Various - fabric 35: Ewan Pearson

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by fabric's “We Cans 4AD Too” period*

I recognize Ewan Pearson more than I did Ralph Lawson, but it sure doesn't seem like fabric's musically stretching far compared to its sister series. I could almost write a carbon copy of Lawson's background, Pearson's story in tech-house relatively similar. Sure, their careers have taken differing paths (Lawson stayed in the UK, Pearson headed for Berlin; one occasionally makes his own music, the other remixes a ton; that guy plays tech-house-house, while him dude plays tech-tech-house), but for the layman glancing at all these fabrics and FabricLives, neither are an easy sell when sat among very important techno people like Ricardo Villalobos, Ellen Allien, Rob Hood, and Luke Slater (and that's just sticking with the 30s run).

Oddly, I had to remind myself that fabric 35 almost certainly wasn’t a prog mix, as Pearson’s a name I mostly recalled cropping up in the early portions of prog DJ sets. For sure he’s done work in other genres (electroclash, funkier house, whatever it was The Chemical Brothers were doing around 2003), but that Soma Quality Recordings association probably helped keep Lord Digweed’s eye on him. Even with copious amounts of techno on this CD, fabric 35 kinda’ leans proggy in its construction, feeling more like a ‘journey mix’ than most rinsers of this music go.

I’ll get this out the way: there’s no minimal on here, at least of the plinky-plonk variety. There’s certainly a few stripped-back tunes, like Marc Houle’s remix of Marcashken’s Nimrod and Samim’s Paspd (back when it was still okay to play Samim tracks), but they’re simple lulls before getting back to some groovy techno action. There’s sinister electro vibes oozing from Snax’ Honeymoon’s Over, from which Mr. Pearson offers a great mix into an equally sinister, Latin jazz workout of Jens Zimmermann’s Tranquillité (I honestly thought it was one, long overlay). Remarkably, ol’ Ewan keeps this tangent going with Liquid Liquid’s Bellhead, a rapturous cacophony of Afro-percussion. Who says techno must always be serious digital music?

While fabric 35 doesn’t lose its momentum, it does get a bit over-indulgent at times. Laven & MSO’s Looking For God barely treads the line of tasteful minimalism (thank ‘God’ for a strong groove with this one), and I wasn’t too anxious to hear Samuel L. Sessions’ Can You Relate “what happened to the techno?” sermon anytime soon again. Also, it’s rather odd to end with a mash-up of the soulful croon of Beanfield’s “Tides” – C’s Movement #1 and the neo-trance of Aril Brikha’s Berghain. Or maybe not, if you think of fabric 35 as a progressive set hiding in techno’s clothing. Definitely makes listening to this more fun if you figure Ewan Pearson’s put this together as such.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
A pleasant surprise, this. fabric 35 passed by with little fanfare compared to its sexier neighbours, but there’s plenty to love with Pearson’s offering.

Various - Tunes Of The Year 2001

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Though stuck in the hinterlands of Canada for a while, my job at a music shop kept me a step ahead of my pals on many things electronic music orientated. Such was the perk of receiving promotional material with every order, scouring about for intriguing new artists and albums. What’s that, Nu-Skool Nick, you’ve found an online music hub called Napster where you can download anything you want? That’s nice to hear, but do you know what you want to hear? It’s one thing to snag up older discographies, but what about the new hotness? Plus, you gotta wait for someone to upload that shit anyway, and the only way to do that is after someone buys a physical copy first (occasional leaks notwithstanding). And there was only one place in town to go if you wanted new music as soon as it hit the Rupert streets. Well, okay, a couple places, but I was the only place that’d order underground electronic music. So bow to my superior knowledge of the scene, fellow Rupert people, bwahaha!

Then I left, started reading Muzik Magazine, and discovered I knew jack shit about anything. Oh, sure, we had Mixer over here, and a few forums helped fill out some blanks, but most of what we got was still the heavily promoted names, sounds, and DJ mixes anyone could find in a typical HMV ‘electronica’ section. All the coverage Muzik provided showed there was a layer of electronic music few on my side of the pond bothered with, and in my OCD way of wanting to learn everything, eagerly consumed their gospel.

Such blind faith wasn’t earned without some effort though. While I enjoyed the print, those first couple free CDs weren’t enough to convince me outright Muzik was better than others. Then came the January 2002 issue, which included a CD spotlighting the best tunes of 2001. Before even looking at the names or tracks, I questioned the point of such a collection when the previous CD was already a “Best Of” based on Muzik’s awards; plus, I barely knew any of the names. New Order, of course; Slam, definitely; Björk, absolutely; Timo Maas, I think so. And yet, I hadn’t heard anything essential from these names, much less new-to-my-eyes acts like Chocolate Puma, Bent, The Rhythm Masters, or Bel Amour. Surely Muzik was stretching their notions of what constituted essential.

Hell no, they were totally right. Between prog, house (of all sorts), downtempo, and breaks, their selections opened the lid on what I thought clubbing music could entail. All those drab ‘Crasher and Cream discs didn’t deserve their shelf space if it was holding back Ashley Beedle’s remix of Always or glorious disco-loop house like Agent Sumo’s 24 Hours. If Muzik was in the know about such ace material unheralded in the Americas, then their other recommendations had to be mint as well. Thus began my downloading campaign from them, and all those Mixed Goods discs. Yay.

