Various - Fabric 74: Move D

Fabric: 2014

Seeing Move D as part of the Fabric legacy feels strange to me. He's as worthy a contributor as anyone, but for so long, I've associated Mr. Moufang with a totally different aspect of electronic music. Music out on more experimental labels like BineMusic and ...txt, collaborations with dudes known for ambient and dub (HIA and Pete Namlook ...holy cow, did those two ever have musical simpatico going for them!) than anything fashionable. That's just a small slice of his entire oeuvre though, the chap appearing on all manner of house and techno labels at any given time, easily fitting in with the trends of the day as resisting and ignoring them. It's a testament to Dave's insane work rate that followers of one corner of his discography can remain entirely ignorant of another. Yes, I'm totally using that as my excuse for being utterly thrown for a loop after playing Fabric 74.

So this is a house set. A throwback house set, the sort of bump 'n grind vibe that defined the eastern American seaboard of the early '90s. One that makes me think of vintage Strictly Rhythm, and not just because it includes one of that label's defining singles in Darkman's Annihilating Rhythm. There's a few tunes from 'back in the day' included, but many more that were released within the early 2010s, doing their damnedest to sound like the early '90s. Was this when some folks were trying to call the latest incarnation of retro revival house music 'future house'? Memory's getting a bit hazy on that, so many retro revivals of house music having come and gone now, it may as well have always been around. Yes, the 'retro revival' is probably older than the original gap between eras!

So Dave doesn't throw a single bone to the ambient techno contingent? Not a single nod to his Deep Space Network roots? Well, a little. Juju & Jordash's Loosey Goosey features spritely synths dancing over a tech-house rhythm, while his own Luvbyrds has more in common with Balearic chill than anything house (so many twittering birds). In between those two cuts, however, is a nod to ol' school speed garage, Roots from Last Magpie. And yes, it's a straight-up homage, the 2013 EP it came out on titled 1995. It's got the UK garage 'wuu-ub wuu-ub wu-wu-woouub' bassline, it's got the time-stretched vocals, and even the sirens. I mean, it's about as tasteful as you could make it as an homage, including some nice pad work that wouldn't sound out of place in most atmospheric jungle of the day. It's just, y'know, I'm hearing it in a set from the same guy that appeared on Fax+ on numerous occasions. Worlds colliding!

Oh, the DJing itself? Functional, Move D clearly another chap more comfortable in the producer's chair than behind the decks. Not that he'd never done one before, frequently doing podcast sets prior to Fabric 74. Hasn't released a commercial set since, though.

Various - Fabric 28: Wiggle

Fabric: 2006

In some ways, it's remarkable this CD took so long to appear on my Fabric On A Budget list. It's an edition that seemed destined for the bargain bin, a name only the most ardent of Fabric faithful would be familiar with. When you've built your DJ mix series brand on featuring recognizable names from across the house and techno spectrum, most folks will come away with only confused glances of who 'Wiggle' is.

Right, you, oh tech-house disciple of yore', may know this is a reference to the Terry Francis' label of the same name, one that was celebrating a decade of existence when fabric 28 was released. It wasn't a major print though, and kinda' petered out shortly after. Some would argue the label was just the side-hustle, that it was the club nights with the Wiggle brand being featured that was the real attraction. Among particular house heads in the UK, I can believe that, but something tells me folks across waters weren't so hep to what was going on in the underground of merry ol' London, especially when tech-house was becoming quite the mainstream club thing as the mid-'00s rolled on.

From my lofty vantage point eighteen years on, however, fabric 28 feels more like a stop-gap of a set. As this is technically a Terry Francis set (did Nathan Coles contribute? Liner notes are unclear), it marks another instance of a returning Fabric alum, Terry having done the second release in the series after Craig Richards. Why go back an already tapped well when I'm sure there were plenty of other worthy candidates waiting in the wings for a crack at Fabric? Oh, right, that ten year anniversary thing of the Wiggle brand. Well sure, I guess that's an excuse for the label in having an off-month.

I really shouldn't be so nitpicky on the reasons for a Wiggle set though, because gosh darn it, at least it's a proper tech-house set. That may seem glib, but y'gotta' remember when this came out: 2006, the height of the minimal era. Indeed, Wiggle is surrounded by an Audion set and a Tiefscharz set, both of which I've covered, and capturing the minimal trend at its most trendiest. None of that plink-plonk-hiss nonsense is heard here though, with some basslines that actually make your hips wiggle. Yeah, there are portions where the vibe goes a little deeper, or things strip back so a vocal or acid line can shine, but that's all part and parcel of the ebb and flow for a set such as this. Not really peak-time, but definitely a solid warm-up for the headliner.

Unfortunately, that's likely why fabric 28 remains one of the most forgotten of the early sets of Fabric's legacy. A very meat-n-potatoes CD, released when folks expected tunes and sounds on the cutting edge of clubland. Okay, it also didn't help this was some of Fabric's ugliest cover art to date. Would you impulse-buy something sneering at you like that?

The Grid - Electric Head

EastWest: 1990

Tale as old as time: two guys meet while working with a legend of their scene (in this case, Psychic TV), decide they have enough creative synergy to do something on their own, and proceed to craft a bunch of tunes influenced by their contemporary clime'. That it would eventually lead to kicking off the 'country twang house' movement of the '90s is something I'm sure no one could have conceived, but I've already covered that bit of history in my review of Evolver.

And to be fair, it's not like Dave Ball was some unknown entity when he lent his talents to the Genesis P-Orridge project, having come off a successful run as the music-man behind Soft Cell. Getting in on that UK acid house scene was inevitable, but finding a kindred spirit in Richard Norris likely helped get things rolling much smoother than most post new-wave efforts often yielded.

