REKIDS: 2020
I'm not only buying MP3 releases without much care in the world about doing so, I've now begun buying them from Radio Slave's label, REKIDS. If you'd try telling 2007 Sykonee that would be a thing some fifteen years in the future, he'd have bonked you upside the head for speaking such mad nonsense. Of course, he'd also have scoffed at the notion he'd end up living in the same place for over a decade, having migrated many places in the preceding ten years before. Come to think of it, that Sykonee would have been amazed at many things that have come to pass since, maybe even this music-writing thing still an ongoing hobby. But yeah, that whole 'buying digital from Radio Slave', definitely a humdinger of a what th'? now.
What's attracted me to his print, however, is the abundance of techno names familiar and obscure adorning its discography. I feel like I can just hop about release to release checking out whatever may come, and I'm guaranteed some interesting item worth listening further. Right, not everything is golden – with the amount of records coming out of REKIDS, how could it be? Taking a couple risks here and there certainly can't hurt though, right?
Like this Jon Hester felle'r. I know nothing about him, but crikey if that isn't some cool looking cover art. And a full-length LP debut at that? Heck, that's plenty 'nuff for me to scope this out, even if Mr. Hester catalogue is a total blank to me (various singles on various labels throughout the '10s – as you'd expect of a techno up-and-comer).
First proper track on Converge Part I is an eleven-minute outing called Metropolitan with a very loopy, minimalist techno beat. There's some conga fills along the way, but the main feature is a lone piano plinking about throughout. Yeah, it's got that 'Detroit goes jazz' vibe going for it, but I can't say the piano tone does much for me, neither funky nor uplifting in any meaningful way. Still, it's better than the saxophone tooting in follow-up Haze, but my boredom of the track may have more to do with my long-standing beef with the sex-jazz instrument.
Fortunately, the album gets into a deeper side of techno I rather like after. Rain has a mellow synth tone warbling about a fine shuffly rhythm, Dreamstate gets on that dubby minimalism action, and Free lets the trance pads soar. As for the final couple tracks, I'm sure Flex will get some Drexciya triggers flaring, while closer Equinox goes a little askew with its oscillating synths. Have I mentioned how any of these tracks remain quite loopy, never having much fuss in building upon its early elements beyond whatever knob twiddling Jon does his leads as a track plays out? I haven't? Well, there we go.
So maybe not the most exciting record overall, but I could see most of these tracks working in an early, warm-up set before the real techno party starts.
Showing posts with label tech-house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tech-house. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Various - Fabric 58: Craig Richards Presents The Nothing Special
Fabric: 2011
This is a strange edition. Oh, not the music within, most of it serviceable deep techno and tech-house as you'd expect from a resident of the Fabric nightclub. It's not even odd, if a little self-serving, that Craig Richards would have multiple sets in the fabric series. He kicked things off with Fabric 01, and naturally concluded it with Terry Francis and Keith Reilly in the triple-disc Fabric 100. Relatively early in fabric's lifespan, he used his Tyrant alias to do a double-disc set for Fabric 15. I don't think there was another 2CD edition of fabric or FabricLive after (centennial volume notwithstanding), so clearly a format the Fabric faithful weren't keen on. How nice of Mr. Richards taking that fumble with Tyrant.
Still, an artist using different aliases for different Fabrics wasn't unheard of. Heck, using a Fabric set as a promotional springboard for another project was almost expected, especially if someone had an album, label, or club night to launch. Such seems to be the case with Fabric 58, The Nothing Special a label that Craig Richards was set to premiere later that year. Or was it something else, and simply became a label? I'm not entirely sure, finding little info about this CD a decade on. Something about Craig wanting to create a specific night at Fabric where he'd have to DJ around live acts, but I hear little in this set that reflects such a purpose, Fabric 58 going as it means to go on in the hands of Mr. Richards.
All this, yet that's still not what boggles my mind about Fabric 58. No, what truly astounds me about this CD is how it disrupts the then-current cover art theme! Fabric always featured a trilogy of unique art that never had much of anything to do with the DJ involved. Sometimes you lucked out with cool silhouette urban art or abstract drawings, other times you'd be saddled with the guy with an octopus on his head. At this point in fabric's timeline (volumes 57 to 60) , it was people in striking-coloured bodysuits being assaulted by similarly coloured technology. Hey, such bodysuits were trendy back then, and if nothing else, one of the more memorable runs of cover art in fabric's history. But right smack in the middle of it, interrupting the sequence and triggering all sorts of OCD, comes Craig Richards' stark black 58. What, does he think he runs Fabric or something?
Okay, okay. The mix. Like I said, it's basically a deep tech-house outing, with a slant towards Detroitism. He throws in a liberal amount of '90s tunes from the likes of Two Lone Swordsmen, G-Man, Eco Tourist, Joel Mull, and Johnny Fiasco, and unsurprisingly are more interesting than the upfront material. I find Craig takes a bit too long to warm things up, nor does it shift any higher than mid-gear, but compared to the occasional dry sterility of fabric's previous half-decade, this one nicely bumps once it gets going.
This is a strange edition. Oh, not the music within, most of it serviceable deep techno and tech-house as you'd expect from a resident of the Fabric nightclub. It's not even odd, if a little self-serving, that Craig Richards would have multiple sets in the fabric series. He kicked things off with Fabric 01, and naturally concluded it with Terry Francis and Keith Reilly in the triple-disc Fabric 100. Relatively early in fabric's lifespan, he used his Tyrant alias to do a double-disc set for Fabric 15. I don't think there was another 2CD edition of fabric or FabricLive after (centennial volume notwithstanding), so clearly a format the Fabric faithful weren't keen on. How nice of Mr. Richards taking that fumble with Tyrant.
Still, an artist using different aliases for different Fabrics wasn't unheard of. Heck, using a Fabric set as a promotional springboard for another project was almost expected, especially if someone had an album, label, or club night to launch. Such seems to be the case with Fabric 58, The Nothing Special a label that Craig Richards was set to premiere later that year. Or was it something else, and simply became a label? I'm not entirely sure, finding little info about this CD a decade on. Something about Craig wanting to create a specific night at Fabric where he'd have to DJ around live acts, but I hear little in this set that reflects such a purpose, Fabric 58 going as it means to go on in the hands of Mr. Richards.
All this, yet that's still not what boggles my mind about Fabric 58. No, what truly astounds me about this CD is how it disrupts the then-current cover art theme! Fabric always featured a trilogy of unique art that never had much of anything to do with the DJ involved. Sometimes you lucked out with cool silhouette urban art or abstract drawings, other times you'd be saddled with the guy with an octopus on his head. At this point in fabric's timeline (volumes 57 to 60) , it was people in striking-coloured bodysuits being assaulted by similarly coloured technology. Hey, such bodysuits were trendy back then, and if nothing else, one of the more memorable runs of cover art in fabric's history. But right smack in the middle of it, interrupting the sequence and triggering all sorts of OCD, comes Craig Richards' stark black 58. What, does he think he runs Fabric or something?
Okay, okay. The mix. Like I said, it's basically a deep tech-house outing, with a slant towards Detroitism. He throws in a liberal amount of '90s tunes from the likes of Two Lone Swordsmen, G-Man, Eco Tourist, Joel Mull, and Johnny Fiasco, and unsurprisingly are more interesting than the upfront material. I find Craig takes a bit too long to warm things up, nor does it shift any higher than mid-gear, but compared to the occasional dry sterility of fabric's previous half-decade, this one nicely bumps once it gets going.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Various - Deeper 01.02
Hed Kandi: 2002
I started this kinda'-annual glance into the Hed Kandi legacy with a Deeper compilation, so it's only fitting that I return to it at some point. Having gotten the second collection, Deeper 01.02, I've now completed the entire series! Yep, only two of these were ever released, making Deeper the shortest series the label ever put out. Unless there was some aborted runs later in Hed Kandi's existence, when their popularity had dwindled down to bupkis.
It's funny that despite all the label's early success in cornering the disco, house, funk, and soul market, their stab at prog never caught on. Not that I blame them for throwing their hat into the pile. When the highest paid, most popular, critically hailed DJs in UK clubland are rinsing dark, dubby house music with a tribal edge, you bet your bottom dollar on the punters wanting those tracks for themselves too. Except that's not the sort of audience Hed Kandi had cultivated. When you think of prog, you think of Very Serious DJs posing, not glamour girls sashaying about. Besides, I think the label had their eyes on that burgeoning 'twisted disco' sound (re: electro house). Can definitely milk some saucy cover art with that concept!
So, familiar names and tunes. The Creamer & K rub on iiO's Rapture is here, which is about as obvious a 'prog house anthem fitting with Hed Kandi clientele' tune as you could expect. Honestly though, it's been a lo-o-o-ong while since I last heard this track, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it still held up. B.P.T.'s Moody is also here, by way of a Pete Heller remix, so not quite as dated as hearing it again a few years after Digweed's Bedrock. Other 'prog' favourites include Danny Tenaglia, Satoshi Tomiie, Timo Maas and... Superchumbo? I can't remember if they were fav's or not.
It can't all be a prog love-in though, not if you want to retain some of the Hed Kandi faithful. Thus, there's a little deep house action from Roger Sanchez, Kidstuff, and Puretone, but by and large, it's the prog vibes that dominate. Dubby basslines, deeper grooves, lengthy run-times, and all that good stuff, even from names I don't recognize in the slightest. Well, maybe Miriam Project, I think I recognize that one. Maybe Stylus Trouble too. Not Goldtrtix though. Or Dirty from Dirty.
And, in a move that makes absolutely no sense from any angle you wish to approach from, Deeper 01.02 ends off with Hardfloor's remix of Circus Bells by Robert Armani. What, pray tell, does acid techno from the '90s have to do with a 'prog' collection from Hed Kandi? Mark claims in the liner notes it was included as a summation of Deeper's manifesto, of a track that “builds and builds”. But... lots of tracks do that? I dunno, maybe I'm just perplexed by the fact that, despite it being rather random inclusion, this track always seems to follow me around.
I started this kinda'-annual glance into the Hed Kandi legacy with a Deeper compilation, so it's only fitting that I return to it at some point. Having gotten the second collection, Deeper 01.02, I've now completed the entire series! Yep, only two of these were ever released, making Deeper the shortest series the label ever put out. Unless there was some aborted runs later in Hed Kandi's existence, when their popularity had dwindled down to bupkis.
It's funny that despite all the label's early success in cornering the disco, house, funk, and soul market, their stab at prog never caught on. Not that I blame them for throwing their hat into the pile. When the highest paid, most popular, critically hailed DJs in UK clubland are rinsing dark, dubby house music with a tribal edge, you bet your bottom dollar on the punters wanting those tracks for themselves too. Except that's not the sort of audience Hed Kandi had cultivated. When you think of prog, you think of Very Serious DJs posing, not glamour girls sashaying about. Besides, I think the label had their eyes on that burgeoning 'twisted disco' sound (re: electro house). Can definitely milk some saucy cover art with that concept!
