Way Out West - Way Out West

Deconstruction: 1997

Even if I came to the Way Out West party a bit later than others, I was still aware of breakout classics like The Gift and Ajare. Having gotten an enjoyable taste of their later productions, it's time I return to the source, their self-titled debut, for the full story. No longer another in a long line of 'whenever I get to it' cases, let's hear some vintage proggy-breaks action as it was blossoming. Throw this bad boy on the digital jukebox then!

Uh huh, uh huh... uh huh... ah, hmm. Umm... is it just me, or does this album sound a rather bit... cluttered?

I think the aforementioned tunes, plus Intensify, spoiled me because truth be told, I hadn't heard much else off this record. Am I once again dashing my expectations? I mean, I kinda' do get tracks of equal calibre, but there's a lack of polish I wasn't prepared for. It's like, Nick and Jody had heard what BT and Blue Amazon were doing, wanted to do the same, but over-stepped what they were actually capable of. They shot for 'immaculate brilliance' when all that was needed was 'damn fine great'.

Blue sets us off on a nice enough footing, more of a chill, Balearic opener with funky drumming, piano flourishes, and flange effects – nothing too overt. The Gift does its lovely little thing in bridging the realms of atmospheric jungle and Ibiza bliss (oh hi, Joanna Law, I remember you from that Coldcut set), then Domination gets this party properly started. It certainly aims at being an epic prog-house outing with many segments building upon the last, but I dunno, it feels like it does too much with all the samples, key changes, beat changes, breakdowns, bridges, and superfluous drippy water sounds.

And this permeates in the following clutch of tracks, such that I'm actually distracted by it rather than letting things flow as Way Out West mean them too. There are things I like in each of them: Dancehall Tornado has a nifty eerie segment towards its end; the piano bridge and vocal sample in Questions Never Answered is some of the best work I've heard from these chaps; the final stretch of Sequoia is prog-trance action at its finest. There's just so much else going on in these tracks that don't build to them in any significant way. If you need an example of where 'simpler is better', just gander at Ajare here, their peppy prog-house hit built around a singular, wonderful vocal sample. All the musical flourishes feed off it, rather than run off doing their own thing. Yes, even the record scratches!

Way Out West is a solid album, still among the best you're gonna' find in this era of progressive house/trance/breaks. It's only true fault is perhaps being a bit of a bandwagon jump of what was popular within those circles (including one (1) big-beat tune), but eh, history's proven that's the Way Out West manifesto anyway.

Way Out West - Don't Look Now

Distinct'ive Records: 2004

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

Like Hybrid, I never thought I'd dig into the discography of Way Out West. I liked the odd track I'd hear from them, but the general discourse of “each album is less interesting than the last” didn't inspire much curiosity from yours truly. Still, I took a chance on Intensity, quite enjoyed it, and will get around to their self-titled debut in due time. Meanwhile, I'm here reviewing by request Don't Look Now. Hey, that was, like, one of TranceCritic's first ever reviews! Let us never speak of it again.

Way Out West were often fancied prog-house taste-makers, helping usher in a young prog-breaks scene while Nick Warren handled a pile of Global Underground sets. There's very little taste-making going on with this album though, the duo clearly hearing the winds of change, hitching their wagon to the emergent McProg sound of the mid-'00s. They even went out and got their own vocalist, billed here as Omi (Lord Discogs tells me she performed as Emma Hall with Starecase prior).

This could have been a great album, easily on par with their older works – Nick and Jody remain talented producers no matter how 'basic' their songcraft gets. However, it feels like the sequencing of Don't Look Now is totally borked. It starts as you'd expect of a group trying to get on that Hybrid-prestige, Anything But You a decent prog-breaks outing while letting Omi do her thing. All momentum of the album is sucked out, however, with a watery trip-hop follow-up. Plus, if you came in already feeling suspect about Omi turning into a major focal point (centre-spot on the cover art doesn't help), this wouldn't have allayed your worries. Never mind she doesn't appear much after (only three more songs out of twelve total), the front-loaded impression is difficult to shake.

The middle run of tracks are all serviceable stabs at various forms of prog (house/breaks/slowbeat?) but I cannot deny my attention often drifting as they play. Chasing Rainbows' languid pace and dreamy guitars are quite nice, while Fear triggers all the right McProg-enjoying endorphins lurking somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

Still, I feel stupid for not really getting into this album until Killa, just because it's such a simple, dumb-fun tune (those chants! D'at thunderous beat!), your reptile brain can't help but take notice. From there, more intuitive breaks action comes care of Northern Lights (the sort of science some undoubtedly expected from the start), while Melt is a pleasant little ditty for Omi to take us out on. Oh, wait, they got Ulrich Schnauss with them for the actual closer, Absinthe Dreams a weirdo trip-hop session that certainly fits the title.

Regardless of how folks reacted to Don't Look Now, it ended up being a one-time outing. Omi would never return, while Nick and Jody split off for solo pursuits for half a decade. It does hold up better than most commercial prog of the day, but that's not a terribly high bar to pass.

L.S.G. - The Best Of L.S.G. (The Singles Reworked)

Superstition: 2004

I can't recall if folks thought it at the time, but it did seem the L.S.G. era of Oliver Lieb's career was over. You usually don't do a 'Best Of' collection if you figure there's still more in the tank for a project. By the year 2004, however, the signs were aplenty that times were a'changein'. Chief among them, L.S.G. was soon to be homeless, the label Superstition unable to adapt with the ever-shifting trends in clubland. They tried getting in on that digital download thing with a run of L.S.G. singles re-issues, but it wasn't enough. Thus a finished album following The Hive went unreleased, and Lieb moved onto other things. Say, that minimal techno thing is catching on, how about that? Ah well, at least Superstition lived long enough to let Lieb do a 'remix album' of all the tunes that helped make the label one of trance's taste-makers of the '90s.

And honestly, I don't think an L.S.G. 'best of' could have worked as anything other than a 'reworking' of all his singles. The easy, lazy thing to do would be to just slap them all on a disc, maybe force a continuous mix out of it, and call it a day, but ol' Oliver had taken the project through many different paths over the decade of its existence. How could one's muse be satisfied with how the original works sounded after gaining so much experience in the studio since? I'm sure ideas and re-imaginings had been sloshing in his brain for a while (especially during the Into Deep sessions, if the final result is any indication), forming sonic links and chains among his various tracks. True, there's always been signature markers that let you know you're dealing with a Lieb production (the gated synths, the impeccable drum programming, those claps), but why not sum it all up in one uber-album retrospective?