However, sometimes you hit the studio with too many ideas sloshing about your brainpan, anxious to get them all out without any clear focus in how to make them all connect. Electric Head certainly doesn't hold back in offering a little something of everything you might hear wandering in a daze through the second Summer Of Love, but I'm not surprised this album doesn't get name-dropped that often when talk of that era comes up. Floatation, yes, absolutely, a definitive staple in the burgeoning afterhours chill-out scene. The plunderphonic-hop of Are You Receiving though? Or the woozy house of Driving Instructor? Or the hi-NRG antics of A Beat Called Love? Or the dopey EBM of Doctor Celine? The Pet Shop Boys aping This Must Be Heaven? Not so much, I wager. That Intergalactica though, I can't see anyone having much trouble working that into a Moroder inspired set. You might even throw folks for a loop after revealing it was made by the same chaps as Texas Cowboy.

That about sums it up though, doesn't it? The classic albums of electronic music from the early '90s are typically deemed as such because they were trend setters, defining genres in their infancy. While The Grid were certainly capable song writers and clever studio producers right out the gate, there really isn't much on Electric Head that you couldn't hear elsewhere. I guess that's why they made this more of an album experience, linking everything with interstitial sonic doodles and field recordings, which does help. Makes it feel like you're taking a sampling of what you might hear surfing the radio waves of the UK at the time. The spaced-out acid house of opener One Giant Step not doing it for you, so you switch the station, and oh, here's some sampledelic electro in Islamotron. But I want to hear something reminding me of that trip to Ibiza. Like all the clubby tunes? No, no, I've heard plenty of that already. I mean the comedown part.

Yeah, small wonder lead single Floatation got placed at the end of the album.

New Order - Complete Music

Mute: 2016

I made a bold claim in declaring this 'remix' album New Order's best body of work outside of 'Best Of' packages, and now I get to show my receipts. Actually, no, I don't think I can, at least without bringing up the context that led to the album this sprung from, Music Complete. And that would eat up way too much word count that I'd rather spend detailing the tunes here. Besides, as my purchase of Complete Music included a free download of Music Complete, it'll at least leave me something to ramble on about whenever I get around to that record.

And the honest truth is, had my 'Surveying' stipulation not forced me to check out Complete Music, I may not have in the first place (or much of New Order in general, but stick with me). Yeah, there's been some ace remixes handed out to New Order's catalogue over the decades, but this was an entirely in-house project, simply taking the existing songs and extending them for maximum dancefloor efficiency. Hey, that's great, as I already liked the clubby nature of the originals, so more of that isn't so bad. A little more rhythmic intro here, a lengthier bridge there, and holy cow, these seven-to-nine minute versions are just so much better! I don't think I can even go back to the Music Complete variants, coming off like radio edits now. It almost makes me wonder if these were the finished songs, but in realizing it'd balloon the album to double-LP length, were forced to pare things down for commercial interests, rendering Complete Music to 'Director's Cut' side-project status. Probably not, but it's a fun notion if so.

So Restless comes in with all those peppy rhythms, hooky guitars (but no Peter Hook, he gone), emotional string swells, and synthy punctuations. And then, some two minutes in, Bernard comes in, and if this track hasn't fully won you over, then I don't know how you've been a New Order fan. Right, it's not Blue Monday, but hardly anything else in their catalogue is.

This is the sound of a band that's been through it all, having the skill to incorporate all their learned influences, and still find room to add some (then) contemporary tricks. A festival-ready breakdown in Singularity. A festival-ready build in Unlearn This Hatred. A little d'n'b momentum in Stray Dog (complete with a gravely Iggy Pop) and Superheated, and so on. Nor have they side-stepped other eras of their career, like the NRG pulse of Plastic or synth-pop campiness of Tutti Frutti (a song I dreaded going in based on title alone, winning me over regardless), both vintage '80s without sounding canned or retro-trendy. Or jubilant '90s funky piano house vibes of People On The High Line. Or the '00s indie rock janglyness of Nothing But A Fool and The Game. It's a little bit of everything you know of New Order and then some.

And then performed extra length, just because they can!

Nightmares On Wax - A Word Of Science (The 1st And Final Chapter)

Warp Records: 1991

Probably not the only Nightmares On Wax album you're supposed to have, much less start with if you're beginning a Nightmares On Wax collection. Indeed, many point to Smoker's Delight as the true beginning of the NoW legacy, what with its clear demarcation within the trip-hop pantheon. Hell, the genre technically didn't even exist yet when A Word Of Science came out, though a few tracks here definitely helped create the DNA that would form the basis of all those depressive downtempo vibes. Nay, the Nightmares debut is still very much a product of its era, and that era includes the bleep techno of the UK rave scene, of which early Warp Records were prominent champions of. Who's got time to chill the fuck out when there's illegal parties to hop about?

Still, it's that Warp lineage that's retained A Word Of Science's cultural cache to this day. It sits at a significant crossroad, lodged between the LFO debut Frequencies and the seminal series debut of Artificial Intelligence. Where even though the ravey roots of the label are still present, time is spent on tunes feeling the downswing of a night, preferably enjoyed while loungin' about with a spliff in hand. A big part of this is due to the brains behind NoW, George Evelyn, leaving no personal influence off the table. He may have felt this was his one shot at getting his vision of music out there – a 'first and final' one, if you will. So even though the Nightmares On Wax story kicked off with some techno records, here come the funk, soul, and hip-hop samplings sharing album space with the warehouse tools.

Of course, if you're coming into A Word Of Science from the future, with little historical context, you could very well assume this being more of the trip-hop groove that defined Smoker's Delight. Right from the jump, we're greeted by Nights Interlude, their classic easy-going, laidback downtempo jam of jazzy solos and soulful strings. A tune so timeless, it continues to appear on 'chill out' compilations. A vibe so sweet, George basically opened Smoker's Delight with a remix of it. That's about it for such tracks on this album though. Playtime gets a little more sultry, Back Into Time a little more Steve Miller Band-y, and E.A.S.E more playful (you can hear Gorillaz in this one), but the rest of A Word Of Science...? Yeah, not so much.