So, familiar names and tunes. The Creamer & K rub on iiO's Rapture is here, which is about as obvious a 'prog house anthem fitting with Hed Kandi clientele' tune as you could expect. Honestly though, it's been a lo-o-o-ong while since I last heard this track, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it still held up. B.P.T.'s Moody is also here, by way of a Pete Heller remix, so not quite as dated as hearing it again a few years after Digweed's Bedrock. Other 'prog' favourites include Danny Tenaglia, Satoshi Tomiie, Timo Maas and... Superchumbo? I can't remember if they were fav's or not.
It can't all be a prog love-in though, not if you want to retain some of the Hed Kandi faithful. Thus, there's a little deep house action from Roger Sanchez, Kidstuff, and Puretone, but by and large, it's the prog vibes that dominate. Dubby basslines, deeper grooves, lengthy run-times, and all that good stuff, even from names I don't recognize in the slightest. Well, maybe Miriam Project, I think I recognize that one. Maybe Stylus Trouble too. Not Goldtrtix though. Or Dirty from Dirty.
And, in a move that makes absolutely no sense from any angle you wish to approach from, Deeper 01.02 ends off with Hardfloor's remix of Circus Bells by Robert Armani. What, pray tell, does acid techno from the '90s have to do with a 'prog' collection from Hed Kandi? Mark claims in the liner notes it was included as a summation of Deeper's manifesto, of a track that “builds and builds”. But... lots of tracks do that? I dunno, maybe I'm just perplexed by the fact that, despite it being rather random inclusion, this track always seems to follow me around.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Various - Balance 005: James Holden
EQ Recordings: 2003
So this was one of the big ones. Even if the music didn't hold up (spoiler: it does), it cannot be denied how much James Holden's contribution to the Balance series marked a prominent shift in the way the prog-house series, um, progressed. Prior, each volume mostly stuck with the dark, tribal prog of the era, save a single CD flirtation of prog-breaks by Phil K. After, Balance became known as the premier DJ mix series, where disc jockeys could indulge themselves with unconventional sets. Not to say that happened all the time, but such a rep started here.
Beyond that though, James' set marked a radical shift in the scene at large, ground zero for a splintering that would be felt for much of the next decade. Not only did Balance 005 firmly state the old Bedrock Records sound was done and dusted, but gave us a taste of what was to come. Obviously the Border Community style from Holden and his cohorts is what gets prominent focus here, but there's ample examples of the sort of prog folks initially expected of James, and got co-opted by Coldharbour instead. Grumbly basslines, side-chained melodies, poppy vocals, and whatnot.
Nowhere is this more apparent than right in the middle of CD1. Leading up, there's still a sense of the dark, dubby prog lurking about, even if a track like Petter's All Together enjoys throwing some robo-clank into the mix. Infusion's rub on JASEfos' Do What U Want is pure proto-McProg though, with a big vocal supported by a rumbly groove, the sort of tune you'd almost expect Holden to lead into his own Nothing (93 Returning Mix). Instead, it goes into the twee electro-fuzz of Nathan Fake's Outhouse (Fluffy Mix), its rhythm nothing more than twitchy clicks n' pops. And while the more traditionally thumping original version follows, this debut from Fake is basically what Border Community would heavily promote for much of its run. As I say, quite the little moment of contrast in hindsight.
Anyhow, disc one plays out with more of this push-pull between old-prog and BC-prog. Cannot deny I tend to favour the old (mmm, PQM cut), but Holden ends things off pleasant enough. CD2 kicks things off with some sleaze house in Meek's Happy (because electroclash was still kinda' a thing in 2003), then we're right back into more dark, dubby prog, with twinkly melodies sprinkled about (Epsilon 9's Lifeformation; Ficta's Eli; Kosmas Epsilon's rub on FC Kahuna's Hayling ...why does it sound like my CD's skipping during the breakdown?).
There's some bits and bobs of other sounds thrown in (acid in his own The Wheel, future-shock electro in Carl Finlow's Ghetto Server ...was Anthony Rother not available?), and Holden takes a long lead-down for the finish, each track growing ever more chill and Border Community-ey after the other. I honestly find my attention drifting, but only because the mid-set peak was so high. I'm not ready to come down yet, Mr. Holden!
So this was one of the big ones. Even if the music didn't hold up (spoiler: it does), it cannot be denied how much James Holden's contribution to the Balance series marked a prominent shift in the way the prog-house series, um, progressed. Prior, each volume mostly stuck with the dark, tribal prog of the era, save a single CD flirtation of prog-breaks by Phil K. After, Balance became known as the premier DJ mix series, where disc jockeys could indulge themselves with unconventional sets. Not to say that happened all the time, but such a rep started here.
Beyond that though, James' set marked a radical shift in the scene at large, ground zero for a splintering that would be felt for much of the next decade. Not only did Balance 005 firmly state the old Bedrock Records sound was done and dusted, but gave us a taste of what was to come. Obviously the Border Community style from Holden and his cohorts is what gets prominent focus here, but there's ample examples of the sort of prog folks initially expected of James, and got co-opted by Coldharbour instead. Grumbly basslines, side-chained melodies, poppy vocals, and whatnot.
Nowhere is this more apparent than right in the middle of CD1. Leading up, there's still a sense of the dark, dubby prog lurking about, even if a track like Petter's All Together enjoys throwing some robo-clank into the mix. Infusion's rub on JASEfos' Do What U Want is pure proto-McProg though, with a big vocal supported by a rumbly groove, the sort of tune you'd almost expect Holden to lead into his own Nothing (93 Returning Mix). Instead, it goes into the twee electro-fuzz of Nathan Fake's Outhouse (Fluffy Mix), its rhythm nothing more than twitchy clicks n' pops. And while the more traditionally thumping original version follows, this debut from Fake is basically what Border Community would heavily promote for much of its run. As I say, quite the little moment of contrast in hindsight.
Anyhow, disc one plays out with more of this push-pull between old-prog and BC-prog. Cannot deny I tend to favour the old (mmm, PQM cut), but Holden ends things off pleasant enough. CD2 kicks things off with some sleaze house in Meek's Happy (because electroclash was still kinda' a thing in 2003), then we're right back into more dark, dubby prog, with twinkly melodies sprinkled about (Epsilon 9's Lifeformation; Ficta's Eli; Kosmas Epsilon's rub on FC Kahuna's Hayling ...why does it sound like my CD's skipping during the breakdown?).
There's some bits and bobs of other sounds thrown in (acid in his own The Wheel, future-shock electro in Carl Finlow's Ghetto Server ...was Anthony Rother not available?), and Holden takes a long lead-down for the finish, each track growing ever more chill and Border Community-ey after the other. I honestly find my attention drifting, but only because the mid-set peak was so high. I'm not ready to come down yet, Mr. Holden!
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Swayzak - Snowboarding In Argentina
Medince Label: 1998
Ridiculous that it took me two decades to finally get this album. I'll grant a general lack of info regarding Swayzak's discography in those post-discovery years, though not for a lack of wanting. I'd never have nabbed that Groovetechnology v1.3 without their name attached to the double-discer (!K7 Records association didn't hurt either). It wasn't that long after that The Lord That Knows All clued me into the rest of their catalogue, but for whatever reason, I kept kicking the can further down the road. Some hesitancy from dashed expectations, perhaps? It wouldn't be the first time I fell sway to the charms of an artist after hearing just a couple tunes, only to be let down by their expanded selections. Still, I can't go wrong with at least returning to the source, Swayzak's debut album that helped turn the ultra-niche dub techno sounds into something the tech-house crowds could vibe on.
I know it's a massive cliche to say it, but there really wasn't much else like Snowboarding In Argentina before it dropped. Tech-house itself was still in its feeling-out years, unsure how much techno it wanted in its house, then along comes something that strips things down further to its grooviest, toasty elements. Even Basic Channel, dub connoisseurs they were, remained fixated on techno's functionalist elements. Swayzak's all like, “Nah, guv, you gotta' put more 'sway' in that sound, Zachary.” I really hope that wasn't how they came up with their name.
Right from the jump in Speedboat, you sense you're in for a bit of a different ride than the expectant norm of ye' olde year 1998. Deep synth pads, crisp tight rhythms, pinging chords echoing down alleyways, an ever shifting track for its lengthy duration. All well-worn tropes of micro-house in the following years, true, but quite unique for its time. Follow-up Burma Heights keeps the 'deep house by way of dub techno' vibe going, while Low-Rez Skyline and Fukumachi envision late night cruises through classy metro streets. Damn it, future car commercials...
Elsewhere, Swayzak show off their downtempo chops with Blocks, their stab at a dubby trip-hop outing because late '90s. French Dub goes even deeper into the low-ridin' lane, and while Redfarm tries matching, its gets a bit too silly with its dub exploration. Also, because late '90s, here's a stab at d'n'b in L.O.9.V.E. Just couldn't resist chasing a few trends, eh lads?
Which became something of a criticism with Swayzak's later albums, especially with their forays into synth-pop. Whatever, we're still with Snowboarding In Argentina, so here's Bueno, a fourteen minute closer of goovey tech-house. Why, it could fit in a prog-house set, especially with that genre's growing interest with tribal-dub as well. Heck, it'd even sound good in a modern set. Despite so many artists jumping on this bandwagon, Swayzak's debut still stands strong all these years (decades!) later. This album really shouldn't be memory-holed, but the burn-out on 'minimal' has unfortunately rendered it somewhat forgotten now.
Ridiculous that it took me two decades to finally get this album. I'll grant a general lack of info regarding Swayzak's discography in those post-discovery years, though not for a lack of wanting. I'd never have nabbed that Groovetechnology v1.3 without their name attached to the double-discer (!K7 Records association didn't hurt either). It wasn't that long after that The Lord That Knows All clued me into the rest of their catalogue, but for whatever reason, I kept kicking the can further down the road. Some hesitancy from dashed expectations, perhaps? It wouldn't be the first time I fell sway to the charms of an artist after hearing just a couple tunes, only to be let down by their expanded selections. Still, I can't go wrong with at least returning to the source, Swayzak's debut album that helped turn the ultra-niche dub techno sounds into something the tech-house crowds could vibe on.
I know it's a massive cliche to say it, but there really wasn't much else like Snowboarding In Argentina before it dropped. Tech-house itself was still in its feeling-out years, unsure how much techno it wanted in its house, then along comes something that strips things down further to its grooviest, toasty elements. Even Basic Channel, dub connoisseurs they were, remained fixated on techno's functionalist elements. Swayzak's all like, “Nah, guv, you gotta' put more 'sway' in that sound, Zachary.” I really hope that wasn't how they came up with their name.
Right from the jump in Speedboat, you sense you're in for a bit of a different ride than the expectant norm of ye' olde year 1998. Deep synth pads, crisp tight rhythms, pinging chords echoing down alleyways, an ever shifting track for its lengthy duration. All well-worn tropes of micro-house in the following years, true, but quite unique for its time. Follow-up Burma Heights keeps the 'deep house by way of dub techno' vibe going, while Low-Rez Skyline and Fukumachi envision late night cruises through classy metro streets. Damn it, future car commercials...