Folly for me, I didn't 'get it' when I first threw on The Singles Reworked. Maybe I was more enamoured by the second disc holding all those non-album L.S.G. tunes, in my clutches for the first time and all (Hearts! Transmutation! Blueprint! Fragile (Gravity Fools The Magician Remix By Vapourspace)...?). Or maybe I was just so unfamiliar with all the reworked tunes that I couldn't appreciate the changes. Aside from My Time Is Yours, The Train Of Thought and Netherworld, none had appeared on an L.S.G. album. For a while, I thought it all cool and neat sounding, but cribbing just a bit too much from Into Deep's aesthetic to stand out as its own unique thing. As I said, folly for me.

But yes, time and repeated plays has provided enough perspective such that I hear The Singles Reworked as more than just a 'best of' remix record. It truly is an album unto itself, just with familiar melodies in a different context from their original conception. Think of it like an 'unplugged' session, except still very much plugged in.

Hybrid - Light Of The Fearless

Disctint'ive Records: 2018

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

It's funny that the bulk of my Hybrid collection is through these Patreon Requests. I figured Wider Angle was about all I needed, and probably would have been content letting it remain at that. Those Patreons though, they're determined to get every ounce of my opinion on the group's output, so here we are, doing Disappear- What, they did another album recently, and that's the request? Guess the fourth record will have to wait another day.

Though given the number of changes in the group's make-up since I Choose Noise, it feels like I'm dealing with an entirely different project here. For one, Chris Healings departed, which makes me wonder how much of Hybrid's classic sound remains. Not that Mike Truman couldn't go at it alone, both very talented studio hands and all, but I highly doubt there wouldn't be some noticeable difference when one-half of a duo known for pristine, precision production makes an exit. Also, we have Charlotte Truman as an official member now, who first lent her vocals on Disappear Here, so is new to me in that regard. Thus... Hybrid's basically become The Truman Show? Yeah, I know, everyone's made that quip, but c'mon, it's an easy layup, that!

Okay. Different make-up, nearly a decade-long gap between albums (longer for yours truly), and re-emerging within a music scene that's more about mega-festivals for mass populace than club nights for kooky punters. Just how much change could there possibly be? Well, there's hardly any of the classic breakbeat science, for one.

In fact, out of the ten tracks on offer here, only a couple sound like what I'd consider 'vintage Hybrid': the opening We Are Fearless, which does the cinematic, opulent intro thing before unleashing some decent progressive house vibes in that 'go big or go home' way Hybrid is wont to do. The other track comes nearly at the very end with Long Time Coming, and does the 'breaks with orchestra' thing everyone associates with the Hybrid brand well enough, but at only four and a half minutes long, is barely a morsel compared to older works. Considering all that comes between it and the opener, however, Long Time Coming tastes like a feast of breakbeats.

Light Of The Fearless aims for nothing less than power-pop, arena rock anthemage on songs like Hold Your Breath, Superpower and Beauty Queen, with Charlotte bellowing as big as she can. Just makes me think of Phantogram with a bigger budget though, not of Hybrid. There's also two tracks of 'dancefloor' drum 'n' bass. Okay.

This is a well-produced album, for sure, but from my angle, suffers from the same thing even Hybrid's earliest work did. I like the group best when they're laying out cutting edge breakbeats with clever vocal samples, acid, strings and orchestras attached; everything else they do is artistic over-indulgence. That now includes an eight-minute long version of Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down, which completely misses the appeal of Tom Petty's music.

Various - Balance 007: Chris Fortier

EQ Recordings: 2005

Balance? What is this? I recall that Bill Hamel guy was involved, but when the DJ mix market was flooded with serviceable prog sets with interesting photographic cover art, you'll forgive me for passing on the series' early editions. Tell me that Chris by-God Fortier has been tapped for a whopping 3CD set, however, and you've got my attention! Dude had twice kept my prog faith alive by that point, the previous year's Audiotour all but cementing my notion he could do no wrong. And now he was unleashing a triple-discer of the stuff? Who cares if I have to import it from Australia, there's no way this could go wrong!

Balance 007 became my least played release from Mr. Fortier, some of the CDs un-played since I first threw them on fifteen years ago. Oh... oh no! How did that happen?

It didn't take long to remember the sinking feeling with CD1. With an early run of trendy minimal tech-haus, it was my first indication that the prog bandwagon jump into that genre wasn't going to be pretty. Hell, the tunes from Alex Smoke and 2 Doller Egg aren't even that bad compared to what was to come, but stacked against the deep proggy vibes of Chris' previous mix CD, it was a serious letdown. Shame on me too, because the back-half of CD1 features some mint Soma Quality Recordings techno. My brain just wasn't ready to accept it from a Fortier set, I guess.

Even worse, I was so checked out on what Fortier was doing with Balance 007 that I barely registered he supplied the prog I was craving in CD2. To be fair, the start of this disc is somewhat misleading, getting in on a little menacing robot music action. Plus, Vector Lovers is here! Oh man, hearing one of my favourite electro producers was so unexpected and enjoyed, nothing better could follow it, despite coming so early in the set. Have I mentioned I never realized there's some mighty fine deep, dubby prog in the back-half of CD2, that I only realized just now, after revisiting Balance 007 all these years later?

Honestly though, the main reason the first two discs of this triple-discer faded from my memory is because of CD3, a surprising bonus outing of proper electro from the Fade Records founder (plus a little Floridian and prog-breaks action towards the end). And when I say proper, I mean proper, Mr. Fortier firmly declaring the lamented appropriation of the word for obnoxious acid-fart house music an injustice to the roots of robot-funk music. Aw, man... brother, I feels you so hard in the year 2005, I do. *fist taps the heart* For sure, anytime I grabbed Balance 007, it was always CD3 played first and only. Such a breath of fresh air then, and still holds up remarkably well now. As do the other discs too, even if it took me this long to accept it.

Dousk - D.I.Y.

Klik Records: 2005

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I recall seeing Dousk's name floating about the dread years of mid-'00s prog music, but never made a lasting impression on me, likely due to a lack of compilation presence. A stray Cattáneo mix, the odd Buddha Bar collection, and occasional name-drops in forum discussions. That's honestly all on me though, because Mr. Douskos had in fact gotten his break with a pile of Bedrock singles, instantly putting him in the discourse among the progressive elite. I wasn't much of a singles guy back then, however, relying on the good ol' DJ mix for my proggy fix, and when one's music is being rinsed out on such prestigious offerings like Steve Gerrard's Thinking Out Loud, DJ Sajem's The Universe, and Side-A's Afterhourz, you can forgive a Western Canadian for letting someone's tracks pass them by. (of course, I rib; jocks like Anthony Pappa and Timewriter also rinsed out Dousk tunes)

In all seriousness, it's a bloody shame I completely missed Dousk on the first go-around (yes, even after Jack had reviewed his follow-up album Kind Of Human on TranceCritic), because D.I.Y. really is the sort of album I'd have adored back-when, but I'm not alone in that. I once asked the TranceAddict community (as knowledgeable a bunch of people regarding music like this as there ever was) about any good 2005 albums, and revisiting the thread, not a single name-drop of this record comes up. That's honestly astounding because for all the belly-aching that place did over Schulzy McProg, D.I.Y. would have provided a powerful talking point the old, classic sound was alive and well. Better than Pole Folder's album, anyway.