Instead, you get bass-rattling, minimalist UK techno (A Case Of Funk, Biofeedback, Aftermath, Dextrous, Sal), stabs at vintage house (Coming Down, Fun), and a little Brit-hop for good measure (Mega Donutz, How Ya Doin', the beatbox outing of B.W.T.M.). Very little of this excels beyond the year from whence it came, their dated attributes front and centre. And hey, if you're down for such 1991 sounds, then A Word Of Science will serve you fine. For many though, an adjustment of expectations is a must. Maybe borrow your older uncle's nostalgia headphones for a session.

Pet Shop Boys - Very

Parlaphone: 1993

All statistics point towards this being the Pet Shop Boys album you're supposed to have, even if you're not a Pet Shop Boys fan. It certainly charted better than any other record in their catalogue, and is critically lauded as the duo's proper coming out party, where the somewhat coy, side-glancing nods to gay culture were finally put front and centre. More so, when Muzik Magazine was ranking their choices for the Top 50 dance albums, this was the PSB album they chose. Now, some of that may have been immediacy bias, the house and ravey remixes definitely a step up compared to the duo's '80s output, but regardless, if I can't trust Muzik Magazine's opinion on something, who can I trust?

Still, ask a regular layman to namedrop a song off here, chances are you'll get met with a blank. Folks know West End Girls, Always On My Mind, and (probably) It's A Sin, if for no other reason than their never-ending retro radio airplay. Nothing of the sort emerged from Very. Its singles did reasonably fine, with Go West - the big anthem that's so audacious, it features what sounds like the sailors from Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time video singing the chorus – doing the most damage. That darn radio play again factors in though, or rather the lack of it in the ensuing years in this case. '90s Pet Shop Boys just doesn't have the lasting cultural cache as '80s Pet Shop Boys does.

Anyhow, some may recall I started this PSB journey with the intent of very slowly going through their discography in chronological order, but have clearly skipped Behaviour. Yeah, well, that one's rep' hasn't sparked my interest quite like Very's, plus I saw this CD among a Discogs seller. I've been itching to hear this proper-like for a while, as those earworms heard on Disco 2 surely sound just as good in their original context. So nuts to orderly convention, let's get to the good shit.

The only criticism I can levy upon Very is the production doesn't quite hold up, its early '90s-ness clear and apparent. Not that that's ever been a real problem for PSB before, but there was always a sense they were riding the trends in their early work. Here, they haven't quite caught up to where synth-pop and dance music had progressed in such rapid time, which was just how things went that decade regardless. Hot today, outdated tomorrow. If anything, it's remarkable they were still able to hold their own when so many of their contemporaries had been left in the dust.

Beyond that though, this is very much Pet Shop Boys being as joyful and jubilant as they ever been. Even when topics fall into bittersweet break-ups ('natch), there's just a sense of freedom and release in it all. Very may not have their most iconic songs, but it feels like a proper cap on their first decade of music making.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: NEW ORDER

I'm almost embarrassed that I've never really dug that deep into this band's discography. Obviously I knew a handful of hits, especially when the '80s revival was in full swing at the turn of the century. Yet the first time I actually ever heard Blue Monday was when Tom Middleton mashed it with Tiga & Zyntherus' Sunglasses At Night. Other tunes I heard here and there, but probably didn't connect them to New Order because, far as I knew, they only ever sounded one way or another. I honestly didn't realize just how much rock was in their synth-pop, even with the knowledge that they formed out of the ashes of Joy Division.

How can I be so ignorant of one of the most important bands in club culture's history, especially so in the U.K., what with their ownership of The Haçienda, one of the most important nightclubs responsible for nurturing rave's formative years. No, this simply wont do. I need to expand my knowledge of this band, learn about all their musics beyond a few radio hits and a pumpin' acid techno remix.

Eh? You say I'm doing this just because there's that documentary about them coming out? No, no, I decided upon this survey before I even learned about that. I swear it's the truth, I tells ya'! Anyhow, let's get on it:






















I have to admit, I'm astounded New Order had the rebound it did so late in their career, even with Peter Hook gone. Or maybe he was holding them back for a while there? Who knows, I certainly don't want to dwell on band politics. If for whatever reason you haven't kept tabs, figuring there's no way New Order could recapture their '80s glory, I highly recommend at least giving Music Complete (or even Complete Music!) at least a stream. Hell, I may pick that one up proper-like for a proper review on it down the line.

As for my next survey... I'm not entirely sure who I'll do next. There's plenty I've in mind for consideration, just haven't figured out who I want to tackle first. Maybe I should do a poll on Mastodon?

Various - Choice: A Collection Of Classics - John Digweed (2022 Update)

Azuli Records: 2005

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

In my original review, I waxed on a bunch about the need for compilations such as these. A chance for famed DJs with deep crates to show off the influential but outdated tunes from their collections. Music they could no longer reasonably rinse out on the weekends, but hold special or sentimental value to their developed playing styles just the same. Granted, the '00s compilation market grew rather bloated with multiple series covering similar ground, such that a few are all but utterly forgotten nearly two decades on. Yes, I'm including Choice in that category. Don't get me wrong, it had a decent run. It didn't last past 2007 though, bowing out when Azuli Records went into liquidation by the end of the decade, and isn't brought up in The Discourse anymore. Gosh, maybe I can find a couple on the cheap-cheap now!

I'd like to assume, had the CD market not collapsed in the wake of streaming services, such compilations would still exist. Would it, though? Like, you'd think curated favourites of famed individuals would be big business with so much music available to the masses now, but I don't see much hype around it. Yeah, a Drake or a Kardashian or a Gorillaz might share some mixtape release on social media, but I'm thinking more than that.

Like, those artist Radios you get on Spotify. Wouldn't it be neat if they were actual radios, music they'd play over radio waves, each their own version of a college rock station show? Instead, it's just another algorithm generated playlist, featuring a selection of artists that are similar to the one you clicked the Radio button for. Maybe handy for those just getting into some genres or producers, but wholly redundant if you've been at this a while now. Why can't the algorithm provide some proper deep dives, yo'?