Various - Mixed Goods XVI

(~): 2003

TRACK LIST:
1. Radar - Flying
2. Heller & Farlay - Deep Sensation (Peace Division Mix)
3. Holden & Thomposn - Nothing (Vocal Mix)
4. Golden Girls - Kinetic 2001 (Vincent de Moor Mix)
5. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown - Do You Remember House? (Bob Sinclar Mix)
6. Luomo - Tessio (Moonbootica Remix)
7. The Future Sound Of London - Slider
8. Future Prophecies - Stalker
9. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax (Jam & Spoon Hi N-R-G Mix)
10. Holden & Thompson - Nothing (93 Returning Mix)

I've been too hard on commercial compilations in the past. Reliving these Mixed Goods of mine, I realize its bloody difficult maintaining a consistent theme when there's limited choices for track lists. At the start, I had plenty to work with, my initial downloading spree spoiling me for ideas on each CD. Here, however, at the end, all I've left are a couple new tunes I could snag, and a bunch of scraps. Mixed Goods XVI may have solid songs on it, but as a listening experience, it's a total mess (yes, even worse than Mixed Goods IV).

That Holden & Thompson classic is the obvious standout here, though I had no idea that the 93 Returning Mix would become the anthem it did. Heck, does anyone even remember the original version (mistitled Vocal Mix here)? The whole chopped vocals gimmick was just that, a quirky effect that turned decent lyrics into something quite unique for the time (and endlessly copied thereafter), and still holds up a decade on. It’s completely understandable why so many Holden fans are, erm, beholden to him, longing for a ‘03 returning stylee.

Hellar & Farlay bring the final 'dark prog' track to the series (more of a tribal outing this time), Future Prophecies the final d'n'b cut, Vincent de Moor’s mix of the classic Kinetic a final bit of trancecracker trance, Radar one more old-school trance tune, and the Bob Sinclar Mix of Do You Remember House? for the last true bit of house (Luomo's track is kind of electro-house though). Meanwhile, a pair of totally random songs in Slider and Relax round things out. I simply had nowhere else to put them until now (then). Huh, quite a coincidence to end Mixed Goods with such a summation; funny how it turned out that way.

That’s finally over though. Thanks for putting up with this nostalgic excursion into my year of personal CD burning. I was leery about this stretch, knowing full well it’d be almost nothing but anecdotes, which I prefer avoiding when possible. Still, maybe younger readers gleaned some interesting insight into that brief era of AudioGalaxy’s glorious heyday.

Okay, I’ve a huge pile of alphabetical backlog to get through now, on account I picked up another CD tower from a friend, under the condition I relieve him of his CD collection as well. Some of the releases and artists coming up, I thought I’d never review. This… is gonna be fun.

Various - Mixed Goods XV

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Intro
2. Fred Everything - Let You Down
3. Blakstone - One Thing
4. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown - Do You Remember House?
5. Fred Everything - Universal Mind
6. Fred Everything - Another Soul
7. Barrington Levy - Under Mi Sensi
8. Fred Everything - Under The Sun
9. Fred Everything - Derby
10. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown - Do You Remember House? (Azzido da Bass Tech Drops)
11. Fred Everything - Without
12. Fred Everything - Revolution

Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy. Did I not care about these anymore? Eh, not really. WinMX continued to suck balls as an AudioGalaxy replacement, and all the other suggested replacements were too sketchy for my liking. Also, I was employed again. And had real money again. And lived close enough to Vancouver that I could visit awesome music stores when I felt the urge to check new music! Downloading felt horribly unnecessary and so not worth my while any longer. I mean, just look at that track list up there! It's basically Fred Everything's album Under The Sun, with a few smatterings of other tunes. Why didn't I just buy Mr. Everything's album proper-like instead? Gathering MP3s was kinda fun at first, hunting about for music you knew was difficult to find at that day in age. Then, it became tedious, a chore for diminishing returns. Hell, I didn't even care enough to find a spiffy cover for this fifteenth volume of Mixed Goods, going with a rather generic 3D spheres thing.

I’ve really backed myself into a corner here with so much Fred Everything. I could tell you a bunch about his career, and his style of summery, loopy deep house (some people call this ‘liquid tech’ now, for some stupid reason). If I did that though, I’d have nothing to say when I do get around to reviewing Under The Sun (like, probably over a year from now). Well, okay, I’ll let you know that Derby is dubbed-out bliss, but that’s all.

The Blaze tune was a minor hit when it came out, even if it deals in a house trope that’s almost as old as the house ol’ Palmer’s reminiscing about: the ‘back in the day’ monolog. Still, Blaze has never made a bad track in their career (if they have, please don’t tell me – I cherish the ignorance), and Do You Remember House? is no exception, perfectly capturing vintage house vibes without coming off retro. Learn from these guys, o’ ye House Revivalists of our modern times.

Blakstone provides my obligatory ‘dark prog’ cut, and I’ve no clue which ragga version of Under Mi Sensi that is up there; it was all I could find when I initially searched for the original. With that, I’ve said all I’m willing to with Mixed Goods XV. Tunes are fine, but are hopelessly redundant within my collection. Meh, why couldn’t Mixed Goods XII have survived instead? That one was great! Ah well, one more to go.

Various - Mixed Goods IX

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Jondi & Spesh - Creep Phase (Dub)
2. Chiller Twist - Strings Ultd (Shelly Mix)
3. Futurecast - The Future (Is Now)
4. Powerplant - With Or Without You (Blackwatch Mix)
5. DJ Gollum & DJ Yanny - Watch Out (Mellow Trax vs Lars Palmas Remix)
6. Dirty Vegas - Days Go By (Galastasory Mix)
7. Jay-J & Chris Lum - Freaks Like Us
8. Walley Lopez & Dr. Kucho - Acid Journey
9. Jondi & Spesh - Creep Phase (Original)

This might as well be Dark Prog 2, even though the music here isn't as endlessly plodding as some of the stuff on that disc. It is a consistent theme on Mixed Goods IX though, and also having the dubious distinction of the volume I always forget is on it.