If there's any fault I can find in Dousk's debut LP, it's that it feels too long and too front loaded. The first few tracks work a nice, chill Ibizan flavour (Robot may as well be the 'deep house anthem' of this lot), while As If takes the trendy twinkle prog sounds of the day and slows them right da' fuk down. From there, we're off to the races, 'choon' after 'choon' of grade A progressive house music retaining all the best traits of the '90s while giving it a spiffy (then)current sheen. When the proggy breaks of Busmekanik hit, you suddenly realize, holy shit, this album's only half-way done! How can Dousk keep this vibe building?

He honestly can't, so it's just as well he completely changes gear after. Feign serves as an abrupt trip-hop interlude, followed by a serving of serviceable prog-house numbers that feel like D.I.Y.'s easing us through the comedown. Two downtempo tracks after – one more on that experimental tip, the other pure mellow bliss – and golly gee, we have ourselves a proper ol' Journey Album, don't we, folks? Still, I won't deny needing to start D.I.Y. from the middle a couple times for that back-half to stick in my head better. That initial run is just too damn dope for anything after to compare. Not the worst of nitpicks, is it?

Sasha - Airdrawndagger

BMG UK & Ireland: 2002

I sure remember the hot anticipation for Sasha's debut album. Like, there was long, gestating buzz over whether he'd ever do the deed, as the discourse is wont to go when it comes to popular DJs. Curating all those class trance records, groovy progressive house tracks, and spiritual superclub vibes, surely had to impress some inspiration upon Mr. Coe such that his muse demanded his own tunes too. And as his career continuously went from strength to strength (Renaissance, Northern Exposure, Xpander EP!), the time seemed right to drop an LP of original music in ye' olde year of 2002. (whoa, deja-vu)

Everyone's familiar with Airdrawndagger's story: big hype, lukewarm response, now regarded a relic of prog's heyday. For sure folks enjoyed what they heard on this album, but it wasn't the knock-down smash they hoped for. As though they needed this record to definitively and emphatically resuscitate and cement progressive house/trance/breaks' legacy as the One Genre To Rule Them All.

Instead, Sasha – yes, Charlie May and Junkie XL lended a heaping helping hand – set out for something more conceptual, music just as enjoyable being played at home as hearing rinsed out in the clubs. And hoo, he done did that, the tunes on Airdrawndagger utterly lush within my headphone space. Sixteen years on, the production's as cutting edge as the day it dropped, even if the song-writing mostly remains stuck in the past. Which is fine. Despite some wailing that there was nothing as instantly classic as Xpander on here, Sasha maintained Airdrawndagger was an assemblage of his various influences throughout his years of DJing. Or just coming due on all those half-formed ideas floating about from his 'studio time' following missed gigs.

So you get the chill tunes setting the mood early, but holding nothing back on opulent synth melodies either (Mr. Tiddles, Magnetic North), all the while keeping the rhythms at a steady groove. Then things get more technical than musical for a while, which is dope if you dig sound design in your beatcraft, but may be lacking if you need your melodies up front and obvious. James Holden to the rescue then, as Bloodlock might as well be a solo-Holden track, the sort of twinkle-prog he practically pioneered. It's almost shocking to hear this tune now, considering both Sasha and Holden would disown it so soon after. That Coldharbour crew though, they had no problem claiming it.

The album kinda' eases things down from there, Requiem a spritely ambient outing, Golden Arm a steadying prog groover, and Wavy Gravy a chipper prog-breaks closer. Not the rousing finale you'd expect from Sasha and co., but again, Airdrawndagger never was gonna' be a dozen tracks of clubbing fodder. Next-gen production aside, this is mostly a record with no aspirations of commercial appeal, but rather music making that sates one's own soul. And hey, if anyone else gets something out of it, all the better. Such modesty strangely makes it better the older it gets.

ACE TRACKS: November 2018

As I accumulate more and more music, certain trends start appearing, like preferred genres or running themes among cover art (so many pictures of Saturn). One thing I hadn't counted, however, was having far more items of certain years compared to others. 1995 in particular has remained top dog for as long as I've noticed this trend, although the years 2015 and 2007 are often nipping at its heels. By comparison, 2005 has been abysmal for my CD collection, the only competitors being its neighbouring years of 2004 and 2006. That is, if you don't include anything prior to 1993, the year I started buying my own music, and when electronic music really started taking off in my far flung corner of the world. Maybe if I go on a binge of hair metal or protest folk, my stacks of older decades will start looking more buff, but that'd dilute the electronic purity I've cultivated all these years.

Anyhow, I've mentioned this curiosity many times before, and I just assumed it being a case of the mid-'90s being awesome for electronic music, the mid-'00s being shite for electronic music, and the mid-'10s being resurgently awesome for electronic music. In simpler language, there was more dope music in 1995 than any other time, or at least that which I've consistently gone back to. I've posited this theory on the TranceAddict forums, and it seems I'm not alone in noticing this, some there realizing their Discoggian 'Want List' is rather slight for 2005 and its compatriots. Hell, the only reason I figure 2007 is so beefy in my archives is due to the all the reviews I was writing for TranceCritic around that time.

Does anyone else notice this within their own music collections, certain years being heavy favorites over others? Like, I assume this is only something folks with 500+ items spanning a few decades would at all, but I am curious nonetheless. Food for thought while y'all check out the ACE TRACKS for this past November.


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Supercar - Futurama
Alien Project - Activation Portal

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 8%
Most “WTF?” Track: Guess the Ab Fab single, for its mere existence.

Wow, this one turned out remarkably well! It's almost a proper playlist, and not just some arbitrary arrangement of select tunes I was listening to these past thirty days. I didn't even notice how similar Rapoon's The Same River Once and Sven Vath's Ritual Of Life were until being alphabetically paired together like that. And there's quite a few sections like that here. While I mostly make these things for my own use, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one to anyone who's curious about a sampling of the sort of music I generally cover here. Yes, even the music I was requested to review!