Or maybe there actually is a thriving social media community out there making ample use of such services, one I simply haven't stumbled across. For sure outlets like Mixcloud or Twitch should provide the means, but then you're kinda' shouting into the ether-void to get attention. Unless you already have a brand with a prominent base, establishing yourself as some modern John Peel is an almost futile gesture. And to be fair, a series like Choice would never have gotten off the ground if it hadn't relied on DJs with some brand reputation behind them, ensuring some curiosity from consumers in such a product. These were always an additional item of interest though. You needn't get a Choice from Digweed when he still had Bedrock or Transitions as his primary outlets.

I dunno. Feels like this is just more 'old man yells at cloud' musing. Why can't things be like it once was, and such as. I'm sure music compilations like Choice or Life:Styles or Back To Mine still exist out there, even as a nebulous streaming service concept, but it sure was easier finding them back in the day.

Bent - Programmed To Love

Sport: 2000

Just how popular was Bent at the start? Though Misters Tolliday and Mills had been active throughout the '90s ('Nail' had roots as far back as Nottingham's DiY 'free tekno' parties of yore), as a duo they seemingly sprung up out of nowhere. A couple EPs, a little hype in an increasingly over-saturated chill-out market, then boom, a perfect score for Programmed To Love within the pages of Muzik Magazine. Surely that's plenty 'nuff to get the majors buzzing. I don't see any chart info in their Wiki though, to say nothing of Bent being a near non-factor on my side of the pond. For sure they must have been doing something right to get all that compilation action at the turn of the century, but had it not been an accidental stumbling-upon of Muzik, it's possible I'd completely miss them for several years (Faithless' Back To Mine appearance notwithstanding).

It may just be that Bent was a tad too British in its sense of humour at the start for American appeal. Now, I likes me some British humour in my laid-back house jams - what would The Orb be without it? And really, if you're not getting some Orb vibes right off the jump in Exercise 1, what with cheeky samples and dubby grooves setting us up for a gently warped little ride of an album, then... um, go listen to some old-school Orb, I guess? For comparison's sake. Welly Top Mary has me feelin' some of that reggae-dub house sound many a Youth-orientated Orb cut kicked out, but that's about the extent of it.

Elsewhere, there's Ninja Tune influence at play. You got the jazz-hop bop of Invisible Pedestrian, the funky shuffle-dub of I Remember Johnny, and the quirky toy-town trip-hop of Private School Investigations (relegated to 'secret song' status on the original UK version). And let's not forget the tunes that simply defy easy categorization beyond “well, that sure is a fun little tune”. Cylons In Love imagines, well, cylons strumming an acoustic-folky to... something. I can't understand those digitized vocals, but hot damn, is that bassline ever a deeper shade of love. Follow-up Invisible Pedestrian sounds like a lounge-lizard performing at a Callisto casino, while Irritating Noises goes country twang. Okay, not full-blown country twang, but I can't help but imagine some cowboy strumming a guitar while riding his horse down an old country road.

But honestly, all these are surprising, tasty supplements to the main reasons folks nabbed up Programmed To Love. The dreamy pastoral chill-pop of Private Road. The fragile, cinematic grace of Swollen. Zoë Johnston's providing vocals on each, basically debuting her voice to a whole slew of future trance producers. And, as always, Always, the utterly dreamy slice of Balearic house (somehow topped by Ashley Beedle's rub on it a year later!). A perfect tune to end the album on... followed upon by a slapstick nod to old-school rave with silly monkey squeals. Oh, these gents with their bent humour.

Captain Hollywood Project - Only With You

Pulse-8 Records: 1993

Though not as impactful as Haddaway's What Is Love, I'd rank Captain Hollywood Project's More & More just as influential on developing my eurodance tastes. Beyond that major hit, however, the musical conglomerate fronted by Tony Dawson-Harrison failed to have much presence in Canadaland, such that it was years before I heard anything else from him. By the time I did stumble upon CHP's debut album, I was well beyond my honeymoon years with the genre, wooed by the allure of goa and German trance instead. Love Is Not Sex sounded hopelessly dated and tired to those ears, and I utterly rejected it as anything worthy of future consideration. Not sure why I had such a knee-jerk reaction to it – was I just too over-familiar with Nosie Katzmann's songwriting?

Whatever the case, those are musings for a future review should I reconcile my impression of Love Is Not Sex. Instead, let's focus on the second single from that album, one that I do remember quite liking at the time. In many ways, it's More & More: Mark II, what with the simple, punchy synth lead, gentle backing pads, rugged eurodance rhythms, and sultry female chorus. Something about this one just hits better though, as though those elements have been further distilled and refined to peak perfection. Why, even the chorus is better, making more sense as lovelorn lyrics than the vague notions of More & More.

Then there's Mr. Captain himself. He was never a fancy lyricist (how many euro rappers were?), but he easily made that up through pure suave, with one of the most gravelly voices from that era. And for whatever reason, he sounds quite fired up here, dropping in with “You. Should. Just. Chiilll.” that sends shivers down my spine. In a totally ironic, cheese-adoring sort of way, of course, ha-rumph ha-rumph. Anyhow, his message is basically “yo', stop fucking up our planet so much”, which doesn't match the chorus in the slightest, but hey, I totally buy his “pleadin'” when he laments that “our Earth is bleedin'”. Poignant content even three decades on, darn it all.

If y'all haven't all turned away in contempt at getting my cheddar on, how about some 'serious' remixes then? The Faze II Mix was apparently done by a guy called Paul Newman, whom you may know as Tall Paul. It's certainly trancier than the usual fare I've heard from The Tall One, though not as trancey as the Trance Mix at the end of this single. Sort of that middle-ground where anthem house and trance could meet back in the day. Speaking of anthem house, Rollo's here with two remixes as well! They're... not as interesting, the Piracy Mix sounding like it wants to be a Jersey club option, the Relentless Mix adding some acid and anthems to the fray. And where's Captain Hollywood in all these remixes? It's weird hearing him just in the Trance Mix, where you'd lest expect him.

