Showing posts with label Turbo Recordings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turbo Recordings. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Tiga - Ciao! (Original TC Review)

Turbo: 2009

(2022 Update:
Mr. Sontag certainly seemed primed for a shot at super-stardom in this long-ago time of 2009, especially as the Era Of Guetta was nigh. Instead, he waited over half a decade for a follow-up album, and hasn't released another LP since. Still out there DJing and making collaborative singles though, so seems to be doing alright for himself.

Nothing much else to add to this review. The 'maximal' Ed Banger stuff is very much stuck in the '00s, but all the charming synth-pop tunes hold help. I still randomly get
Shoes stuck in my head, though that might be more due to Neebs Gaming naming one of their NPCs in Conan Exiles that. It's funny when you know the context, I swear!)


IN BRIEF: Getting better.

With Ciao!, I think we can finally put an end to the big question surrounding Tiga’s career as a solo artist: just how serious is he being? The answer is rather serious after all, at least as serious as anyone can get when it comes to synth-pop of this sort. It was tough to tell, though, since there was always this sense that he was merely toying with the novelty of the genre, making it his personal playground to indulge himself with surprisingly fun covers of unexpected tunes. Then, once the faddism of it faded, he’d move onto whatever whim fancied him from there (remember, this was the guy that at one point wasn’t averse to pushing drum ’n’ bass DJ mixes on his label Turbo). Yet, after the relative success of Sexor, it seems he decided to properly pursue this avenue further.

In that regard, Ciao! is a very easy record to form an opinion on. Do you like synth-pop that holds silly-silly nonsensical lyrics about shoes and the time being “sex o’clock”? Then you’ll love this, no question. Not to say Tiga doesn’t stretch lyrically elsewhere on here, but that isn’t the aim with Ciao!. This is dance-pop at its simplest, and complicated wordplay only gets in the way (just ask The KLF).

That said, there is a degree of musicianship going on here that prevents Ciao! from easily being dismissed. Having Soulwax, James Murphy, Jori Hulkkonen (naturally), the better-half of the Dahlbäck brothers, and Gonzales of Feist-production fame in the studio with him certainly helps, but fact of the matter is Tiga has long had an ear for knowing a good hook, even if he’s liberally borrowed from others. Beep Beep Beep? Shoes? Luxury? Mark my words, those songs are going to lodge in your head and set up residency for a while. Elsewhere, you’ll swear you’ve heard some variation on these tracks on your local Jack.fm radio station. The piano in Turn The Night On, for instance - damn, where have I heard that before? Or those backing “ah-ah-ah, ah”s in Speak, Memory (oh, that’s right, Billy Idol’s Dancing With Myself).

The funny thing is, for a guy that made his early reputation as a purveyor of great underground music, Tiga’s pop leanings fare much better than most of his purely techno tracks. What You Need’s abrasive out-of-tune maximal-synths is fun enough and Overtime has a good deal of solid instrumental build-up at the beginning, but Mind Dimension is just… ugh. What the hell is even going on in this? The beats limply plod, sounds interchange aimlessly between spits of acid and farty squelches, and by the end you realize the track has amounted to nothing of note (Jesper Dahlbäck, who co-wrote this, must be picking up some bad habits from his brother John); Shoes, such a ridiculous (though fun!) song on its own, sounds utterly brilliant as a follow-up. And yet, somehow, Mind Dimension too gets lodged in your head. Damn that Tiga!

Then, at the other end of the spectrum (and the end of the album), we see Tiga’s songwriting mature in such a way I’m sure no one could have predicted. Gentle Giant’s melancholy keyboard tones and solemn mood seems to bring out the very best of Mr. Sontag’s singing capabilities, but more impressive is he can be credibly serious if he so chooses. The ten-minute opus Love Don’t Dance Here Anymore then solidifies this assumption, and you’re left wondering, if he’s clearly capable of this, why fall back on simple synth-pop ditties?

In that regard, Tiga seems to have come to occupy an intriguing musical area between hipster-faves Chromeo and festival-faves Hot Chip. On one hand you have music that is clearly satisfied in being somewhat campy, yet it still displays a creativeness that belies its pure-pop sensibility. Tiga seems to be stuck at that crossroad of where to take his music next.

This isn’t to say Ciao! is some kind of revelatory genius of songwriting - it honestly isn’t. The final couple tracks aside, the music is about as candid as dance-pop gets. Whether you enjoy this album in the long run will probably boil down to how long you find Tiga’s performance charming. As it stands, Mr. Sontag still is an incredibly charming fellow, but unless he’s willing to grow as a songwriter, charm will only carry him so far.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009.© All rights reserved.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Tiga - American Gigolo (Original TC Review)

Turbo Recordings: 2001

(2019 Update:
Sometimes I wonder if I oversell this CD. For sure my enjoyment of it still hasn't diminished in the slightest but perhaps I was a tad too overzealous in proclaiming it to be "the
Tranceport of electroclash". Come to think of it, does anyone really even remember Oakenfold's mix CD anymore? For sure none of the new trance cats care about it, though if you wanted to give someone a primer on this particular music, Tiga's set still does the trick. And I have anecdotal proof!

One time I played this at work, and a co-worker inquired about it, as my co-workers are wont to do when they hear dope music emanating from my bluetooth speaker. I told him and he promptly downloaded a copy (from wherever, I dunno'). Later that week, he tells me that he played it at home while doing housework with some friends, and
they liked it so much that they requested he replay it over and over. Hot damn, if this CD has that kind of power fifteen years after its release, then it's a dope CD indeed, my friends!)


IN BRIEF: Then, a revelation. Now, not so much.

With so many former ‘electroclash’ stars releasing albums this year (Tiga, DJ Hell, Vitalic, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Felix da Housecat, Fischerspooner), it can be difficult to fathom many of them were veritable unknowns at the beginning of the decade. Sure, some had been in the game for a while and garnered a few respectable plaudits along the way, but in no way were they stars. Remember, this was at the time of superstar trance DJs and epic progressive sets from Global Underground and Renaissance mainstays, not to mention ample amounts of funky disco house filling the store racks. In the year 2000, the very notion of gritty electro, punky techno, and sleazy EBM grabbing the spotlight by the balls was absurd. Yet the underground buzz started to catch and as folks-in-the-know grew tired of expensive superclubs, a tidal-wave of momentum surged the electro-revival into the mainstream.

Here in good ol’ Northern Americana, you can point to a single compilation that got the ball rolling: Tiga’s American Gigolo. It was conceived when the Montreal native, upon recognizing just how cutting edge the International Deejay Gigolo sound was at the time, figured it would do the American scene some good to properly introduce this brash style of techno to a stagnating continent. DJ Hell, already having garnered a large cult following in Europe with his label, seemed to agree it was time to take the U.S.A. and Canada.

Tiga’s label itself, Turbo Recordings, had been gaining similar momentum on this continent with a run of classy, varied DJ mixes, though mostly sticking with tried and tested house and techno. When this one dropped, however, it not only marked the beginning of electro’s resurge but also Turbo’s re-imaging. All in all, a perfect marriage.

Your requisite track-list glance reveals a number of bona-fide classics. Sunglasses At Night, Porno Actress, Frank Sinatra, I’m A Disco Dancer, Poney Part 1, Emerge… I could go on. If you didn’t know better, you’d almost swear this was some kind of ‘Electroclash Anthems’ from Ministry Of Sound. Yet, it’s simply a label showcase: twenty-five tracks across twenty-four singles (out of the first eighty) from one label. It’s that realization that makes this mix all the more remarkable, that just one freakin’ label was responsible for so many classics and for exposing so many future stars.

But,” you say, “so what? How is this unique now?” Good point, my unseen questioner. While this may have been the first major exposure for guys like Vitalic, Fischerspooner, and even Tiga as a proper singer, the huge bandwagon jumping that ensued from major labels in the following two years flooded the market with similar compilations, many of which were far more comprehensive of this sound than American Gigolo. In many ways, it’s similar to what happened with Paul Oakenfold’s original Tranceport - sure, it exposed a large number people to a relatively fresh sound with several strong, memorable singles for the first time, but its quality was easily been eclipsed in later years (of course, part of the handicap here is the fact the music’s from only one label; not sure what Oakenfold’s excuse is).

