DJ 3000 - "Diligence" Mix

Motech: 2009

This is the bonus disc included with DJ 3000's Galactic Caravan album, which I reviewed nine years ago, and also did an Update Review six years ago. Why, then, did I not mention it in either of those write-ups? Complete and utter mental burn-out in the case of the former, that album the last I wrote for TranceCritic before essentially hanging it for good (I got better). As for the latter case, I didn't have an actual hard copy of Galactic Caravan at the time, so never knew of the bonus CD's existence. Check that: Lord Discogs did tell me there was one, but the not-so-proper MP3 copy I'd gotten for review way back when didn't include it, thus I was in no position to discuss something not in my possession. Which, erm, could have been said for a lot of those MP3 rips I acquired for review in the TranceCritic days, but like Hell I could have afforded them all. Had to cut costs somehow.

However, upon indulging myself on a Motech Bandcamp bulk deal, DJ 3000's Galactic Caravan was included in the package. Hey, cool, I can finally have a real copy of the album for my CD shelves (as, um, I should have way back when). Do I really need to do another review/update of it though? No, no I don't, but there's that bonus CD I could wax a few hundred words over. Look at all those additional artists I can talk up: Underground Resistance, Nomadico, Subotika, DJ P-Ben, DJ Compufunk, DJ Dex, DJ Bone. Huh, weird. Usually whenever I see that many “DJ”s in a tracklist, it from a bargain bin knock-off compilation, with names changed from original artists, or one dude running under a zillion aliases. Total coincidence here, I'm sure.

Anyhow, opening track Orbit from DJ Compufunk is definitely some vintage Detroit future-funk. The mix into Los Hermanos' Dazed And Deceived wasn't the smoothest though, its thumping tribal rhythms clashing out of key with Orbit. And oh dear, why is DJ 3000 riding this mix so long? And by the time Dazed And Deceived has settled into its own groove, we're into another rough transition in P-Ben's Believer. Some dope Detroit tech-house tuneage from there, but dear Lord, are these mixes ever rough. What is this, some freebie mix that's only meant as a promotional item and not intended for critical analysis? Oh, it is. Guess that means I'm going about this totally wrong, aren't I?

Yeah, I ain't 'reviewing' this as a DJ set anymore. I mean, it'd have been dope if this was a real-proper commercial set or something, but it's quite clear that's not the point, Diligence little more than a fun bonus, like mixtapes of old, handed out at underground shows. I honestly found it a better listen the less I paid attention to it, generally humming in the background while doing other stuff, critical switch flipped off. Stupid Ableton era's ruined the 'rough mixtape' mystique, hasn't it?

Darren Nye - Emotional Intelligence

FireScope: 2017

This label hasn't released a huge amount of items since B12 launched it a few years back, which is fine because FireScope clearly aims at having each record be something special. Trouble is, and I know this sounds utterly entitled, I feel they could be just a little more. Artwork, lovely! Presentation, wonderful! Music, top grade! Amount of music ...eh, always an EP, never an LP. And I get it, FireScope mostly a digital-and-vinyl outlet – it's great they offer a CD option at all. Whenever I order something from them though, and have to pay that extra-extra shipping cost from the U.K., I just wish I was getting more music for my money, y'know? Again, total nonsense whine here, especially when you compare to what vinyl enthusiasts pay for shipping on the regular. Still, I can't be the only one hoping Brexit happens soon, so the British pound collapses and it won't be so expensive ordering things from- eh? You say the Canadian dollar would likely fall too if that happens? Well, forget it then, Brexit's a silly idea.

Anyhoo, Darren Nye (not the science guy – sorry, sorry, I promise that's the only time I'll do that). He first emerged a decade ago on Organica Music Labworks with a trio of digital EPs, but didn't seem to make much hay from it. However, one John Shima also had an EP out on that label, so when Mr. Shima got an item out on FireScope, I assume he put in a good word for Mr. Nye (being an admitted B12 fan also likely helped grease those wheels), and soon enough Emotional Intelligence emerged on on the label. The experience must have re-invigorated Darren's music-making passion, as he's been on an absolute tear of productivity in the year since, establishing his own SpaceTime digital-label to release material, including aliases such as PlanktonWarrior and The Elusive Man (I understand that reference!).

As for this particular EP, truth is I've not much more to add that I haven't already said on previous FireScope reviews. Though there are differences in how each producer approaches the craft, there's definitely something of a 'house style' running through them all, which is fine. If a label run by the guys behind B12 are comfortable releasing music that sounds like B12 and music by artists who've been inspired by B12 sounding like B12, then that's their prerogative. Works for those of us that dig that B12 stylee, it does.

Opener Things She Said works that spacey, chipper ambient techno vibe, Emulated Emotion goes deeper into the synth pad washes and reverb effects (burble acid!), while Plasmid Soul's rhythm touches closer to the realms of electro than Detroit techno (it's a very thin border, almost a Venn Diagram). Fragments has a thicker, broken beat going for it, a bit rather experimental compared to the other tracks, but Disconnected Reality is a straight-up chill fest, half-tempo dubby rhythms and spaced-out pad work. So retro, so lush.

Skua Atlantic - Atlantic Fusion

Databloem: 2018

This is an item I've had sitting mostly neglected since I got it, however long ago my last Databloem splurge was. I didn't know anything about it, only that it had a blue cover art, the best colour for cover art. I threw it on once, passively listening to it in the background, and generally liking what I heard though not significantly enough to get me hotly anticipating digging into it proper-like for a review. Re-listening to it now, and sure enough more of it sinks in, the sort of ambient techno that reaches deeper into the electro and Detroit lineage, though with plenty o' nods to the mellower side of early Warp Records too. Like Selected Ambient Works 86-92, without the lingering alien synth tones or lurking mad-genius behind every uniquely construction rhythm section.