Elsewhere, Swayzak show off their downtempo chops with Blocks, their stab at a dubby trip-hop outing because late '90s. French Dub goes even deeper into the low-ridin' lane, and while Redfarm tries matching, its gets a bit too silly with its dub exploration. Also, because late '90s, here's a stab at d'n'b in L.O.9.V.E. Just couldn't resist chasing a few trends, eh lads?
Which became something of a criticism with Swayzak's later albums, especially with their forays into synth-pop. Whatever, we're still with Snowboarding In Argentina, so here's Bueno, a fourteen minute closer of goovey tech-house. Why, it could fit in a prog-house set, especially with that genre's growing interest with tribal-dub as well. Heck, it'd even sound good in a modern set. Despite so many artists jumping on this bandwagon, Swayzak's debut still stands strong all these years (decades!) later. This album really shouldn't be memory-holed, but the burn-out on 'minimal' has unfortunately rendered it somewhat forgotten now.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Various - Fabriclive 93: Daphni
Fabric: 2017
*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “beautiful carnivorous vegetation” period*
I did not expect this. An entry in Fabric's long-running series so close to its conclusion, already hitting the dirt-cheap discount bin? Why was the seller so anxious to be rid of it?
Well, this isn't a traditional DJ set. Daphni constructed something more like a live PA outing, mixing and looping house and techno rhythms into a continuous whole. Even then, calling Fabriclive 93 “continuous” is a misnomer, tracks often leading to a moment that abruptly switches into something different. Not in a 'mixtape' fashion either, the sonic palette too singular for that, which makes sense given these are all Daphni productions on display. It's why I'm getting my 'live PA' vibe, playing out in sections, drum loops coming and going without much mixing between them, plenty of points for beatless melodic indulgences.
It's all rather erratic. Any time things start shifting into higher gear, letting a dope retro-techno groove gain momentum, it's lost, only for something just as interesting to take its lead, rather than build from it. Things do get better as the CD plays out, but towards the end, I find my interest drifting, the promise of proper payoff so continuously snatched away. It's an interesting approach to a Fabric set, I must admit, but for those weaned on a traditional DJ rinse-out, this unorthodox approach can be a turn-off. I suppose we shouldn't have expected anything less from the one-time Manitoba.
Yes, yes, (or Ye Ye?), I know Daphni is Dan Snaith, most famous for his indie-darling project Caribou (he'll always be Manitoba to me!). Daphni was his outlet in getting back to the clubs, initially a side-project for material that didn't fit with Caribou, but eventually a primary alias for DJ tours. His debut album as Daphni was well-received, and I gave Ye Ye Ace Track status as it appeared on Get Lost 4. By 2017, Dan was dusting Daphni off again, and Fabric allowed him to spring-board back out onto the scene. Everything on here was fresh material when it came out, a solid third of the tracks featured in Fabriclive 93 getting expanded versions on the album Joli Mai later that year. Did some of them ever need it.
Why didn't' I just say all this from the start? One, everyone does the bio blurb at the start, so here's a different approach (seems appropriate). Two... ah, I actually forgot specifically who Daphni was at first, leading me to go into this set mostly blind. The name was familiar to me, but I resisted doing the research before the listening, as pure an experience as I could get – I didn't even look at the tracklist. When the odd set construction had me scratching my head, I relented and asked The Lord That Knows All what the deal was. Then, it all clicked, and I enjoyed Fabriclive 93 a little more, such as it was. Wanted to share that experience, yes?
*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “beautiful carnivorous vegetation” period*
I did not expect this. An entry in Fabric's long-running series so close to its conclusion, already hitting the dirt-cheap discount bin? Why was the seller so anxious to be rid of it?
Well, this isn't a traditional DJ set. Daphni constructed something more like a live PA outing, mixing and looping house and techno rhythms into a continuous whole. Even then, calling Fabriclive 93 “continuous” is a misnomer, tracks often leading to a moment that abruptly switches into something different. Not in a 'mixtape' fashion either, the sonic palette too singular for that, which makes sense given these are all Daphni productions on display. It's why I'm getting my 'live PA' vibe, playing out in sections, drum loops coming and going without much mixing between them, plenty of points for beatless melodic indulgences.
It's all rather erratic. Any time things start shifting into higher gear, letting a dope retro-techno groove gain momentum, it's lost, only for something just as interesting to take its lead, rather than build from it. Things do get better as the CD plays out, but towards the end, I find my interest drifting, the promise of proper payoff so continuously snatched away. It's an interesting approach to a Fabric set, I must admit, but for those weaned on a traditional DJ rinse-out, this unorthodox approach can be a turn-off. I suppose we shouldn't have expected anything less from the one-time Manitoba.
Yes, yes, (or Ye Ye?), I know Daphni is Dan Snaith, most famous for his indie-darling project Caribou (he'll always be Manitoba to me!). Daphni was his outlet in getting back to the clubs, initially a side-project for material that didn't fit with Caribou, but eventually a primary alias for DJ tours. His debut album as Daphni was well-received, and I gave Ye Ye Ace Track status as it appeared on Get Lost 4. By 2017, Dan was dusting Daphni off again, and Fabric allowed him to spring-board back out onto the scene. Everything on here was fresh material when it came out, a solid third of the tracks featured in Fabriclive 93 getting expanded versions on the album Joli Mai later that year. Did some of them ever need it.
Why didn't' I just say all this from the start? One, everyone does the bio blurb at the start, so here's a different approach (seems appropriate). Two... ah, I actually forgot specifically who Daphni was at first, leading me to go into this set mostly blind. The name was familiar to me, but I resisted doing the research before the listening, as pure an experience as I could get – I didn't even look at the tracklist. When the odd set construction had me scratching my head, I relented and asked The Lord That Knows All what the deal was. Then, it all clicked, and I enjoyed Fabriclive 93 a little more, such as it was. Wanted to share that experience, yes?
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Various - fabric 11: Swayzak
Fabric: 2003
When last I talked up Swayzak on this here bloggity-bloog of mine, I made passing wonderment over how their fabric mix sounded. In fact, I wanted to start a proper dive into their discography, and figured rounding up the rest of their DJ mixes would make for a good start. Um, this is about it. Yeah, Misters Brown and Taylor weren't really all that interested in the commercial mix CD market, and judging how their two primary outings fare, it's not hard to hear why: they just can't be fussed with the technical aspects of DJing.
For sure they can do all the blending and syncing and balancing if they want to - Groovetechnology V1.3 had plenty of sublime minimalist mixing going on. Sometimes though, a tune deserves to be played out in full, with a transition into something so different it defies anything other than a crossfade, so long as the music remains thematically consistent. Such is the domain of the mixtapes and third room 'chill' zones, of which Swayzak was quite familiar with in the early '00s.
Not that the fabric brand hadn't shown wilful genre hopping in the past, though that was more the purview of the Fabriclive offshoot. The mainline series generally stuck things out with tech-house in its early years, with occasional dalliances into deep house, electro or techno. Swayzak's offering was the first time fabric really stretched beyond such narrow confines, bringing in micro-house, disco punk, reggae dub, and even proto-fidget under one mix. Which probably isn't that big a deal, since we're still quite early in the series' lifespan, and couldn't ignore Fabriclive's eclecticism for long.
Cheekily, Swayzak open things up with a little Negativland, with the cheeky sampling of a doomsday cult rattling off all the evil rock bands of the era (which Fatboy Slim cheekily nicked himself). Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Prince, Madonna, Billy Idol, Neil Young, David Bowie, Queen, Adam Ant, Billy Joel, The Police, Huey Lewis, “Weird” Al, and many more... heathens, all!
From there, fabric 11 carries on about as you'd expect of a Swayzak set from this era, chaps like Luomo, Mathew Jonson, and Akufen making the rounds. Midway though, things take a turn for the mixtapey, Röyksopp's slinky, dreamy rub on Felix da Housecat's What Does It Feel Like? played out in full. Then it's a crossfade to Rockers Hi-Fi's Push Push (yay!), blending into... Hey, Ciccone Youth! I recognize that name! Anyhow, here's LCD Soundsystem's homage to aging hipsterism, Losing My Edge, played in full.
Things kinda' jump all over the place afterwards, with sorta-electro (MMM's Donna), sorta disco punk (DFA's rub on Metro Area's Orange Alert), sorta-actually '80s synth-pop (Thomas Dolby's One Of Our Submarines), finally finishing off with ultra-twee bell-house from März. Pantha Du Prince likely heard this. They're fine tunes, but I can't deny hoping for something more consistent for a finish. Hard to top Losing My Edge though. Set peaked too soon!
When last I talked up Swayzak on this here bloggity-bloog of mine, I made passing wonderment over how their fabric mix sounded. In fact, I wanted to start a proper dive into their discography, and figured rounding up the rest of their DJ mixes would make for a good start. Um, this is about it. Yeah, Misters Brown and Taylor weren't really all that interested in the commercial mix CD market, and judging how their two primary outings fare, it's not hard to hear why: they just can't be fussed with the technical aspects of DJing.
For sure they can do all the blending and syncing and balancing if they want to - Groovetechnology V1.3 had plenty of sublime minimalist mixing going on. Sometimes though, a tune deserves to be played out in full, with a transition into something so different it defies anything other than a crossfade, so long as the music remains thematically consistent. Such is the domain of the mixtapes and third room 'chill' zones, of which Swayzak was quite familiar with in the early '00s.
Not that the fabric brand hadn't shown wilful genre hopping in the past, though that was more the purview of the Fabriclive offshoot. The mainline series generally stuck things out with tech-house in its early years, with occasional dalliances into deep house, electro or techno. Swayzak's offering was the first time fabric really stretched beyond such narrow confines, bringing in micro-house, disco punk, reggae dub, and even proto-fidget under one mix. Which probably isn't that big a deal, since we're still quite early in the series' lifespan, and couldn't ignore Fabriclive's eclecticism for long.
Cheekily, Swayzak open things up with a little Negativland, with the cheeky sampling of a doomsday cult rattling off all the evil rock bands of the era (which Fatboy Slim cheekily nicked himself). Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Prince, Madonna, Billy Idol, Neil Young, David Bowie, Queen, Adam Ant, Billy Joel, The Police, Huey Lewis, “Weird” Al, and many more... heathens, all!
From there, fabric 11 carries on about as you'd expect of a Swayzak set from this era, chaps like Luomo, Mathew Jonson, and Akufen making the rounds. Midway though, things take a turn for the mixtapey, Röyksopp's slinky, dreamy rub on Felix da Housecat's What Does It Feel Like? played out in full. Then it's a crossfade to Rockers Hi-Fi's Push Push (yay!), blending into... Hey, Ciccone Youth! I recognize that name! Anyhow, here's LCD Soundsystem's homage to aging hipsterism, Losing My Edge, played in full.