Heck, even Tiga, usually a capable DJ, doesn’t bring his A-game here. While he pulls out some brilliantly daft blends and mash-ups - throwing the over-emoting Marc Almond chorus from Soul On Soul into the great synth chords in Vitalic’s You Prefer Cocaine is hilariously awesome - he also forces some ugly transitions too. The mix from DJ Naughty’s Boing Bum Tschag into his own Sunglasses At Night is brutal, and seemingly only done as an inside joke - Boing Bum Tschag being Gigolo’s first release, while Sunglasses At Night was (at the time) the label’s latest.

On the other hand, some of Tiga’s rough transitions only added to this compilation’s allure. After so many years of pristine polished progressive trance sets (often done in a studio), to hear a ‘balls to the walls’ mix coupled with such punky attitude in the music, you really did believe this could be the next big thing. The minimalist nihilism of the opening stretch, forays into strong house and tech in the middle… solid enough. Then Vitalic comes in, and the mix basically bludgeons you with energy; more importantly, it suggests wonderful possibilities for this sound’s future. For a brief moment, it even makes then-trance’s poster boy Ferry Corsten seem like a perfect fit (thanks in large part to The Hacker; also it certainly can’t be a coincidence that Corsten came out with Punk shortly after Gigolo did their remixes for Soul On Soul). By the time Emerge has wrapped up, you can’t help but wonder, nearly a decade later, why this music didn’t have the strong future it hinted at.

Well, there were many reasons for it, some of which already touched upon in this review. Here’s not the place to delve deeply into it though. Rather, the only remaining question I’ll discuss is whether American Gigolo is still worth your time and pennies. Frankly, you can’t fault the music, and even if the mixing isn’t the greatest, it’s still fine enough to not be too distracting. If you’re looking for a more complete electroclash compilation, there are better options out there, even as tribute mixes available for free on DJ websites. In the end, though, this little mix from Tiga is fun enough to throw on, as very little on here has dated. Easily a worthy pick-up if you find it on the cheap.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Renaissance Man - The Renaissance Man Project

Turbo: 2011

I feel like I should know more about this duo than I actually do. For sure they were Resident Advisor Approved, this album earning a Best Of 2011 blessing, plus a podcast DJ mix feature – though honestly, everyone in the world of house, techno, tech-house, future garage, and pants gets one of those. When this album popped up in my search for more 2011 material though, I was surprised it came from Turbo. While I'm not as religious a follower of Tiga's Label That Could anymore, I'd like to think I still keep a finger to the pulse of what Mr.Sontag's promoting. Heck, Renaissance Man even appeared on that Brodinski Fabriclive mix (that one with the dude of sardine fingers), a total Turbo love-fest in spirit, if not in actual track selection.

On the other hand, it's not like Renaissance Man has done much else of significant note since coming out with The Renaissance Man Project. Comprised of Ville Haimala and Martti Kaliala, they first emerged with the sort of minimal/tech/fidget house that was all the hipster rage in the late-'00s, but truly broke out as something unique when they started approaching the craft with the ol' 'kitchen sink production' style. Meaning, no sample was off limits for their usage, the less conventional, the better. Even if it makes a track almost unlistenable, it don't matter so long there's some semblance of a tech-haus groove for the rooftop shufflers to sway against. This, of course, is the sort of sound that's utter catnip to discerning music journalist sorts, always on the look-out the most unorthodox music around to claim they were the first to rep it, should it take off in any culturally meaningful way. It made Herbert's Bodily Functions a critical darling, as has many such dalliances by tech-house producers (I recall even Vector Lovers got in on that action once).

I honestly thought The Renaissance Man Project was gonna' be a rather tedious example of this stuff. The first few tracks are all interesting in the myriad samples thrown in, with What Do You Do When You Do What You Do having a decent bump going for it, while Stalker Humanoid features a nifty little hook towards the end. Nonsensus gets grating in its ping-ponging with no direction though, while Damon Nabru has fun with firework samples, and that's about it.

Then Vancouver hits with a bunch of psychedelic ethnic sounds and tribal thump, and suddenly I feel like I'm in the middle of a latter-day Future Sound Of London album! Wow, this tune's wonderful, more like this please!

Sadly, Renaissance Man hits such a high but once again, at the end with anthemic S.O.S.. In between there's more minimalist, bloopy tech-house and goofball sample indulgences, all expertly produced but stuck in '00s-era plod mode. And how can I not mention the CD-bonus twenty-nine minute [Untitled] track featuring twenty-two minutes of silence. Makes me wonder if these guys gave a care for the album format at all.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Fred Everything - Under The Sun

Turbo Recordings: 2000

West coast deep house was growing mighty popular at the turn of the century, especially out here on the West coast (who knew!). And while San Francisco was generally considered the hotbed of funky, groovy chill vibes perfect for lounges and beach parties, Canada had a few talents making inroads on a scene long dominated by Chicago transplants. Fred Everything was probably the biggest of this bunch, slightly odd considering his Quebec origins, not to mention his first major record deal was with UK print 20:20 Vision. Still, his tight, loopy beatcraft fit snugly with the likes of Mark Farina and Miguel Migs, remaining a consistent presence in the deep house scene throughout the ‘00s, eventually finding a natural home with OM Records. No, wait, that deal only lasted a few years, all the while working on establishing his print with Lazy Days Recordings. That one’s lasted a little longer (to this day, in fact), though Fred’s output has slowed as of late (edit: but with quite the uptick this past year!). He’s still truckin’ along though, never abandoning the deep house vibe that defined his early success.

Speaking of that early success, here’s Mr. Everything’s first full-length effort, Under The Sun. Naturally this came out on 20:20 Vision, but as ol’ Fred had ties to the Montreal club scene, tastemaker Tiga was there to offer a Canadian (and thusly American) distribution deal on his trendy Turbo label. Win-win for both players involved, as Under The Sun wouldn’t get lost in cumbersome import technicalities, and Turbo could finally have its first proper album out on the market after a long run of DJ mixes (ADNY’s Selections ’97-2000 was more a compilation, if you want to get finicky technical about such things). And while I won’t complain about the geometric architecture cover photo for Turbo’s release, it does seem odd they’d replace the overhead cross-country ski race shot that made up the 20:20 Vision version. Strikes me as more authentically ‘Quebec’, is what I’m getting at, but maybe Tiga figured that was a little too on the nose for the music’s target audience. Who am I to question Tiga’s judgment, eh?

If you know anything about deep house from the early ‘00s, you’ll be familiar with Fred Everything’s sound. Sometimes he goes funkier (Let You Down, Derby, Universal Mind), other times jazzy (Without), or simply soulful (Another Soul). Nor is he beholden to a strict house rhythm, getting acid jazz shuffly on Good Morning, or having a stab at retro electro with Huggin’Kissin. And speaking of the retro, how about a touch of talk-box action in Revolution, sure to get your Daft Punk triggers flaring.

And that’s Under The Sun, a solid collection of deep, groovy vibes all about, and now a review lo-o-o-ng overdue finally finished. What, don’t you remember I promised this when going through all those Mixed Goods burned CDs of mine? That I basically lifted this album for one of them? Back in… oh wow, that was a while ago now.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Various - Turbo Studio Sessions (Vol. 3) (Original TC Review)

Turbo: 2002

(2016 Update:
And so concluded one of my first attempts at a series retrospective. Not that I'd planned for it. Come to think of it, why
did I even carry on reviewing these? The first one was a Random Review, true, but I cannot for the life of me recall the reason for taking on the second volume a year later. Slow month, maybe? For sure that's why I went into Vol. 3 half a year later, plus it just made sense to wrap that up since it was one of the few compilations series that I did have a complete set of. I've since gathered a few more.

