiv and quirky sampling of Aquarius certainly plays a part in recalling those days of childlike whimsy, yet as we age, a warped sense of cynicism creeps in too. The off-kilter “love”s in The Color Of The Fire, disconcerting synth tones of Sixtyten, or rhythmically-chopped vocals of Telephasic Workshop suggest the world we grew up in wasn’t so perfect after all.

Still, it’s all theory, and for all we know, Boards Of Canada just enjoy toying with different emotions in their music. Ultimately, what wormed its way into the minds and hearts of countless fans were simple, catchy moments. The aforementioned Aquarius is a perfect example, no one able to mention BoC and the word “orange” without saying it in the goofy way that it does in that track. This album’s filled with such quirks, often tucked away in brief sonic doodles throughout. I’d wager the duo’s at their best when they focus less on song craft and simply indulge themselves, but the few fully-formed tracks they do provide remains some of their most enduring work.

Music Has The Right To Children has one drawback though: those trip-hop rhythms. They sounded great in the late ‘90s, but over a decade of glitch rhythms since, I’m not sure newer audiences would dig them quite so much. Then again, the synths Boards Of Canada use sound older than time itself, and that’s never stopped folks from enjoying this album.

The Tragically Hip - Live Between Us

Universal: 1998

This is handy - a live album of The Tragically Hip. A decade’s worth of songs, all cribbed from what many declare were their best years. Every member in full swagger, their skills as musicians fine-tuned and honed to the best of their capabilities. Yet, why was this recorded at a show in Detroit – was the potential turnout in their native country not good enough? Then again, knowing Canadians, many of my country men and women braved the treacherous crossing of Detroit River from Windsor, invading the Motor City with Hip tix’ before any American knew what hit ‘em. Don’t laugh, we do it all the time for hockey games as far south as Phoenix and Miami.

I mention Live Between Us being handy because of my unfortunate bias against The Tragically Hip, one that's prevented me from getting into the band. Something about their studio work's always struck me as stiff for an alternative blues-rock band, like they don’t often play as a group during recording sessions. Obviously this is the case for many albums, but good producers hide those handicaps. Again, I blame my upbringing surrounded by rock musicians jamming while practicing in my father's basement for this bias, but it’s there, my 'rock-trained' ears demanding authenticity of band synergy in favor of clean overdubs.

Most folks I've talked to about The Hip claim the band's at their best live anyway, so digging into an album such as this is about as perfect a chance I'll have “getting it”, short of going to an actual concert. The inlay claims this CD is as authentic a recording as they could get, and I believe it. Most live albums tend to place the listener among the crowd, usually close the stage. Live Between Us sounds like you're on the stage (between the band members!), cheering fans oddly distant as though the darkness enveloping the Cobo Arena limits their volume as well. If you've ever desired the experience of joining a rock band on stage, this is as good a representation I've come across.

And The Hip themselves? About as good as I expected. Lead guitarist Rob Baker and rhythm guitarist Paul Langlois have great interplay between them, while bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay feed them more than enough energy during their extended jams (ooh, Fully Completely and WhereWithal doth kicketh my asseth!). Gord Downie, meanwhile, sounds huskier compared to earlier works, and I wonder if some vocal strain had set in when they did this concert. Many of the main hits up to that point are here - Grace, Too, Courage, Ahead By A Century, Gift Ship, New Orleans Is Sinking - though honestly, they were mostly only hits in Canada.

The question begs, then, whether you folks abroad should check this album out. Sure, if you fancy yourself some alternative blues rock. Live Between Us is easily the best Tragically Hip CD I’ve heard, though given my limited knowledge of their complete works, that’s not saying much.

The Irresistible Force - It's Tomorrow Already

Ninja Tune: 1998

I sure got this album in an ass-backwards way. The two singles off here, Nepalese Bliss and Fish Dances, found homes in my racks far sooner, for no better reason than I saw them on store shelves at lower prices than other CDs. And hey, Irresistible Force! He’s a guy I’m pretty sure I like, based on the few old ambient tunes I’d stumbled upon. Not enough to get a proper album from him though, until much later. Guess there was some fear a full LP of Mixmaster Morris noodly psychedelic ambient would grow tedious; plus material from Rising High's rather hard to come by these days at any reasonable price.