Yes, even the Dirty Vegas hit Days Go By. I remember that I did nab that track almost immediately after seeing that Mitsubishi car ad like everyone else (so cool, so class, so vibe), but not where I put it. In fact, even going back to this CD just now, I was surprised to find Days Go By on here. Incidentally, this “Galastasory Mix” credit must be mislabeled, as Lord Discogs has no return for such a name. It just sounds like an 'extended mix' anyway, and for all I know, it's the proper original version (I don't have their album, nor do I care to get it). I'm only keeping it titled up there thusly as a testament to the wilderness that was post-AudioGalaxy P2P hunting of the early '00s, where mislabels were common. Many times you thought you'd stumbled upon a new, unique tune or remix, only to find it horribly, incorrectly titled (remember, kids, properly label your rips), or deliberately misleading to give the uploader undeserved fame (oh hi, DJ Mystik). At least this MP3 of Days Go By wasn't credited to Paul Oakenfold with a Digweed remix.

*whew* Was that paragraph ever long. What sort of specific tracks are we dealing with on Mixed Goods IX, then? There's some deep, dubby stuff here from Jondi & Spesh – mm, like dub techno, but with warmth. Chiller Twist's Strings Ultz was a minor, melodic hit back in the day, while Walley Lopez & Dr. Kucho bring a proggy bit of acid to the table. Even hard dance mongers DJ Gollum & DJ Yanny get a classy acid-prog (!!?) rub for Watch Out. Also, why is nearly every artist and remix on here a duo? Even two of the aliases (Powerplant and Futurecast) are duos. I swear I didn't intend to piece together Mixed Goods IX as a showcase of that! Maybe prog was entering its “we cans Sasha & Digweed too” era with credits?

Despite always forgetting about this compilation, it's still a pleasant disc to hear whenever I do throw it on. Can't really say the same for the remaining Mixed Goods, but they're definitely memorable, if not for the best reasons.

Various - Mixed Goods VII

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Dido - Hunter (MJ Cole Mix)
2. Acquired Sound - Online
3. PPK - ResuRection
4. Jamie Anderson - Can't Stop
5. Chris Zander - Lord Of Sunshine (Christian Hornbostel Mix)
6. David James - A Permanent State (Superchumbo Mix)
7. Oliver Klein - Timeloop
8. Biosphere - Chromosphere
9. Justin Scott Dixon - Pure
10. Interflow - Storyreel (Extended Vox Dub)
11. Jamie Anderson - Black Sun (Total Eclipse Mix)

7? What happened to 6? Heck if I know. I can't even recall what was on it, made in an uncertain time where I still relied on P2P sources, but with diminishing returns. Shortly after this one, my financial situation hit an all-time low, and I was forced to pawn off my CD collection for ramen noodles just to get by. I wasn't too choked to see those discs go, but a few had assorted tracks I wanted to keep for future use in these compilations. And now they're lost as well, lost, lost...

Well, not quite. That Justin Scott Dixon track, Pure, ended up on a future Mixed Goods without me even realizing it, which is doubly-funny since I already had the track on Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure 3. In fact, I think this is an exact rip from that set. Why on Earth did I even want that track so much? Sure, it was one of the few tunes in the back pages of Muzik Magazine I could nab, but it's not that good out of context.

Ah, I'm sure most of ya'll haven't even noticed Pure in the track list above. Yes, that's ResuRection you see, and yes, I unashamedly adore that track! Overlong breakdown aside, it's such a deliciously old-school sounding tune, I was stunned it even became the hit it was. Maybe it would usher in a new dawn of classic trance, one no longer reliant on Dutch supersaws and- oh, you naive little darling, 2002 Sykonee!

Aside from MJ Cole’s remix of Dido’s Hunter (was curious to hear what the deal with MJ Cole was ...wasn’t impressed) and another classic Biosphere cut (please point me to affordable copies of his early albums!), Mixed Goods VII follows a similar structure to those that came before: mix of house, techno, and prog. This one’s mostly prog though, as it was often easiest to find on WinMX, what with all those prog DJ mixes coming out in 2002. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that’s not psy-trance act Total Eclipse doing a rub on Jamie Anderson’s Black Sun; rather, a play on words for a darker version of the funky house original.

Mixed Goods VII is alright, but a cynical ear isn’t difficult to form playing this CD, much of it drab and plodding. For as much as I enjoyed ‘dark prog’, what came recommended and what I could find just wasn’t cutting it. Fortunately, things turned around by the time I got to gathering it again.

Various - Mixed Goods V

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Jacob London - Slom Time
2. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Strictly Underground
3. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Implant (Acid Techno Is Alive)
4. Brancaccio & Aisher - It’s Gonna Be… (A Lovely Day)
5. Ubu - Pixels
6. The Bangin’ Drummer - To The Underground (Vox Mix)
7. Danny Tenaglia vs X-Press 2 - Elements Vs Smoke Machine (Mayor’s Mix)
8. Derler & Kitzling - Nuclear Device
9. BPT - Moody (Future Shock Mix)
10. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Evil Acid

When I initially made all these burned CDs, they’d all go into a simple, thin jewel case with hand-written tracks lists. It wasn't until I got the dodge out of interior British Columbia poverty and hands on a decent printer that I could do any spiffy labeling. Being endlessly nostalgic for early '90s CGI art, I scoured the interwebs for such examples. Every cover for Mixed Goods was culled from online galleries, and I kind of wish I'd kept the original artists' credits for them, as some of them are damned good, even making the discs aesthetically better than they really are.

Like Mixed Goods V!

I had ‘underground’ in the track list twice, plus all sorts of pummeling acid techno and chugging, basement tribal house (prog!), so I figured something appropriately properly reflecting that sound was required. I was also getting better at developing these covers, placing text, toying with fonts, and all that. Mixed Goods V may not have the best tunes out of my series, but as a complete package, I think its tops. Heck, even the CD label has unique charm.