While I know Turbo only puts out CDs for their top-billed albums (if even that), it's a shame they don't still do these
Studio Sessions. It was a wonderful way of bringing to light the unheralded underground gems that fall through the cracks, all the while breaking new artists and sounds. The label still maintains a finger on the pulse of hot house and techno, so why not keep something like this series on the market, maybe even as a digital option? Eh, they do have one, called Turbo #Beatport Decade? Alrighty then; hard copies, NAOW!)


IN BRIEF: Electroclash at its finest.

For the few years Tiga’s little-label-that-could grew in prominence, it had played things safe with the underground crowd - house, techno, eclectic DJ mixes: all tried and tested fields with hipsters. Then, seemingly overnight, Turbo’s focus changed, fully embracing the sounds of electroclash coming out of Europe right at the cusp of that scene’s breakout. The shift hinted at Turbo growing assured enough to be a leader rather than a follower. What they would need then, was big singles tied to their name.

It wouldn’t be enough for them to merely import DJ Hell’s label either. If Turbo was to cement itself as a label to be reckoned with, they would have to bring fresh material of their own rather than ride on International Deejay Gigolo’s coattails. Tiga’s cover of Corey Hart’s Sunglasses At Night was a start, but with a scene ripe with innovation and potential, surely there would be more. With their third Studio Sessions compilation, Turbo found the perfect outlet to introduce the next wave of nu-new wave artists.

Looking at this release’s tracklist today, there seems to be a fair number of obvious electroclash hits. However, these were quite new in late 2002; only the most underground of collectors knew who acts like Black Strobe, LCD Soundsystem, and Chromeo were. Of course, within a year of Sessions 3 being released, tracks like Me & Madonna, The Biggest Fan, and Needy Girl were featured on more nouveau electro compilations than anyone can remember now. Does this make them any less endearing today? Not at all. These hits were good then and they still hold up today. And with that scene having gone by the wayside, you don’t have the annoying ‘currently overplayed’ factor impeding on your enjoyment of them.

Still, because they were such popular songs, you can find them on any similarly themed compilation. Your decision on whether you should pick-up Sessions 3 in the here and now will be decided on how the supporting cast handles itself. Let’s take a look-see then.

Although a few tracks retain some of Turbo’s older eclecticism, (most notably the first two cuts), this is mainly an electroclash compilation - but that’s a rather ambiguous term, then and now. More specifically, Sessions 3 features a smorgasbord of styles that got tagged with the catch-all buzzword: disco punk, synth-pop, art-dance. In general, if it contained elements of electro and playful narcissism, you were electroclash whether you liked it or not. Tracks like Mt. Sims’ Escape Hatch, Plastique de Reve’s Rodeo Mechanique, and Sean Kosa’s Spaceship hold such quirkiness, but aren’t endearing examples. Better off is the pure electro from Lowfish’s Dark Matter, and an indie-rockish Fujiya & Miyagi track.

A major standout though (and surprising choice these days) is pre-Time Magazine interviewees Scissor Sisters, who’s irresistible faux-workout romp Electrobix conjures up the silliest moments of 80s workout videos. Who would have ever guessed this act would blow up the way they did a year later? Perhaps Tiga did, which makes the inclusion of their debut single on Sessions 3 look genius by hipster standards. And speaking of Tiga (again), his remix of Crossover’s Phostographt also fits the ‘so campy, it’s great’ bill nicely, as it displays the graceful yet devilishly playful streak in his productions.

Meanwhile, with Turbo’s fortunes looking good, Tiga started up a couple sub-labels, both of which have material featured on a disc each. Their criteria was focused on specific styles rather than the broader strokes Turbo’s singles often released.

The shortest lived of these sub-labels was Fabergé. In fact, almost all of its total output can be found here, as only two singles were ever made: Chromeo’s She’s So Gangsta (of which the Playgroup instrumental is included) and Shawn Ward’s Street Smart EP (with two groovy tech-house cuts offered). Peter Benisch’s Song For A Heart (as Bifrost) never saw a release beyond this compilation, which is a shame as the track is hauntingly lovely, and shouldn’t be left buried in obscurity.

White Leather held out a little longer but it too eventually went by the wayside. The tracks offered in this sub-label’s name are more interesting, as they mostly fall under that pure electro umbrella of sound, with 808 drum machine programming, under-produced synths, and heavy vocoder usage (DMX Krew and Sean Kosa exempt in this case). The instrumental cuts from D’Arcangelo and Jordan Dare are fun, but Neonwerk and Peter Benisch (as FPU this time) steal the show with their moody soundscapes and mesmerizing vocoder work. Strangely enough, neither of their tracks would see a proper White Leather release, although Seven Of Nine did appear on the full-length FPU Turbo release while Neonwerk had their own label Star Whores anyway (heh... gotta’ love that euro-trashiness).

While Sessions 3 doesn’t contain the stylistic variety of the previous releases, it is probably the best of all three. It’s rare for a two-disc compilation to remain as tightly focused as this one does, but there is an amazing amount of variety to be had despite sticking to a very similar sound throughout. Of course, if that whole electroclash sound never appealed to you, you probably won’t get much out of this release. If you do enjoy the kitschy side of electronic music though, then seek out this little gem of a compilation. There’s enough balance between big hits and classy unknowns to draw in both the casual and the ardent music collector.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved.

Various - Turbo Studio Sessions (Vol. 2) (Original TC Review)

Turbo: 2001

(2016 Update:
A reasonable length? Using descriptive events rather than dry detail to cover music within? Actual readable content rather than rambly word salads? I didn't think 2006 Sykonee had it in him, yet here he was, finally getting his act together in providing material of much higher quality than what came before. Erm, and was still ahead, if I'm honest. And yeah, the opening couple paragraphs are woefully redundant now, but that second half, is that ever a fun read.

Definitely felt a strong surge of inspiration with this one, so many good tunes from unexpected names throughout this CD. Shame that its such an obscure release, even by Turbo standards, as the label's DJ mixes continued outshining the scant compilations. With unheralded, overlooked tracks from Adam Beyer, Joel Mull, Shawn Ward, and Jori Hulkkonen on here, its like the ultimate mixtape from Tiga. Not to mention the lone contribution from THE VANDAL! Man, we needed more electroclashy covers of U2, did we ever.)



IN BRIEF: The times, they were changin' (at Turbo).

Turbo’s track record had been practically flawless when this came out, building up a solid reputation for ace DJ mixes of mostly house music (with a little techno and, *gasp*, even a d’n’b one!). There was a sense of change abundant in the little-Canadian-label-that-could though, as Tiga was apparently smitten by a new wave of EDM. Although this change could mostly be felt in the tone of Turbo’s musical manifesto, it also became apparent ambitions were growing as well. No longer content in providing great DJ mixes, the label was showing greater emphasis on pushing original productions.

Not that Turbo didn’t promote such material here and there, but as a fledgling label aiming for recognition based on DJ talent, such releases hardly registered. Despite the quality of the track selection in their first Studio Sessions, it didn’t quite have the diversity needed to break from the pack. It was a safe compilation, going with what worked to earn hip points with the press, mainly soulful house and Detroit techno with touches of funk and minimal to spice it up.

Vol. 2 of this series sees Turbo a little bit wiser, a little more self-assured ...and a whole lot more eclectic. While some of the same styles of music return in this follow-up, there’s plenty of new faces mixing in: dub, trip-hop, acid, micro-house, breaks, swing jazz, ambient, and some (at the time) new-fangled thing called ‘electroclash’. Quite a bold move, that last one, as this new sound was still relegated to ‘super hipster underground’ status at this point. There was no bandwagon to jump on yet, and who knew if the Turbo faithful would buy into it?

Actually, that’s a silly question. A label like Turbo doesn’t build up a winning reputation by taking chances their fanbase won’t buy into. Their fans often gave them the freedom to surprise them with something different, and very rarely would Turbo let that trust fail. In fact, Studio Session 2 comes across as something more than a simple collection of tunes: rather, this sounds like a love-letter to the Turbo faithful. Tiga and co. take their followers on an exquisite night out on the city, allowing the listener to tag along in their zany adventures to find the perfect beat.