Tosca - Going Going Going

!K7 Records: 2017

So everyone went crazy over having an official Kruder & Dorfmeister album released this past year, as if the two had never made another record since The K&D Sessions came out many a moon ago. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here all like, “You do know Tosca is a thing, right? Heck, their early albums were very much in the classic K&D vein.” “Yeah,” they'd say, “but what if the two hadn't split for so long, what would they have ended up sounding like as the years go on?” Again, Tosca, right there! We know exactly what it would sound like because Richard Dofmeister's been steadily making music since. Maybe there'd be some stylistic variation, but given how smoothly Rupert Huber slid into the role of frequent collaborator, I wouldn't warrant much. I dunno, it just boggles my mind that Richard's on-going music career continues to be overshadowed by what he did with Peter a quarter century ago.

Anyhow, Going Going Going is the most recent Tosca album, released four years ago as of this writing. It's quite the time-skip for yours truly, in that I'd mostly settled in with the duo's earlier output, Dehli9 that last album of theirs I'd gathered. Richard and Rupert had gone on many musical explorations since then, some hailed as good, some hailed as not so good. Maybe I'll check out some of those to verify (whoa, does Outta Here ever feel influenced by Random Access Memories), but I heard positive buzz over this here Triple-G album, talks of 'return to form' and all that malarkey. Enough of a reason to scope it out for yours truly, so let's have at 'er.

And the first thing I noticed about Going Going Going is just how brisk it is. Tosca were never shy in upping the tempo in their tunes, but a number of tracks on here are almost treading into house territory. There's certainly a lot more 'four-to-the-floor' rhythms offered than I'm used to hearing from the downtempo duo. Many of these tracks even build in such a way that would serve better in a live performance than sitting at home with tea and crumpets. Like Supersunday, a tune that starts nicely mellow with the sort of piano playing as found on the bonus disc of Dehli9. Soon it starts echoing upon itself, a steady beat emerges, supporting synths and sounds are gradually added, and gosh, do I ever feel the boogie-bounce by track's end. Weird that they have an overlong, dubby outro for such a groovy tune though.

Tracks like Export Import, Wo-Tan, Tommy, and Amber November play out in similar fashion, while tunes like Hausner, Friday, Loveboat keep things closer a trip-hop tempo, even if the beat stays steady. Disco, then? Or funk? Eh, I wouldn't go that far, though I could see some of these tunes working in a retro, nu-disco space-funk sort of set. There's plenty of musicianship going on such that Tosca wouldn't feel out of place with the classics.

Various - Fabriclive 93: Daphni

Fabric: 2017

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “beautiful carnivorous vegetation” period*

I did not expect this. An entry in Fabric's long-running series so close to its conclusion, already hitting the dirt-cheap discount bin? Why was the seller so anxious to be rid of it?

Well, this isn't a traditional DJ set. Daphni constructed something more like a live PA outing, mixing and looping house and techno rhythms into a continuous whole. Even then, calling Fabriclive 93 “continuous” is a misnomer, tracks often leading to a moment that abruptly switches into something different. Not in a 'mixtape' fashion either, the sonic palette too singular for that, which makes sense given these are all Daphni productions on display. It's why I'm getting my 'live PA' vibe, playing out in sections, drum loops coming and going without much mixing between them, plenty of points for beatless melodic indulgences.

It's all rather erratic. Any time things start shifting into higher gear, letting a dope retro-techno groove gain momentum, it's lost, only for something just as interesting to take its lead, rather than build from it. Things do get better as the CD plays out, but towards the end, I find my interest drifting, the promise of proper payoff so continuously snatched away. It's an interesting approach to a Fabric set, I must admit, but for those weaned on a traditional DJ rinse-out, this unorthodox approach can be a turn-off. I suppose we shouldn't have expected anything less from the one-time Manitoba.

Yes, yes, (or Ye Ye?), I know Daphni is Dan Snaith, most famous for his indie-darling project Caribou (he'll always be Manitoba to me!). Daphni was his outlet in getting back to the clubs, initially a side-project for material that didn't fit with Caribou, but eventually a primary alias for DJ tours. His debut album as Daphni was well-received, and I gave Ye Ye Ace Track status as it appeared on Get Lost 4. By 2017, Dan was dusting Daphni off again, and Fabric allowed him to spring-board back out onto the scene. Everything on here was fresh material when it came out, a solid third of the tracks featured in Fabriclive 93 getting expanded versions on the album Joli Mai later that year. Did some of them ever need it.

Why didn't' I just say all this from the start? One, everyone does the bio blurb at the start, so here's a different approach (seems appropriate). Two... ah, I actually forgot specifically who Daphni was at first, leading me to go into this set mostly blind. The name was familiar to me, but I resisted doing the research before the listening, as pure an experience as I could get – I didn't even look at the tracklist. When the odd set construction had me scratching my head, I relented and asked The Lord That Knows All what the deal was. Then, it all clicked, and I enjoyed Fabriclive 93 a little more, such as it was. Wanted to share that experience, yes?

Various - Disco Kandi 05.04

Hed Kandi: 2004

Right, don't need to get deep into this one. I've talked plenty about Hed Kandi, its various compilation series, the rise, the buy-out, the fall, the continued existence. Heck, I've already dabbled in their disco series twice now, so no need to get more detailed about something as self-explanatory as this.

Eh, before I talk the music, you want to know where Disco Kandi 05.04 falls on the grand timescale of Hed Kandi's lifespan? Oh, somewhere in the middle. I think this was one of the last before Ministry Of Sound came along, doing away with the numerical titles after. Disco Kandi became just another yearly DJ mix series, the first track of this new direction a remix of Fedde Le Grand's Put Your Hands Up For Detroit. As if you needed a more perfect example of Hed Kandi's brand losing the plot under the Ministry's 'guidance'.

Not that everything was flying high while still under Mark Doyle's supervision. Even here, one can sense a bit of struggle in filling out two CDs worth of up-front disco leaning house music. Change was unavoidable by the year 2004, most producers chasing that lucrative 'electro' craze, leaving things like 'funk' and 'soul' behind. There were hold-outs, of course, with many regular Kandi contributors featured across these two CDs. The days of finding hot up-and-comers were long gone though, few future hits makers found on Disco Kandi 05.04.