Things kinda' jump all over the place afterwards, with sorta-electro (MMM's Donna), sorta disco punk (DFA's rub on Metro Area's Orange Alert), sorta-actually '80s synth-pop (Thomas Dolby's One Of Our Submarines), finally finishing off with ultra-twee bell-house from März. Pantha Du Prince likely heard this. They're fine tunes, but I can't deny hoping for something more consistent for a finish. Hard to top Losing My Edge though. Set peaked too soon!
Labels:
2003,
disco punk,
DJ Mix,
dub,
electro,
Fabric,
minimal,
Swayzak,
synth-pop,
tech-house
Sunday, April 4, 2021
Vector Lovers - Carousel EP
self release: 2016
Another of Martin Wheeler's yearly Vector Lovers EPs released through Bandcamp, though this unfortunately may have the fewest talking points. Solstice, Pale Blue Star, and even Road / To Ruin are more traditional EPs, a batch of four or five unique tracks, whereas Carousel is more of a single, one tune with different versions of it.
That in of itself is something of a talking point, most Vector Lovers singles having at most one remix to their name. Even in his Soma Quality Recordings era, very few of his tunes would have someone other that Martin provide a rub. Futures In Plastic, Microtron, Nostalgia 4 The Future were the main ones, plus a few others for a remix EP to coincide with Electrospective. I suppose you could count the 'remastered' tracks for that same compilation as remixes too, sounding rather different compared to the original cuts from many years past.
Any Vector Lovers track having multiple versions of it is rare, is what I'm getting at, and this here Carousel EP has four versions of its titular tune. I sifted through the bulk of his catalogue as archived with Lord Discogs, and this is the lone such item. Though honestly, it's only there because I submitted it (Solstice EP too, if I'm being modest), so whether there are other un-submitted examples out there, I don't know. I've just concerned myself with those EPs on his Bandcamp page. A strange fate I have found, chronicling Vector Lovers' Bandcamp singles within Lord Discogs' tomes.
The primary track is a fairly typical tech-house offering from Mr. Wheeler. Spritely melodies carry things along, while an unfussy rhythm with occasional splashes of white-noise wash keep a steady groove. It's almost proggy, back when prog was all about the minimalist twinkly sounds in the mid-'00s, which makes Carousel kinda' retro for a 2016 track. Definitely out of the norm for a Vector Lovers track though.
Carousel (Paris 92) is more in the usual electro wheel-house, the beat an odd soft thump that sounds like someone rubbing their foot along a carpet. Never mind that, it's the melody that dominates, a vintage melancholic bleepy electro ditty you can always count on Martin crafting. You'd think Carousel (Dub) would strip it out then, focusing more on the rhythmic portions, but no, the twinkly lead is here too, just subdued, more prominence given to the backing synths. I actually find this better than the original, but perhaps I'm just a sucker for the spaciousness of the sounds on display. Carousel (Ghosts) is the 'experimental' offering, minimal bleeps and tense strings teasing out the melody of the original. Some bell tones join in, but doesn't lead to anything of note before the track fades out. Definitely the sort of filler tune you'd find at the end of an album, or a B2 of an EP.
And that's all there is to Carousel. A nice tune with some decent variations, but little essential to the Vector Lovers canon.
Another of Martin Wheeler's yearly Vector Lovers EPs released through Bandcamp, though this unfortunately may have the fewest talking points. Solstice, Pale Blue Star, and even Road / To Ruin are more traditional EPs, a batch of four or five unique tracks, whereas Carousel is more of a single, one tune with different versions of it.
That in of itself is something of a talking point, most Vector Lovers singles having at most one remix to their name. Even in his Soma Quality Recordings era, very few of his tunes would have someone other that Martin provide a rub. Futures In Plastic, Microtron, Nostalgia 4 The Future were the main ones, plus a few others for a remix EP to coincide with Electrospective. I suppose you could count the 'remastered' tracks for that same compilation as remixes too, sounding rather different compared to the original cuts from many years past.
Any Vector Lovers track having multiple versions of it is rare, is what I'm getting at, and this here Carousel EP has four versions of its titular tune. I sifted through the bulk of his catalogue as archived with Lord Discogs, and this is the lone such item. Though honestly, it's only there because I submitted it (Solstice EP too, if I'm being modest), so whether there are other un-submitted examples out there, I don't know. I've just concerned myself with those EPs on his Bandcamp page. A strange fate I have found, chronicling Vector Lovers' Bandcamp singles within Lord Discogs' tomes.
The primary track is a fairly typical tech-house offering from Mr. Wheeler. Spritely melodies carry things along, while an unfussy rhythm with occasional splashes of white-noise wash keep a steady groove. It's almost proggy, back when prog was all about the minimalist twinkly sounds in the mid-'00s, which makes Carousel kinda' retro for a 2016 track. Definitely out of the norm for a Vector Lovers track though.
Carousel (Paris 92) is more in the usual electro wheel-house, the beat an odd soft thump that sounds like someone rubbing their foot along a carpet. Never mind that, it's the melody that dominates, a vintage melancholic bleepy electro ditty you can always count on Martin crafting. You'd think Carousel (Dub) would strip it out then, focusing more on the rhythmic portions, but no, the twinkly lead is here too, just subdued, more prominence given to the backing synths. I actually find this better than the original, but perhaps I'm just a sucker for the spaciousness of the sounds on display. Carousel (Ghosts) is the 'experimental' offering, minimal bleeps and tense strings teasing out the melody of the original. Some bell tones join in, but doesn't lead to anything of note before the track fades out. Definitely the sort of filler tune you'd find at the end of an album, or a B2 of an EP.
And that's all there is to Carousel. A nice tune with some decent variations, but little essential to the Vector Lovers canon.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Lionel Weets - Stellar Orchestra
Motech: 2014
Well, look at that, another Motech album. How did that slip by? Must have put it in a different 'to review' pile than the 'to review' pile that had all the other Motech releases. Why yes, I have many 'to review' piles going at the same time, is that so weird?
Belgian Lionel Weets started out making thumping techno as MGMX, releasing several singles across several labels. If Lord Discogs is anything to go by (and it usually is), these didn't catch on in any major way. Undeterred, Lionel pursued his musical interests towards a more Detroit-based sound, leading him to a debut album on Motech, this here Stellar Orchestra. His Discoggian info dries up after that, save a lone collaborative single in 2017. Uh, wha' happened? Did this album not meet expectations, causing a crises of musical faith? Not enough bills getting paid to continue on this path? Another case of Lord Discogs missing massive updates on particular artists just because no one's been keeping tabs on Bandcamp pages?
Okay, before I hype this record up more than it probably deserves, I'll say straight up that what Lionel is doing here isn't revolutionary. Indeed, you'll hear plenty of sonic markers that'll have you remembering Detroit techno anthems of yesteryear, Mr. Weets laying his influences naked and bare for all to hear. The Strings Of Life strings, the Plastic Dreams organ licks, the Man With The Red Face saxophone action. Even the... Pump Up The Jam synth stabs? Well, Technotronic was also Belgian, so I guess you had to give some nods there. Come to think of it, Jaydee is Dutch, and Laurent Garnier is French. Are we certain Lionel Weets is doing a strict Detroit thing here?
Yeah, I'm pretty certain. This is definitely tech-house as inspired by the Motor City, and though the rhythms are mostly straight-forward, they have more than enough beef to carry things forward. It's all about whatever melodies Lionel comes up with anyway, and what instrument he uses for a lead in a given track. The first few mostly rely on those archaic string samples we all associate with early Detroit techno, but I'll take Mr. Weets' use of them over hearing Strings Of Life ever again. Elsewhere we get pianos (Don't Follow Me, I Am Lost, Alien Opera), organs (The Night Is Ours), saxophone (Not Today) or synths (Rise Of The Dragons, Different Ways To Paradise). And hey, just to show it's not a total Detroit fest, here's a little garage action with Through The Universe. Oh yeah, that's some shuffle rhythm there!
What amazed me the most about this album is how well it flowed. Yeah, the tracks all abruptly stop, but they also don't waste time when starting up either, getting right into the action again. And once another fun solo breaks out, you're all in for the ride. All solid stuff, and astounding to me that Mr. Weets apparently didn't do much after this.
Well, look at that, another Motech album. How did that slip by? Must have put it in a different 'to review' pile than the 'to review' pile that had all the other Motech releases. Why yes, I have many 'to review' piles going at the same time, is that so weird?
Belgian Lionel Weets started out making thumping techno as MGMX, releasing several singles across several labels. If Lord Discogs is anything to go by (and it usually is), these didn't catch on in any major way. Undeterred, Lionel pursued his musical interests towards a more Detroit-based sound, leading him to a debut album on Motech, this here Stellar Orchestra. His Discoggian info dries up after that, save a lone collaborative single in 2017. Uh, wha' happened? Did this album not meet expectations, causing a crises of musical faith? Not enough bills getting paid to continue on this path? Another case of Lord Discogs missing massive updates on particular artists just because no one's been keeping tabs on Bandcamp pages?
Okay, before I hype this record up more than it probably deserves, I'll say straight up that what Lionel is doing here isn't revolutionary. Indeed, you'll hear plenty of sonic markers that'll have you remembering Detroit techno anthems of yesteryear, Mr. Weets laying his influences naked and bare for all to hear. The Strings Of Life strings, the Plastic Dreams organ licks, the Man With The Red Face saxophone action. Even the... Pump Up The Jam synth stabs? Well, Technotronic was also Belgian, so I guess you had to give some nods there. Come to think of it, Jaydee is Dutch, and Laurent Garnier is French. Are we certain Lionel Weets is doing a strict Detroit thing here?
Yeah, I'm pretty certain. This is definitely tech-house as inspired by the Motor City, and though the rhythms are mostly straight-forward, they have more than enough beef to carry things forward. It's all about whatever melodies Lionel comes up with anyway, and what instrument he uses for a lead in a given track. The first few mostly rely on those archaic string samples we all associate with early Detroit techno, but I'll take Mr. Weets' use of them over hearing Strings Of Life ever again. Elsewhere we get pianos (Don't Follow Me, I Am Lost, Alien Opera), organs (The Night Is Ours), saxophone (Not Today) or synths (Rise Of The Dragons, Different Ways To Paradise). And hey, just to show it's not a total Detroit fest, here's a little garage action with Through The Universe. Oh yeah, that's some shuffle rhythm there!
What amazed me the most about this album is how well it flowed. Yeah, the tracks all abruptly stop, but they also don't waste time when starting up either, getting right into the action again. And once another fun solo breaks out, you're all in for the ride. All solid stuff, and astounding to me that Mr. Weets apparently didn't do much after this.
Labels:
2014,
album,
Detroit,
Lionel Weets,
Motech,
tech-house,
techno
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Vector Lovers - Pale Blue Star EP
self-released: 2017
Martin Wheeler is... back? Wait, when did that happen? I saw no big promotion for new singles, not even drive-by blurbs when I was diving into Soma Quality Recordings a couple years ago. Then again, it's not like his iPhonica album got a tonne of attention either. Indeed, I only knew he'd released that record when I was browsing about the Vector Lovers Discogs page. So it was again, with his latest album – or rather, soundtrack – but I'll get to that in due time. What I discovered, however, is it was self-released, which naturally led me to give a slap of the head, realizing in all this time, I never bothered to check if there was a Vector Lovers Bandcamp page.