With a smile and a twinkle in the eye, the compilation kicks off with Good Life, a fun little romp of jazzy rhythms and effect washes. As we head out into the night, we’re taken on a pre-amble cruise through deep house vibes and dubby delights care of Brommage Dub, Shawn Ward, and Snaporaz. It’s like snacking on fine sushi in a post-modern lounge while sipping on a fancy drink with a few too many curls in the straw (for irony’s sake, of course). You can practically smell the hipster cologne in the air.

But this is merely the warm-up, the initial stretch. Slightly uneasy tones are heard from elsewhere (courtesy of The Whisper by Hijack), hinting at possible sinister shenanigan to be found away from these cosmopolitan surroundings. Fearlessly, we enter the underground where the wicked techno of Jori Hulkkonen’s Wispers greats us with infectiously grooving rhythms and out-of-tune synth strings. OH! AND ACID!! LOVE THE BRIEF SQUIGGLY BITS OF ACID!!!

Jori’s electro romp is about as fun as this underground techno adventure gets though, as these next couple of tracks are serious business. Joel Mull does give us some murky funky flair over shuffling rhythms but Adam Beyer takes no prisoners in his downtempo track Those Funny Moments: thick beats sludge along as unsettling string swells and paranoid droid noises wrap you up in a suffocating mechanical menace. You can practically feel the grime on those cold, concrete warehouse walls.

The underground’s all fine and dandy for a while, but it’s time to head back out and cruise the streets once more, this time with a sense of playfulness as we reflect on the night. The ADNY track is interesting, but not particularly enduring. However, attempting to resist the White Linen remix of Crockett’s Theme is, um, futile. Between fey plucky synths and a bubbly bassline over tinny electro-breaks, this remix is filled to the rim with witty charm.

However, the night runs long, and it’s time to head back home and unwind. Throw on some easy downtempo vibes (Swayzak’s State of Grace); work on that quirky sounding cover of a U2 song that could be the beginnings of a hot new genre called electroclash (New Year’s Day, as done by Tiga and Jori going by The Vandal); finally be swept up in ambient bliss as you lie down to bed with a content smile of a night well spent (Peter Benisch’s Love Theme).

Okay, so maybe you won’t get all that out of Studio Sessions Vol. 2 as I did. For all I know, you may treat this compilation completely on the straight and narrow, as nothing more than a solid collection of rare releases from a Canadian label that got lucky with some choice singles and a breakout star. As that, you really can’t go wrong with this release. It’s got diversity, it’s got class, it’s got head noddin’ bits, catchy bits, and moving bits - all the things you’d expect from Turbo, really. Check it out and see where this music will take you.

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

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Various - Turbo Studio Sessions (Vol. 1) (2016 Update)

Turbo: 1999

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

And now this CD. Series too, though I thankfully don’t have to write a full 2016 Update for all three volumes of Turbo Studio Sessions. It’s gonna’ be difficult enough doing just this one, as almost all the information you could possibly want or need to know was dealt with in the original review. And I’ve gone on and on and on (with the halcyon!) recounting how the Turbo of old had very little to do with the Turbo you knew or would come to know – label’s done some evolution during its near two-decade life. Heck, even a redone rundown might come off redundant, as it feels like I’ve talked about Thomas Krome’s The Real Jazz and Isolée’s Beau Mot Plage a few times now. Though credit where it’s due, Turbo Studio Sessions, Vol. 1 is about the only place you’ll find these particular remixes from Erot and DJ Q, respectably. It’s all about those exclusive cuts, yo’.

Not too exclusive, mind you, though Turbo certainly gathered tracks well off the beaten path. The dubby, minimal groover Bad Hair Day Theorem vs. Swayzak came from a M_nus record early in that print’s lifespan. While Steve Bug would go on to a steady, prosperous career in minimal tech-house, his partner Acid Maria for the track Down With Us was one of the last things she ever produced. Funny enough, the label it first came out on, Steve Bug’s Raw Elements print, also folded shortly after releasing that record. Lehner & Biebl, who’s slinky electro cut Bobby R. showed hints of Turbo’s burgeoning taste for electroclash (not even a thing yet!), also disappeared shortly after this.

And as for poor Nytolbooth, this and a previous Turbo sampler CD are his lone entries within Lord Discogs. Or hers? Robot, mayhaps, what with that ambient electro thing going on with Orange. What’s funny is, within this CD’s inlay, a little blurb mentions Nytolbooth was due to drop a Turbo album the following year, but clearly that never happened. The closest any album within the label’s catalog that sounded like this particular track is Peter Benisch’s work, and I’m one-hundred and four percent certain this is not Peter Benisch (my brain’s margin of error is around seven percent). With no name and no further mention with Lord Discogs’ archives of ‘Nytolbooth’, the alias’ identity remains one of Turbo’s longest mysteries. Maybe I should ask Tiga, if I happen across his path in the future. Yes, I’d totally waste an Ask One Question chance on something so inconsequential!

Other names on this compilation carried on for tidy careers in the ensuing decade, but the works of Hans Nieswand, Universal Tongues, and Turner essentially disappear after that. DKMA, also known as Callisto and Krimp, but as Dana Kelley to the boys at a Boston pub where everyone knows your name, sadly died in 2013. No rhyme, no reason, just unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 49. No words now, just peace…

Saturday, August 20, 2016

FPU - Traxxdata

Turbo: 2003

I liked Soundtrack Saga, but didn’t become as big a fan of Peter Benisch’s work until hearing this album. It blew my mind that someone who could craft such lush, expansive downtempo and ambient music, then completely flip the script and offer up something so charmingly retro, quirky, and kitsch. That’s not to say artists are incapable of exploring radically differing styles of music, but it’s typically not done, most content with remaining inside the lane they’re most proficient at. And even if they do reach beyond their comfort zones, it’s even rarer they contribute something unique to whatever genre they’re exploring. That’s why it’s not only remarkable that Benisch went and made an ode to the electro and synth music of the ‘80s, but excelled at it at a time when everyone was doing the same!

No, wait, that’s not entirely accurate. The early ‘00s had everyone jumping on the electroclash bandwagon, which took ‘80s ideas but twisted them upon itself. It was the only way to remain cool while also being blatantly retro, see. Traxxdata isn’t electroclash though. Even the track that kicked the FPU project off, Crockett’s Theme, is as respectful an ode to the original Jan Hammer piece as anyone’s crafted. True, Tiga took that track and turned the kitsch to eleven for Ocean Drive, but that track isn’t on here. About the only other tune off Traxxdata that reaches similar ‘relive decadent Miami’ vibes is second single Racer Car, what with camp lyrics of “Cruising fast, in your racer car, in the night; You look so fine, you look so good, in the night.” I also feel this is one of the weaker cuts, though still having a solid, techno pulse going for it.

The rest of the album flirts between proper-grim electro (Calabi Yau Space, In The Future With Machines, FPU Theme) and peppy synthwave numbers. Wait, what? Synthwave? Isn’t that a relatively new development? Yeah, mostly, though I’m sure you could point to the odd outlier making deliberate throwback soundtrack music at any point in the past two decades - like Traxxdata! Benisch made no secret of where he was drawing influence from, and just as every synthwave producer ever namedrops Jan Hammer, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, and John Carpenter, so it also goes with FPU.

And hot damn, are there ever some tasty ‘80s earworms in here! You Don’t Pay My Bills is a delicious slice of robo synth-pop, having me hum lyrics I only half decipher. At the other end of Traxxdata, you’ll find Waiting For Snow, as close to an ‘electro-trance’ tune as I’ll ever allow being designated as such (shove off, Punk). Other tracks find Benisch indulging himself a little more, like a creepy ode to Seven Of Nine (that vocoder!), chipper jaunts across dimensions (Time Safari), and casual strolls through retro-future cities (Eastside Protection). The lone out-of-place track on Traxxdata is closer Endgame, and only because it sounds like a leftover from Soundtrack Saga instead. Worth! It!