So I go to Discogs to get my requisite additional info and who's name do I see as part of Skua Atlantic but Mick Chillage. I swear to God, Allah, Vishnu, Buddah, and Spaghetti Monster, I did not know this going in. It was just the blue cover art that caught my attention! And it's not like I would have name-dropped Skua Atlantic when talking about other collaborative projects Mr. Gainford's been part of. Autumn Of Communion with Lee Norris remains his most prominent one, and there was that lone Architects Of Existence a couple years back. This is comparatively new, so you'll forgive me for having not paid attention to everything Mick's been up to – I can only do so much keeping up with his solo works and Autumn Of Communion.

Besides, there's another name here I should talk up, Árni Grétar, more commonly known as Futuregrapher. Okay, maybe not 'commonly', but the guy's had a tidy career under the alias, all the while running the Icelandic print Möller Records (the... Bandcamp... calls...). He mostly sticks to the ambient techno lane as well, but has been known to mix things up with jazzy drum programming and even a little jungle action. Not the most obvious pairing with Chillage, then, but sometimes you need someone outside your main sphere of influence to find truly inspirational sparks of creativity.

And that's what I'm hearing in Atlantic Fusion, as much a meshing of differing approaches to songcraft as flowing along similar senses for sound. I've heard Chillage create retro ambient techno plenty of times, but never retro in this fashion. I can only assume this is Grétar's contribution to the project, though taking in a little of his other works, I notice his ambient markers as well. It's strange how this album can sound futuristic, yet Balearic (ocean waves and seagulls help). Where I'm backpacking across Europe, but hitching rides from flying cars. Take an acid house club stop-over (Metro West (Acid City)), just for the kicks. Atlantic Fusion almost sounds like it should have come out on B12's FireScope label, though I'm glad Databloem released it just the same. T'was a tad cheaper from them.

Modeselektor - Hello Mom!

BPitch Control: 2005

(a Patreon Request)

T'was neigh impossible missing out on Modeselektor throughout the '00s, if anything because of their unique logo. By the time they established their own Monkeytown Records print, you couldn't go anywhere within German tech-house circles without stumbling upon some variation of it. Then they teamed with Apparat to form Moderat, and hoo, were the tech-haus press ever a'twitter over it. They've actually kept that group together ever since as their creative output, Modeselektor receding to the background of DJing and label management. It all had to start somewhere though, so let's go back to beginnings of the Modeselektor empire, all the way back in ...1996? Whoa, too far back! Better at least fast forward to the current millennium, when Misters Bronsert and Szary actually started releasing music under the guise.

So the lads Gernot and Sebastian got chummy with Berlin tastemaker Ellen Allien, whom in a city filled with so-called tastemakers, actually does make hay with her taste. They signed to her BPitch Control print and released a few EPs of left-leaning IDM wonk techno and electro, even getting in on that trendy micro-glitch stuff. Not much of which would have any commercial appeal, is what I'm saying, so the fact they seemed to settle down on the experimentation leading up to this debut album must have had their long-standing fans concerned. Or maybe not, eager to finally hear Modeselektor bust out some club-friendly jams.

I don't know if they expected 'euro-crunk' though, as the Mode-boys likened their opening few tunes off Hello Mom! It sure ain't American crunk; more like 'glitch-grime', but hey, can't let those Brits think you're style-bitin' for a minute. So tracks like Dancingbox, Silikon and Fake Emotion cut up and glitch up their beats and vocals in a super-micro sort of way. Some other tunes are clearly in line with what German clubbers were flailing about to (before the ketamine kicked in), Tetrispack a jolly bouncy electro-house ditty and Kill Bill Vol. 4 reminding you that Alter Ego's Rocker was barely a year old still.

Then there's the IDM stuff. Oh lordy, is there every IDM stuff, sounding as though it's coming from an entirely different album than one with the above tunes. Vote Or Die is the one you all know, a lovely ambient-electro ditty that needed more compilation shine than just James Zabiela's Renaissance set (the great one!). And how can you not adore the retro-Aphex vibes of Ziq Zaq? Or the gothic electro-funk of The Rapanthem? Or the crunchy organ shuffle-crunch of In Loving Memory? Or the Artificial Intelligence techno bliss of I Love You?

Oh, it's because you just wanted more Kill Bill Vol. 4s? Don't worry, mang, there will be plenty of such tunes in the half-decade following this album, though not from Modeselektor. I think. I dunno', I haven't listened to all their output yet. If it's more the middle of Hello Mom! than the outer portions of the album (save closer I Love You), count me intrigued.

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.

Alter Ego - Alter Ego

Harthouse/Harthouse America: 1994/1995

Even with their name right there as the album's title, I doubt most folks would believe you if you told them this was Alter Ego's debut. Oh, the old heads know, though they tend to skip straight to Decoding The Hacker Myth for their Must Have Alter Ego Records Of The '90s; Acid Jesus too, if they want some straight-up techno. Heck, even if folks are savvy enough to know Alter Ego started out on a more chill bent, I'm sure they'll name-drop the album they released before this one (The Primitive Painter as The Primitive Painter) as the more interesting of the two, if nothing else because of how unknown it is (gotta' show off that trainspotter savvy).

Thus in a discography that includes IDM, techno, tech-house, minimal tech-house, electro, faux-electro, and some acid too, Alter Ego stands alone, more a remnant of the ambient dub era of downtempo music than anything Misters Wuttke and Flügel would go on to do. For sure they put their own spin on the sound, but by and large most folks instead regard this album a chill-out option within the early Harthouse catalogue, a companion piece to whatever mellow moments Ralf Hildenbeuten, Oliver Lieb and B-Zet were providing the label. Aside from the laid-back acid vibes of single Soulfree, little from here gets brought up when discussing Alter Ego's body of work.

Well, poo on them, because I quite enjoy Alter Ego for all those reasons! Yeah, it owes a fair deal to ambient dub, but that gives their music much warmth over their more clinical excursions into music-making. If anything, I'd bill this stuff as 'lounge techno', the sort of music you could imagine being played out at a dimly-lit coffee shop while relaxing on a sofa, a warm mug of your favourite caffeinated beverage simmering nearby as you contently flip through some old novel, its spine withered from repeated usage. No, I'm not basing that off the one track titled Sentimental Books, why do you ask?