As always, disc one gives us the mid-tempo garage, exuberant Latin, and soulful side of house, with names like StoneBridge, Basement Jaxx, Funkstar De Luxe, and Joey Negro (as The Sunburst Band here) keeping things in familiar Hed Kandi territory. There's also that Axwell kid doing a remix on Mambana's Felicidad, but is more of a standard, loopy French house rub and anything 'Swedish'. The only track I recognize from elsewhere is Seamus Haji's go with Belezamusica's Running Away, though I can't help but think this is a remix of a cover? There's a fair bit of that going on between these two discs.

Oh yes, we get a couple of such tracks on CD2 (the late-night option), including Mr. Haji having his own go with Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. There's also Soul Central doing rather generic cover of Strings Of Life, a tune that I'll never understand the appeal of (those 'strings' always sound like ass). King Britt is here with a decent little acid boogie number in I Can't Wait (Milk & Sugar on the rub). Armand van Helden is still trying to ride that French house thing with My My My. And gosh, is that a touch of the space disco in opener Solaris from DJ Gregory? Sure sounds like it to me.

Overall, Disco Kandi 05.04 doesn't offer much that you wouldn't have heard before. It's just more of the same from the Hed Kandi brand, but as a slice of fluffy, funky house on a rainy day, it'll do the trick.

Various - Dance Pool, Vol. 1

Sony Music Direct: 1993

I've touched upon Dance Pool in the past. In the way, way, way past. It was a pair of Canadian tie-in compilations called Euro Dance Pool, so if you need to know the history of Sony's dance music offshoot, you can scope those reviews out. Eh, they're buried too deep in the long-ago? Well, I'm not gonna' do another recap here. I mean, it's mostly self-explanatory what Dance Pool was, who it's biggest acts were, their impact on the German mainstream clubbing scene. Just think of all the top eurodance names from Germany in the early '90s, and Dance Pool likely distributed half of them.

So when Canadaland was seeing some positive gains with the music, Sony was right there to capitalize on it, premiering their own Dance Pool offshoot here, Dance Pool. Straight forward enough, but this Vol. 1 is an odd one. Oh, it's got some hits of the day, no question, just not the hits you'd expect from a clubbing label with German origins. I can only assume Sony didn't have full faith North Americans would be as interested in those sounds, so reached out among all its national subsidiaries to fill this compilation out.

Thus you get The Shamen's LSI (Love Sex Intelligence) (Beatmaster Mix) and Sunscreem's Love U More (Album Version). Yes, that version, with that lyric. While those were big hits at the time, they were UK acts, whom folks based out of Toronto and Montreal may not have been as familiar with. To say nothing of names like Bizarre Inc and Rozalla. Actually, I take that back, I'm sure everyone was familiar with Everybody's FREEEEEEEEEEeeeeetoefeelgood by that point. But nay, the only German representation we get here is B.G. The Prince Of Rap, with This Beat Is Hot for the zillionth time. Oh fine, it's the 'hard 'n' heavy' mix, which just sounds like C+C Music Factory.

Forget all that. Dance Pool, Vol. 1 is interesting for how 'of a time' it comes off, catching that weird inflection point where new jack swing was on the outs, but dancehall reggae was on the ins. Thus, you get Shabba Ranks' Ting-A-Ling and Mad Cobra's Flex with Joe Public's Liva And Learn and Cover Girls' Wishing On A Star. And in the middle of it all is Kris Kross' Jump, the rarer Supercat Mix at that, which adds dancehall raps among the bars Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac be spittin'.

And no joke, the tune still bumps to this day. Yeah, it was nauseatingly overplayed when this CD came out, but I dare any DJ to drop this now, and watch the crowd pop off like it was new. Possibly one of the greatest beats Dupri ever produced.

Anything else? C&C Music Factory do show up, as their original producing name Clivillés & Cole, for a ravey cover of Pride (In The Name Of Love). Eesh, and the tune was doing so well, before injecting a gospel version of Bono.

Dubtribe Sound System - Bryant Street

BMG Music Canada: 1999

Considering how often I've come across Sunshine and Moonbeam's music, I feel neglectful in not covering their music much. Granted, they only had a few albums out within a decade's worth of activity, but seeing as how that decade covered the '90s, and a hefty chunk of the early '00s, you'd think their brand of San Fran' house would be right up my ally. And that may be true, if I ever gave them a chance to win me over, to have that One Moment when their music catches me at that perfect flashpoint in time when it hits just right. It's yet to happen though, and while Bryant Street does have plenty good going for it, I'm not sure if it's the album that will accomplish this.

First, a little background. The duo started out on the San Francisco scene as a live house act, incorporating gear, instruments and their own vocals into their shows. Almost immediately, they scored an underground hit in Mother Earth on Chicago-based Organico, a proto big-beat number most famous for Sunshine going on a hippie-punk rant about wanting his planet back (The Chemical Brothers sure loved it). A couple more hot singles and an album or two later, and Dubtribe was touring everywhere. They might have been an even bigger deal had they landed a major label deal earlier on. I'm sure that's what Jive Electro was counting on when they signed them, figuring they'd have another Groove Armada-level big name to their roster. It... didn't quite pan out that way.

Bryant Street starts off strong, getting in on plenty of that Latin house vibe with rows of congas, bombastic string sections, triumphant horns, and jubilant Spanish singing. As the album is continuously mixed too, the party keeps going, even as tracks like El Regalo de Amor and Loneliness In Dub take turns in getting deeper into the house vibes than the surrounding company. I wouldn't go so far as to say Dubtribe are doing much that would stand out from a crowded pack of house contemporaries, but it's fun while it's playing.

Then Sunshine has to start getting his rant on again in Ain't Gonna Do You No Good and Holler!, and, well, it was cool hearing him spouting off in Mother Earth but it just feels forced here, as though he's trying to outdo and over-complicate the simple, emphatic “I want my planet back!” Holler! especially sounds like a hold-over from Dubtribe's earlier rave roots, such that I can't help but expect Sunshine to end each verse with “It's the only rhyme that BITES-AHH!”