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Various - Toronto Mix Sessions: Kenny Glasgow

Turbo: 2001

Of course Toronto has a CD in Turbo’s Mix Sessions series. Tiga couldn’t keep showing all those Nordic cities love without giving The Centre Of The (hockey) Universe its representation. The Toronto dance scene is a long, storied one, with a rich history in house, techno, trance, jungle, hardcore, and, um, reggae? Okay, I honestly know very little about their rave story. I watched a lot of Electric Circus in the ‘90s, have heard tall tales of a club called Guvernment, and I’m pretty certain Chris Sheppard made his fame in the region. As far as I know it developed as most metropolitan dance cultures did, generating DJs and producers in equal measure of crossover fame and underground cred’. Even the venerated Global Underground series gave Toronto its spotlight on the twenty-fifth volume (mixed by Deep Dish, of course). And yet, Vancouver, she get no attention, ever. Might Mix Sessions have eventually migrated to the West Coast, had Turbo stayed in the mix CD business long enough? If even Sheffield got a mix, damn right we should have gotten one too!

Another thing I’m uncertain of is how Kenny Glasgow got the nod as Toronto’s chosen jock. Most other Mix Sessions editions went with DJs within Tiga’s networking circle, so I’ll assume Mr. Glasgow was also down with the Turbo crew, giving the scene veteran some of his greatest exposure ever. Wow, so weird typing that out, considering he’d become internationally famous nearly a decade later as one-half of Art Department. Also remarkable is the fact this CD is Kenny’s lone DJ mix credit within Lord Discog’s archives. Not even something on a regional print? You’d think someone who’s been rinsing out records since the early ‘90s would have more on the market. He technically got to do a fabric mix as Art Department last year, but by the time that came out, he’d left the pairing to focus on his solo work again.

As this is a Turbo CD released in the year 2001, you bet Toronto Mix Sessions hits the electro hard. Anthony Rother is here! Felix Da Housecat is here! Miss Kittin, absolutely here! The Hacker shows up thrice! Even Kraftwerk gets in, in an incredibly roundabout way: Señor Coconut covers Showroom Dummies, and Markus Nikolai provides a rub. Tech-house has its early moments care of Märtini Brös’ Babyhaze, but Kenny doesn’t waste much time in unleashing techno from The Advent, Si Begg, and John Selway. While flitting between funky tech-house and moody electro, Mr. Glasgow saves his prime weapons for the end, with a Laurent Garnier rub of Silver Screen Shower Scene, and an unashamed laser-kissed anthem in Kissogram’s If I Had Known This Before. The requisite outro of 4am bangin’ techno from The Vectif’s The Spice and Night On Earth’s Simple Short Cut completes a well-rounded set that should have propelled Mr. Glasgow out of Toronto obscurity. But alas, the Turbo bump didn’t do much for him. That Crosstown Rebels print later on, tho’...

Friday, February 5, 2016

Various - Montreal Mix Sessions Vol. 5 - Tiga: Mixed Emotions

Turbo Recordings: 2000

Finally, I get to talk about something that's not from one of my current label obsessions. Instead, I get to talk about something from one of my early label obsessions. Huh, can't say I'm not consistent, and at least it's got nothing to do with ambient. Bask in this detour though, folks, because the chilled-out vibes, beatless slog continues unabated following this one. What do you mean that doesn’t make sense, o’ reader of the future reading these out of chronological order?

Though I’ve mention in many Turbo Recordings reviews how it marked a transition point for Tiga’s label that could, this one, honestly and truthfully, is the one. For starters, that cover! Gone was the classy photo of urban splendour (or elephants) in favour of a glamour shot of Mr. Sontag himself. Within the inlay is Mr. pre-Sunglasses At Night relaxing in a bathtub full of caviar sporting a leather speedo. If all this wasn’t enough to convince you of a totally vamped-up celebrity in the making, the typeface is in a hot neon pink, revelling in ‘80s retro stylee mere months within it becoming that whole electroclash thing. Of course, Tiga himself hadn’t quite hit his own highs yet, the spotlight still focused on Felix Da Housecat, Miss Kitten, and International Deejay Gigolo. Hell, Mr. Sontag had yet to even find the confidence in his singing voice, his breakout single a year off from hitting the pavement.

More pointedly though, he’d yet to really change the sort of music he was pushing. For a quick recap, Montreal Mix Sessions was Turbo’s initial DJ mix series, which Tiga premiered with the label’s launch. He handled the decks of the first volume, then shopped mixes out to other house and techno Montreal talent like John Acquaviva, Laflèche Morin, and (oddly) d’n’b act Dune. It made sense he’d return for another edition some time down the line, and the fifth volume was as good as any to do so. CD1 doesn’t do much to shake the Turbo foundations either, bumpin’ tech-house and pummelling 4am techno making up the bulk of its runtime. Tiga’s dropping of tracks from the likes of Adam Beyer, Sameul L. Session, Umek, Lay & Bushwacka!, Mateo Murphy, DJ Hell, and Tombra Vira (pst, that’s Jark Prongo) should give you a solid idea of what to expect on this mix. About the only surprise in this techno set is that it’s not the sort of sound you’d associate with Tiga anymore.

Mr. Sontag must have been feeling itchy to move onto something in line with his gestating passions though, as he threw in a Bonus Electro Funk CD, and here you find that nascent, anything-retro goes electroclash vibe. I-F is here! Martini Bros. are here! Bergheim34 is here! Dynamic Bass System is here! Anthony Rother is here! DMX Krew is here! Tiga would make better mixes after this one, but you can hear the unfurling of a new set of wings with Mixed Emotions. Fly high, my son.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Tiga & Zyntherius - Sunglasses At Night

International Deejay Gigolo/Turbo: 2001/2002

This could have bombed so badly. True, Tiga had an edge in underground cool thanks to his DJing and label Turbo, and might have even eked out a tidy side career making gritty techno or groovy acid as many of his chums and associates were doing. However, electroclash was plenty filled with singer/producer tandems, all doing a take on deconstructionist ‘80s kitsch, with little need for another in a too-rapidly saturated scene. Mr. Sontang had something unique to his credit though, a talent – nay, gift! – that all the Hacker & Kittins or Felix & Melistars or ADULT & Nicolas didn’t: a male voice! No, really, that one attribute probably gave Sunglasses At Night more presence on every electroclash collection of the time, an island of Y chromosome in a sea of double-X. Then again, with everyone going for the detached androgynous delivery, maybe it wasn’t such a big deal after all.

More important though, Sunglasses At Night gave Tiga a tremendous shot of confidence in his own singing voice, leading to a surprising career in charming, quirky synth-pop singles. It’s not like he wanted it either, but producing pal Jori Hulkkonen – the Zyntherius one – convinced him he had the talent to pull it off. And while there are electronic treatments to Tiga’s voice that likely masked any early imperfections, the charisma Mr. Sontag exudes comes through in spades, an icy-cool calm for a song that was incredibly camp in its original Corey Hart version. With Jori’s minimalist electro and infectious synth arpeggio complementing Tiga, you have an instant electroclash hit. Incidentally, if you’re wondering why choose Sunglasses At Night as a cover to begin with, it’s a Canadian thing. Remarkable, then, that Tiga & Zyntherius took a song Europe never registered in its heyday, and made it one of the most overplayed singles of 2002.

On this Turbo edition of the single, we get a TVG remix instead of the Chris Liebing rub as found on the original International Deejay Gigolo EP. This was a short-lived pseudonym between Tiga and Mateo Murphy, taking all that trendy ‘80s retro stylee and feeding it through some fun techno action. Such is the case with Sunglasses At Night too, essentially the techno version of the electro original. Also on here is B-side Sweet Sedation, which I’m assuming is a cover of the 1984 grinding industrial track of the same name from Test Dept. It’s kinda’ hard to tell because the original is almost anti-music, with shouty, garbled, incompressible lyrics. Tiga instead goes for sneering seduction while Zyntherius provides a slow, slinky EBM groove, and is possibly one of the coolest forgotten tracks in Tiga’s discography. Impress your trainspotting friends by playing this at your next electroclash retro party!