As mentioned, Soulfree was the lead single, a wonderfully downtempo outing of deep acid grooves. Atomic Playground plays up to its namesake, a playful little ditty of acid, jazz, and dub, while Chinese Eyes lazily bobbles along with dubby acid and lushly warm pads. For those who need their Alter Ego a tad more upbeat, the thirteen-minutes of Nude Restaurant works a nifty, rolling oscillating rhythm as acid and synths percolate throughout, while Tanks Ahead shows off the duo's funkier side of acid electro (small wonder The Black Dog tapped this one to remix). And as is required of most techno albums of the day, we get the obligatory ambient closer in Undersea Girl, about as warm a piece of ambience as I've ever heard from anyone of the era, wrapping you in thick blankets of synthy timbre while spacey acid bubbles to the ocean surface from Atlantian depths. Yes, I've had this album so long, it's practically painted canvases within my brain matter. How it do?

Vector Lovers - Afterglow

Soma Quality Recordings: 2007

I sure wasn't expecting this. My lone exposure to Vector Lovers around this point was the Late Shift / Babette EP, two tracks clearly with tech-house DJs in mind, and which I assumed his most recent album, Afterglow, mostly focused on. Never mind neither track appeared on the album, and that they were released on a label that has nothing to do with Mr. Wheeler's usual outlet. It's just standard practice that, within a window of a couple years, the music on EPs will sound like the music on LPs. And while those were fine for what they are, they didn't urge me to check out Afterglow, presumptuous as I was in thinking it'd be a record full of the stuff. I mean, geez, there wasn't any of the electro-anime aesthetic that made me love his self-titled debut.

I was half-right. Afterglow is definitely a much different beast compared to Vector Lovers and Capsule For One. Rather than dealing with feelings of loneliness in a hyper-technological age though, this album shoots far further into the future, in the aftermath of a nuclear wasteland. There's still that characteristic Martin Wheeler melancholy lurking in the melodies, but they're far more sparse and isolated, a sadder, darker tone permeating the atmosphere as a barely surviving civilization comes to grips with just how fucked up shit has turned.

Okay, Afterglow may not specifically be about that. I mean, that ominous mushrooming glow in the background of the cover art could be the sun setting over a hilltop. On the other hand, the opening track is called Half-Life, which mostly features Geiger Counter pops, despondent strings, and the sounds of something scuffling through abandoned radio frequencies. I'm pretty sure the Fallout games start like that.

Following Half-Life, we get tracks with titles like Far Side Of The Tracks, Rusting Cars And Wild Flowers, Piano Dust, and Dusk Panorama, all painting a rather bleak and desolate vista from which this music dwells. And things don't lighten within the the tunes themselves, a fair bit of empty space and twitchy experimentation going on throughout. Even the tracks with those vintage twee Vector Lovers melodies can't escape the ominous overtones. Example: an inky, oozing bassline accompanying the chipper, sliding leads in A Field. Of what few 'upbeat' tunes Martin provides, even they can't escape the omnipresent gloom. Crash Premonition features what sounds like klaxon bells echoing from the distance before settling into a groovy tech-house number, complete with lyrics about the freedom of the open road, long lost in this wasteland. No funky dancing robots in this place.

Overall, Afterglow reminds me of Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest, similar ideas and themes explored, though through Wheeler's electro-glitch lens. And despite a slight glimmer of hope emerging in the titular closer (nature reclaiming its lost lands), this is one depressing album. It's a good kind of depression, mind you, the sort you savour for rainy days, but man, do I need to mentally prep for it before going in.

ACE TRACKS: October 2018

Just how important is it that I physically own a CD before I review it? Clearly not the most important factor, as I've reviewed a number of releases without holding a tactile object within my fingers beforehand (wait...). Even beyond digital-only items as found on Bandcamp, there's a few vinyl-options I've skipped on in favour of the digital (egh, I feel dirty typing that) because beginning a collection of the Black Crack is just not a feasible option for your truly. Plus, I've started the painful acceptance that some CDs are likely never attainable for any reasonable price, so why deny myself of releases (and the artists their financial compensation) if the non-physical option is available. And let's not forget, way back in my TranceCritic days, a large number of reviews were written from, erm, less-than legit sources. We were young, we didn't have the money!

That's probably part of why I feel it necessary that I do things proper-like now, to make amends for cheating the game before. More than that though, I feel reviewing something off a stream – legit or otherwise – is cheating as well. What right do I have in dropping extended critiques of music if I'm not willing to put in my own personal time and money into it? It's no better than writing an overlong YouTube comment, and I'd like to think this blogging thing has a smidge more class than that. Also, if I did open my reviewing options to everything Spotify has available, then I'd be obligated to cover all the new stuff, all the time. When will I have time to review Moonshine compilations from 1999 then? Alright, soul bearing over, here's the ACE TRACKS for the month of October:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Scott Grooves - Key Statements - The Beginning: The Soiree Collection 1992-1995
Miami Beach Force - The Revenge
Scott Grooves - Pure Mixin' It: A Decade of Natural Midi 2007-2017
Autumn Of Communion - Polydeuces
Cryogenic Weekend - Polar Sleep

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 6%
Most “WTF?” Track: Easy choice would be a GosT tune, but I didn't include any of the truly WTF?? tracks off Possessor.

I don't know how this playlist sounds! Okay, I know how the music goes and all that, but how it flows together, I haven't a clue. I simply had no time for it, see. I usually throw these together a day or two before the end of the month, give it a once over, and move on. However, with a couple Patreon Request items finally arriving in the mail, those have taken up my prime listening time instead of this. So, uh, y'all may be venturing into musical territory I've yet to experience with this one, friends. Have at 'er!

Various - Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau

Ghostly International: 2002

I wanted Legowelt's Disco Rout. Okay, I technically already have Legowelt's Disco Rout, but as part of a DJ mix (Sound Of The Third Season, as long time readers know). I wanted it in all its pure form though, preferably in an album context. Trouble is, Danny Wolfers never released a Legowelt album that included Disco Rout, just a single on Cocoon Recordings. T'was my hunt to be thwarted by personal collecting limitations? Not so, Disco Rout also doing a little compilation duty back in the day, the Ghostly International CD Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau the first of such outings. And, ooh, look at all these other electroclash acts on here: ADULT., I-F, DMX Krew, Lowfish, Hong Kong Counterfeit, Mat-101...