Closers Breeze and If You're Not Coming Back To Me go more Balearic and jazzy, respectfully, but unfortunately, the abrupt change in the album's tone that preceded these tunes leaves a weird aftertaste on my ears, such that I've checked out. As did Jive, when they dropped Dubtribe after Bryant Street failed to shift as many units as hoped. Back to the underground, I guess.

ACE TRACKS: September 2020

Time for another round of Sykonee Vs The Work Radio. Today's case study features what happens when being transferred to a brand new location with the station defaulted to the most modern music you can play for a clientele of all ages, but secretly wanting that younger, affluent demographic. Logic dictates it'll be pop music, with a heavy favouritism towards timeless hits of the '80s and '90s, but that's old people music now. You need something that connects with millennials, and hoo boy, do they love 'em some Marshmello. Or so whomever is in charge of curating these work radio playlists assumes.

That wouldn't be the worst of it though. Oh no, our mysterious taste-maker knows we can't subsist on a steady diet of Marshmello forever. There's just too much nutritious '80s and '90s pop to ignore, but we can't have the originals playing - it'd make Marshmello sound bad. Somehow, then, our faceless music merchant has found modern covers of all the old hits, and by modern, I mean tropical house remixes, with the occasional Ed Sheeran-style acoustic ditty thrown in. I'm honestly more flabbergasted and even a touch bemused by the fact there exists such an extensive library of this music now, enough to fill a contemporary pop playlist.

Needless to say, this stuff was rapidly annoying as all hell, but fortunately, I got my hands on the music feed (re: was asked to install some additional wiring, because I'm apparently The Guy who knows how to do such things). And while I couldn't change the music selection (don't have that authority), I did adjust all the volumes so it wasn't so blaring in the areas that it mattered. Where I can play my own stuff on my own portable speakers, away from discerning ears. Oh yes, there's a party in the Sykonee work corner! Even playing music as found in September's collection of ACE TRACKS!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
RX-101 - Like Yesterday
Buttertones - Midnight In A Moonless Dream

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 36%
Most “WTF?” Track: Sunscreem - Love U More, just for *that* lyric.

Is this the highest percentage of rock music we've ever had in one of these playlists? Maybe when I did that Neil Young boxset, there was more, or perhaps when I took on a sizeable chunk of Ishkur's CD collection from his angsty rock teenage years. Aside from that though, yes, I do believe it is. And how could it not, what with two offerings of Viking metal and two offerings of surf rock. Heck, could have been three of the latter, if the band hadn't deep-sixed their prospects with awful behaviour.

ACE TRACKS: March-July 2020

So I have shingles.

At least it's not COVID-19, right? And I don't feel sick, just frequent hot spikes of pain around my shoulder-blade (imagine a heated cactus ball rolling about) as my latent chicken-pox virus does its damage to all those tender nerve membranes. And you may be thinking, “wait, Sykonee can't be that old such that he'd get shingles?”, and you'd be right. Yet here we are. I already knew all the stress I've put upon myself this year wasn't doing me many favours, but the fact it suppressed my immune system enough such that the ol' varicella-zoster could act up again should have me rethinking the way I'm doing things.

And what's 'funny' about all this is, until it flared up, I thought I was doing fine, life-wise. Yeah, there were still things and stuffs lingering in the back of my mind, but I still had a good groove about doing it. I can only hope my stubbornness hasn't done permanent damage because dear God, this would suck to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Or get myself in on that all-encompassing opiod market America is known for.

That all said, I realized it's been five months since I last did an ACE TRACKS playlist. Figured after all that time, I'd amassed enough of a backlog to make one. Little did I realize the final list would be over 10 hours long! Gander, at the ACE TRACKS from March through July:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - Bedrock: Jimmy Van M
Various - Better Living Through Circuitry
Various - Beyond The Machines
Cryostasis - Between Static And Distance
Coma Eye - Insufflated Brine Shrimp
Astral Engineering - Chronoglide

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 3%
Percentage Of Rock: 19%
Most “WTF?” Track: Neo-Adventures - Whaaaauuu (because “whaaaaaauuuuu TF?”)

Okay, so I cheated a little in the length, in that I included the entirety of L.S.G.'s The Singles: Reworked at the end. Plus some of the all-time longest recorded pieces of music by both Banco de Gaia and Creedence Clearwater Revival ever committed to master tapes (ten minutes of CCR may as well be a prog-rock opus).

Even with those caveats though, the fact this playlist ended up as long as it did just goes to show I've been busier than I gave myself credit for. And diverse too, a little something for anyone's interest making its way into here, providing a surprisingly smooth listening experience compared to many playlists past. Of course, if no one wants to listen to it, because it'll remind you of *gestures wildly*, I wouldn't blame ya'. Heck, maybe it's why I put off on doing this for so long in the first place. It's been a Hell of a five months, it has.

Oh, and some may have noticed I've skipped ahead on my reviewing order. The 'B' section of my collection is too big for one sitting, so decided to split that up while dealing with a pile of other items I've had gathering in that time. Will probably resume with the 'B's in, oh, a year, at my current rate

Various - Best Of 2002

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Looks like I had one of these left over. Wish I could say I was excited about returning to the magazine that left such an imprint upon my own critiquing habits, but I've said about all there was to say among all the other prior reviews of their free CDs. Even worse is, despite this being a 'best of' collection of Muzik's choice cuts of the year 2002, it feels so underwhelming compared to their older releases. Something about Best Of 2002 doesn't spring with the same vitality, as though an uncertain dourness had permeated clubland. I look at this track list, and honestly only recognize a couple tunes that could be considered classics nearly two decades on. I know Muzik prided itself on going against the grain and all but DJ Marky & XRS's LK, really? Couldn't clear the rights to any High Contrast jams for your nod to the emergent liquid funk sound?