There certainly is, and it looks like Mr. Wheeler's kept himself active even if Soma or any label isn't supporting his stuff anymore. Not super-busy or anything, about an EP a year since iPhonica, but it's enough to keep the Vector Lovers name out there for those who can't get enough of that sentimental electro stylee. If he's even still doing that. When I looked at some of these singles, I couldn't help but wonder if he's moved on from the anime influences and into more proper sci-fi, and maybe even some synthwave. While the Vector Lovers sound was never exactly '80s retro, it wouldn't take much to make that leap, should Martin fancy himself such a step.
So Pale Blue Star is the first EP I'm digging into here. And yes, it's 'pale blue star', not 'dot'. I know you keep seeing 'dot' in that title, keep hearing 'dot' in your mind (probably in a Carl Sagan voice) but your brain is lying to you. For one thing, that dot you see in the cover art is actually the sun as seen from the surface of Mars. As for the blue, that has to do with the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, where- ah, whoops, getting all astronomy geeky in here again. Just remember that it's 'pale blue star' in the title, not 'dot'.
As for the music, it's definitely more upbeat than a lot of Vector Lovers' album orientated tunes, but then his EPs have typically been aimed for the dancefloor. Not that the titular opener will have you bustin' your sickest moves or anything, an incredibly atmospheric slice of... prog, I guess? I'd technically call this EP a tech-house one, but man, if Pale Blue Star doesn't have you floating out among the stars (or dusty alien skies), I really don't know what else to say? There is a slight undercurrent of post-apocalyptic desolation here, rather like the vibe of his Afterglow album (or Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest, if you must), but in that traditional, melancholic Vector Lovers way.
The remaining tracks play out in similar fashion, with Alphaville switching things up with a broken beat, and Android Nightlife getting more on that robo-boogie vibe. Good stuff, all round.
Martin Wheeler is... back? Wait, when did that happen? I saw no big promotion for new singles, not even drive-by blurbs when I was diving into Soma Quality Recordings a couple years ago. Then again, it's not like his iPhonica album got a tonne of attention either. Indeed, I only knew he'd released that record when I was browsing about the Vector Lovers Discogs page. So it was again, with his latest album – or rather, soundtrack – but I'll get to that in due time. What I discovered, however, is it was self-released, which naturally led me to give a slap of the head, realizing in all this time, I never bothered to check if there was a Vector Lovers Bandcamp page.
There certainly is, and it looks like Mr. Wheeler's kept himself active even if Soma or any label isn't supporting his stuff anymore. Not super-busy or anything, about an EP a year since iPhonica, but it's enough to keep the Vector Lovers name out there for those who can't get enough of that sentimental electro stylee. If he's even still doing that. When I looked at some of these singles, I couldn't help but wonder if he's moved on from the anime influences and into more proper sci-fi, and maybe even some synthwave. While the Vector Lovers sound was never exactly '80s retro, it wouldn't take much to make that leap, should Martin fancy himself such a step.
So Pale Blue Star is the first EP I'm digging into here. And yes, it's 'pale blue star', not 'dot'. I know you keep seeing 'dot' in that title, keep hearing 'dot' in your mind (probably in a Carl Sagan voice) but your brain is lying to you. For one thing, that dot you see in the cover art is actually the sun as seen from the surface of Mars. As for the blue, that has to do with the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, where- ah, whoops, getting all astronomy geeky in here again. Just remember that it's 'pale blue star' in the title, not 'dot'.
As for the music, it's definitely more upbeat than a lot of Vector Lovers' album orientated tunes, but then his EPs have typically been aimed for the dancefloor. Not that the titular opener will have you bustin' your sickest moves or anything, an incredibly atmospheric slice of... prog, I guess? I'd technically call this EP a tech-house one, but man, if Pale Blue Star doesn't have you floating out among the stars (or dusty alien skies), I really don't know what else to say? There is a slight undercurrent of post-apocalyptic desolation here, rather like the vibe of his Afterglow album (or Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest, if you must), but in that traditional, melancholic Vector Lovers way.
The remaining tracks play out in similar fashion, with Alphaville switching things up with a broken beat, and Android Nightlife getting more on that robo-boogie vibe. Good stuff, all round.
Saturday, August 1, 2020
ACE TRACKS: March-July 2020
So I have shingles.
At least it's not COVID-19, right? And I don't feel sick, just frequent hot spikes of pain around my shoulder-blade (imagine a heated cactus ball rolling about) as my latent chicken-pox virus does its damage to all those tender nerve membranes. And you may be thinking, “wait, Sykonee can't be that old such that he'd get shingles?”, and you'd be right. Yet here we are. I already knew all the stress I've put upon myself this year wasn't doing me many favours, but the fact it suppressed my immune system enough such that the ol' varicella-zoster could act up again should have me rethinking the way I'm doing things.
And what's 'funny' about all this is, until it flared up, I thought I was doing fine, life-wise. Yeah, there were still things and stuffs lingering in the back of my mind, but I still had a good groove about doing it. I can only hope my stubbornness hasn't done permanent damage because dear God, this would suck to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Or get myself in on that all-encompassing opiod market America is known for.
That all said, I realized it's been five months since I last did an ACE TRACKS playlist. Figured after all that time, I'd amassed enough of a backlog to make one. Little did I realize the final list would be over 10 hours long! Gander, at the ACE TRACKS from March through July:
Full track list here.
MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - Bedrock: Jimmy Van M
Various - Better Living Through Circuitry
Various - Beyond The Machines
Cryostasis - Between Static And Distance
Coma Eye - Insufflated Brine Shrimp
Astral Engineering - Chronoglide
Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 3%
Percentage Of Rock: 19%
Most “WTF?” Track: Neo-Adventures - Whaaaauuu (because “whaaaaaauuuuu TF?”)
Okay, so I cheated a little in the length, in that I included the entirety of L.S.G.'s The Singles: Reworked at the end. Plus some of the all-time longest recorded pieces of music by both Banco de Gaia and Creedence Clearwater Revival ever committed to master tapes (ten minutes of CCR may as well be a prog-rock opus).
Even with those caveats though, the fact this playlist ended up as long as it did just goes to show I've been busier than I gave myself credit for. And diverse too, a little something for anyone's interest making its way into here, providing a surprisingly smooth listening experience compared to many playlists past. Of course, if no one wants to listen to it, because it'll remind you of *gestures wildly*, I wouldn't blame ya'. Heck, maybe it's why I put off on doing this for so long in the first place. It's been a Hell of a five months, it has.
Oh, and some may have noticed I've skipped ahead on my reviewing order. The 'B' section of my collection is too big for one sitting, so decided to split that up while dealing with a pile of other items I've had gathering in that time. Will probably resume with the 'B's in, oh, a year, at my current rate
At least it's not COVID-19, right? And I don't feel sick, just frequent hot spikes of pain around my shoulder-blade (imagine a heated cactus ball rolling about) as my latent chicken-pox virus does its damage to all those tender nerve membranes. And you may be thinking, “wait, Sykonee can't be that old such that he'd get shingles?”, and you'd be right. Yet here we are. I already knew all the stress I've put upon myself this year wasn't doing me many favours, but the fact it suppressed my immune system enough such that the ol' varicella-zoster could act up again should have me rethinking the way I'm doing things.
And what's 'funny' about all this is, until it flared up, I thought I was doing fine, life-wise. Yeah, there were still things and stuffs lingering in the back of my mind, but I still had a good groove about doing it. I can only hope my stubbornness hasn't done permanent damage because dear God, this would suck to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Or get myself in on that all-encompassing opiod market America is known for.
That all said, I realized it's been five months since I last did an ACE TRACKS playlist. Figured after all that time, I'd amassed enough of a backlog to make one. Little did I realize the final list would be over 10 hours long! Gander, at the ACE TRACKS from March through July:
Full track list here.
MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - Bedrock: Jimmy Van M
Various - Better Living Through Circuitry
Various - Beyond The Machines
Cryostasis - Between Static And Distance
Coma Eye - Insufflated Brine Shrimp
Astral Engineering - Chronoglide
Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 3%
Percentage Of Rock: 19%
Most “WTF?” Track: Neo-Adventures - Whaaaauuu (because “whaaaaaauuuuu TF?”)
Okay, so I cheated a little in the length, in that I included the entirety of L.S.G.'s The Singles: Reworked at the end. Plus some of the all-time longest recorded pieces of music by both Banco de Gaia and Creedence Clearwater Revival ever committed to master tapes (ten minutes of CCR may as well be a prog-rock opus).
Even with those caveats though, the fact this playlist ended up as long as it did just goes to show I've been busier than I gave myself credit for. And diverse too, a little something for anyone's interest making its way into here, providing a surprisingly smooth listening experience compared to many playlists past. Of course, if no one wants to listen to it, because it'll remind you of *gestures wildly*, I wouldn't blame ya'. Heck, maybe it's why I put off on doing this for so long in the first place. It's been a Hell of a five months, it has.
Oh, and some may have noticed I've skipped ahead on my reviewing order. The 'B' section of my collection is too big for one sitting, so decided to split that up while dealing with a pile of other items I've had gathering in that time. Will probably resume with the 'B's in, oh, a year, at my current rate
Labels:
Ace Tracks Playlists,
ambient,
arena rock,
breakbeats,
classic rock,
dark ambient,
downtempo,
drum 'n' bass,
hip-hop,
house,
L.S.G.,
progressive house,
synth-pop,
tech-house,
techno,
trance
Saturday, May 2, 2020
DJ 3000 - Besa
Motech: 2013
This is the last of the six-CD bundle I got from Motech's Bandcamp, though not the album I thought I'd yet to write about. Okay, DJ 3000's Besa was in that collection too, but what I mean is there was another disc I thought was supposed to be in there, Lionel Weets' Stellar Orchestra. Indeed, it's in the bundle's list of albums, but for some reason, I was sent Galactic Caravan instead. At least, I think that's what happened? It's been so long now. Did I maybe get it, but somehow lost it before I could do a rip of it? No, I wouldn't have done that, no way no how (no... way... *twitch-twitch*). And it's not like I can verify it through Bandcamp, since those CD bundles don't include the download with your purchase. If it did, my Bandcamp collection would be nearly double its size from Cyro Chamber releases alone!
Also, I kinda' forgot about this one, or had it so far in the back of my mind that it never occurred to me that I'd be reviewing Besa as well as Sälis. Maybe I wouldn't have burned through so much detailing of both albums in the Sälis review if I had, but then I never did get around to listening to this one either. Or if I did, I totally forgot about it until now. It all goes back to that 'all you can eat buffet smoothie' experience of digesting these CD-bundle purchases. C'mon, that was a great analogy, no way I wasn't gonna' use it again!