Right, calling most of these guys and gals electroclash is a bit of a stretch. Like so much retro-leaning music at the turn of the century, it all got lumped under the banner when lazy music journalists needed a quick, clever, catchy, contemporary tag for an old thing that simply hadn't much popularity in the decade prior. What's funny is all their tripping and falling over being at the forefront of the zeitgeist was for nought, electroclash essentially done as a movement by the time even this CD hit the shelves. A few acts carried on the original sleazy, ironic ethos, but soon enough folks were making proper synth-pop or electro without having their tongues so deeply embedded within their cheeks.

Honestly, that change is apparent even with Tangent 2002. I've no doubt that Ghostly International was looking to capitalize on a reinvigorated electro fad, but the artists on here display little of the sleaze that labels like International Deejays Gigolo helped create the image-conscious scene that was electroclash. Also, despite not loading this compilation up with big, obvious names (I think ADULT. had the most market presence, for no other reason than they often compared to Miss Kittin & The Hacker), quite a few of the artists featured on this compilation already had well-established music careers, making quirky electro, poppy techno, and synthy EBM on a lark. They didn't need electroclash added to their resume, but it's cool that they indulged in it for a bit.

One of the things that really struck me about the music on here is just how solid the songcraft is. Whether chipper electro-house (Susumu Tokota's Re: Disco, Charles Manier's Change You), space-age synth-pop (Solvent's My Radio, DMX Krew's Make Me, Memory Boy's (There Is No) Electricity), weirdo Detroitisms (Ectomorph's Lost Angles, I-F's Holographic Voice), or regular ol' deadpan electroclash (ADULT.'s Nite Life, Hong Kong Counterfeit's Metal Disco (Legowelt vs Orgue Electronique Mix)), it's all boss, with none of the insufferable irony that suffocated the scene's original momentum. And glory be, it's wonderful hearing such retro sounds with experienced musicians behind them. Not to knock all the synthwavers down, but it's quite apparent how many of them are still at the amateur level compared to this stuff. Give 'em time though, give 'em time.

Plaid - Reachy Prints

Warp Records: 2014

I've gotten the Most Important Plaid album (Not For Threes) and the latest (because it was there), but there's a hefty clutch of material between those two points, not much of which gets talked about. You'd think Warp Records would be more generous in promoting the Plaid discography, veterans of their label and all, but then it's not like the duo have the same clout other IDM wonks on the print. Everyone with a passing familiarity with electronic music knows of Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Squarepusher (because journalists keep name-dropping them as bases of comparison... *cough*), but poor Plaid gets lost in the shuffle.

On the other hand, the duo didn't do themselves many favours following the turn of the millennium. Most of their '00s was spent getting into the soundtrack gig, leading some to wonder whether they'd given up on regular Plaid output. An album called Scintilli eventually popped up in 2011, but folks didn't hear much on there that lit their world on fire, plus the duo almost immediately went back to work on another score, so things looked dicey for the Plaid-Heads of the world. I don't know what a hardcore Plaid fan is called. A Flaid?

Scintilli had some supporters, mind you, but it seems with Reachy Prints, the global Flaid brigade finally got the album they'd been waiting on for over a decade, a return to form for the purveyors of clever beatcraft, charming melodies, and all the things Flaids enjoy from Plaid. There are a couple nods to contemporary trends (glitchy rhythms, etc.) but seeing as how Plaid were doing contemporary trends long before they were trendy or contemporary, things fit quite snugly within their larger discography while sounding not a touch out of time. Except maybe Liverpool St, the obligatory orchestral tune that sounds better served in a soundtrack. Just can't shake that itch, I guess. All said, Reachy Prints is a lovely little album, if rather short, but is a nice entry point for those who haven't been swayed by Plaids muse yet, even if they still aren't doing that 'super-serious challenging IDM' stuff their Warp Records brethren are known for.

And that's when it finally hit me as to why Plaid never seemed to get the same name-drops as the Aphexes and Autechres, despite hailing from the same ambient techno lineage: their brand of IDM isn't 'challenging' enough for the true critics and connoisseurs of this scene. You know the ones, who are very serious about how they listen to music, and can only accept it if it's actively fighting the brain's natural biases and disposition towards rhythm and melody. Plaid's music ain't like that, at least to not the same extreme, so of course all the Very Important Talkers aren't always talking 'bout them. Me though, I'm not very important at all, so have no problem talking Plaid, and I'm talking up Reachy Prints if you need a nice, easy, tasty primer into their work.

Lusine - A Certain Distance

Ghostly International: 2009

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

Jeff McIlwain (ergh, there's that 'upper case, lower case' thing again) seems like the sort of producer I should have stumbled upon more recently than via a Patreon Request. And while I do have a single track of his under his L'usine handle, it comes care of a James Zabiela Renaissance Masters set that must have completely passed me by, as I failed to name-drop him in that review. Yet taking in his back-catalogue, I'm hearing things I like, and would have vibed on had I come across them sooner. Well, maybe not so much that self-titled first album, itself treading into the sterile domain of serious IDM. Following that though, it seems Mr. McIlwain fell sway to Boards Of Canada-itis, slowing his songcraft down to a laid-back trip-hop tempo with warm, hazy melodies, while still retaining some of his glitchier tendencies. Then Wolfgang Voigt made shoegazey ambient dronescapes popular with Pitchfork sorts, so we got to hear a little of that as well in subsequent albums. Along the way, Jeff hooked up with Ghostly International, they the home of such Very Important people in the world of techno like Matthew Dear, Solvent, Tycho, and Com Truise. Ah, that's probably why I kinda' flaked on L'usine: my nonsensical instinct to bypass labels techno journalists sing praises of. I blame minimal's overexposure for this gut reaction. No no, it's fine, minimal all too aware of its past sins – it's a burden it can bear.