Music wise, there aren’t that many surprises, as I was only just re-gathering up new material. Unfortunately for broke-as-fuck music enthusiasts, AudioGalaxy had just recently shut down, and most were left scrambling for alternatives. WinMX sufficed at the time, though was leagues behind in finding the specialist stuff. Suddenly all those wonderful MP3 rips of Muzik Magazine recommendations were gone, left with tons of D.A.V.E. The Drummer instead. Huh, okay.

Well, ol’ D.A.V.E. wasn’t too bad for acid techno (Implan still kicks), but I’m sure you’re all more interested in that Elements/Smoke Machine mash-up. Ah, it’s totally a bust, the entirety of Elements playing in whole, immediately followed by the entirety of Smoke Machine played in whole. Oh look, someone noticed Smoke Machine uses part of the vocal of Elements in its track. You so clever, bootlegger! Ah well, it makes for a nice companion piece in this CD, coming off the Tenaglia inspired (rip-off?) To The Underground from Bangin’ Drummer and into the anthem techno (!?) of Nuclear Device. Funky house jams from Jacob London and Branaccacio & Aisher, plus fine prog slices from Ubu and BPT (yes, this is the best remix of Moody), and you have a surprisingly well rounded CD of underground flavoured tunes. In fact, of the Mixed Goods I still have, V hits the peak.

Various - Mixed Goods IV

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. BPT - Moody (Pete Heller's 'Stylus' Vocal Mix)
2. Quirk - Soft Focus (Hyperion Mix)
3. Quirk - Yebo
4. Funk D'Void - Diabla
5. Chris Carter - Plex
6. Andy C & Shimon - Body Rock (Live)
7. Matrix & Fierce - Tearaway
8. Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Dust
9. Soul Grabber - Release
10. Plank 15 - Strings Of Life (Pete Heller's Strings Of Dub)
11. Kosheen vs. DJ Tiësto - Hidden Flight (Windsidor Bootleg Mix)

The title Mixed Goods truly is awful grammatically, though intentionally so. Something of an inside joke among my old 'Rupert Raver' crew, we (mostly two or three chaps not me) had a tendency to invent slang almost on a daily basis. It definitely started well before I joined up with them (I was a drifter before finding musically like-minded peers), and Lord help me, did I ever endlessly crack up to some of the nonsense that'd come from their mouths. Their slang war grew incredibly competitive, always attempting to outwit the last clever comeback, and ofttimes rendering simple discussion an impenetrable haze of jargon. As I still had close ties to that crew while I was making these CDs, some of the lingo remained a part of mine own, “goods” such an example. Yeah, it's not terribly difficult deciphering that one, but then I figured only they would ever see these anyway.

Okay, I’m honestly just burning word count here because Mixed Goods IV is quite a mess. By the time I got to making it, I was down to leftovers for MP3 choices, most of the best stuff already burned to personal compilation series (this one, Klassic Kickbacks, Breakz & Bass, Chilled Kutz ...ooh, mint material there!) or feature discs, typically of a specific genre or artist. I likely could have waited for more Muzik Magazine recommendations, but I needed hard-drive space for more music (my old-old computer only had 2.6 GB!). So onto Mixed Goods IV these oddities went.

There’s a fair bit of prog on here, though seeing Pete Heller’s name shouldn’t surprise of that. Perhaps more surprising is psy-trance act Quirk also getting in on that prog action; guess it was a bid to stay relevant, and ultimately failed since the duo folded shortly after these were released. A few excess cuts from my Breakz & Bass series also show up, though only Matrix & Fierce’s Tearaway is any good (and kinda’ stuck in post-Bad Company dark-neuro-step-funk-whatever sound). Chris Carter’s Plex is a weird nu-school breaks thing, and everyone knows Body Rock; all I could find was a crummy internet rip to sate my curiosity over the ‘clownstep classic’.

I guess the rest of these tracks were gathered to sate curiosity too; obviously so the Kosheen/Tiësto mashup, but also Funk D’Void’s nasty techno beast Diabla. Bet that track would scare the piss out of today’s festival circuit. Also, I really ought to hunt down proper copies of Pychick Warriors Ov Gaia’s music, shouldn’t I?

Various - Mixed Goods III

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Noiseshaper - The Only Redeemer (Flag Finger Mix)
2. Frankie Knuckles - Keep On Moving (The One Mix)
3. Sven Van Hees - Psychedelic Bellydancing
4. Wally Lopez & Dr. Kucho - Patricia Never Leaves The House
5. DJ GoGo - Sayna (Version 1)
6. Sven Van Hees - Serrano Anthem
7. Nigel Hayes - Que Pasa
8. Mateo Murphy - Love Express
9. Tom Wax & Jan Jacarta - Wormhole
10. Glenn Wilson - Release
11. Mateo Murphy - Impact
12. Tom Wax - …And Then It Hit Me

This was my stab at making a Balearic compilation. It didn’t quite work out, mainly because I ran out of Balearic music far too soon. It actually still makes for a decent ‘night out at Ibiza’ themed CD; at least I assume since I’ve never been to the tourist trap of an island. Laid back deep house to start, moving onto groovier, upbeat stuff like tech-house (no, it really was groovier back in the day!), some culturally tinged tunes as you wander the terrace to the next club, and finally settling on pummeling 4am techno to finish the night off.

If anyone’s paid attention to the previous burned CD’s I’ve ‘reviewed’, you’ll notice a couple familiar names already. Noiseshaper’s The Only Redeemer makes another appearance, a single that was heavily promoted during Quango Records’ re-launch in 2001. This Flag Finger mix, a short version of the reggae-dub house tune, doesn’t appear anywhere at Lord Discogs. Man, did P2P programs return some odd results back in the day. There’s also DJ GoGo’s Sayna again, though this version isn’t as mundane as the Dark Prog one – there’s an actual synth hook near the end, though minor. And here’s Sven van Hees, whom I raided quite a bit from Audio Galaxy for, almost entirely based on the cool track names. Most of the music I got from him went on chill-out CDs I made, Serrano Anthem is definitely in this vein (a mid-CD bliss-out moment), but Psychedelic Bellydance is… tribal-reggae techno? Awesome, is what it is; just awesome.