Honestly though, I just don't think Besa is as good of any album as the other two I've heard from DJ 3000. There are good tracks on here, but that's generally all they come across as: tracks. Not even 'peak-hour' tracks either, but those tunes that lead-up to the peak-hour tracks. Say, one or two before, but not necessarily the warm-up ones either. They're just so darn loopy, is the issue, which is kinda' the point of tech-house such as this. Work that groove, work that vibe, then move onto the next track. There are little builds within them too, but they don't really explode or put an exclamation point on whatever's been introduced earlier. I'm hesitant to say they flatline, since that suggests there's no pulse in these jams, but I never feel like I'm going anywhere while listening to Besa as a whole. Galactic Caravan had remarkable vitality and sense of journey (hence why I went and checked for more from Mr. Juncaj), while Sälis showcased enough variety for an engaging listen throughout.
Can't really say the same about Besa though. Yeah, some tracks are peppier than others, while a few more highlight DJ 3000's nifty use of ethnic drumming. Yet they're all structured relatively the same, not even room for a breakbeat or downtempo cut until the very last one. You'd think this was just a singles compilation, which is funny considering that's what Sälis technically was.
This is the last of the six-CD bundle I got from Motech's Bandcamp, though not the album I thought I'd yet to write about. Okay, DJ 3000's Besa was in that collection too, but what I mean is there was another disc I thought was supposed to be in there, Lionel Weets' Stellar Orchestra. Indeed, it's in the bundle's list of albums, but for some reason, I was sent Galactic Caravan instead. At least, I think that's what happened? It's been so long now. Did I maybe get it, but somehow lost it before I could do a rip of it? No, I wouldn't have done that, no way no how (no... way... *twitch-twitch*). And it's not like I can verify it through Bandcamp, since those CD bundles don't include the download with your purchase. If it did, my Bandcamp collection would be nearly double its size from Cyro Chamber releases alone!
Also, I kinda' forgot about this one, or had it so far in the back of my mind that it never occurred to me that I'd be reviewing Besa as well as Sälis. Maybe I wouldn't have burned through so much detailing of both albums in the Sälis review if I had, but then I never did get around to listening to this one either. Or if I did, I totally forgot about it until now. It all goes back to that 'all you can eat buffet smoothie' experience of digesting these CD-bundle purchases. C'mon, that was a great analogy, no way I wasn't gonna' use it again!
Honestly though, I just don't think Besa is as good of any album as the other two I've heard from DJ 3000. There are good tracks on here, but that's generally all they come across as: tracks. Not even 'peak-hour' tracks either, but those tunes that lead-up to the peak-hour tracks. Say, one or two before, but not necessarily the warm-up ones either. They're just so darn loopy, is the issue, which is kinda' the point of tech-house such as this. Work that groove, work that vibe, then move onto the next track. There are little builds within them too, but they don't really explode or put an exclamation point on whatever's been introduced earlier. I'm hesitant to say they flatline, since that suggests there's no pulse in these jams, but I never feel like I'm going anywhere while listening to Besa as a whole. Galactic Caravan had remarkable vitality and sense of journey (hence why I went and checked for more from Mr. Juncaj), while Sälis showcased enough variety for an engaging listen throughout.
Can't really say the same about Besa though. Yeah, some tracks are peppier than others, while a few more highlight DJ 3000's nifty use of ethnic drumming. Yet they're all structured relatively the same, not even room for a breakbeat or downtempo cut until the very last one. You'd think this was just a singles compilation, which is funny considering that's what Sälis technically was.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Various - Berghain 05: Marcel Fengler
Ostgut Ton: 2011
Yet another item I attained after doing that which I never, ever did: following the recommendation of a Resident Advisor 'Best Of' list. It was 2011, see, a year I was slowly crawling out of my 2010 funk, but not terribly enthused about digging about on my own. Such lists are handy for such folk, and from the quick samples I heard from Berghain 05, it sounded promising enough for further inspection.
And what I'd discovered was techno had seen some upheaval in the past few years since my last serious forays into that scene (during the dark times, during the MNML). I'd heard a few items to that point, mostly out of the Ostgut Ton camp as well. Still, I needed something a little extra to convince me the scene had indeed moved on, a definitive statement that the plinky-plonk monotony of the decade prior had truly been put to pasture. And what better series could there be than the one in service of the club most responsible for the shift in clubbing taste? None better series than Berghain, so I was told.
The chap tasked with handling the fifth edition of the series is Marcel Fengler, a resident of the famed club during its peak years of prominence. He never gained the same level of critical prestige as others from that era (Dettman, Faki, Klock), but had a respectable following just the same. Then... something happened? Some sort of falling out and parting of ways between the club and he? I don't know about that, but I do notice all his releases are scrubbed from the Ostgut Ton Bandcamp page. Whatever, I'm here to review a DJ mix from before all that.
Marcel opens his set with over-dubbed vocals, then explodes into shimmery synths that... okay, isn't trance, but sure is a lot more melodic than anything I'd expected from techno in those days. You got my attention, Mr. Fengler. Oh, you're doing the minimal thing for a bit after, aren't you. Well, it's acidy and dubby, crunchy minimal techno – the vintage Berghain sound – so that's fine by me. Sweet, there's even an L.B. Dub Corp rub worked in there too. I sure likes me some L.B. Dub Corp, so rare as it is.
From there, things settle into more of a Detroit groove, or Europeans trying to do a Detroit groove. Just kidding, there's some authentic Motor City alum in this mix too, such as Claude Young (though hanging out with Japanese guys by this point) and, uh... Okay, for some reason, I thought acts like Skudge and Ben Sims hailed from this side of the Atlantic, but I was wrong. Don't matter, there's enough spacey future-funk and techno-stomp in this set to fake it until they make it (to DEMF). And hey, there's a Convextion track to end on, long before when Gerald Hanson properly unearthed the project. That counts close to a proper Detroit closer, don't it?
Yet another item I attained after doing that which I never, ever did: following the recommendation of a Resident Advisor 'Best Of' list. It was 2011, see, a year I was slowly crawling out of my 2010 funk, but not terribly enthused about digging about on my own. Such lists are handy for such folk, and from the quick samples I heard from Berghain 05, it sounded promising enough for further inspection.
And what I'd discovered was techno had seen some upheaval in the past few years since my last serious forays into that scene (during the dark times, during the MNML). I'd heard a few items to that point, mostly out of the Ostgut Ton camp as well. Still, I needed something a little extra to convince me the scene had indeed moved on, a definitive statement that the plinky-plonk monotony of the decade prior had truly been put to pasture. And what better series could there be than the one in service of the club most responsible for the shift in clubbing taste? None better series than Berghain, so I was told.
The chap tasked with handling the fifth edition of the series is Marcel Fengler, a resident of the famed club during its peak years of prominence. He never gained the same level of critical prestige as others from that era (Dettman, Faki, Klock), but had a respectable following just the same. Then... something happened? Some sort of falling out and parting of ways between the club and he? I don't know about that, but I do notice all his releases are scrubbed from the Ostgut Ton Bandcamp page. Whatever, I'm here to review a DJ mix from before all that.
Marcel opens his set with over-dubbed vocals, then explodes into shimmery synths that... okay, isn't trance, but sure is a lot more melodic than anything I'd expected from techno in those days. You got my attention, Mr. Fengler. Oh, you're doing the minimal thing for a bit after, aren't you. Well, it's acidy and dubby, crunchy minimal techno – the vintage Berghain sound – so that's fine by me. Sweet, there's even an L.B. Dub Corp rub worked in there too. I sure likes me some L.B. Dub Corp, so rare as it is.
From there, things settle into more of a Detroit groove, or Europeans trying to do a Detroit groove. Just kidding, there's some authentic Motor City alum in this mix too, such as Claude Young (though hanging out with Japanese guys by this point) and, uh... Okay, for some reason, I thought acts like Skudge and Ben Sims hailed from this side of the Atlantic, but I was wrong. Don't matter, there's enough spacey future-funk and techno-stomp in this set to fake it until they make it (to DEMF). And hey, there's a Convextion track to end on, long before when Gerald Hanson properly unearthed the project. That counts close to a proper Detroit closer, don't it?
Monday, April 20, 2020
Various - Bedrock: Chris Fortier
Pioneer: 2002
You'd think Chris Fortier would be better at the double-disc set. Progressive house was practically custom-made for it, the long journey over several hours, and few jocks within this scene have shown such impeccable track selection when utilizing but a single CD for their mixes. Yet when given the opportunity to stretch things out some, I find Mr. Fortier's sets drag, as though he's almost flustered by the extra hour of music he has at his disposal. Or perhaps the restriction of one disc forces him to be as economical with his musical weapons as possible, thus wasting little time in getting to the goods. No more was this apparent than with Balance 007, where the genre exercise of the bonus CD3 was far more memorable than the standard set construction of the first two discs. I can recall every twist and turn of Trance America and Audiotour, yet this Bedrock outing so often just passes me by.
There's never any problem in hooking me in from the jump, CD1 opening with more of that tasty, thumping, dubby prog vibe I love from this era of Bedrock Records. Yet it doesn't quite have the same dark groove as Jimmy Van M's outing in the previous volume does. This stuff feels stiff, angular, almost like... oh, it's tech-house in prog's clothing, isn't it. Yeah, that's a Jay Tripwire track in there. It also has a lot of tribalism going for it, letting my headspace turn inward as the all-encompassing rhythm takes over my senses. Nothing really sticks though, dance music as dutiful service in losing yourself on the dancefloor and nothing else. No highs, no lows, just one, long, uninterrupted stretch of functionalism. Y'know, tech-house.
The set's almost over by the time I feel like things are finally ramping up, and I haven't the foggiest of where we've been or how we've gotten to this point. This is great when you're out movin' and groovin', but as a 'sit down and listen' experience, hopelessly dry.
CD2 hints at a bit more of a melodic outing, Elemental from Women Of Color a rather blissy opener for the supposed 'Club Mix'. Then it goes... kinda' minimal? Wow, does Kolo's Nova ever predict where prog would end up half a decade later, but doesn't do much to get the blood pumpin' here. Yep, Mr. Fortier is once again opting for the slow, burning build of a set, and fortunately, once Steve Porter makes an appearance, things do ramp up some (ah, ever dependable, that Porter chap).
But yeah, this is still more of that techy, tribal, deep prog that's drawn out and very methodical and considered in how it moves forward. Great on a darkened dancefloor when all that exists around you is the thunderous sound-system enveloping your body, not so much at home with paper-thin apartment walls (good headphones help). Fortier's Bedrock forces total mental commitment to get much out of it. Probably would have been stronger if pared to a single disc.
You'd think Chris Fortier would be better at the double-disc set. Progressive house was practically custom-made for it, the long journey over several hours, and few jocks within this scene have shown such impeccable track selection when utilizing but a single CD for their mixes. Yet when given the opportunity to stretch things out some, I find Mr. Fortier's sets drag, as though he's almost flustered by the extra hour of music he has at his disposal. Or perhaps the restriction of one disc forces him to be as economical with his musical weapons as possible, thus wasting little time in getting to the goods. No more was this apparent than with Balance 007, where the genre exercise of the bonus CD3 was far more memorable than the standard set construction of the first two discs. I can recall every twist and turn of Trance America and Audiotour, yet this Bedrock outing so often just passes me by.