Hybrid - I Choose Noise

Distinct'ive Records: 2006

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I Choose Noise is what I was expecting Morning Sci-Fi to sound like. Which is funny, because by the year 2006, I thought Hybrid was well onto their 'we are soundtrack composers now' stage. Like, I don't recall much promotion for I Choose Noise's singles. I'm sure tracks like Dogstar and Falling Down did well enough on the DJ circuit, but how represented your tunes are on compilations tends to signify actual popularity (yes, even in the mid-'00s), and if folks were mostly clamouring for a trend-whorish remix of an old single, well...

For those who'd been clamouring for another Wide Angle though, I Choose Noise finds Truman and Healings bringing the sophisticated songcraft back to the fore, with all the acoustic guitar interludes and orchestral arrangements some undoubtedly felt lacking in Morning Sci-Fi. Now, I liked the 'dumber' music of Morning Sci-Fi, but that's because I feel Hybrid are at their best when making 'dumb' music, utilizing their breakbeat science in ways my reptile brain interprets as transcendent (Live Angle still their best LP, no doubt).

And there are some of those wonderfully 'dumb' moments on I Choose Noise, including the titular cut, big aggressive beats boshing things out as an urgent string section wonderfully builds tension. Last Man Standing gets funkier with the breakbeat science, harking back to the days when such tunes were found aplenty and cyber-action movies of the late '90s – how odd to hear it in the year 2006, I wager. Hooligan Spirit dips its toes into boshing electo, as though the cyborg police are on the march for criminal hackers, and Dream Stalker gets Peter Hook back on the bass guitar for another smooth slice of progressive breaks that wouldn't sound out of place in a movie credit roll.

Ah, hm, y'know, I'm getting quite the sense of these tunes being written with films in mind. Hybrid had released a collection of music intended for potential movies the year prior (Scores), and while these are far denser in arrangement than simple background fodder, I can't say any real hook or melody latches on the same way older tunes have. Dogstar is a well crafted single, with all the things folks who love Hybrid come to enjoy (strong rhythms, strong lead singer, nice instrumentation, smart use of an orchestra), but Lord help me if I had to hum it to anyone. You'd think tunes like Falling Down or Until Tomorrow, with actual choruses, would have some sort of hook, but Hybrid's production smooths everything out into a dense wall-of-sound almost to a fault. At least I remember Choke for that weird bell tone over a trip-hop beat.

I Choose Noise ends on another big orchestral anthem of Just For Today, clearly trying to ape Wide Angle's climax of Finished Symphony. It doesn't quite hit the mark, but as a whole, I liked this album more, even if the individual tunes don't stick with me as much as Wide Angle's. Weird how that works sometimes.

Hybrid - Morning Sci-Fi

Distict'ive Records: 2003

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I'm sure I liked Wide Angle - I definitely know I liked Wider Angle for the Live Angle bonus CD. Unfortunately, a few things held back a love for Hybrid's debut album, none more prominent than a sense the duo's artistic pretensions didn't always match the finished product. They wanted to move beyond the easy club fodder, creating high-culture music for a cultured audience. Cool, bro, but that leaves those who adored the breakbeat science wanting in the wind. How can such folks get their flail on when a French rapper is crooning over a trip-hop rhythm?

I won't deny being in that camp, making me wary of checking anything after Wider Angle. Figured Hybrid would continue the super-sophisticated music explorations, the blinding breaks they made their name on a mere stepping stone to higher, loftier goals in the music world, thus a journey I wasn't much interested in joining with. As continues being the case, I should have got that tree trunk out of my rump sooner, because fuck me if Morning Sci-Fi is better than Wide Angle by a... erm, broad space.

It starts as I initially feared (well, properly starts, discounting the secret song hiding in the CD's negative space), with Hybrid throwing oh-so many ideas into a soup of genre fusion, with production ultra-crisp and clean such that it kinda' neuters whatever teeth the song has. Like, there's things I like in True To Form (can never go wrong with a Reese bass growl, and it's nice hearing those New Order vibes from Peter Hook), but with the obligatory orchestral swells and limp lyrics from Adam Taylor, it once again sounds like Hybrid's clutching for musical opulence they just can't quite grasp.

Then Know Your Enemy hits, and hits fuckin' hard with the progressive breaks action I love from these guys, and all is right again. Then third cut Marrakech hits, and I'm thrown for a loop, the tune some sort of psychedelic trip-hop outing that wouldn't sound out of place in a FSOL Environments LP. Ain't no way that's gonna' get a “most moving pieces of electronic music” plaudit, but it definitely earns an uber thumbs-up from me! And while I prefer Hybrid's instrumentals, Adam Taylor sounds great in I'm Still Awake, the music complementing rather than burying him as though his voice is just another layer in an overstuffed cake.

And goodness, how are there so many kick-ass club tracks on this album? It's not as relentless as Live Angle (obviously it couldn't be), but the block featuring Visible Noise, We Are In Control and Higher Than A Skyscraper gives that CD serious competition. The final clutch of tracks gets back to the lyrical stuff, with Kirsty Hawkshaw providing a full range of octaves on the closer Blackout. This was honestly what I was expecting out of Morning Sci-Fi, but given the highly kinetic, super energetic tuneage that preceded it, by all means, Misters Truman and Healings, have at your sophisticated songcraft.

Various - Rewind: Taylor - Resonance

DMC: 1998/2001

Yeah, this technically isn't part of the United DJs Of America mainline series, but the reissue Rewind series, which primarily focused on some of the best mixes from United (a few also cribbed from Mixmag Live!). I've already covered this information with Mark Farina's Rewind (aka: United DJs Of America, Vol. 9 – Frisko Disco), but that review was... geez'it, three years ago now? Doesn't seem a shade over two-and-a-half.

Anyhow, the original version of this CD was United DJs Of America, Vol. 10, hence its current placement in my ramshackle retrospective. Taylor (Myles Glenn Wooten to the California voter roll) was an appropriate jock to tap, bringing trance back into the series with the genre on the cusp of US commercial interests. What better reason, then, to have one of that scene's dedicated veterans emerge from obscurity for a rinse-out? Oh, right, because he also had that huge collaborative single in Anomaly – Calling Your Name.

This is a good, solid trance set from Taylor. The only overplayed anthem is the breaks hit Expand The Room from The Light, and Jackal & Hyde's Get Down To My Technique is a fun lead-in to it. Taylor himself apes a little Chris Cowie in Slide, and hearing Lieb's bangin' rub of Movin' Melodies' Rollerblade is always welcome (chopped vocals in '96!). Throw in a few acid cuts at the start, and a lengthy prog collab' with Sasha and Maria Nayler at the finish, and you've yourself a very nice trance CD in whatever used shop you might find it in.