Nigel Hayes’ Que Pasa also has an upbeat, Balearic vibe going for it, though with a few jazzy guitar and saxophone licks thrown in. After that, techno, man, all techno. Well, not quite. Wormhole is definitely not techno, in fact rather out of place as a ’97 slice of trance surrounded by Mateo Murphy and Glenn Wilson tracks. I do recall stumbling across it when searching for Tom Wax’s …And Then It Hit Me, a tune I just had to hear after learning it was another ‘storytime techno’ tune (think The Horrorist’s One Night In N.Y.C.). Oh yeah, I’ve definitely been where this narrator’s been… once.

Listening back on this, Mixed Goods III has held up remarkably well, if I do say so myself. Shame hardly any of these tunes are available at Amazon’s MP3 store. Who knew this music would turn out so rare a decade on.

Various - Red Jerry: Late Night Drive Mix

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Oh look, we're back in 2002, and Muzik Magazine's been kind enough to rope in Hooj Choons godfather Red Jerry in for a mix. With that, you instantly know this is gonna be a good ol' prog-athon, of the deep, dark, (dull?), tribal bent. After enduring such a long stretch of plodding McProg beats, this'll be a breath of fresh air. Still, kind of odd seeing a mix CD of such music featured on Muzik’s part, as they were starting their snarky “lol, prog is boring, grime’s the mint, mate!” phase when this came out.

Fortunately, Mr. Dickens provides an excellent freebie of a set. He’d already made a number of mixes the few years prior, including constructing deeper offerings for the Euphoria series from Telstar TV. Curiously, Late Night Drive Mix is one of the last CDs he put out. Heck, his entire discography quickly dries up shortly after this, possibly due to Hooj Choons shutting down the year after. I’ll grant he was more of a label runner than a producer or DJ, but considering the dominance Hooj held over the progressive scene, its sad things ended so limply for him. Oh well, I hear he still DJs here and there, likely caning out classic Hooj with aplomb.

As for Late Night Drive Mix, yeah, it’s 2002 prog, so you get some deep tribal cuts like Creamer & K’s Pipeline Mix of Blackwatch’s Foreshadow, Joshua Collins’ Phonosynthesis, Peace Division’s R U Somewhere, and 16B’s Escape. Meanwhile, Smith and Selway’s dubby chugger Yess makes for a strong mid-set peak, and a Tony Thomas tribal mix of 16B’s The Game hits another high point near the end. Good vibes, all said, especially for those 3am cruises down urban streets in search of an all-night beef noodle house (or the afterparty). I’m still bummed this sound fell off to the degree it did (deep tech-house just ain’t as fun), but maybe we’ll start seeing a retro-return in short order. It has been a decade since it was in vogue, after all.

What gives this freebie CD an extra bit of class over most ‘dark prog’ of the time is the inclusion of breaks and even electro. While it may not be surprising to find PMT’s remix of Creamer & K’s Wish You Were Here in the early going (deep prog breaks!), Anthony Rother shows up at the end with Red Light District. Okay, it’s an obvious cut too (Danny Tenaglia ended his Athens Global Underground with it), but it fits the feel of Late Night Drive Mix wonderfully, and makes for a great blend into the Smith & Selway remix of David Alvardo’s Blue, itself an excellent, pulsing slice of space-dub prog.

So perhaps not the most unique prog mix you’ll find out there, but for a freebie, Red Jerry gave Muzik a definite keeper for folks fancying this sort of sound. Definitely worth a pick-up if you see it lying about cheap in a used shop.

Various - Dark Prog

(~): 2002

Since I'm doing yet another alphabetical backtrack, I may as well also touch upon a couple burned CDs I listened to but didn't bother writing reviews for because, eh, why would I? Who'd care about collections of music that I have nowhere else, uniquely arranged nowhere else, with custom covers you'll find nowhere else? Well, okay, the only reason I didn't before was because I didn't think I'd be able to put those covers up, but now that I've invested in a scanner, you get to see all my rank-amateur mix CD artistic creativity. The music on these is worth talking about though, so here we go.

Like dark prog. Not really a specific sub-genre of any kind, but all I have to mention is “that 2002 Digweed sound”, and any follower of progressive house will know exactly what I'm talking about. As trance kept getting more overblown on one side of the club, DJs and producers looking to maintain a level of credibility would jump on anything that sounded deep, dubby, tribal... dark. 2002 was probably its peak before prog went twinklier (the Schulz sound) or was nearly abandoned altogether in favour of tech-house proper.

The tunes I gathered up for this CD were ones plucked from old P2P programs, based on recommendations in Muzik Magazine's reviews section (truthfully, that's how I made nearly every burned CD back in the day). After noticing quite a bit of 'dark prog' in a recent download session, I decided making a full CD out of the stuff was appropriate. You’ll never find an official tracklist for Dark Prog, so here's a quick rundown of the tunes I used.

Trancesetter's The Saga opens things up, which with quite the powerful hook introduced midway through, doesn't really fit with the deep, dark, dubby theme I wanted; on the other hand, it's one banger of a tune to start a disc on! Following that is Tilt’s Headstrong, specifically the Relentless Vocal Mix with spacey lyrics from Maria Nayler. Yeah, that’s the deep, chugging sound of 2002 prog for ya’ ...but still a little accessible what with singing and a subtle hook in there. What’s so dark about this?