There's never any problem in hooking me in from the jump, CD1 opening with more of that tasty, thumping, dubby prog vibe I love from this era of Bedrock Records. Yet it doesn't quite have the same dark groove as Jimmy Van M's outing in the previous volume does. This stuff feels stiff, angular, almost like... oh, it's tech-house in prog's clothing, isn't it. Yeah, that's a Jay Tripwire track in there. It also has a lot of tribalism going for it, letting my headspace turn inward as the all-encompassing rhythm takes over my senses. Nothing really sticks though, dance music as dutiful service in losing yourself on the dancefloor and nothing else. No highs, no lows, just one, long, uninterrupted stretch of functionalism. Y'know, tech-house.
The set's almost over by the time I feel like things are finally ramping up, and I haven't the foggiest of where we've been or how we've gotten to this point. This is great when you're out movin' and groovin', but as a 'sit down and listen' experience, hopelessly dry.
CD2 hints at a bit more of a melodic outing, Elemental from Women Of Color a rather blissy opener for the supposed 'Club Mix'. Then it goes... kinda' minimal? Wow, does Kolo's Nova ever predict where prog would end up half a decade later, but doesn't do much to get the blood pumpin' here. Yep, Mr. Fortier is once again opting for the slow, burning build of a set, and fortunately, once Steve Porter makes an appearance, things do ramp up some (ah, ever dependable, that Porter chap).
But yeah, this is still more of that techy, tribal, deep prog that's drawn out and very methodical and considered in how it moves forward. Great on a darkened dancefloor when all that exists around you is the thunderous sound-system enveloping your body, not so much at home with paper-thin apartment walls (good headphones help). Fortier's Bedrock forces total mental commitment to get much out of it. Probably would have been stronger if pared to a single disc.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Kevin Yost & Peter Funk - BeatKilla: 2
i! Records: 2008/2015
I'm feeling a little stupid right now, but... Kevin Yost is also Peter Funk? Like, I know for certain Kevin Yost exists, as I've done a retrospective on that chap's work. Somehow I got it in my mind that Peter Funk was a separate entity, perhaps a collaborator who'd bring in some proper jazz solos to supplement Kevin's deep, deep, smooth house grooves. It never once occurred to me that I should, y'know, click on that 'Peter Funk' link within Lord Discogs' archives, just to see what his story is. Couldn't escape it with this BeatKilla series though, getting equal billing with Kevin on the cover and all. So follow the 'Peter Funk' link I did, and there's a healthy assortment of singles, plus also has an alias of... Kevin Yost? Wait a minute..! Peter is Kevin? Kevin is Peter? Finkle is Einhorn? That... actually explains a lot!
Okay, it doesn't explain much of anything, this revelation not really some great industry secret. I just assumed a thing, the Lord That Knows All showed me I was incorrect, and now I know better. *a shining light from heavens glows down, angelic music is heard* It's not unheard of producers to create multiple aliases, and to 'collaborate' with their aliases. I guess since Kevin's most successful pairing is with Funk (hah!), he essentially merged the two into a proper, singular alias of Kevin Yost & Peter Funk. At least for the purposes of these BeatKillas.
And whatever is BeatKilla? A series of singles Kevin Funk released throughout the '00s, is what. Lot's of them, in fact, so much so that he consolidated them into not one, not two, not three, not four ...okay, three compilations. I picked the second volume of these for the sole reason of there being a cute pooch on the cover art. Aww, just look at him, ain't he a darlin'? Who's the pweshus beatkilla'? You are, you are!
Unfortunately, while these tunes may be dubbed 'beatkilla's, they kinda' lack much in the way of thrilla's. Not that I should have expected it, Peter Yost forever (and a day) a deep house guy through and through. Even if few of the techier tracks in this collection leaped out at me as highlights within his larger discography, they still served their purpose in providing that unmistakable smooth, ridin' groove with occasional flourishes of jazzy solos. Also, a fair bit of tribal drumming too, popping up at weird points throughout this mix.
Yeah, as a DJ set, BeatKilla 2 is only functional at best, keeping the vibe moving while showcasing tunes, but not so concerned with rising tension and all that rot. Yet they fit far better together than as separate entities, the Bandcamp version of this only supplying the unmixed tracks, with all the lengthy DJ-friendly intros and outros you can handle. Why the digital release didn't also include a the mix CD too, I haven't a clue. It was done for his best of Fundamentals, after all.
I'm feeling a little stupid right now, but... Kevin Yost is also Peter Funk? Like, I know for certain Kevin Yost exists, as I've done a retrospective on that chap's work. Somehow I got it in my mind that Peter Funk was a separate entity, perhaps a collaborator who'd bring in some proper jazz solos to supplement Kevin's deep, deep, smooth house grooves. It never once occurred to me that I should, y'know, click on that 'Peter Funk' link within Lord Discogs' archives, just to see what his story is. Couldn't escape it with this BeatKilla series though, getting equal billing with Kevin on the cover and all. So follow the 'Peter Funk' link I did, and there's a healthy assortment of singles, plus also has an alias of... Kevin Yost? Wait a minute..! Peter is Kevin? Kevin is Peter? Finkle is Einhorn? That... actually explains a lot!
Okay, it doesn't explain much of anything, this revelation not really some great industry secret. I just assumed a thing, the Lord That Knows All showed me I was incorrect, and now I know better. *a shining light from heavens glows down, angelic music is heard* It's not unheard of producers to create multiple aliases, and to 'collaborate' with their aliases. I guess since Kevin's most successful pairing is with Funk (hah!), he essentially merged the two into a proper, singular alias of Kevin Yost & Peter Funk. At least for the purposes of these BeatKillas.
And whatever is BeatKilla? A series of singles Kevin Funk released throughout the '00s, is what. Lot's of them, in fact, so much so that he consolidated them into not one, not two, not three, not four ...okay, three compilations. I picked the second volume of these for the sole reason of there being a cute pooch on the cover art. Aww, just look at him, ain't he a darlin'? Who's the pweshus beatkilla'? You are, you are!
Unfortunately, while these tunes may be dubbed 'beatkilla's, they kinda' lack much in the way of thrilla's. Not that I should have expected it, Peter Yost forever (and a day) a deep house guy through and through. Even if few of the techier tracks in this collection leaped out at me as highlights within his larger discography, they still served their purpose in providing that unmistakable smooth, ridin' groove with occasional flourishes of jazzy solos. Also, a fair bit of tribal drumming too, popping up at weird points throughout this mix.
Yeah, as a DJ set, BeatKilla 2 is only functional at best, keeping the vibe moving while showcasing tunes, but not so concerned with rising tension and all that rot. Yet they fit far better together than as separate entities, the Bandcamp version of this only supplying the unmixed tracks, with all the lengthy DJ-friendly intros and outros you can handle. Why the digital release didn't also include a the mix CD too, I haven't a clue. It was done for his best of Fundamentals, after all.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
ACE TRACKS: February 2020
So, a little better this past month, but man, still quite a slog. The Real World work, she don't slow down, even when I think it's gonna' slow down, it just ramps up again. Nothing like a little global viral pandemic to get folks all panicky and buying up things and stuff that seldom sell otherwise. And it's funny, because changes are coming up in a few months again, wherein my status will be in flux, and the amount of responsibility saddled upon me will be significantly reduced in whatever capacity my new role will be.
And that's fine, that's totally fine. I get paid the same one way or the other, and if it means I instead focus on singular tasks instead of doing all the things, I'm all the more for it. I always knew I had some mild ADHD (really, in our modern, technologically advanced society, who doesn't?), but never realized just how much it can affect your casual day-to-day activities when you have all the things from work following you home. All you want to do is unplug and let things set fallow but, oof, still got some Balance mixes to listen to and analyze. And them Balance sets, they don't make things easy, nosiree. Well, except that Lee Burridge one. Could tell that was tapioca bland right from the outset. Fortunately, it's not part of February's assortment of ACE TRACKS!
Full play list here.
MISSING ALBUMS:
Attoya - Based On True Events
Various - Base Ibiza 2003
Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Oh, either of Attoya's, for sure.
Technically, the older Balance mixes are missing too, but most of the tracks are still available on Spotify, so didn't see any reason to list them as 'missing'. Like, that seems to be how the newer Balance options have been supplying their tracklists on Spotify: full unmixed version, and a separate playlist of all the unmixed tracks. It's a very good idea for DJ mixes, methinks, though obviously quite difficult to do with sets dating a decade older.
And not much else in this playlist, Balance once again eating up most of my spare listening time, though I squeaked in a couple extra items towards the end of the month. And what great, unifying wellspring of wisdom have a gleaned from my journey through Balance? There sure was a lot more space disco than I would have imagined, that's for sure.
And that's fine, that's totally fine. I get paid the same one way or the other, and if it means I instead focus on singular tasks instead of doing all the things, I'm all the more for it. I always knew I had some mild ADHD (really, in our modern, technologically advanced society, who doesn't?), but never realized just how much it can affect your casual day-to-day activities when you have all the things from work following you home. All you want to do is unplug and let things set fallow but, oof, still got some Balance mixes to listen to and analyze. And them Balance sets, they don't make things easy, nosiree. Well, except that Lee Burridge one. Could tell that was tapioca bland right from the outset. Fortunately, it's not part of February's assortment of ACE TRACKS!
Full play list here.
MISSING ALBUMS:
Attoya - Based On True Events
Various - Base Ibiza 2003
Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Oh, either of Attoya's, for sure.
Technically, the older Balance mixes are missing too, but most of the tracks are still available on Spotify, so didn't see any reason to list them as 'missing'. Like, that seems to be how the newer Balance options have been supplying their tracklists on Spotify: full unmixed version, and a separate playlist of all the unmixed tracks. It's a very good idea for DJ mixes, methinks, though obviously quite difficult to do with sets dating a decade older.
And not much else in this playlist, Balance once again eating up most of my spare listening time, though I squeaked in a couple extra items towards the end of the month. And what great, unifying wellspring of wisdom have a gleaned from my journey through Balance? There sure was a lot more space disco than I would have imagined, that's for sure.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Various - Base Ibiza 2003
Base Ibiza Records: 2003
As the early Hed Kandi brand grew, the temptation to spin off sub-labels couldn't be helped. Aside from Stereo Sushi, however, these didn't take root, folks content sticking to the label and artwork they were most familiar with. The Acid Lounge tried getting in on that underground downtempo gig, with a grittier, pulpier comic stylee, but only lasted a few releases. Then there's this, Base Ibiza Records, a tie-in with the Ibizan bar of the same name. That's... remarkable, that Hed Kandi never really paired up with any established club for a proper residency, instead letting their brand tour about. It wasn't a long partnership though, lasting just half a decade. Base Ibiza 2003 is smack dab right in the middle of the run.