Fortunately for It's Tomorrow Already, Ninja Tune's doesn’t appear ready to fold anytime soon, so nabbing a copy of this album isn't hard. As such, it hasn't garnered the same level of 'specialness' in the ambient scene as Morris' early work, but seeing as it remains his final full-length, it should. Even better, compared to Flying High and Global Chillage, it shows musical growth, more emphasis on song-craft than soundscapes.

Mind, I use the term ‘song-craft’ rather loosely, as instead of lengthy ambient wibble, Mixmaster Force opted for something closer to jazz (must be that Ninja Tune influence). So there's structure in these tracks, but still lots of room for psychedelic improvisation. It's an interesting blend, one that you don't hear much of, if at all – truthfully, I haven't come across anything that quite sounds like It's Tomorrow Already, though as its style is quite rooted in the '90s (oh so trip-hop, mang), I wouldn't count on anyone style-biting it soon either.

Since I’ve already sort of talked about tracks like Fish Dances, Power, and Playing Around With Sound, and will be talking even more about Nepalese Bliss down the road (like, a year at best), here’s some details regarding the other tunes on here. The Lie-In King: pure mushroom bliss with gentle keyboards, soft rhythms, flutes, running water – complete chill tent fodder. Oh yeah, in case you weren’t aware of it, The Irresistible Morris is a total goddamn hippie, bless ‘em. 12 O’Clock is almost the chill-out version of Nepalese Bliss, which is weird hearing since it’s sequenced after the other, like the comedown part after indulging in that Nepalese bliss (what did you think it was?). Another Tomorrow’s after that, and is just as blissy as anything else on here (have I said ‘bliss’ enough yet?), floating on burbly acid, sitars, xylophones, and strings. And the titular closer feels more like a straight-up Ninja Tune jam, though high in cloud nine compared to most other street funk offerings from the label.

It’s Tomorrow Already isn’t a critical album to own, but if you’ve yet to dig much into ‘90s downtempo, it’s a safe enough purchase to get your feet wet with. His early work is more genre-defining (helped to be among the first chill tent chaps), but this one’s a worthy addition to Morris’ scant discography.

Various - High Karate

Mutant Sound System: 1998

Don’t you dare do it. I know you want to, and to be fair, the artwork totally invites it. To judge the CD by its cover, however, is to deny yourself all-time class, yet hopeless rare drum ‘n’ bass. Oh, there’s some wack material on here too, but the choice cuts more than makes up for it, trust you me.

First, the particulars. High Karate comes care of Mutant Sound System, a short lived American label that existed in the late ‘90s. Between albums and compilations, they generally focused on jungle and other assorted broken-beat bass music, plus a brief early flirtation with abstract ambient. Mutant Sound System was far from an original label, all things considered, but they released just enough unique material to reward the deep diggers of electronic music, should you look past some of their occasional questionable cover art. To be honest though, had I not been going through a minor ‘otaku’ phase when I stumbled upon High Karate, I may have passed by this CD altogether.

Even then, it was a while before I truly came to appreciate the music on offer here. Like so many fresh 'deebee' followers of the late '90s, it was the fierce, rough 'n' ready sounds of tech-step and such darkside spawns that got my attention (and, um, a little jump-up too), and the few cuts on High Karate that deliver those sounds were the tunes I frequently returned to. The Ray Keith and Nookie remix of the classic Scottie from Subnation certainly delivers on those fronts, while tracks from L Double and Acetate offer all the over-the-top basslines you could want from such genres. Yet once the initial thrill of those drops wane, you're unfortunately left with tunes that go nowhere, running on fumes for durations that far exceed whatever ideas these producers initially came up with.

Thank God for Nookie, then! Gavin Cheung, that is. Nookie was his most prominent alias, though he also contributes to High Karate as Cloud 9, and believe you me when I say his tracks are easily the highlights. They find a smooth, cool ground between atmospheric jungle and jazzstep, the sort of music you can easily float on as you could cruise with through urban streets at midnight. And bizarrely, most of the tracks he provides to High Karate can only be found on this CD! It was over a decade before Snow White was rescued for an MP3 Nookie album titled Lost Files. The Cloud 9 material, including a mint remix of Victor Romeo's The Italian Job, officially exists nowhere else.