“Fine,” 2002 Sykonee says to my future self, “you want the darkness, you got it.” Slide (of ‘Cass &’ fame) vs Healey’s Fear. Hamel & Blackwatch’s Discotek. Innate’s Roots Rock... oh man, that’s some good dark, dubby prog, mang. No, wait, Sworn’s Dark Amendments (Detract Dub), that’s the shit! (psst, it’s Andy Moor)

Dark prog could also get pretty tedious though, as evidenced by the last two tracks, both drab sludges clocking over eleven minutes each. Of course, I included the Sorrento Terrace Mix of Headstrong as a quirky counterpoint to the earlier mix, but DJ Gogo’s Sayna doesn’t even have that going for it. Only reason I did include it was my obsessive need to use everything I downloaded. It made for some weird compilations down the road, believe you me.

Various - Dirty Vegas: Homelands 2002 Preview

Muzik Magazine: 2002

So this Homelands music festival, it was a big deal in the UK? The way Muzik Magazine went on about it sure made it seem like a big deal. I never heard much about it outside of the rag’s articles, but then I do live on the other side of the hemisphere. Odds are I’m not gonna hear about every single music festival in the British Isles, though I have heard of plenty famous ones: Glastonbury, Reading, Creamfields, Global Gathering, and the like. Apparently Homelands reached upwards of 35, 000 punters, respectable numbers but, turns out, unsustainable, as the brand ended around 2006. I've no idea why the festival folded, nor does cursory Google searches reveal much either. Did it just grow too big for its own good? Should'a kept it smaller, like our Shambhala festival. It’s still going strong, bringing in all the UK's big breaks acts for years now, yeah yeah! [2023 Edit: Shambhala's humble attendence numbers may no longer be valid]

I guess Muzik had an advertising deal with Homelands, hence all the plugging for it going on with the particular issue this free CD came with. Oh, they included write-ups for other summer festivals too, but not to the degree they did for Homelands. I wonder if it was as spectacular as they made it out to be; anyone have stories? Whatever, let's focus on what Dirty Vegas provides for an uber-festival preview.

Hey wait! Dirty Vegas! You remember them, right? They of the super-mega hit Days Go By, made famous by a snappy car commercial (I can't recall which one now – t'was over a decade ago). Seeing as how I don't own any of their proper releases, maybe I should go into a little detail about the group while I have the chance. Um... they had a super-mega hit called Days Go By (made popular by a snappy music video). Few gave a flute about their following debut album though, even less about their sophomore effort. They then practically disappeared for years, returning with a third album on OM Records a couple years back. Did you know that? I sure didn't. Boy, for a group seemingly destined for super-stardom, did they ever fizzle out. Kinda like those other early ‘00s hopefuls Fischerspooner, come to think of it.

Alright, back to the Homelands Preview. Some big names on this mix for sure, as the filthy folks from Nevada (South London) aimed for a set that built hot anticipation for the acts many could catch at the festival: Hernan Cattaneo, Royksopp, Basement Jaxx, Carl Cox, Slam, and X-Press 2 amongst others. The music itself is, um, quite prog for the first half – hey, it was 2002. Breaks care of Stanton Warrior’s Da Antidote 2 (The Unreleased Mix), liquid funk d’n’b on Peshay’s You Got Me Burning, and a funkier jam in Timo Maas’ To Get Down add variety at the end, but Homelands Preview doesn’t stray far from the unexpected. Except for those mooing cows when the music finishes - gotta capture that proper festival vibe, after all.

DJ John Kelley - High Desert Soundsystem 2

Moonshine Music: 2000

John Kelley's second mix under the High Desert Soundsystem banner was a disappointment when I first threw it on, lacking so many of the big anthems that made the first one quite fun. So of course, over a decade on, I find myself enjoying this one more as a DJ set. I'm not sure what the former funky desert breaks man had in mind when he started doing these CDs, but for the second (and last) volume, he's gone full shuffly, driving techno, with touches of house, tech-trance and a dash of prog. Blend everything in an arid, outdoor tribal vibe, and you have High Desert Soundsystem 2. Ah, Consistency, how you always make mixes better.

So while this makes for a solid CD for the ears, I'm struggling to find much of substance for your eyes. Kelley opens his mix with Samuel L. Sessions, gives us two Timo Maas tracks after that (boy, remember how big his star was supposed to be at the turn of the century?), some fine bangin' material plays out for a while (oh, two Ben Sims!), with a sorta-peak hitting with Trancesetter's classic Roaches, and an easy fade-out with the Fade mix of Carissa Mondavi's Solid Ground. There, done.

Even at fourteen tracks, High Desert Soundsystem 2 isn't a very long set, not even an hour's length. Since most of these tracks don't offer much other than keeping the tribal-tech momentum moving, it's not an issue, as each cut serves its purpose for the brief duration it plays out. Also, Kelley's mixing is quite smooth, a marked improvement over the previous HDSs, but by staying in such a narrow frame of genre-type, something's lost in the unpredictability that came before.

At best, High Desert Double-Loo is a snapshot of whatever John Kelley happened to be playing out at the Moontribe parties at the time ...I assume, anyway. If I wandered over to a stage where he was playing this, you bet I’d be down for these sounds, and if you’re perfectly fine with a CD that captures an hour’s worth of what sounds like at least a three-hour session, by all means scope this disc out.

And there it is. Absolutely nothing else to say. What happen to John Kelley afterwards, you ask? (no, just pretend you did, alright? I’ve still another hundred words to fill here, damn it) He made a mix for the United DJs Of America series (second to last one, in fact), released an album of original breakbeat material in 2005 (well, more of a mid-‘90s throwback, if we’re honest), and not much else of note, according to Lord Discogs. He’s still active, mind you, DJing and lending an occasional production hand to Eastern Sun (who?) – and, of course, playing for Moontribe events whenever they go down. All things considered, it’s unfortunate seeing one of chemical breaks’ biggest supporters seemingly disappear underground with such little fanfare, but such it goes with that genre in the current millennium, it seems.