Los Angeles is where Taylor hails from, and few folks are as fictionally famous from that region than Zack Morris. What say you, Zack?

Zack: You know, if I'd been of this current generation, I'd totally have become a DJ. Don't get me wrong, having a band called Zack Attack is fun and all, but c'mon. Me, the center of attention with thousands of screaming fans cheering my name to play other people's music? It's the career I was born for.

A.C.: Hold on there, preppy. If anyone's destined to be a DJ, it's me. Heck, it's so obvious that an actual DJ took my name and made a career of it. You'll always be runner up to my talents.

Zack: Hey now, Slate', we don't have to be rivals. We could do a tag-team, you know? Go into this together, be a stud DJ duo, the two of us. How's that sound?

A.C.: I dunno. Sounds like another one of your schemes, preppy. You'd just gum things up in the end. But hey, why not?

Screech: Hey, guys, what about me? You need someone with actual technical knowledge to operate those laptops and programs that do all the mixing.

Belding: Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here? I used to be a DJ, and can offer some expert insight-

Zack: Whoa, time out! We're getting far too crowded in here. Time to cut this guest review short.

Way Out West - Intensify

Nettwerk: 2001

Far as I'm concerned, Way Out West has always been that duo who supplied solid tunes to a solid progressive set, or could class up a cheesy trance set. But because their album output has been so sporadic (five in two decades!), the solo careers of Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff has generated more talk than the Way Out West legacy. For sure they had a brilliant run at the start, among the top rated acts in the nascent progressive house (trance/breaks) scene. Even then, however, it was clear they didn't need each other for sustainable careers. Mr. Warren was an established DJ on the UK circuit, while Mr. Wisternoff had a respectable discography under his belt before teaming up with Nick. Still, when they hit the studio back in the '90s, it was clear they had great synergy in crafting creative, deadly dancefloor weapons.

Success does create pressure in at least considering cross-over potential though, a tempting possibility for Way Out West following the turn of the Millennium. Like, if Hybrid could throw in a few vocals to critical plaudits, why not them as well? Surely folks would buy a collaboration with Kirsty Hawkshaw here, and a voice from Tricia Lee Kalshall there. And just in case their older followers weren't keen, you can win them over by sampling a bona-fide '90s classic in Coldcut's Autumn Leaves for the lead single in The Fall. That'll get those nostalgia triggers firing!

Shocking pilfering aside, The Fall is fine for what it is, a thumping prog-house anthem with a familiar hook to sing along to. Mindcircus was rather played out back in the day, but retains some charm all these years later, and Stealth works as a mid-album trip-hop breather. Really though, we're here for those propulsive prog-house/breaks (trance) cuts the Way Out West brand was built on, and the lads behind the moniker don't disappoint in the slightest. Activity's got a killer, clanking beat with a tasteful ethnic wail, Call Me works in a pounding prog groove, Hypnotise gets more floaty and break-beaty (paging Dr. Hybrid, yo'), and Sharkhunt... damn, is this ever some tasty-as-fuck sci-fi funk! It's a travesty this cut didn't get the EP treatment.

Okay, UB Devoid is a solid choice for “Big Banger Single From New Album”. It's almost doing a psy-trance thing for its first half, indulging in brief melodic passages, samples, and weird sounds for their own sake. The second-half goes down more traditional prog-house paths, but are mint in their own right. Can you believe this track's not even five-minutes long? Who crams that much music into a five-minute dance tune?

Finishing up, Secret hints at the burgeoning James Holden influences (grumbly low-end, twinkly highs), while the two-parter titular cut sums up most of the album's highlights. Unless you just can't stand prog-trance (breaks/house) of this era, there's nothing to fault with Intensify. It may not be as ground-breaking as their '90s output, but remains a great collection of tunes to this day.

Hybrid - Wider Angle (Special Edition)

Distinct'ive Breaks: 1999/2001

Thank God I got the double-LP version of Wide Angle - aka: Wider Angle - otherwise I'd struggle through Hell with this review. The second CD, an inclusion of the Live Angle: Sydney disc that also includes the brilliant Altitude / Kill City single, supplies me all the praise, plaudits, and platitudes I need to convince folks that I, too, have drunk deeply of the Hybrid punch. I'd hate to have gone into this with the ultra-snark that I couldn't help but feel when my peers were gushing over their debut, buying into the PR byline that Wide Angle was “one of the most moving pieces of electronic music ever”. Dudes, it's a good album, but not that good. Like, did y'all not hear that Dusted record? Oh, you didn't. Erm, moving on.

But no, I get it. Way back, when Mike Truman, Chris Healings, and Lee Mullin struck upon a surprisingly effective idea of combining orchestral arrangements with cutting-edge breakbeat technology, we all loved it. Heck, even 'Son Of God' Sasha bought into it, wrapping up his 'trance-breaks' portion of Northern Exposure 2 with the full, original twelve-minute Symphony. A regular hack in dance music would have taken that initial success and parlayed it into an album-long edition of gimmicky retreads, but not Hybrid. They had bolder intentions with their music, fusing many more unconventional ideas with their nu-skool breaks. Soul! Jazz! Saxaphones! Jangly guitars! Julee Cruise! French rappers! Oh, and a couple more standard progressive trance and breaks tracks too, with orchestral arrangements and all. Gotta' still give the audience what they expect, right?

Hybrid are certainly deft in their music craft, everything about Wide Angle studio slick and polished. I dunno', though – even after hearing Finished Symphony at the end again, the album always leaves me feeling wanting, like I've just consumed a very fancy meal at a restaurant that's high in decor, but low in stomach satisfaction. After which, I head over to the nearest sports bar or night club for some greasy pub food and beer of mass quantities. Throw on the Live Angle CD, is what I mean.

And hot damn if CD2 doesn't warm my cockles every time. For sure it's got the big 'cinematic' singles of Wide Angle in Snyper and Finished Symphony, plus prog-trance stomper High Life is given added grit with pumping synth stabs not unlike BT's Fibonacci Sequence. You also get the smashing progressive breaks cut Burnin', the Alanis Morrisette bootleg Accelerator, and an eleven-plus minute long version of Kid 2000. Throw in the aforementioned bonuses Altitude and Kill City - a track I'd honestly deem worthy of a 'most moving pieces of electronic music' tag – and you've a CD that makes finding Wider Angle worth your effort.

Or not, if you prefer your Hybrid as less 'tear-out' and more 'chill at home with tea and crumpets'. For sure there's a sizable market for that too. At least the 'Special Edition' option gives both of best worlds.