A few other stylish d'n'b cuts from DJ Rap, Da Boss, Peshay (as Revelations), Rogue Unit, and Dr. S. Gachet round out an incredibly mature sounding CD, given how cartoony the art is. High Karate isn't an essential purchase, mind, but if you're after some surprisingly ace, obscure jungle (or are just a Nookie completist), then definitely snag a copy if you happen across one. You can't miss that cover.

Beastie Boy - Hello Nasty

Capitol Records: 1998

I don't think anyone anticipated the Beastie Boys having such big hits as those spawned off Hello Nasty. A fun single or two, sure, but surely their schtick was utterly dated as the '90s drew to a close. Three MCs, rhyming off each other's interplay like Run DMC was still relevant (okay, they were still around, but y'know what I mean), a bunch of wicki-wicki-waa from an actual DJ, and who ever really liked their rock and funk explorations anyway? No, the Beasties should have failed, unable to keep pace with hip-hop's over-indulgence of gangsta shenanigans and seeking the bling life. Or worse, in an attempt to reconnect with the youth, adopted nu-metal into their repertoire.

Holy hell, is it ever a good thing they didn’t give two flute loops about what contemporary audiences expected of them and simply cut loose with what they do best. If there’s any scene they did get chummy with, it was the electronic one, which had shared history with the Beastie’s brand of b-boy bombast (weren't The KLF initially just the Scottish Beasties anyway?). The lead single Intergalactic was the perfect olive branch to ravers worldwide, with big beats, quirky electro sounds, and enough ‘up to date’ retro vibes that any DJ could drop it and get a massive reaction. Small wonder Lord Discogs recommends names like Daft Punk, DJ Shadow, and Mr. Oizo on Intergalactic's page.

Oh yeah, there's a whole album more to talk about with Hello Nasty. I'm sure ya'll remember Body Movin', probably thanks to yet another goof-ball video the Boys were masters at. A third single off here was Three MCs and One DJ, which had the trio feeding off numerous scratch samples and turntable trickery from Mixmaster Mike (sort of an honorary fourth Beastie Boy). Quite a few tracks on here do this, to be honest, though more often than not it's post-studio production creating the dense sound collages of off-beat samples, thick rhythms, and indie rock leanings.

As for the rest of the album, well... Okay, there's a reason most only remember Hello Nasty for Intergalactic, Body Movin', and not much else: too much filler. Oh, it's good filler, in that you won't find yourself itching for the skip button if you're willing to take the album in full, but can any of you recall how Picture This or Flowin' Prose go? I sure can't, and I just listened to the damned album! Maybe it was one of those instrumental, psychedelic funk jams?

Despite a second half that just can't live up to the first (how could anything with such a one-two punch as Body Movin' and Intergalactic?), Hello Nasty's still a high recommendation for those diving into the Beastie Boys' discography. It may not be as ground breaking as Paul's Boutique or as stupid-fun as Licenced To Ill, but it reaches a comfortable middle-ground between the two, and propelled the Boys back to the front of hip-hop relevancy. Not bad for three white former punks.

DJ Brian - Hardesertrance2

Moonshine Music: 1998

I'll have more opportunity to talk about the Moontribe parties that Moonshine loved promoting in short order, so let's get right into this here DJ Brian figure. A founding member of the California-based desert rave promotion, he soon established himself as 'the late-night trance guy'. And since we're dealing with whole bunch of West-American hippies (probably), that means he played psy. Well, yes and no. It was undoubtedly a part of his tracklists for some of those dusty all-nighters under the desert stars, but the music he compiled for his series titled Hardesertrance started out with more commercial intent (probably).

Since we're skipping straight to Hardesertrance2, it's clear I don't have the first one. I did hear it back in the day though, and thought it good, in that acidy, outdoor, tribal trance sort of way. The formula was simple enough: start off bangin' with a touch of psy, then unleash a few recognizable anthems towards the end (Netherworld!). DJ Brian follows a similar style on this one, and for the first few tracks, it looks like we have another winner in Moonshine's catalogue.