Anyhow, despite having crafted a half-dozen LPs by the end of the '00s, A Certain Distance was only McIlwain's second proper album with Ghostly International (Podgelism being a remix album of Serial Hodgepodge). Trends had definitely continued changing in all that time, and Jeff had no problem keeping his L'usine project at pace with them. Oh yes, there's blip-bloop, white-noise tech-haus on here, though only one track, Every Disguise. Ignore its hilariously dated hausiness, and enjoy the tunes that haven't dated so much.

Yeah, that opener Operation Costs, with it's low-key electro funk and toasty-crisp glitch, that's the stuff (apparently also the tune on that aforementioned Zabiela set – how did I miss this?). Or how about a song that wouldn't be out of place on a classic Hed Kandi chill-out CD, Two Dots a peppy electro glitch-pop romp featuring soul-jazz singing from Vilja Larjosto - Twilight and, to a lesser extent, Gravity, also get in on that action. Wait, you came here because you fell sway to L'usine's earlier IDM-hop? Don't worry, Jeff has you covered with Tin Hat and Baffle. And don't worry, disc-jockeys, you get your dancefloor pounds of flesh as well in Crowded Room (smooth electro house) and Cirrus (pure crowd pleasing anthem, in that muted Booka Shade vein). Man, hearing how effective these two tracks are only highlights how out-of-place Every Disguise comes off. Please don't tell me Every Disguise somehow ended up the most rinsed-out tune off this album. A Certain Distance has far better tunes on it than that one.

Plaid - Not For Threes

Warp Records: 1997

All that mumble-jumbo I said regarding digging into an act's extensive discography? Kinda' moot point when it comes to Plaid's Not For Threes. There's some history behind this album, see, making it one of the duo's more essential LPs out of their discography. The Black Dog was...well, not dead, but when Ed Handley and Andy Turner left Ken Downie to his own devices, there certainly was uncertainty in the air. Could The Black Dog brand continue without their input? What would Misters Handley and Turner do for themselves? Might they explore solo careers, or carry on with their older Plaid alias before The Black Dog stuff overwhelmed their careers? Well, obviously we know the answer to the latter one, as Plaid carries on to this day, but man who saw that in ye' olde year of 1997? Hell, some folks thought we were all gonna' die within three years!

Not that those in the know wouldn't know of Ed and Andy's prior work under the Plaid moniker, having already released an album via Black Dog Productions, Mbuki Mvuki, but it didn't have the same recognition as their work in association with Ken Downie. Not For Threes (is this a dig on their former three-person group? Was there bad-blood in the Black Dog break-up?) had the task of not only marking Plaid as their own entity, but convince Black Dog disciples they were as worthy of their attention as anything released in those seminal years. Getting a couple popular vocalists in Nicolette (Shut Up And Dance, Massive Attack) and Björk (endless namedrops) to contribute some lyrics didn't hurt. Ain't no one sang with Black Dog back then.

Sticking with Warp Records no doubt helped the transition, and the clipper-clop beats and funky-quirky melodic electro of opener Abla Eedio likely allayed any lingering hesitation. They were staying the IDM lane, and going as idiosyncratic with their songcraft as ever. Kortisin, Myopia and Fer are chipper, funky jaunts down tropical boulevards. Headspin gets in on that hyper-jazz trend Squarepusher was, um, pushing. Prauge Radio shows they can be just as noisy bastards as Aphex Twin at his drill 'n' bassiest. Or they could go as mellow as a Balearic dawn, as in Rakimou. Ol reminds you of those heady ambient techno days. Ladyburst sounds like something from a Gorillaz D-side. Lilith has Ms. Björk doing her thing over a skittery trip-hop beat, while Nicolette provides her soul croon to an equally sketchy trip-hop outing in Extork. Milh lets the Plaid boys have their modern classical indulgence. Getting sounds like... a deep-dive jazz session in a SNES game?

And there's plenty more charming IDM wonkery littered throughout Not For Threes, which is nice for those who prefer their IDM a little on the sane side of the apple cart. Why, you might even say Not For Threes is the Plaid album you should have, even if you're not a Plaid fan.

Alex Smoke - Incommunicado

Soma Quality Recordings: 2005

Yet another item I picked up in my Soma Quality Recordings splurge, for a reason that should be obvious to anyone. See, despite neglecting him for so long, I've long been a fan of Alex Smoke, from his appearance in Chris Fortier's impeccable contribution to the Balance series (three! CDs!) to his closing out of Marco Carola's contribution to the fabric series, ending that abysmal mix of minimal techno and giving me a sense of relief. Okay, none of that's actually true. I picked Incommunicado up because the samples I heard weren't all minimal (an impressive feat for a techno album in the mid '00s), the cover art looked cool (gotta' love radio telescopes!), and it was a release from the year 2005, a year I've sorely neglected for over a decade now (has finally caught up to 2011 tho'!).

Anyhow, Alex Smoke (Mr. Menzies to the Glasgowian Guard) pretty much got his production break right off the bat, scoring a minor techno hit with his Chica Wappa single on Soma, from which this debut album came a year after. He stuck things out with Soma for a few more years (plus several more records) before striking out on his own with his own label in Hum+Haw. That didn't last too long though, and more recently he's been releasing material through R & S Records, with a few one-offs on various labels. Not to mention his time spent DJing, but that's practically a given with most UK techno dudes anyway. Overall, a fairly typical techno career, one that's earned Mr. Smoke enough buzz that folks recognize his name whenever it crops up.

Having a solid debut album certainly helps though, and Incommunicado definitely is that. Released when minimal was becoming the trendiest shit around, but not so trendy that it dominated everything everywhere everyhow, it gives everyone a bit of every-techno you could every-want in every-2005.

For sure you get the classic stuff like Chica Wappa and OK, stuff more on a minimalist bent like Lost In Sound, and stuff on the trendy, blippy-bloopy minimal bent like Nuance and Passing Through. Look, few knew just how massive minimal was gonna' be at that point, so Alex may as well cover his bases a little there. Besides, his offerings are perfectly fine for that sound, by no means as plodding as the genre would turn in but a couple short years.