Chronos - When Mars Meets Venus (Part 1: Mars)

Altar Records: 2012

It's been two years since I dived into Altar Records' discography with abandon, reviewing their compilations and albums from acts like AstroPilot and... Um, okay, it was mostly all AstroPilot, with a smattering of one-shots from other acts. Chronos in particular though, I name-dropped often, someone who's chance to properly shine on this blog was coming. Um, I'm a little behind schedule on that part. His Helios album was a nice tide-over, but more of a dessert to the main course Chronos contributed to Altar's catalogue, a two album concept release titled When Mars Meets Venus.

Not that other artists on Altar didn't release LPs in rapid succession either. The relatively unknown psy-trance project Monkey Machine put out a pair the year prior, and another early Altar work-horse, C.J. Catalizer, had a steady clip of records too (to say nothing of AstroPilot, but y'all must be getting weary of that constant name-drop). None of them explored a specific theme across two records though, with each part reflecting a different aspect of their muse. When Mars Meets Venus not only cemented Chronos' place in psy-chill's pantheon of skillful musicians, but also helped establish Altar as more than 'just another psy label', showing a willingness in letting artists indulge themselves if they had the songcraft backing it up. The label's had some difficulty reaching that creative high ever since, sans He I Promised Not To Mention Again.

Part 1 focuses on the Mars perspective, which generally translates to an uptempo, 'aggressive' side of things. My inner astronomer can't help but balk at this (Mars is by far the more placid planet when compared to Venus' Hell-fire), but I'm confronting centuries of accepted, artistic lore. Thus we get your steady-pace prog-psy numbers like Leaving Gaia and... uh, actually, there's not much standard four-to-the-floor beatcraft found here. For sure the BPM is of a medium pace throughout, but Mr. Klimenko seems adamant in eschewing convention in favour of whatever broken-beat he can throw in. Arkturus (red bodies unite!) goes for a minimalist ambient techno thing, I think Hi Tech Mosaic is in another time signature than 4/4 (I'm no expert), Sequenced Engine alternates between chunky thumps and bleepy shuffling, and Zirda defiantly messes up the standard prog-psy pace. And wait, is that a touch of the 'wub-wub' I hear in Broken Song? Chronos, how dare you!

Detailing all the fine beatcraft on here would take forever, and that's not even getting into all the lovely melodies and ear-wormy passages too. Shining Parallel World comes rather close to aping classic Orbital, Lullaby For The Little Robot is all sorts of quaint and twee, and Pain Feedback sure wants to get its prog rock on. There's so much going on with Part 1, it feels like the album never ends, lasting much longer than its recorded time-stamp. It's an album that needs repeated listens to digest it all, but with a feast this grand, you can't help but return to the buffet for more.

AstroPilot - Fruits Of The Imagination 2

Altar Records: 2012

A ‘revisiting’ of an album half a decade after the fact isn’t so daft. Artists grow as they continue making music, evolving their craft as they adopt new styles and techniques into their repertoire. And if any record out of AstroPilot’s discography deserved another look, it’s Fruits Of The Imagination. For one thing, it was released on Avatar Records, and Mr. Redko had long since made a home for himself on Altar Records. With each passing year, that first album grows more difficult to find on the regular markets, and he very well can’t grab the rights back from Avatar for a reissue on Altar. Okay, maybe he can eventually, but in the meantime, how about that ‘revisit’ concept to tide things over? Most of the original’s elements can be used again, and this time given the once-over with learned skills and adopted genres.

For instance, there really wasn’t much prog-psy on Fruits Of The Imagination Prime. That album was sort of a blend of world beat and psy dub, with a few visits into breaks and psy along the way. Five years pass, and AstroPilot has shown himself very adept at breaks and psy (ambient too), and he’s beefed up everything to reflect that. Structurally, they’re still mostly the same tracks, but there’s more detail to his music now, beats more dynamic and timbre more expansive. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it dates his first album, but it does sound more basic and unrefined compared to Fruits Of The Imagination 2. For folks getting into AstroPilot’s music in the here and now, this is probably the better option for a purchase. And if you already have Fruits Of The Imagination The First, Mr. Redko entices a secondary purchase with a new, unreleased track called Asian Express, a floaty bit of ethnic flavored prog-house as heard from the way-before days of the ‘90s. Okay, so maybe that isn’t so tempting for a wholesale re-splurge. ‘Tis a nice bonus for us late adopters though.

Oh hey, I haven’t even detailed any of the actual tracks here, have I? Silly me, providing comparisons between two albums all the while assuming y’all have heard one or the other. Hell, this is all assuming it’s AstroPilot fans reading this to boot. Come to think of it, I’m taking a leap of faith on figuring folks even know or care much about the psy-chill scene to begin with, what with dropping genre tags and label names. Why, someone reading this could very well not even be into electronic music, only here hoping for another dalliance into hip-hop or rock music. Help, I’ve fallen into some sort of perspective pit!

Sorry for that. Truth is Fruits Of The Imagination, in either form, isn’t the most exciting AstroPilot album to talk about. He skillfully hits the standard tropes of psy-chill word-beat prog (etc.), with 2 being the obviously more polished version of the two. Some may prefer the older’s rougher edge though.

Stanton Warriors - The Stanton Session (Original TC Review)

XL Recordings: 2001

(2015 Update:
Another TranceCritic review with an overlong back history of a genre and scene. I wish we hadn't resorted to that so often, giving the benefit of the doubt to our readers they wouldn't need such info, but perhaps it couldn't be helped for a website supposedly dedicated to the coverage of all things trance-tastic. I'm sure readers knew what breaks are, but given the sickly state that scene was in during the mid-'00s, a little knowledge dropped couldn't hurt. And just how dire was things looking for breaks at the time? The Stanton Session was one of TC's first reviews for the genre, coming about two years after the site launched, and only covered by way of a Random Review selection at that. Tough times, though it's seen some rebound in recent years.

Persevering through the dark days are the Stanton Warriors, quietly releasing a couple more DJ mix CDs on the market, then finally getting in on that LP action this decade. Heck, they released a new album just this past month, Rebel Bass. Hmm, how does that sound, I wonder. *hops over to the Spotifies* OH MY GOD, THEY'VE GONE DEEP HOUSE! ...because of course they would. Everyone with ties to UK Garage has.)


IN BRIEF: Bumpin’ breaks from Britain.