As big a record Sunglasses At Night was for Tiga, it was merely a catalyst, the beginning of what’s proven to be a successful career with many more hits to his name. Not bad for a track the singer had doubts over.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Various - Stockholm Mix Sessions 2: Jesper Dahlbäck

Turbo Recordings: 2000

Though I had read positive things about Turbo in American-based magazine Mixer, Stockholm Mix Sessions 2 was my proper introduction to the label. It didn’t tell their whole story, of course, but it told enough to get my attention and check out more of what they had to offer. Well, after the cover first lured me in for a closer listen anyway. Seriously, what is it with apartment architecture that makes for such captivating photo art? It doesn’t have anything to do with the music inside, yet it instantly gives the sense this is a class mix through and through.

And oh man, is Mr. Dahlbäck’s second mix for Turbo ever class. I knew deep house well enough before, mostly thanks to the likes of Mark Farina and… um, okay so I didn’t have that much experience with the genre by the year 2000, but I’d heard plenty from assorted mixtapes making the rounds. Point being, my primary exposure to the sound was that of the West Coast bumpin’ style, and maybe a little deep Chicago for good measure. I was completely unaware there was an entirely unique strain of European deep house going on, much less being cultivated by guys from Sweden (should have paid more attention to Mixer’s words). It was house music steeped in cinematic soul, dubbed out to the outer reaches of your mind (or the Mediterranean patio), funk but a distant concern. Not that Stockholm Mix Sessions 2 is lacking in groove, but this is music I see myself enjoying at a classy dining lounge or ultra-chill afterparty than any typical club or beach event. Or Hell, cruising down the streets late at night, what with Metro Area’s Atmosphrique in the third position here (know your post Days Go By Mitsubishi ads, folks).

What marks Jesper’s second mix so much better than his first is just how incredibly smooth it is, much of which isn’t his own productions. For sure he works a few in (another remix for ADNY, plus two different collaborations as Sunday Brunch and Brommage Dub), but they’re complemented by the surrounding tracks vibing off what they bring to the mix. For instance, Cpen’s Pirate’s Life features the same super-spacious sound that Sunday Brunch’s Things You Said does, but also works in a bit of solo Moog that’s to die for. Come to think of it, this mix has a lot of solos in it, mostly keyboards, organs, and the like. So much soul-jazz, without going nu-jazz.

Many memorable names (I:Cube, King Britt, Luomo, Casey Hogan, The Rurals) rub shoulders with relative unknowns (Tribedelic, Moonchildren, Pascal Rioux), running from broken jazz-beat through the deepest end of house music, back to the Balearic beaches with Latin soul. Aside from one jarring transition mid-point (Luomo seldom makes things easy), Dahlbäck’s mixing is nigh flawless, making Stockholm Mix Sessions 2 the best mix CD he’s ever point out. Er, and his last one too. Adam Beyer would take over the series after this.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Various - Stockholm Mix Sessions: Jesper Dahlbäck

Turbo Recordings: 1999

Before there were Angellos and Axwells and Prydzes, there was an original Swedish house mafia; well, ‘techno’ mafia anyway. You should know all these names, because I’ve continuously name-dropped them when it comes to Turbo Recordings’ early years, but their story goes further back than that. No genre was untouchable to these mavericks from the realms of Stockholm, and at the start of it all was Jesper Dahlbäck, kicking out the hard acid jams as you do in ‘92.

For much of that time since, he’s worked under collaborations and aliases, perhaps The Persuader most prominent of them all. As Swedish house music turned trendy, he found some success with his cousin John, working together as Hugg & Pepp. And while Jesper didn’t have anywhere near the stupid-excessive work rate as John, he’s kept a steady stream of singles and off-albums going to date, mostly finding his niche in groovy tech-house and heady acid.

Backing up though, when Tiga was tapping all these unheralded Nordic Europeans for albums and DJ mixes on his Turbo print, Jesper was a shoe-in to kick things off. Going the mix CD route was a tad surprising though, what with years of experience in productions. Maybe Mr. Dahlbäck had mostly signed his output and aliases to other labels already, or perhaps the intent always was to go the DJ mix route, in this way allowing a smattering of own productions through the licensing department. Could Turbo not have been ready for proper LPs either? I don’t know how it went down in the discussion between Tiga and Jesper, but whatever the case, Stockholm Mix Sessions is the first commercial mix Jesper released. And he totally… proves himself capable in the field of deep house. Er, sorry, not the most resounding call of confidence there.

To be blunt, I was spoiled by his second Stockholm Mix Session, which I heard first. Hell, that was my first exposure to Turbo in general, but those are details for another review. This one’s no slouch though, but a couple factors have me hesitant giving the automatic three thumbs up over its deserved two.

One, Jesper’s mixing isn’t the most refined here, especially in the first half when he’s running through various forms of deep house. The tunes are all mint of course, bringing in soulful funk (Nordelius & Ressle’s With Us Around, Blue Six’s Sweeter Love) or quirky dub (Natural Rhythm’s Eclectic Dub, Gemini Sounds’ Elevate Your Fellow Man) to the mix. He even makes Isolée’s Beau Mot Plage sound fresh in layering a vocal overtop it. Smoother mixing, as found in the second half, would have made this portion much better. However, the back half mixing probably benefits hugely from a run of five of Dahlbäck’s own works, earning quibble number two.

Still, that Let Me Luv U from Jii Hoo and Slussen (Erot Remix) combo in the middle …hot damn. Forget the quibbles, this CD’s house is too mint to care about such things.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Peter Benisch - Soundtrack Saga (2015 Update)

Turbo Recordings: 2001

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

Oh yeah, this little CD. I've mentioned it a few three hundred times or so over the years now. It wouldn't surprise me if I've spent more words in other reviews talking about Peter Benisch than I'll allow myself within self-imposed word count here. Probably has something to do with preconceived failure in giving Soundtrack Saga adequate props. It was by no means my only praise-filled piece of early writing for TranceCritic, high scores also dropping for the likes of Sasha’s Xpander, Paul van Dyk’s The Politics Of Dancing, Drexciya’s Harnessed The Storm, and Delerium’s Karma. Those are all popular names though, established DJs and producers with strong track records, with me covering releases that had long been recognized as strong entries within their respective scenes. It didn’t matter that my writing was still finding its form, I could sloppily praise Xpander and readers would agree with me, because it’s practically common knowledge Xpander is awesome.

Soundtrack Saga though, that was a challenge. Peter Benisch was, and sadly remains, almost entirely unknown, in no small part due to his relative reclusiveness. It didn’t have to be that way, pals with several of Sweden’s top taste-makers of the late ‘90s (Adam Beyer, Joel Mull, the Dahlbäcks), often pairing with them for singles here and there. He even got an album out on Fax +49-69/450464 prior to this one, although Namlook’s print had fallen in stock for all but the die-hards by that time. Still, good ol’ Tiga must have liked the cut of Benisch’s ambient and chill jib, getting another album out of him in Soundtrack Saga (plus the charming Traxxdata as FPU, but that’s another review for later). And as I’ve gushed many times before, it was excellent, a gleaming jewel in an incredible bounty of gold from Turbo Recordings. This should have propelled Benisch to the forefront of ambient, downtempo, and chill music. It should...

Seems fate conspired to dictate otherwise. As great a release Soundtrack Saga was for Turbo Recordings, it remained an oddity within the label’s general discography. Obviously I enjoyed it, but for those counting on Turbo for classy house and trendy electro, this album probably passed them by. Then around the mid-‘00s, Turbo ceased CD production, had a blow-out sale on their back catalogue, and focused on grimey, trashy techno forever after. A guy like Benisch, already slightly out of place with the old Turbo, definitely had no future with this new direction. His name faded from discourse, along with his material.

Only that’s not entirely true, is it? His tracks make an occasional appearance on mixes from prominent jocks (James Zabiela, Jimmy Van M, Adam X), and very recently Benisch has emerged with the odd track and remix. Maybe Soundtrack Saga doesn’t have to be his lasting legacy, that he can be coaxed out of studio seclusion for another turn on the LP format. Carpe Sonum? Psychonavigation? I’m looking in your directions, dudes. I know you guys have the power!