Various - Global Underground 014: John Digweed - Hong Kong

Boxed: 1999

In a bizarre coincidence, John Digweed’s our next offering of Global Underground on the cheap. Funny, since he and Sasha were still intimately tied at the hip as far as the clubbing consciousness was concerned in '99, such that Boxed likely thought it'd be right jolly having the two DJs release separate editions of their DJ mix series one after the other. Of course, the prior GU to Digweed's Hong Kong was Sasha's ridiculously popular Ibiza, but I get to enjoy the same cheeky fun what with having just done San Francisco.

And why has this particular copy of GU014 made its way to the bargain bins? Well, the jewel case pivots are cracked, and, um... hmm. Gee, there’s nothing else wrong with it. Even the original cardboard sleeve’s still intact, surprising since it’s almost a given you’re not getting those from a resell. Maybe the previous owner ...just hated it?

But... this is a Digweed set from nineteen-ninety-f'n-nine, at the height of the man's clubbing clout. His Bedrock label had become firmly entrenched within the burgeoning prog market (when the term ‘prog’ wasn’t even a thing yet), Heaven Scent was an inescapable hit with critics and punters alike, and he'd even broke Hollywood with his cameo in the movie Groove (pft, Carl Cox did it better in Human Traffic). How could anyone not like GU014?

Well, that second disc is rather muddled in execution. While it’s obviously the ‘peak time’ CD, with tons of big names (Tilt! Breeder! Bedrock! Quivver! Hole In One?) and big tunes, it doesn’t flow like you’d expect a Digweed set to. Track selection and mixing isn’t the problem here, as they all go well together, but that sense of journey most progressive trance sets have is lacking, songs playing one after the other and little else. It’s rather like an anthem trance set in that regard, only this being Digweed, like hell you’ll hear anything the Crasher Kids would cream their pants over – even Heaven Scent is the subdued Evolution Mix.

Most likely, he’d grown bored of trance in general (almost all the old progressive jocks had by ’99), thus he focused more on CD1’s arrangement. This is the Digweed that came to define his sound of the new millennium: deep, dark, tribal progressive tech-house (oh hell, that’s convoluted; just call it prog). While a bit dull in the background, it’s ridiculously infectious and absorbing once you’re locked into it. Hooks reveal themselves in patient, due time, making the peaks that much more rewarding. It’s music that forces the DJ to work harder to keep the listener’s attention, with teases, mixing, and phrasing that coaxes out a track’s full potential, and Digweed pulls off the challenge expertly here.

GU014 isn’t the best pair of mixes you’ll find in ol’ John’s discography, as his transitional period is apparent while listening to it. It’s still a solid Global Underground offering though, and a worthy companion piece to Sasha’s Ibiza, assuming that was Boxed’s intent.

Various - Global Underground 31: Dubfire - Taipei (Original TC Review)

Global Underground, Ltd.: 2007

(2013 Update:
Well, doesn't this capture a moment in a time, written in that uncertain in-between of Dubfire's career, post Deep Dish, pre-Ribcage. I mentioned at the end of the review that ol' Ali had to do something more significant than continue peddling this brand of deep prog-house if he was to have a memorable solo career, and boy did he ever, deciding instead he are serious techno producer, making serious underground music. If you hated that turn, guess this mix will still serve you fine. Heck, I found myself enjoying the tribal-groove far more this time out.

And yeah, this is the only proper edition of the Global Underground series I actually have. Never saw much reason to pick them up in the series' glory years, as all my peers had copies anyway. Fortunately, as with the Fabric series, I've decided to pick up those that can be found at Bargain Bin prices on Amazon, to see which editions have been brought low by disinterest and- what, only Sharam's solo outing is that cheap? Oh fuck it then.)


IN BRIEF: Where the ‘deep’ part of Deep Dish comes from.

It looks as though Global Underground has come to the end of an era. For longer than anyone can remember (five and a half years, specifically), the once premiere DJ mix series has been the Deep Dish/Nick Warren show. With Ali ‘Dubfire’ Shirazinia (aka: the non-bearded member of Deep Dish) tapped to do #31, word has it this will be the final time we’ll see any of them on a GU compilation. I’m sure I speak for many when I say this: it’s about fucking time!

Seven out of the last eleven editions of Global Underground have seen this trinity strut their stuff, and unless you were a big fan of either, it grew tiresome five releases ago. Although GU often had repeated talent crop up in the past, at least it wasn’t to the laughable extent we’ve seen lately; nor was the recent token nods to Lavelle and Howells going to cut it for old fans. Small wonder many began to flock to newer DJ mix series like Fabric and Balance for cutting-edge DJ mixes.

How did Global Underground let it happen though? Did they sign some sort of binding contract to these guys? Were they afraid to take risks on smaller names? Was Deep Dish’s commercial clout too tempting to pass on? Are too few DJs playing the sort of house GU prefers to champion now? Sure, Deep Dish and Warren are good, but not that good so you’d want them to carry a highly respected series for half a decade.

Well, whatever the reason, that’s all in the past. Fortunately, it does indeed appear everyone is ready to move on, and Ali has been given the honor of closing this bizarre chapter of Global Underground’s legacy. Although he’s often done productions away from his longtime partner Sharam, this is only the second time we’ve seen Mr. Dubfire do a commercial DJ mix on his own (the first being an Afterhours special to an earlier double-release, with Sharam naturally doing the other). Since the duo have claimed their partnership as Deep Dish at an end, Ali has taken this opportunity as a chance to make a mix that will distinguish him from his former DJing buddy. The music, he says, has a more personal connotation and draws from his early influences of new wave, acid house, and other similar sounds.