Elsewhere, you get experimental electro cuts (Coda & Clang, Recess), some moody tech-house tracks with digital vocals (No Consequence, Don't See The Point, Ditto), a melodic breakbeat tune (6AM), an... electro-house (?) track with Brian's Lung, and whatever strange, abstract glitchy trip-hop thing Jah Future is supposed to be. Cool, is what I call it, only adding to Incommunicado's eclecticism. All these diversions might be a bit much for those who were expecting this album to be a pure minimal techno outing (because 2005), but without that variety, I wouldn't have picked this up. It's what's important.

Spacetime Continuum - Emit Ecaps

Astralwerks: 1996

The whole kerfuffle surrounding a dodgy re-issue of Jonah Sharp's Sea Biscuit did result in one positive: rekindling my interest in his old Spacetime Continuum project. I always assumed it was among those nigh-impossible to acquire discographies, released in ultra-limited fashion or on hopelessly obscure labels. Well, Sea Biscuit was on Fax +49-69/450464 (among other collaborative works with Namlook), and Mr. Sharp did have his own print, Reflective, which was about as underground as it got back-when (though the lads at Ninja Tune liked them). In any event, preconceived notions confirmed, amirite? Yeah, then I learned Jonah was also signed to Astralwerks, possibly one of America's longest, most respected electronic music promoters. They partnered with the almighty Virgin, fer' crise'sakes! How an ambient techno guy got signed to a label that promoted the likes of Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim blows my mind, but then Astralwerks did lean that way at their start too. Couldn't resist those almighty Virgin dolla's tho'!

And as Astralwerks was plenty profitable during the compact disc's glory years, there's plenty copies of Spacetime Continuum floating about, making gathering some vintage Jonah Sharp far easier than I'd ever have anticipated. I haven't gotten all the albums, mind you (that collaboration with Terence McKenna seems a little too out there for my interests), a couple mid-'90s items suiting me just fine. And as always, alphabetical stipulation starts us off with one of Mr. Sharp's lesser known works, his alias Emit Ecaps. No, wait, that's the name of the album, Emit Ecaps just a couple one-off tunes for compilations. What does 'emit ecaps' even mean? I keep thinking drugs.

As for the album, Emit Ecaps, you can definitely tell it sprung from the mid-'90s, when electronic music scenes were frequently cross-pollinating, yet it's rather timeless too. Opener Iform gets down with that funky electro business, but doesn't sound retro in the slightest. Follow-up Kairo starts off in ambient techno's lane, but somehow gradually morphs into jazzstep d'n'b before shifting onto an ambient dub path – Sharp sure makes good use of the twelve minutes dedicated to this track.

And the genre fusion doesn't let up. While electro, Detroit techno (of course) and dub tend to dominate Sharp's aesthetic, there are nuggets of other genres scattered throughout too. Out Here spends a significant chunk of its time being flighty, bleepy space ambient before dropping some solid techno thump for its final minute. Vertigo has some kind of jungle-breaks bleep ambient techno thing going for it (and is pretty darn dope while doing it). Pod pairs grumbly technobass with floaty electro melodies, perfect for cruising the Oceanus Procellarum Boulevard. Funkyar could almost be a tech-house track, if it didn't stutter-pause its rhythm so often.

Listening through Emit Ecaps, I realize it's perhaps a tad too 'IDM' for the sort of customer base Astralwerks had started cultivating in '96, which sadly caused it to slip through the cracks. There's no excuse overlooking this little electro gem these days though.

John Shima - Elements Unknown

FireScope: 2017

But really, how cool is FireScope Records? Like, obviously B12's little label won't win many ultra-hip awards anytime soon, but the print is so deliciously retro, it can't remain a hidden treasure much longer. From the ageless spacey techno they promote, to the pulp sci-fi artwork their releases adorn, it has everything folks fond of phuture muzik can hope for. My only gripe is shipping from them is brutal expensive, but that's what I get for living in the coastal paradise that is the Pacific Northwest (we have our down days too). Or still handing out for physical copies. Could be worse though. I could be ordering the vinyl options, and Lord Nelly is the shipping costs for that beyond brutal – like, BDSM for the music connoisseur. Puts 'buying the vinyl' into perspective though.

When the boys behind B12 started expanding their label to include more artists, John Shima was the first to get the nod. Something of a journeyman producer, Mr. Shima first made his debut with the Fader EP on digital-only label Red Robot Records in 2010, offering up three tracks of deliberately throwback Detroit techno. Fine and dandy, though I don't think many folks noticed it at the time, as techno itself was still in the throes of navel-gazing minimalism, and why should anyone give much care that a UK guy was making Detroit techno. Only Detroit dudes and German guys could make Detroit techno in 2010, if any were making it at all.

John though, he kept plugging along, releasing single after single on label after label, even appearing on that Touched Bass cancer benefit a whole slew of techno producers contributed to. I suspected in the Bauri review that this project was how he came into contact with B12, and now we have another suspect in this FireScope drafting! Once is happenstance, twice a coincidence, but if I come across a third producer from that compilation also on FireScope...

If you've been following Mr. Shima's career since his start, then you'll be in fine, familiar hands with Elements Unknown. Of course, the odds of that being the case with my reader-base is astronomically low, so here's an obligatory rundown of the four tracks present. Elements: nice, chill spacey vibe, with soft electro beats and burbling acid bassline. Symbols: more pure Detroit on the rhythm end, including a little thudding 808, all the while spaced-out synths and blippy-bloopy melodies ride in support. Implant: straight-forward techno, this one, though spacey, loopy, and melodic; could easily fit in an old-school Laurent Garnier 'trance' set. Illuminate: back to the downbeat electro vibes, or ambient techno if you will, since it totally would have made the cut on one an Artificial Intelligence compilations.

Which is great, if you dig that era of techno! Or not, if you don't know it all. Yeah, Elements Unknown doesn't shake the FireScope stylee one iota, but then I doubt B12 brought John Shima on for any other reason than to stay their course.