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Chris Duckenfield - Sheffield Mix Sessions

Turbo Recordings: 2001

Way back in the long ago time, when Lord Discogs had yet to achieve its deity prominence among all things electronic music databased, Chris Duckenfield was as mysterious to me as the planet Pluto (woo, timely namedrop!). For the longest time, this lone mix on Turbo Recordings was his only entry, baffling a decade-younger Sykonee to no end. Why had Tiga tapped this virtual unknown for a DJ mix? After scouring Scandinavia, what prompted him commissioning a jock from the UK? Who on Earth was Chris Duckenfield, and what relationship did he have with the Montreal label? How has a guy with such a class mix CD on the market gone so unnoticed? Is he just some Sheffield local with a die-hard following, or has he done anything else of note, even in his native country? And why is there some screwy mixing going on in this set?

To answer that last question, the track indexing on this CD is gibbled. The mix from #9 occurs at #11, plays as normal through #12, while the expectant mix from there has already blown by at #10. I’d give titles but with things as wonk as they are, I haven’t a clue which is what, though I can definitely confirm that Symbiosis’ Oxygen is a mint cut within all this. Was it just my copy of Sheffield Mix Sessions with this error though? If not, poor form, Turbo, I trusted you. Chris Duckenfield trusted you!

Okay, back to Mr. Duckenfield. Despite Vassal Discogs not having much info in 2003, ol’ Chris’ profile has filled out nicely since those dark days. He’s apparently been around since the early rave days, producing along with Richard Benson as RAC, releasing an album on Warp in their formative years. Following that he teamed up with Richard Brown (Chris loves his Richards) to form Swag and release two LPs and a bundle of EPs to this day. Then there’s a ceaseless DJ career, and my mind boggles as to why Sheffield Mix Sessions remains his lone entry. Did Tiga have to twist Chris’ arm to even get this out of him? Man, they could have at least offered a snappy bio in the CD’s inlay.

As for this mix, we get ourselves a good ol’ deep session of house music direct from the tasteful times of 2001. The opening portion features names like Nigel Hayes, Jazzanova, and Morgan Geist, with a vibe that’ll have you itching to cruise out in a Mitsubishi. And even with a fucked-up track index, the middle portion of Chris’ mix is still good funky, deep tech-house fun. The final sequence goes for the tribal dub business that was quite popular with the serious house heads of the time, and would sadly fall out of favour when all things minimal became the norm. Hmm, I wonder if Duckenfield fell in lockstep with that trend too. Considering he released a 2006 single called Modern House Is Rubbish under his Duckbeats alias, I suspect not.

Monday, June 29, 2015

ADNY - Selections: 1997-2000

Turbo Recordings: 2000

A significant CD in Turbo Recordings' history, this was the label's first ever spotlight on a single producer. I'm hesitant to call this an album though, as ADNY already had such an LP to his name, released the year prior on Plastic City. I suppose that one - The Way Eye See - wasn't technically an ADNY album either, placing his name alongside a “Presents Leiva” credit, but it's all the same guy anyway, Mr. Alexi Delano. He's worked under a few aliases over the years too, including A.D.1010 for Harthouse Mannheim during the mid-'00s, and earlier as Bob Brewthbaker. Yeah, he's another European who made house music with an American-sounding pseudonym – what do you expect from a resident of Plastic City (home of Terry Lee Brown, Jr. and The Timewriter, yo').

Long time Turbo (and Tiga!) fans might be asking, “Wait, what’s all this ‘house music’ you speak of with regards to the label? Aren’t they known for electroclash and trashy acid techno?” To which I first reply, “Haven’t you read any of my prior Turbo reviews?” Or secondly: “Huh, guess you aren’t that long of a Turbo fan.” But to reiterate for my umpteenth time, Tiga’s label That Could got its start in the realms of fashionable house and techno, a dash of electro thrown in for the occasional spicing (or a drum ‘n’ bass tangent because Montreal nepotism). Among the earliest hits of any sort for Turbo came care of two ADNY cuts, Dreaming and his remix for Universal Tongues & DKMA’s Shiver Me, which I’m almost certain I’ve talked about before because they featured on several mixes and compilations.

So let’s instead focus on the remaining ten tracks selected for ADNY’s Selections: 1997-2000. First off, none of these appeared on that Plastic City album, so no sign of repeats here. As far as I (and Lord Discogs) can tell, these are previously unreleased tunes, with a few smatterings of vinyl cuts from other licensed labels. It provides a nice assortment of house vibes then, never settling for the some ol’ thing over and over (though I wouldn’t mind that from Shiver Me, no sir).

Primarily we’re in the deep end of soulful house, though with more of a thick, tribal East coast groove than the style Naked Music and OM Records were churning out at the time. And what deep house tune isn’t complete without some additional musicianship thrown in, whether some xylophone tones (I’m Still Here), brass section licks (What If I Love), or smooth vocal come-ons (Never Leave You, ICU). Elsewhere, ADNY stretches his muse to incorporate a little slow-jam synth-pop (Desierto de Atacama) and voxed-out Balearic bliss (Precious Lady).

Is Selections: 1997-2000 an essential addition to your deep house collection? Probably not, as there’s oodles of the stuff for grabs out there. Still, Tiga had an ear ADNY, and if you have faith in the Montreal tastemaker’s, um, taste, you know he wouldn’t steer you wrong here either.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Märtini Brös. - Pläy.

Turbo Recordings: 2002

I thought I had Märtini Brös. all figured out. Responsible for a quirky novelty synth-pop hit at the height of electroclash’s popularity, signed to an LP deal on Tiga’s Turbo Recordings print based on the strength of that single (especially so the Black Strobe Remix), then off to the realms of Nowheresville once tastes and music trends abruptly shifted during the ongoing ‘00s. With absolute certainty in my assumption, I popped over to Lord Discogs to confirm my notions, only to have serious knowledge smacked in my smug face. This album Pläy. barely scratches the surface of what the German duo of Clemens Kahlcke and Michael Pagliosa have been up to in their career, with releases before and well after that breakout. Damn, the Lord does provide all, sometimes even more than you bargained for!

Turns out Märtini Brös.' primary home is Poker Flat Recordings (Steve Bug’s label, though more commonly known as ‘They Whom Released Trentemøller’s The Last Resort'), and had been putting out records with them since its inception. Not that it's a huge surprise, many of their early singles sitting comfortable with the deeper side of tech-house, the sort fussy Germans often adore (yes, even fifteen years whence). You couldn't escape glam-pop's re-emergence though, and Märtini Brös. got themselves in on that action whether you liked their older productions or not. Look, what else could they do to lift their career out of obscurity and into the fab' lights - make trance records?

While I won't deny it was presumptuous in thinking Märtini Brös. were a one-and-done album story, there was some logic behind my reasoning other than never coming across another significant hit of theirs post Biggest Fan. For a debut LP, Pläy. feels as though Kahlcke and Pagliosa were unsure whether this was their only shot, cramming in various styles of music without much consideration for album flow - it's like they wanted to show off all their inspirations while they had the chance. Thus, you have the requisite minimalist synth-pop electro-glam in tracks like Electric Monk, Dance Like It Is O.K., and Flash, but alongside those are starry-eyed psychedelic UK folktronica (!?) with Ultrastar, Happiness, and Flowers Of July. Mashed among those are quirky micro tech-house numbers like Boy/Girl, L.O.V.E. (A Really Strong Emotion), and Hot, and little in between linking these styles into a cohesive LP narrative (the cinematic French-pop chill-out track Audiopark 2002 notwithstanding). Märtini Brös. are by no means slouches in any of these genres, but they'd be better served as explorations of those sounds within full-lengths to themselves, not mish-mashed together as they are on Pläy.

This lends itself to a frustrating listen, few tracks standing out beyond whatever merit they contain. The Biggest Fan is already a catchy, camp number – imagine how great it’d sound with strong context surrounding it! Oh wait, I already know that answer. It’s on Tiga’s DJ-Kicks mix. Yeah all these tunes are better served like that than on Pläy., methinks.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Various - Montreal Mix Sessions Vol. 4 - Lafleche

Turbo: 2000

Montreal as a hub of innovative musical trends rivaled only by the hippest ‘burbs of New York City has been the indie narrative for years, but that wasn’t always the case. Despite being one step ahead of the rest of North America, general music journalism goes through periods of disinterest with the region, the ‘90s a particularly fallow period as I recall. Guess that’s what happens when all the sexy business is going down on the other side of the continent. Still, Montreal carried on doing its thing, continually inspired by the sounds of Europe, patiently waiting for the rest of North America to catch on.