For fans of Deep Dish, this may prove to be an intriguing plan: an upfront DJ mix that also lets you get to know the guy behind the decks a bit better. For non-fans... well, this still may be intriguing anyways. Just how much will Dubfire distance himself from the house music that made him famous? Are there significant enough differences as a solo DJ to raise him above the famous Deep Dish sound?

(2013 Edit: removed a pointless paragraph)

Taipei is the locale chosen for Ali’s mix, and as with Global Underground releases this usually factors in what you’re going to hear. The house clubs in southeastern Asia have gained a reputation for often playing out deep tribal tech house, and that’s what the first disc provides. To be honest though, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot going on here. It opens promisingly, with some catchy house tunes that suitably move you, and BarBQ’s Myself is a synth-poppy delight. Unfortunately, the mix never takes off in any major way. It lays out the groove early, and keeps it on an even keel for the duration. There are nice moments along the way, mind: And If’s lush Finest Dream; Deetron’s devilish The Afterlife; Markus Schulz’ bumpin’ remix of Yoshimoto’s Du What U Du (did I just give the Schulzer props...?). But with Ali maintaining a running theme of moody atmosphere throughout, it’s little more than a pleasant listen. There’s just not enough variation in this mix to get excited about.

Should I also mention his semi-debut track I Feel Speed, which comes near the end of disc one? Well, it’s a decent house track, and Ali’s gentle voice is suitably unassuming for the tone of it, but hardly a standout. I’m straining to think of much more to say about it, as there’s nothing terribly unique about it other than the fact it’s by Dubfire. How about I just move onto disc two, then?

So here we are in disc two, and we are off to another promising start. Bringing some murky techno to get us on our way, it seems Ali is ready to take us into grimier pastures, perhaps leading to something more thrilling than what was on the first disc. It’s not to be; instead, he seems content sticking with this sound for the duration. Interesting to listen to, certainly, but the mix suffers for the same reason the first one does: it doesn’t go anywhere. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. Some of the scenery along the way is better here - the remix of Depeche Mode’s Everything Counts being a highlight - and there’s better groove to be had. However, until we get to the final stanza of this mix - where nifty remixes from Extrawelt and Kalkbrenner take us out with class - Dubfire’s set merely maintains the mood without lifting us out of the techno murk.

I suppose this is to be expected though. Many times when a DJ makes a mix more personal, the emphasis on ‘paying attention’ is stronger than laying out the bangers. Unfortunately for Ali, his offering is hardly unique. In fact, there are plenty of DJ mixes already out there that cater to this deep-tech-tribal-minimal-progressive-yada-yada-house sound, and the Taipei association doesn’t do much to distinguish it either. Hell, I could go down to the local semi-underground club in town here and listen to this stuff live for cheaper than what you’d have to pay to purchase this release. Why should one get this if it can be heard anywhere?

Well, it is a nice mix to listen to, of that there is little doubt. Nice though doesn’t necessarily mean memorable, and if you’ve been following this sound for the last year, you won’t find much new in Dubfire’s take on it. For the most part, he keeps his mixing and track selection so steady that surprising or exciting moments are few and far between. It’s going to take more than this to emerge from the shadow of his Deep Dish legacy.

Various - Fabric 61: Visionquest

Fabric: 2011

*cover art brought to you Fabric’s “Bubbles! Fuckin’ Bubbles!” period*

And so we come to the end of the Fabric Project (on a budget). Perhaps I’ll do something like this again later down the road, as who knows what else may end up available for a pittance. Heck, I could probably find at least a dozen if I searched outside the Canadian Amazon sphere (at a glance, American Amazon has at least seven more under the fifty cent price!). However, I don’t want to get stuck reviewing Fabric mixes all the time. I’ve mentioned before they’re seldom all that interesting to write about anymore, and I’ve plenty other music I’m itching to get to.

So, who do we have to take us out? The American-based group Visionquest, a collection of four chaps that run the label of the same name. Most of their work entailed remixes, but as their output gained plenty of hype throughout the year 2011, it was only natural Fabric would come a knockin’.

And right they should, as Visionquest includes superstar DJ Seth “He So Crazy” Troxler! There’s also What’s-His-Face, Who’s-Its-Sack, and Lee. No, not Foss, some other Lee. Look, there’s a lot of Lees in underground house music these days, I can’t remember them all. Coincidentally, this is the second Fabric mix I’ve done that’s featured a DJ voted #1 at Resident Advisor. Does this mean I can eventually expect Jamie Jones’ Fabric contribution in the bargain bin too?

Anyhow, as Troxler’s a part of this mix, you can guess what kind of music you’re in for: lots of low, heady groove, occasional drug references, ‘come together’ soul proclamations, and oddball tangents to spice things up. The Visionquesters also provide ample examples of the music they enjoy promoting on their label: ‘underground pop’. Huh, to these ears, it sounds like dubby prog remixes of synth pop played at minus-ten, but that’s not such a bad combo.

Now for the problem with Fabric 61: too many jocks in the booth. Having an epic tag-team session sounds fun, and usually is when playing out live with a good four-to-six hour timeslot. For the concise mix-CD format though, you gotta get in with what you want, then quickly get out to let the next guy have his fun. Sure, there may be a few tracks when all four are operating on the same wavelength (like the stuff promoted by their label), but for the most part this mix doesn’t flow like that. Heck, it practically peaks with Cassius’ The Sound Of Violence, dropped not even a third deep into the mix. Some DJs would use such a moment to launch the set into a higher gear, but not Visionquest. Because they have a vision, taking you on a quest! Somewhere. I think. I dunno, the mix goes nowhere after that. Nice tunes though.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
Probably. I didn’t hate anything, but the arrangement seldom makes this a thrilling listen either.