The first half of this disc always passes me by with a lukewarm 'eh, it's fine' sentiment, with a rather dry Stanton Warrior rub on Time Deluxe's It Just Won't Do opening things up. If your eyes glazed over at the mention of that track, I wouldn't blame ya'. Following that, you get the proggy James Zabiela rub of Röyksopp's Remind Me, which feels more like an excuse to throw in Röyksopp' tune while giving one of Muzik's favoured DJs the extra shine. Again, it's fine, but the best of what 2002 had to offer? Ils shows up at the third position for the requisite nu-skool breaks contribution and if that was the best on the genre's that year, small wonder if collapsed into stagnation so rapdily as it did. It isn't until Kosheen's Hungry pops up that something resembling a proper timeless 'hit' is felt, yet the discourse around that group's long been testy.

And before I went any further in assembling mental notes for this review, I wondered, what was the best of 2002? Who were the movers and shakers of that year? I know my own collection of CDs is the furthest thing from any sort of definitive snapshot but gander at a couple albums: Sasha's Airdrawndagger, Ladytron's Light & Magic, Drexciya's Harnessed The Storm, Stylophonic's Man Music Technology, High Contrast's True Colours, Groove Armada's Lovebox. Not a single tune from any of these could have made Muzik's Best Of 2002? Heck, Legowelt's rippin' Disco Rout appears on two CDs of mine from that year! (note: Coldplay's A Rush Of Blood To The Head came out, if you want to know what the real sound of popularity was at the time)

I know it's an unfair comparison, especially with licensing and all, but it's hard believing tracks from Daniel Diamond, DJ Vitamin D, and X-Press 2 were the best of what 2002 had to offer with clearly stronger tunes available elsewhere. Whatever, at least the emergent Akufen, Vitalic, and post-Emerson Underworld get repped in this compilation.

ACE TRACKS: February 2020

So, a little better this past month, but man, still quite a slog. The Real World work, she don't slow down, even when I think it's gonna' slow down, it just ramps up again. Nothing like a little global viral pandemic to get folks all panicky and buying up things and stuff that seldom sell otherwise. And it's funny, because changes are coming up in a few months again, wherein my status will be in flux, and the amount of responsibility saddled upon me will be significantly reduced in whatever capacity my new role will be.

And that's fine, that's totally fine. I get paid the same one way or the other, and if it means I instead focus on singular tasks instead of doing all the things, I'm all the more for it. I always knew I had some mild ADHD (really, in our modern, technologically advanced society, who doesn't?), but never realized just how much it can affect your casual day-to-day activities when you have all the things from work following you home. All you want to do is unplug and let things set fallow but, oof, still got some Balance mixes to listen to and analyze. And them Balance sets, they don't make things easy, nosiree. Well, except that Lee Burridge one. Could tell that was tapioca bland right from the outset. Fortunately, it's not part of February's assortment of ACE TRACKS!



Full play list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Attoya - Based On True Events
Various - Base Ibiza 2003

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Oh, either of Attoya's, for sure.

Technically, the older Balance mixes are missing too, but most of the tracks are still available on Spotify, so didn't see any reason to list them as 'missing'. Like, that seems to be how the newer Balance options have been supplying their tracklists on Spotify: full unmixed version, and a separate playlist of all the unmixed tracks. It's a very good idea for DJ mixes, methinks, though obviously quite difficult to do with sets dating a decade older.

And not much else in this playlist, Balance once again eating up most of my spare listening time, though I squeaked in a couple extra items towards the end of the month. And what great, unifying wellspring of wisdom have a gleaned from my journey through Balance? There sure was a lot more space disco than I would have imagined, that's for sure.

Various - Base Ibiza 2003

Base Ibiza Records: 2003

As the early Hed Kandi brand grew, the temptation to spin off sub-labels couldn't be helped. Aside from Stereo Sushi, however, these didn't take root, folks content sticking to the label and artwork they were most familiar with. The Acid Lounge tried getting in on that underground downtempo gig, with a grittier, pulpier comic stylee, but only lasted a few releases. Then there's this, Base Ibiza Records, a tie-in with the Ibizan bar of the same name. That's... remarkable, that Hed Kandi never really paired up with any established club for a proper residency, instead letting their brand tour about. It wasn't a long partnership though, lasting just half a decade. Base Ibiza 2003 is smack dab right in the middle of the run.

With my last exposure to the Hed Kandi discography a pair of utterly abysmal World Series mixes from much later in their lifespan, these CDs were such a refreshing reminder of the class once associated with the label. House music! Real, honest-to-God house music! With the disco loops and the soul sista's and the fiesta chants and the club monologues and... the trend-whoring remixes and... the euro anthems (?), and the.. cover songs? Wow, they really couldn't clear the rights to X-Press 2's Muzikizum? That track was everywhere, so it couldn't have been that expensive. Why settle for a knock-off version?

Speaking of, you remember what song got huge around this time? Talk Talk's It's My Life, is what, though thanks entirely to No Doubt's cover resurrecting interest in it. Then radio stations started playing the original version again, and folks realized the O.G. '80s style was better (retro revival sure helped). Thus is the only reason I can fathom hearing a Liquid People remix of It's My Life on here. Cool bassline added though. Speaking of basslines, Junior Jack sure did love him some of Daft Punk's Burnin', but hey, throw some Latin vibes over it, call it E Samba, and no one will ever tell the difference!

As should be abundantly clear, I'm not giving Base Ibiza 2003 that much of a serious critical overview. Nor should I, the music within about as deep as the beach shallows of the Ibizan shores. It is fun music though, at least the first disc wherein the disco vibes and garage shuffles and floppin' funk is felt. It's got a StoneBridge remix in there, mang', and you can't have a proper Hed Kandi outing without at least one tune with StoneBridge at the console.

CD2 aims for the 'later in the night' club outing, but is all over the place as a result, sounding like a mish-mash of left-over tunes that just wouldn't fit in the first CD. Some mild McProg (iiO's At The End), a little tech-house (4Tune 500's Dancing In The Dark), and a nod to the burgeoning 'eurotrash house' sound (Andrea Doria's Bucci Bag). Oh, and all those aforementioned cover/remixes are here too. Yeah, I think I'll stick with CD1 in this outing. It's funner!