Ladytron - 604

Emperor Norton: 2001/2004

Phase 1 Ladytron had such a college-kid cool about them. You could easily imagine them hanging out at the A/V rec room in their matching Atari sports jackets, fiddling with archaic analog synths for fun. Or catch them chilling at a bubble-tea cafe between classes talking up Kraftwerk and Human League, lamenting such music lost artifacts of a bygone era. Following a late-night jaunt at an off-grid nightclub offering overplayed '80s hits, they'd hang out at an after-hours noodle house, sharing overheard stories of love-sick peers. Then they'd get it in their heads that all these interests could translate into some throwback synth-pop of their own. No pretense of super-stardom or something as daft as spearheading an ironic retro-revival. They had neither the interest, nor the marketing to accomplish as such. Just music-making on a shoestring budget, using used gear long abandoned by the industry at large, performing songs of a simple, intimate nature. Something like that, anyway.

While Ladytron was quick to grow and evolve from these humble roots, I find myself returning to their debut album more than the others, for no other reason than it captures the band in a moment they couldn't replicate if they tried. They gained more gear, stronger song-writing ability, and overall better production in subsequent records, thus there's an undeniable charm in hearing early fussing about with comparatively clunky keyboards and bulky synths, wrestling with an off-key hook while a melancholy organ melody quavers overtop and Helen Marnie sing-whispers about doomed relationships... I dunno', there's just something strangely relatable here.

It's like the difficulty and unpredictability of their gear mirrors the difficulty and unpredictability of navigating relationships within their songs. Wondering whether the drunken mess you're going out with is worth your while, or whether the big-city life you wanted is as you'd imagined while living in a small town. These aren't world-shattering matters, but when you're young and aimless, having the chance to spend another breakfast with someone, anyone, can feel like the most important event ever. Musing over a boy taking the same girl you took to a movie never sounded so poignant, except perhaps as warbled by acoustic folkies.

That the topics in these songs are as simple as their paired synth-pop melodies, some thought Ladytron's act was initially a gimmick (hence them getting lumped in with gimmick electroclash groups). After two decades of studio advances, why would anyone make pop music with such difficult music contraptions, some of which barely created sounds that could be considered musical? It definitely got them noticed out of the pack though, a group crafting surprisingly catchy tunes while sounding as rough and unpolished as any garage rock band of the day. At a time when pop music was as slick and corporate as it would ever be, hearing something just as ear-friendly but far more authentic and real was almost a God-send for Serious Music Aficionados. Why yes The White Stripes were also very popular around this time, why do you ask?

Laurent Garnier - 30

F Communications: 1997

Though 30 is Laurent Garnier's second full-length album, I always think of it as his first. Or at least, the start of his musical kleptomania taking hold. His first album, Shot In The Dark, was a strict techno exercise, more a gathering of tunes rinsed out at his Wake Up club night. Upon entering his third decade of travelling around Sol, however, the famed Frenchman was itching to stretch his muse beyond dancefloor tools. A few smatterings of tracks across aliases nudged him into areas like house and trance, but there be broken-beats out there too, by g'ar.

You know you're in for a Serious Artistic Album when your opener is two minutes of minimalist, moody ambient. Deep Sea Diving certainly imparts a sense of dwelling among the Drexciyan fish-folk, though as it doesn't relate much to the rest of the album, comes off superfluous as an opener. Might have made for a decent mid-record intermission though.

From there, we get a few varieties of techno. Sweet Mellow D and Mid Summer Night get in on that freeform Detroit action, teasing out a steady rhythm for almost excruciating lengths, though when that kick hits, it doesn't stick for long. At the other end of the spectrum, we get Crispy Bacon and Flashback, straight-forward techno bangers, with the latter indulging a fair bit of acid too. Unsurprisingly, these were the main singles off 30, since this was the sound most folks familiar with Garnier would be after.

One track preceded those, an almost novelty limited edition records called The Hoe. It samples the line “She ain't nuthin' but a hoe”, looping and cutting it up into a ghetto techno cut that, save some simple strings in the back-half, sounds nothing like Laurent's typical output. Surely the Frenchman has more class than this in his music, though DJ Hell got enough of a kick out of it to provide a remix. And not just as a one-off, 'ghetto-tech' cuts also appearing in the form of electro in Kallit! and I Funk Up. Yep, ol' Laurent was getting himself in on that electro-revival just as it was set to blow up, though I doubt anyone noticed it here. Too enamoured by Crispy Bacon.

There's also a trip-hop outing in For Max, a little reggae techno-dub in Theme From Larry's Dub, a dash of deep house in Feel The Fire, an ethereal outro with chanting, drumming, and synths cribbed from Go To Sleep, plus assorted gimmick interludes, including what I assume is Laurent's child giggling in *?*.

As you can tell, 30 is an album that's all over the place, good tracks scattered among genre dalliances that have been done better elsewhere, including within Laurent's future discography. The tonal clash between some tunes is jarring, to say the least, and I'm not sure how The Hoe could have fit in with anything else here. Folks'll find 30 is best served as a bridge between two different eras of Garnier's production career.

ZerO One - zerO One

Waveform Records: 1998

I never realized this before, though it makes perfect sense with nearly twenty years (!) of hindsight available. Through the high times and the lows, it seems the two acts that have consistently kept the lights on at Waveform Records HQ is ZerO One and Sounds From The Ground, and now that I've taken in plenty of their offerings, I understand why. Kevin Dooley, he has a similar songcraft sensibility to Misters Elliot Jones and Nick Woolfson, striking that perfect middle-ground of competently made, easy-going, dubby downtempo vibes. Never have I heard anything from them that was bad, boring, or bunk, but seldom do they reach the upper echelons of their genre either. Very, very good, absolutely, some tunes doing that heart melting thing many downtempo acts have subjected the ol' blood pumper to. I can't say I'd ever recommend ZerO One or Sounds From The Ground as an introductory act to this scene though, their roles more like a hearty side-dish complimenting the main course. Buttery mashed potatoes to the beef-steak of Kruder & Dorfmeister and Higher Intelligence Agency. Yet, for as long as they've floated around each other's circles, it's surprising they haven't collaborated at some point. Strange, that.