Right, so having L.S.G.’s kick-ass Train Of Thought at the fourth position is such an easy way to tickle my earlobes, but the surrounding tracks are strong company. Opener Emotions from Sonic Fusion sets a suitable 3am desert vibe, and tracks from System 7 and Rotortype round out a solid first lap of this disc. Huh, funny seeing Rotortype’s Be Yourself here, in that it was quite an older track by ’98, having already appeared on a few other notable CDs (an early DJ-Kicks from C.J. Bolland, for instance). And this, unfortunately, sets a trend that hampers Hardestertrance2.

The next track is India from E-Razor (yet another collaborative project between Martin Eyerer and Oliver Lieb). Cool, but I’ve already heard this one on a Nick Warren Global Underground. A little further down, we find our good friend Air from Ferry Corsten’s Albion guise (holy cow, was this track ever canned). I’ll give DJ Brian some props for choosing the storming Palefield Mountain remix, but it’s still an obvious anthem. Oh, and Slacker’s here too, with the track Psychout, which one could have heard off that same Nick Warren Global Underground. Finally, throwing in Amoeba Assassin’s Rollercoaster as your closer, and you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve somehow stumbled upon a ’98 progressive trance DJ mix instead of something advertised as more on a psychedelic tip.

Mind you, there’s no real fault on DJ Brian’s part in how this CD’s put together, and for all I know, it’s a faithful recreation of one of his Moontribe sets. As a commercial disc, however, the track selection’s over-familiar for those well-versed in what progressive trance had to offer in ’98. The opening of Hardesertrance2 does help it stand out, but DJ Brian would only emerge from the glut by keeping the hard-hitting tech-trance vibes going for the duration. Ain’t no one else playing that sound on Moonshine.

Various - Global Underground 003: Sasha - San Francisco

Boxed/Thrive Records: 1998/1999

Oh yes, Sasha's down here in the bargain bins too, though in this case, it's understandable. You've likely noticed this edition of Global Underground is headed with 003, when everyone knows Sasha's San Francisco edition was number nine. By '99, the GU brand had grown strong enough that Boxed tapped American label Thrive to handle stateside distribution. Sweet deal, except in a confounding bit of marketing, it was decided these Thrive discs were to be re-sequenced as they released them, not the original order. Oh, and forget having all the editions either, just the- hey, wait a minute, why are you cutting ties with us, Global Underground? No, we'll be good, we swear!

Like hell you will. What's with cutting Der Dritte Raum's Hale Bopp from the tracklist? It's hilarious hearing the anticipated mix from Narcotik's Blue, only denied the spacey goodness Sasha intended. Poor form, Thrive, poor form. It’s almost as bad as Ultra’s antics.

Getting back to Sasha here, this was his first entrant into Global Underground, capturing his ascending American popularity like few other British-based jocks ever achieved before. His and Digweed’s Twilo sets in New York were becoming legendary (or just had really fucking good PR), so it was only natural for GU to set this one in New York. Sadly, that Oakenfield guy already did a GU based on the Big Apple, so the West Coast clubbing paradise gets the nod instead. Doesn't matter in the end anyway. San Francisco is essentially a Twilo set condensed into two discs, so the location's unimportant (as Oakenfold proved when he did his New York mix in the UK!), but hey, nice locale pictures in the booklet.

If you know your progressive house/trance/garage (!) double-disc mixes, then you know the drill on how this one goes: first disc features groovy, early evening vibes (with a touch of the dark dub), while the second’s all about the peak, late hour anthems. I’m almost tempted to claim Sasha and Diggers were responsible for the trend (their sets at Twilo certainly set a standard), but I’m sure there’s a few earlier mix CDs floating about that hold similar arrangements. What I do know for a fact is it went on to be highly imitated in the following years, and even improved upon from what we get offered on GU009/3. These are still a strong pair of discs, but a few odd choices flub up the flow towards the end of each (Movin’ Thru Your System from Jark Prango, really?). Mostly though, you get familiar names of the era (Oliver Lieb, Breeder, BT, Tilt), plus fun surprises (DJ Sakin, Joi Cardwell), expertly mixed (*cough*inastudio*cough*), and perfectly capturing a moment in time when prog house and trance was going from strength to strength.

If you’re relatively new to this scene, it’s worth your while to seek this out and discover exactly why many old schoolers feel this was progressive trance’s proper peak. Just double-check you don’t get a bust copy missing a track.