Dominic B and Mark Yardly - or Stanton Warriors to their oodles of fans - are a hot commodity again. No, wait... They’ve been a hot commodity in the breaks scene for years now and never cooled off. Rather, they are an even hotter commodity now, with 2006 proving to be a strong year for the Warriors. Chalk it up to being given the reigns to one of Fabric’s DJ mixes, gaining them exposure beyond their core scene again. It’s about time too, but a breaks scene that’s had trouble moving on from the ‘nu-skool’ era has left it difficult for them to gain wider recognition (is it even still regarded as ‘nu’? Why not just call it Brit Breaks?). Since some folks are just cluing into the Stanton sound, let’s bring them up to speed.

(Note: While I’ve looked into the history of Britain’s breaks scene, my perspective is probably still skewed by my being North American, so no blame on any inconsistencies. If you want an opinion from someone who lives in the UK, go bug J’ about it)

At the turn of the century, while trance and house dominated UK superclubs, the renegades of the rave scene were jumping on new forms of breakbeat. Nu-skool, 2-step, garage (speed and UK), and probably a bunch more micro-genres - ultimately if it encouraged b-boy shenanigans, it was the sound of the underground. Of course, the majors soon noted and the mass-market of this sound began, where originators were quickly separated from imitators. Stanton Warriors were such originators.

Already accomplished DJs for a good chunk of the ‘90s, the duo soon began producing material of their own, some of which often made it annoyingly difficult for journalists to tidily lump into existing sub-genres of UK breaks. The reason was simple: Dominic and Mark drew influences from multiple sources, crafting their own unique sound in a growing music scene. Their DJ mix The Stanton Session was their first and expressed their manifesto as fine as any DJ mix could.

(Note 2: There’s actually another version of this release with additional tracks, but since I’ve never heard it I’m going to only discuss this one here... although I will mention it’s amusing to see the liner notes talk about tracks that aren’t even included)

It starts out friendly enough, with some rather commercial takes on the then very popular ‘gair-ehge’ sound in London. But whereas other DJs would often make use of top hits, the Stantons throw their own spin on it. Of course, their rugged remix of Basement Jaxx’ Jump ‘N’ Shout is a fine way to set the pace, but when they throw down a rap acappella over more typical tracks, you quickly realize there’s going to be more to this mix than meets the ear. There’s just something about hearing Busta Rhymes going “one time for your motha’fuckin’ mind, c’mon” over a silly bloopy bassline that makes perfect sense. Mr. Reds’ offering certainly would be a ridiculous track without Flipmode Squad there in support.

As the mix moves along, tracks come and go with good pacing for a breaks set, easing out of the garagey beginnings to delve into some fresh funk. Most of them don’t hang around for much more than three minutes, plenty of time to establish a rhythm and hook. What raises the notch of this mix though, is how diverse these tracks are; each track has a unique flavor to it that allows it to stand out from the pack. And unless you’ve completely memorized this set, each follow-up will surprise you in how different it is from what came before. Yet the Warriors hold things together with crafty skill so things flow seamlessly.

Eventually, our DJing duo lead us into some deep trancey breaks that-

*Dodges things thrown at him by b-boys*

What!? Oh, sorry. I forgot. B-boys hate to have anything of their music called ‘trance’. Fine then. Progressive breaks. Happy now?

Anyhow, the Warriors throw in some progressive breaks, which is yet another intriguing road they’ve taken us on. After all, why do breaks always have to be about bustin’ out moves? It’s nice to hear something more atmospheric after a good work-out. This also allows them to segue into the mellow outro of their mix, where r’n’b vocals and jazzy sounds come into play (their track Da Antidote exempt). UK garage, of the ‘deep house’ variety, I guess. It’s alright for what it is, and serves its purpose fine enough, but isn’t nearly as thrilling to listen to as the rest of this mix has been. But it does come at the end, so it’ll wind you down nicely.

Something else to mention is the additional vocals provided by MC Moose. Like any good MC on a mix disc, he displays necessary leadership to help lift a track to something better, but also welcomed restraint when songs can carry the load themselves. And, aside from the few times he needlessly intones “this is the Stanton sound” (what, the album cover wasn’t a big enough clue?), his lyrics remain fresh throughout. Stand-up job.

So, yeah. Ace mix, f’sure. If you’re a fan of breaks but missed it the first time around, don’t hesitate to check this out, especially if you’re just discovering Stanton Warriors in the last year or so. If not, well, you should check this out anyway. The Stanton Session has held up remarkably well and, while it may not make you a die-hard b-boy, it’s still an enjoyable disc to throw on.

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

Sasha - The emFire Collection (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
Ugh. This review's clunkier than I remember, and unfortunately suffers from an opening paragraph dependent upon reading prior material on TranceCritic. I don't even recall specific details regarding Sasha's short-lived label now. I think it was intended as a means of officially releasing Coma after enough interest in it grew when it was a self-titled white label, but my memory's hazy on that. Whatever the case, it seems the emFire portion of Sasha's career has been reduced to a mere footnote, a blip of information in what he was doing during minimal deep-tech's era of clubbing dominance. It sure didn't do the music on here any favors.

Coma remains a blinder of a track, and I've developed some appreciation for Who Killed Sparky?, but Mongoose and Park It In The Shade are wholly forgettable. Compounding the problem is the utterly pointless CD1. Slam's remixes were fine for Slam remixes - you kinda' know what you're getting with their brand of techno - and The Field's second remix holds up by feeling so old school. Audion and Radio Slave though, dear God are their rubs balls out boring. And while there's nothing musically at fault with New Emissions, the lack of indexing for all the various pieces holds back whatever potential repeat plays it may have had. I was entirely too kind in my conclusions to this double-discer back in the day. Sasha productions are rare enough, and The emFire Collection feels like such a waste of studio time now.)


IN BRIEF: Better than a stopgap.

Right. No sense in getting into the background particulars of this release then. You should all know who this Sasha character is, and, fortunately for me, the history of emFire was already covered by J’ [2015 Edit: whoops, that review’s gone]. All I have to do now is tell you whether all those remixes are worth your attention and fill you in on the details of that forty-minute long track that’s undoubtedly caught your attention. Eh? You want more than that? *sigh*

Thing is, even though you’ll find this filed under ‘Sasha’, The emFire Collection isn’t a fully fleshed-out release from Mr. Coe and his production associates. It would seem, as with the vinyl editions of his four recent singles, Sasha wanted to do something a little extra special for the CD release of them. He didn’t have enough material to make a proper album, yet an EP release like Xpander wouldn’t do either. So, he called up some of the hottest names in contemporary club culture to provide remixes. Par for the course where dance music is concerned but somewhere along the way, the idea was planted the remixers should flex their muses as well with two versions on their chosen emFire single: one for the dancefloor, and the other something more for the home-front (re: experimental). The result is a full disc’s worth dedicated to this project, with Sasha’s originals now shuffled off onto a second disc.