It was about the time this CD came out that Turbo finally found its footing and spread its manifesto out from Montreal. Unfortunately for LaFleche Morin, a veteran DJ of that scene and one of the first chaps Tiga tapped for the Mix Sessions series, he released his second DJ set for the label just before things truly took off. While I'm sure his gig career remained as steady as it ever was, Lafleche's contribution to Turbo's been relegated to something of a footnote, a dutiful soldier who helped get things rolling but never got to bask in the lime-light that followed.

Even his mix, classy though it is, comes off over-familiar if you followed funky, disco house at the turn of the millennium. I know I’ve a few of these tracks on other CDs, though LaFleche does provide his own rubs for The Real Jazz and That Zipper Track. Plenty of recognizable names show up – Jamie Anderson, Trevor Rockcliffe, Sébastien Léger, DJ Sneak, Paranoid Jack, and Gene Farris the ones I’ve heard before. Unknowns to my eyes are DJ Maxhens, DJ Nekbath, Bert Dunk, John Kano, and Tomba Vira. These last two mark a small detour LeFleche indulges in late in the set, featuring Afro and Latin rhythms, capped off by a bit of tribal chant-stomp in Rockcliffe’s Love Music. Fast forward to the late ‘00s, and folks are praising the likes of Luciano for playing similar stuff, yet here’s LaFleche rinsing out the worldly rhythms nearly a decade earlier. I told you Montreal was ahead of the game!

That said, there’s little to recommend in Montreal Mix Sessions 4. It’s a fun set, sure, but unremarkable all things considered – Moonshine was hawking similar CDs around this time too, not to mention several other upstart labels emerging during those boom times for electronic music. If you were raw to house, your prior knowledge coming from Hed Kandi collections, then this was like opening a door to a whole new realm of funky rhythm hedonism. For the seasoned weekend warrior though, LaFleche’s offering would come off old-hat.

Perhaps Tiga realized this, as the final Montreal Mix Sessions, his own Mixed Emotions, saw a radical departure from house of this sort. Not to mention every Mix Sessions CD after featuring DJs from realms of non-Francophone origin. Change was definitely in the winds at Turbo.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Various - Montreal Mix Sessions Vol. 3: Dune (Double A & Twist)

Turbo: 1999

Without a doubt, this is among the strangest CDs in Turbo’s catalogue, if not the strangest. For a label that often prides itself on the quirky, that's quite an assumption to make, but keep in mind this DJ mix came out early in Turbo's life, when Tiga was still finding its identity. About all he had going for it was promotion of Montreal acts, and the occasional original production. As you were wont to do as a hip start-up, the Mix Sessions series focused on house and techno, almost unanimously with winning results. There's also a single, solitary drum 'n bass mix, because when you think of Tiga, Turbo, and even Montreal, jungle's always right up there with tech-house and electroclash. Or not.

I’m sure my fellow Canucks from the lands of French have just as vibrant a jungle scene as any major region of Canadaland, but you sure don’t hear much about it. Toronto’s got a huge following, Vancouver’s been respectable for many years, and even the Prairie Provinces earn props from semi-abroad. Quebec, though? Folksy music festivals and hipster dance-punk’s their thing, ain’it? Absolutely not, just ask Double A & Twist about it. Wait, are they still around? Damn you, Lord Discogs, and your occasional incompleteness!

Monsieurs Aaron Siegner and Oliver Sasse make up the duo, also going by the name Dune (no, not the happy hardcore act). Wait, is this the same Oliver Sasse of German trance Rodd-Y-Ler micro-fame? The Lord That Knows All suggests so, but I’m having my doubts, such wildly incompatible scenes they be. This Sasse, along with Siegner, were vital in developing what jungle scene Montreal had, produced a few tech-step singles for the legendary Reading label Basement Records, and even ran a short-lived label of their own. A decent run in the late ‘90s, then, though little that only the most ardent junglist will be familiar with. Or someone on the pulse of Montreal’s party scene.

So Tiga tapped Dune for the third volume of Montreal Mix Sessions, and the duo gives us a set of primarily tech-step sounds from acts like DJ Slip and Red One, names not exactly high on the minds of junglists even then, but decent enough offerings just the same. Midway through things go atmospheric and jazzsteppy, EZ Rollers’ Retro, PFM’s One And Only, and London Elektricity’s Song In The Key Of Knife sure to get any old-schooler’s nostalgia centres flaring. Dune returns us to the tech-step with a couple of their own tunes, then finishes out rough and nasty with Dom & Roland’s blinding darkstep cut Homicide. Oh, and a ‘classic call-back’ cut from Digital’s Spacefunk at the very end, because why not.

Montreal Mix Sessions 3’s decent enough for a d’n’b CD, though undoubtedly a victim of its surroundings. Turbo’s the last place junglists will look for music, and I can’t say Tiga’s typical following would find much use for Dune either. Best for local enthusiasts or Turbo completists, then.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Various - Helsinki Mix Sessions: Jori Hulkkonen

Turbo Recordings: 2000

In its infancy, Turbo Recordings primarily focused on a DJ mix series titled Mix Sesssions. Initially an outlet for label-head Tiga, it was soon followed by other acts from Montreal. As he grew chummy with several Scandinavian artists, he also gave them opportunities to feature mixes set from their cities overseas – a small-scale Global Underground! It was only Jesper Dahlbäck and Jori Hulkkonen for those first couple years, but their contributions to Turbo were instrumental in raising the label’s prestige beyond some quirky Canadian imprint. Both brought a fresh sophistication to the deep house scene with their CDs that few were aware possible at the turn of the century, exposing a slew of virtually unknown producers to the electronic scene at large.

Ol’ Jori was still a relatively unknown entity when he put this together, at least outside his native Finland. It’d be another year before he teamed up with Tiga as Zyntherius for the hit Sunglasses At Night, but he’d seen the rounds with various projects before then (including that classic bit of European shenanigan in claiming an ‘American’ sounding name for his tech-house releases – you’re fooling no one ‘Bobby Forester’!). For his debut mix, Mr. Hulkkonen opted for more of a mixtape effort, selecting tracks based on personal preference rather than strong set construction. Helsinki Mix Sessions still maintains a strong, deep house vibe throughout, but it doesn’t flow like most house mixes do, more of a showcase on specific tunes and sounds for short durations while holding a steady groove throughout.

The good news is this makes for a deliciously eclectic CD, running the gamut of electro, Balearic, disco, funk (though not in that order) and other classy European flavours as only the Scandinavian house chaps are masters at. The bad news is, well, obvious: too much stylistic jumping leaves for a rather herky-jerky set, segments often coming to an abrupt end before Jori moves onto something else, with little to no ease between these disparate genres.

This in of itself wouldn’t be a deal breaker though, as I’ve heard plenty sets more musically erratic than this one and enjoyed them. Unfortunately, another problem hampers Helsinki Mix Sessions: the mixdown is incredibly muddy, the low end often drowning everything out. I’ve no idea if it’s weak vinyl sources (you can hear plenty of crackles), a manufacturing fault, or just bad luck on my part, but because of the poor sonics, I’ve hardly ever reached for this disc over the years. Shame it ended up that way, as I’d love to hear these tunes with better audio. Oh well.

Actually, no, that’s not alright. Helsinki Mix Sessions may have come out in Turbo’s early years, but none of the other CDs from Tiga’s label sounded this poor. Dammit, Mr. Sontag needs to amend this travesty. I’m gonna go to Montreal and demand a proper copy of Jori Hulkkonen’s only mix! I don’t care if it takes two weeks to do it, but it must be done!

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 2024 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 Abstrakce Records AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acid trance 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 Aesthetical 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 Antares 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 Arctic Hospital Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts As If 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. 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