Various - Goa Trance - Psychedelic Flashbacks (Part 2)

Rumour Records: 1998

I knew it’d take a while to finish listening to this box set, but I didn’t think it’d take me the whole weekend, especially considering I’d finished half of it before I left. Darn it though, I made my trip when it seemed everything went down in that little corner of the world. Graduation ceremonies! Children’s birthday parties! Epic moving! Waking early enough to receive free complementary breakfasts from the hotel! With so much to do in such a small crunch of time, who can listen to music, much less write about it?

Actually, I did listen to a little bit, though it was always whatever others happened to be playing. My sister’s almost random taste in contemporary and ‘80s pop; my father’s dedicated taste to classic rock; ‘50s music coming from a diner’s speakers at seven-thirty in the morning; a begrudging ‘top hits’ playlist on the local radio station where you can tell the DJ would give anything to never play Black Eyed Peas or Will.I.Am again; anthem house blasting from the waterslides' sound systems…

Eh, I’m supposed to be doing something else other than recounting my trip? Ah yes, finishing this review of Goa Trance – Psychedelic Flashbacks. Yeah, there was some goa trance on it. Not all of it good, though the filler on this collection was at least better than the filler on Goa Box – Trance 4 Motion was. I really only finished listening to it while on transit home from the airport, sporadically taking in a few tracks here and there while away. With so much distraction and activity, it’s difficult to recall any particulars. For sure, the last two CDs weren’t nearly as good as the first two, but properly pacing multi-disc compilations has long been a tricky task, and the Goa Trance series, though decent enough, didn’t have much to work with.

Trouble is so many tracks on this back-half fall into that generic trap of goa trance that has all the elements, but little of the song craft that elevates the cream of the crop. There’s some acid, some vaguely Indian tonal scale, an occasional trippy sample… the usual stuff one identifies with goa and psy. Yet, for the life of me, I cannot recall anything about, say, Darshan’s Warped Dimension when I stare at it on the tracklist, despite mentally noting that this was an Ace Track contender! Probably the only tracks I distinctly recall are Jake Stephenson’s, mainly because he has an odd ‘wall of sound’ loops approach to his tunes, no matter what alias he uses (they’re all rather interchangeable anyway).

Okay, I’m wrapping up this disgrace of a review now. The unfortunate side-effect of taking time off is you lose the momentum that can carry you through even the most mundane of material. In the end, this box set was probably best summed up when my seven year old niece asked to listen to a bit. After five seconds, she handed the headphones back, saying, “That’s weird.” Yep.

Various - Goa Trance - Psychedelic Flashbacks (Part 1)

Rumour Records: 1998

Yay, another four-CD collection. Like hell I’m gonna go through this one disc by disc though. There’s just not enough variety between all these tracks, and despite a few recognizable goa acts floating about, I’d run out of things to say in short order. Nay, I was quite content to do a simple one-off review for this one, whenever I finally plowed through it all; however, due to a weird coincidence of timing, I’ve planned a mini-vacation for this weekend, which means I’ve no idea when I’ll finish listening to this beast. So, here’s a review of at least half of Goa Trance – Psychedelic Flashbacks, and if I somehow find time to complete the second half while on my trip, maybe I’ll post it then as well. Yes, this has been a glorified explanation for the lack of updates in the coming weekend (trudging through four CDs of goa trance ain’t no walk in the park either).

This particular goa trance series – uncreatively titled Goa Trance - comes from Rumour Records, a London outfit primarily known for several other compilation series of various underground electronic music. They were the first to give Nomad their break, though soon abandoned the singles and LP market in favor of collections of old school rave, hardcore, techno, garage, ambient dub, trance… Rumour covered it all, really, with various degrees of success before running dry about a decade ago. As with so many other ‘up for any genre’ labels in the ‘90s, they jumped on the goa bandwagon with a few compilations. Eventually they’d licensed enough material (seven volumes worth) to put together a retrospective box set, subtitled Psychedelic Flashbacks. Of which I found sitting in a used shop for about a tenner. Well, at that price, there’s bound to be some decent stuff, what with names like Prana, ManMadeMan, Green Nuns Of The Revolution, and, um… hmm.