Anyhow, it all starts somewhere, and for Mr. Dooley, that's with a two-decade old (!!) self-titled debut album. Amazing that the ZerO One brand has kept on keepin' to this day, as listening to this CD in the context of the year 1998, I'm surprised anyone gave it much notice. Ambient techno such as this hadn't been in vogue for at least a half-decade, vanguards of the sound like HIA and Autechre having moved on with their respective careers to other pastures. If you were making super-chill electro-dub, chances were you were adopting contemporary production tricks like glitch effects or retro synths into your arsenal. Not ZerO One though, his stuff simple and refined – no need for fussy gimmicks when your musicianship if perfectly fine as is. And Waveform Records, they like themselves some MOR ambient dub more than anything else. Keeps the label's followers sated while they indulge in leftfield shoegaze rock, or whatever it was that Liquid Zen dude was on about.

Now that I've reached the third paragraph, it's time for the obligatory particulars among the eight tracks that make up zerO One. Waken and Trust have nifty little acid lines playing throughout. Nothing To Fight About and Hell is Cooling Off playfully bounce along, while On The Threshold gets as close to ambient techno as I've ever heard Mr. Dooley go. If you want something straight out of HIA's cookbook, super-chill Mind Over Mind has you covered. And I can't complete this review without tying it back to Sounds From The Grounds somehow, so Seek Not Outside Yourself and I Like That reminds me of that duo, if they'd been brought up in electro's realm instead. Seriously, why haven't these two camps collaborated yet? I'm sure Waveform wouldn't mind in the slightest.

ACE TRACKS: December 2017

That's another Gregorian calendar done, and there's one thing I can say I'm truly disappointed in this past orbit of Sol. No, not American politics, I got over that almost immediately – if anything, things could have turned out even worse if they didn't have some of the densest idiots running that daycare circus. Some other projects kinda' stalled this year, but that's not entirely in my hands, so I can let that slide. And while the world has had its ups and downs, I'm strangely okay with how things are heading. Maybe it's blinkered optimism or complacency, but for all the rough, nasty crap folks had to endure, I feel like it was as though lancing a festering boil that had grown into a vicious tumour, a necessary operation for things to get better. It was a year of shitty people over-reaching with their shittiness, and actually getting called out for it, some even suffering consequences from it. It's a start.

No, what irks me the most about 2017 is it was somehow my least productive year, at least with regards to this blog. Of these past five years, I've generated the least amount of new reviews, and while that's partly due to taking a month off, that doesn't provide my only excuse. Hell, I did the same in 2014, and still cranked out a bunch of reviews then. And yes, other projects did take up some time, but I was still taking college classes in 2013, which were just as much a distraction as anything. Really, I got nothing, the lower review turnout just an inexplicable happenstance of the year 2017. And of course, this means I'm somehow still not finished with my regular alphabetical run. This decade though, I promise!

Anyhow, here's the ACE TRACKS for December of 2017.


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
WestBam - The Roof Is On Fire
Various - Quinq
SiJ & Item Caligo - Queer Reminiscence
Out Of The Box - Out Of The Box
Various - Nu Balance
Lorenzo Montanà - Nihil

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 4%
Most “WTF?” Track: If not Oak Ridge Boys again, maybe Wednesday Campanella, just for how unexpected it is.

Yep, three months later, and the alphabetical backlog is still chugging along. I've only just hit the 'S' portion of it now, and trust me, like it's regular queue brother, 'S' is a beast – will take me at least half a month to get through that. Then it's onto 'T', 'U', etc. I'd like to say I'll be finished with everything by spring, but, y'know...

WestBam - The Roof Is On Fire

TRS Records: 1991

Every nation has that one DJ that breaks 'rave culture' to the masses, promoting popular parties, club nights, and artists to such a degree they become legends within their respective countries. Britain had Paul Oakenfold. America had Frankie Bones. Even Canada had Chris Shepperd. In Germany, though, one Maximilian Lenz was undoubtedly The Man who became synonymous with 'techno'. Already a disc jockey of some note in Berlin, he performed at the first Love Parade (and most others after), organized the massive Mayday rave which drew over an unprecedented five-thousand souls, and continued to be a prominent personality throughout the ensuing decades. Oh, and some consider him a shameless, commercial sell-out milking that initial goodwill for all it's worth, a template emulated by future media whores like Tiesto and David Guetta. A divisive figure then, this WestBam chap.

One thing he isn't known for, however, is producing major hits. Some popular tunes, sure (especially Love Parade anthems), and Finland loved his stuff for a brief time. At no point has WestBam ever cracked the lucrative American market though, despite knowing enough famous folks on this side of the Atlantic that he should have. Hell, his last album, released in 2013, had features from Iggy Pop, Kanye West and Lil Wayne! If that don't get you attention here, I don't know what will.

Really, his career often shows love for American dance music, his earliest works mostly electro and house jams he'd use as tools for DJ sets. He released quite a few singles in the late '80s, consolidating them into an album called The Cabinet. This was repurposed a couple years later into The Roof Is On Fire for American distribution, and *whoof*, did it not age well even in that short amount of time.

Electronic music can sound dated but still be interesting in the songcraft holds up, but WestBam was far from honing whatever production talent he had at that point. This sounds like he's still in DJ-mode, tracks made of existing drum breaks and overused sample kits to be spliced and looped on the fly, some turntable scratching thrown in for good measure, but no care given to making them memorable tunes. This may work fine when you're DJing and all, but in an album format, this is some drab, dry, dull stuff. Seriously, did he not have any other samples than monkey “whooping”?

The Roof Is On Fire isn't a complete write-off, the house tunes faring better than the rest. Hold Me Back is a surprisingly solid slice of hip-house action, the titular cut is fun enough with 'speak'n'spell' vocals and crowd noises, and WestBam's nods towards New Beat's domain (The Wall, Cold Stomper) are welcome enough diversions in this album. The rest, however, is total pants, annoying novelty tracks that could barely hold muster even when new, much less now. You might enjoy it if you've a fondness for chintzy '80s sample-musik, but for most folks, WestBam's production career starts after this.