So, we have neither a true artist album but more than just a remix package. This places The emFire Collection somewhere in leagues with The Qat Collection when one glances at Sasha’s discography. All that’s left to answer is whether this Collection is worth your hard earned coin to place in your collection. That entirely depends on what you’re looking to get out of these CDs.

If the remixes were the first to grab your attention, you may come away rather disappointed. Even though names like Matthew Dear (as Audion), Matthew Edwards (as Radio Slave), and Axel “not Matthew” Willner (as The Field) have earned plenty of critical praise this past year, their minimalist musical styles are quite in contrast to Sasha’s enveloping atmospheric productions. The experimental rubs have some intriguing sounds on offer - Edwards turns in an agreeable dub techno go at Who Killed Sparky? - but are hardly essential either; Dear in particular spends over a dozen minutes going nowhere with his minimal dub loops. On the other hand, Edwards goes overboard on his Panorama Garage Mix, with a techno rework that is appropriately sinister and atmospheric but lasts a good three-to-five minutes too long; meanwhile, Dear’s dance-rub of Park It In The Shade is a nifty little groovy-woozy thing. And as for Slam, well, they do Slam with their takes on Coma: fine for the ambient/tech-house offerings they are but nothing groundbreaking. Ultimately, though, very few elements of Sasha’s originals are utilized in these remixes, beyond effects and traces of atmosphere; if you’re hoping for creative takes on Sasha melodies, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Aside from Willner’s Disco Mix of Mongoose, that is. The original was lodged somewhere between Shade and Sparky in terms of how it sounds but in Willner’s hands, it comes across like some long-lost Underworld groove complemented with classic trance execution. Long time fans of Sasha’s sound will undoubtedly enjoy this one the most.

Still, such folks are going to be more interested in the second disc anyway. Even though tracks like Shade, Sparky, and Mongoose are sparser than the types of tracks most expect from Sasha, there’s still more vitality to them than anything to be heard on the remix disc. And Coma remains a lovely slice of melodically lush atmospherics, once again proving Misters Coe and May are a potent team in the studio whenever Sasha feels the ol’ muse tickling his noggin.

However, in a move that will probably irk those who held out on the vinyl and MP3 versions of these emFire singles for a copy on CD, the tracks are edited; honestly though, this does make better sense from a home-listening standpoint. And besides, if Sasha hadn’t pared them down a little, then he wouldn’t have been able to fit that little film score onto this disc. Yes, finally I’ve gotten around to that. For those not in the know New Emissions Of Light And Sound is a DVD featuring surfers. I haven’t seen it, nor can I say I’m particularly inclined to do so anytime soon; however, the music Sasha made for it is definitely worth your attention.

Not the first time Sasha’s done soundtrack work (he provided music for WipEout 3, remember? Oh, you don’t. Never mind then...), the music he’s made is somewhat simpler than his usual output. Still, a ‘simple Sasha’ tends to be far more intuitive than a good eighty percent of electronic musicians out there, and New Emissions is a lovely listen. There’s blissy ambient passages, moody funky moments, gentle synth washes, Coma, and brief stabs at experimentalism too. And although I can easily picture waves and beaches and surfers set against sunset backdrops as this plays, it could work just as fine for any number of scenic pieces. The only gripe about New Emissions - and it’s unfortunately a serious one - is that none of it is indexed. There are definite individual tracks on this, with names like Gothic Mood, Rooski, and Stars, but instead of being able to skip to the bits you’d like to hear at any given time, it’s all arranged into a continuous mix with obvious transitions.

And really, that kind of sums up emFire Collection as a whole. There’s a fair amount to enjoy here but it’s presented in such a way that leaves something to be desired. Honestly, given how disparate everything is on here, I’m not sure Sasha could have made this a fluid sounding release across two discs. I’d still call this a welcome addition to anyone’s music collection but compared to other releases with Sasha’s name on the cover, it probably won’t get as many plays.

Various - RU Receiving

Mercury: 1997

I’m sure in the lands of the Old World, where electronic music wasn’t so mocked, they had all sorts of shows dedicated to ‘rave videos’. Out here in the New World, however, our options were scant, few, and almost entirely centered on club hits of the day. That wasn’t so bad in the early ‘90s when euro-dance had a little market penetration, but once R&B took over, good ol’ house and techno was practically jettisoned from music channel rotation. Save the occasional undeniable chart climber from Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, or, erm, Aqua, electronic music videos all but disappeared from North American TVs. Hey, at least it’s not as bad as today, where all music videos have disappeared. (hey-o!)

Still, even in those lean years of the mid-to-late ‘90s, one could find obscure shows in the wee hours dedicated to showcasing outlier acts of a broad culture. After all, the UK never stopped making music videos for their eager audiences, so why not offer up a 2am slot airing them. Gives a handy excuse to replay that Trainspotting hit or a semi-popular ‘electronica’ jam again, plus throw in a few homegrown acts like Moby and Richie Hawtin for good measure. On MTV, their show was called Amp, while in Canada, our own MuchMusic dubbed the hour RU Receiving, and holy cow was this ever the bomb late at night! Weird, esoteric music only underground ravers had much clue about, finally given visual representation, with videos equally weird and esoteric. With so few star frontmen to market around, most electronic music videos back in the day were artsy and abstract efforts, only adding to the American rave scene’s alt-culture allure.

Naturally a CD compilation hit the shelves promoting this fledgling show. As a 1997 ‘electronica’ collection, it features familiar acts, a few obscure tracks, and a couple “fucking why?” cuts. Okay, U2’s Mofo isn’t that surprising considering this was the year they got in on that hip, new big-beat sound the UK was all abuzz over. And honestly, with Steve Osborne (Grace, Virus, Paul Oakenfold) and Howie B behind the decks on this one, this is one of the best tunes that emerged from U2’s Pop experiment. The other “fucking why?” track is Orbital’s The Saint, because fuck you.

Pretty much all the very important acts and their biggest hits of 1997 are represented on this CD, including Roni Size/Reprazent’s Share The Fall. There’s Prodigy’s Firestarter, The Orb’s Toxygene, Goldie’s Inner City Life, and The Chemical Brothers’ Loops Of Fury. Wait, that last one’s unexpected, but I’m not complaining, far preferring their earlier thrashy acid breaks to the Dig Your Own Hole era. Also, as trip-hop was super hot too, we get Portisehead’s smoky Strangers, DJ Shadow’s blissed-out Midnight In A Perfect World, and Howie B’s crunchy acid-funk Butt Meat.

For me though, the one track that defines the whole RU Receiving legacy is Synaptic Response from Canadian duo Legion Of Green Men. Gander at the video, and understand.