Hey, it's not like Goa Trance is some dodgy series - the first volume alone featured such luminaries as Astral Projection, Man With No Name, and Etnica. And to be fair, this collection holds fine 'second tier' acts. Unfortunately, of seven volumes to gather material up for a four-disc set, the selections are disappointing if Psychedelic Flashbacks is intended as a retrospective.

So what do we get, at least for the first two CDs? Solid enough goa trance – some brisk, others mellow - though rather acidy and under-produced compared to what the best of the genre has to offer. No surprise that the names I recognize right off provide the best cuts, and final track on CD1 - Nervasystem's Zones - is a strong, moody bit of psy. What's with this Jake Stephenson guy though? He crops up several times under a number of different aliases (Shamanic Tribes On Acid, Super Skunk, Mekhala). Lord Discogs has him under dozens more, some even to come in the later half of Psychedelic Flashbacks. You'd think he was some studio guy hired by Rumour Records to-

Uh oh...

Various - Goa Spirit 3

Cyber Productions: 1998

No doubt, the ‘00s saw a glut of psy trance, far too many start-up labels churning out generic Israeli full-on or dark psy. Why couldn’t things be like it was before, in the ‘90s, where instead of countless one-off compilations from quickly forgotten net labels, we’d get countless compilation series from somewhat remembered labels. Distance To Goa, Goa-Head, Psychedelic Goa Core, Goa Trance (yes, that’s all it was called), Sun Trip, Flight, Fill Your Head With Phantasm, Mushroom Trance, Tantrance…

Yeah, I would run out of self-imposed word space before finishing such a list. Point is the ‘90s were no less guilty of flooding the market with psy, but that era tends to hold more fondness for collectors, if nothing for the fact that scene was still in its infancy. It may not have gained as much press as other ‘on the rise’ genres, but there must have been enough interest if nearly every label in Europe dipped their toes into these psychedelic waters.

In this case, we're dealing with French label Cyber Production, who were more known for several 'acid core' CDs and other assorted hard dance than anything psy orientated. Still, they must have heard a kinship with all that acid goodness coming from the goa camps, this Goa Spirit series being the result. I've never even seen the first two volumes (stupid imports), and number 3 came into my grasp by total chance, sitting neglected in some box of CDs underneath the shop's main display shelves. Well hey, I recognized a few names in that tracklist – Koxbox, The Delta, Green Nuns Of The Revolution – so I plucked it out to buy, even if the store clerks didn't even know whether it was part of their inventory or not. Ooh, good karma points for my honesty!

Goa Spirit 3 turned out better than I expected. While I knew I was in good hands with a classic like the early full-on monster As A Child I Could Walk On The Ceiling, the duo Quirk stunned me with their crunchy freak-out Dark Matter and gloriously bonkers Ping (holy cow, that final build!), where samples of a ping-pong game are actually used for the percussion – so delightfully daft, even the early wibble’s fun. Elsewhere you get other examples of the emergent full-on sound from the one-off acts like Prometheus Process and Twisted Travellers, while Green Nuns and Kox Box keep the proper psy trance vibes alive (not to mention a surprisingly strong remix of Killing Joke’s Intellect from Johan). Overall, there’s not a duff cut found on this tidy nine tracker, a strong blend of fierce beats, fun psy-trips, and memorable acid. Only complaint is the CD’s title is misleading, as there’s barely any proper goa on here (yes, there’s a difference).

That all said, Goa Spirit 3 shares the same fate as so many psy compilations: lost in the goa glut. It’s a fine disc should you happen across it, but unessential if you already have these tunes.

Various - Global Underground Departures

Boxed: 1998

There they sat on the shelves, so many Global Undergrounds, so little money. You've heard a few from some friends who splurged on a volume or three, and the name recognition these jocks garnered as the century drew to a close was top of the tier, untouchable, Godlike even. You wanted to experience the Global Underground phenomenon for yourself, but cash, man, cash. Hello, what's this? Global Underground Departures? Hm, a collection of music from previous volumes of the series, and all for such a significantly low price. Well, with so many great tunes you've heard on those Digweed, de Vit, and Oakenfold discs, who can argue with this bargain?

This was the first in a sort of ‘greatest hits’ series Boxed would put together every couple years, highlighting the most memorable cuts that’d be featured on various prior main releases. Though this sounds like the best thing ever, part of what made tracks like Greece 2000 and Lose It so memorable on the Global Undergrounds they were featured was the context of their respective sets. In other words, those big name DJs knew how to utilize music for maximum enjoyment (even if their technical skills weren’t always the best), but taking a bunch of ace tracks of disparate styles and cramming them into an entirely separate mix… well, it doesn’t quite work the same.

For starters, duo The Forth aren't exactly high on the radar of most folk, almost exclusively known as remixers during the '90s. Even then, their task can't be an envious one: “Hey, you know how Tony had all this hard dance music, Oakenfold had these trancey tunes, Digweed had some tech house, and Nick used breaks? And they all had two CDs to create strong context within those sets? Yeah, mash all that into a single CD, chaps!” They do as good of a job as they can, going from a nice Balearic opening, then deep grooving tech, before capping off with a few trance anthems, but for a series often priding itself on computer-perfect programming on nearly every edition (*cough*), the rough transitions and awkward flow are noticeable.

Can't fault any of the music though. Ferry Corsten's “holy cow, he did real trance?” track Air (under his Albion guise) is here. Tekera's Breathe In You is here, care of the M&M remix. Tech house stormer Bombay from Dave Randall is here (oh, how I miss tribal tech house!). The Forth’s own prog-breaks smasher Reality Detached is here, and not shameless plugging either as Warren used it on GU8: Brazil. Pink Bomb's Indico is here, a track that brings back a ton of nostalgic memories (that whole second disc of GU8 does, really).

Ah yes, nostalgia, now the only real selling point to GU Departures if you already have the original volumes (also, super-cheap prices typically found for this disc) - a pleasant, brief trip through Global Undergrounds past. A might better tagline than “Tracks You’ve Already Got, Now In A Different Order!” anyway.

AK1200 - Fully Automatic

Moonshine Records: 1998

The late ‘90s were a great time for Moonshine Records, releasing several DJ mixes across several genres at a blistering rate. Though they first foraged a path into drum ‘n’ bass’, erm, jungle with the likes of Aphrodite and Doc Scott, a trifecta of other DJs carried them through the turn of the millennium: Dieselboy, DJ Dara, and Dave Minner, aka: AK1200. The former two had already established careers when they signed to Moonshine, but ol’ Dave was a relatively unknown entity when it came to commercial CDs. This here Fully Automatic was his first such release, and seeing as how he became a staple for Moonshine, he must have knocked out of the park, right?

Well, this was a popular disc among my circle of friends, so there’s that. In fact, it was so popular, that two of us had picked it up! Hey, this is a bigger deal than you’d think. Out in the hinterlands, only one person would purchase any particular CD (usually on a trip to Vancouver), and if anyone else liked it, they’d burn a copy. Thus, it was incredibly rare for two proper hard copies of a DJ mix CD to be floating around, but there was for Fully Automatic. Part of it too was, around the time, everyone in our crew was discovering just how awesome jungle was. Of course, we were mostly introduced to it through jump-up (always with the cheese), but from there we’d all snag whatever we could from whatever DJs were available: Grooverider, Bukem, Dara… Basically, it was a likely eventuality someone would get Fully Automatic, as I don’t think there was a single jungle DJ mix released in those years that one of us didn’t have. Geez, is this ever turning into Anecdote Alley. I’ll stop now.

So, AK1200. Fully Automatic. It’s a jungle mix CD, mostly finding a meeting point between tech-step and darkstep. There’s also a little jump-up, Photek-era drum-funk (?) and even neurofunk in its earliest forms. Plenty of sci-fi soundscapes too, though touches of hip-hop and jazz crop up as well. All this sounds like a mess of a tracklist, but ol’ Dave pulls it together for the most part. There are abrupt changes, for sure, but the set’s flow never flies off the rails. Most of the mixes are quick cuts and little clashing occurs. AK1200 even throws in a few extra tricks with the crossfader and scratching, though nothing most DJs couldn’t do with a little practice (to be honest, it comes off a bit amateurish after just listening to two CDs worth of DJ Premier scratching).

Damn, I spent more time reminiscing about Fully Automatic than actually reviewing the bloody thing. Well, it’s not like it’s an exceptional CD, but solid enough should you have a couple bones to spare at the used shop. As with so much music though, the memories associated with it can make it a larger deal than it actually is.