With my last exposure to the Hed Kandi discography a pair of utterly abysmal World Series mixes from much later in their lifespan, these CDs were such a refreshing reminder of the class once associated with the label. House music! Real, honest-to-God house music! With the disco loops and the soul sista's and the fiesta chants and the club monologues and... the trend-whoring remixes and... the euro anthems (?), and the.. cover songs? Wow, they really couldn't clear the rights to X-Press 2's Muzikizum? That track was everywhere, so it couldn't have been that expensive. Why settle for a knock-off version?
Speaking of, you remember what song got huge around this time? Talk Talk's It's My Life, is what, though thanks entirely to No Doubt's cover resurrecting interest in it. Then radio stations started playing the original version again, and folks realized the O.G. '80s style was better (retro revival sure helped). Thus is the only reason I can fathom hearing a Liquid People remix of It's My Life on here. Cool bassline added though. Speaking of basslines, Junior Jack sure did love him some of Daft Punk's Burnin', but hey, throw some Latin vibes over it, call it E Samba, and no one will ever tell the difference!
As should be abundantly clear, I'm not giving Base Ibiza 2003 that much of a serious critical overview. Nor should I, the music within about as deep as the beach shallows of the Ibizan shores. It is fun music though, at least the first disc wherein the disco vibes and garage shuffles and floppin' funk is felt. It's got a StoneBridge remix in there, mang', and you can't have a proper Hed Kandi outing without at least one tune with StoneBridge at the console.
CD2 aims for the 'later in the night' club outing, but is all over the place as a result, sounding like a mish-mash of left-over tunes that just wouldn't fit in the first CD. Some mild McProg (iiO's At The End), a little tech-house (4Tune 500's Dancing In The Dark), and a nod to the burgeoning 'eurotrash house' sound (Andrea Doria's Bucci Bag). Oh, and all those aforementioned cover/remixes are here too. Yeah, I think I'll stick with CD1 in this outing. It's funner!
As the early Hed Kandi brand grew, the temptation to spin off sub-labels couldn't be helped. Aside from Stereo Sushi, however, these didn't take root, folks content sticking to the label and artwork they were most familiar with. The Acid Lounge tried getting in on that underground downtempo gig, with a grittier, pulpier comic stylee, but only lasted a few releases. Then there's this, Base Ibiza Records, a tie-in with the Ibizan bar of the same name. That's... remarkable, that Hed Kandi never really paired up with any established club for a proper residency, instead letting their brand tour about. It wasn't a long partnership though, lasting just half a decade. Base Ibiza 2003 is smack dab right in the middle of the run.
With my last exposure to the Hed Kandi discography a pair of utterly abysmal World Series mixes from much later in their lifespan, these CDs were such a refreshing reminder of the class once associated with the label. House music! Real, honest-to-God house music! With the disco loops and the soul sista's and the fiesta chants and the club monologues and... the trend-whoring remixes and... the euro anthems (?), and the.. cover songs? Wow, they really couldn't clear the rights to X-Press 2's Muzikizum? That track was everywhere, so it couldn't have been that expensive. Why settle for a knock-off version?
Speaking of, you remember what song got huge around this time? Talk Talk's It's My Life, is what, though thanks entirely to No Doubt's cover resurrecting interest in it. Then radio stations started playing the original version again, and folks realized the O.G. '80s style was better (retro revival sure helped). Thus is the only reason I can fathom hearing a Liquid People remix of It's My Life on here. Cool bassline added though. Speaking of basslines, Junior Jack sure did love him some of Daft Punk's Burnin', but hey, throw some Latin vibes over it, call it E Samba, and no one will ever tell the difference!
As should be abundantly clear, I'm not giving Base Ibiza 2003 that much of a serious critical overview. Nor should I, the music within about as deep as the beach shallows of the Ibizan shores. It is fun music though, at least the first disc wherein the disco vibes and garage shuffles and floppin' funk is felt. It's got a StoneBridge remix in there, mang', and you can't have a proper Hed Kandi outing without at least one tune with StoneBridge at the console.
CD2 aims for the 'later in the night' club outing, but is all over the place as a result, sounding like a mish-mash of left-over tunes that just wouldn't fit in the first CD. Some mild McProg (iiO's At The End), a little tech-house (4Tune 500's Dancing In The Dark), and a nod to the burgeoning 'eurotrash house' sound (Andrea Doria's Bucci Bag). Oh, and all those aforementioned cover/remixes are here too. Yeah, I think I'll stick with CD1 in this outing. It's funner!
Labels:
2003,
anthem house,
deep house,
disco house,
DJ Mix,
garage,
Hed Kandi,
house,
Latin,
McProg,
tech-house
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Various - Balance 027: Magda
Balance Records: 2015
The only reason I'm reviewing so many Balance mixes, this. Yeah, I've said I kept tabs on the series, but wasn't inspired to look back either. Magda though, I'm always on the look-out for more mixes from her, so when I heard she'd been tapped for the venerated prog and tech-house brand, you bet I double spit-taked. Ms. Chojnacka's aesthetic is so outside the traditional Balance wheel-house, it may as well be on a different planet. I suppose one could made a distant connection to Joris Voorn, in that they've both done Hawtin-esque ultra-mixes, but that's about it.
Maybe Balance felt the need for another change though, having used up just about all the prog veterans to this point. Perhaps Danny Tenaglia's heavy techno outing had the Balance staff feeling that pull (which would explain why this was followed by Stacey Pullen). Or supposedly they realized they'd never had a woman do a mix for them. With an utter dearth of prominent lady jocks within prog circles, however, they had to reach beyond the genre aisles to make amends.
So this doesn't come off like a typical Balance release, instead seemingly celebrating Magda's own history in the commercial mix domain. The cover art is like a scrapbook of her prior outings (open mouth for Fabric 49; creepy doll/mannequin from She's A Dancing Machine). As such, the music within adheres to no past trends within Balance canon, no established genres carried upon. This is a Magda set through and through, and if you only come to this series' style of prog and tech-house, you're gonna' have a bad time.
Yet I feel so hypocritical enjoying the weirdo minimal and odd-ball nu-jazz of CD1, because isn't this the sort of stuff that soured me on Agoria's set? A little, yeah, but Magda just does it better. Really, she does better what a lot of her peers do (for sure a lone bright spot during 'mnml's suffocating dominance), and its a crying shame she never got the due others received, but perhaps appearing on Balance would help endear her to a fresh audience. Or not, her quirky selections being a bit much for the prog faithful. Heck, some of the 'tunes' toward the end of CD1 were a bit much for me, and I'm usually more than willing to take the ride on whatever strange road Magda drives us on.
Anyway, CD1's traditionally the 'indulgent' set in these Balance releases, but does the clubbier CD2 deliver in any shape or form? If you like your stripped-down tech-house and acid boogie, most definitely! It's more straight-forward compared to Magda's older commercial mixes – no super-dense mash-ups of four minimal techno tracks at once, or something – but gets my shoulders shufflin' and my bottom wigglin' in my chair just the same. Once again, Ms. Chojnacka remains one of the few who delivers exactly what I like to hear in this style of music. To be fair though, it's been a very small sample size.
The only reason I'm reviewing so many Balance mixes, this. Yeah, I've said I kept tabs on the series, but wasn't inspired to look back either. Magda though, I'm always on the look-out for more mixes from her, so when I heard she'd been tapped for the venerated prog and tech-house brand, you bet I double spit-taked. Ms. Chojnacka's aesthetic is so outside the traditional Balance wheel-house, it may as well be on a different planet. I suppose one could made a distant connection to Joris Voorn, in that they've both done Hawtin-esque ultra-mixes, but that's about it.
Maybe Balance felt the need for another change though, having used up just about all the prog veterans to this point. Perhaps Danny Tenaglia's heavy techno outing had the Balance staff feeling that pull (which would explain why this was followed by Stacey Pullen). Or supposedly they realized they'd never had a woman do a mix for them. With an utter dearth of prominent lady jocks within prog circles, however, they had to reach beyond the genre aisles to make amends.
So this doesn't come off like a typical Balance release, instead seemingly celebrating Magda's own history in the commercial mix domain. The cover art is like a scrapbook of her prior outings (open mouth for Fabric 49; creepy doll/mannequin from She's A Dancing Machine). As such, the music within adheres to no past trends within Balance canon, no established genres carried upon. This is a Magda set through and through, and if you only come to this series' style of prog and tech-house, you're gonna' have a bad time.
Yet I feel so hypocritical enjoying the weirdo minimal and odd-ball nu-jazz of CD1, because isn't this the sort of stuff that soured me on Agoria's set? A little, yeah, but Magda just does it better. Really, she does better what a lot of her peers do (for sure a lone bright spot during 'mnml's suffocating dominance), and its a crying shame she never got the due others received, but perhaps appearing on Balance would help endear her to a fresh audience. Or not, her quirky selections being a bit much for the prog faithful. Heck, some of the 'tunes' toward the end of CD1 were a bit much for me, and I'm usually more than willing to take the ride on whatever strange road Magda drives us on.
Anyway, CD1's traditionally the 'indulgent' set in these Balance releases, but does the clubbier CD2 deliver in any shape or form? If you like your stripped-down tech-house and acid boogie, most definitely! It's more straight-forward compared to Magda's older commercial mixes – no super-dense mash-ups of four minimal techno tracks at once, or something – but gets my shoulders shufflin' and my bottom wigglin' in my chair just the same. Once again, Ms. Chojnacka remains one of the few who delivers exactly what I like to hear in this style of music. To be fair though, it's been a very small sample size.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Various - Balance 026: Hernán Cattáneo
Balance Records: 2014
For a decade, one man, and one man alone, ruled the Renaissance (brand): Hernán Cattáneo. Sorry, Dave Seaman, but when it comes to the '00s, it's hard thinking of the venerated label's many DJ mix collections without automatically thinking of the Argentinian. While Seaman would often have flights of fancy with Global Underground, Hernán stayed true to Renaissance, contributing seven sets until the label... Well, didn't exactly close doors, but certainly aren't in any rush to release DJ mixes anymore either. Where was Mr. Cattáneo to go, then? Start his own label? Ah, he's a pretty popular DJ, but not that popular, such that he transcends his niche. Surely there's another brand that's still chugging along though, that's been quite open in taking in the prog elite? You bet there is!
So finding his way into the arms of Balance was inevitable, but who'd have thought Hernán would go full Thanos and dominate this label too? Not only did he make his premiere on the mainline series, but became the first DJ to have a (proper) repeat showing in the newer Balance Presents sub-series with Sudbeat. And then he did it again with Balance Presents Sunsetstrip, becoming the first DJ to have three outings with the brand. Not even Jimmy Van M accomplished that! (note: Jimmy was indeed the first jock to have a 'sequel' with Balance, Balance Issue N. 10.1, but no one ever mentions that).
You know what else Hernán does here that Jimmy already did before? Include a Boards Of Canada track, is what (that Jimmy, always the trailblazer). Mind, the track included here is probably the most obvious BoC tune anyone could have used (“Orange.”), but if it means we're in for another unconventional mid-tempo outing from one of prog's luminaries, I'm down for that.
It's... not quite that. If anything, CD1 feels like a prog set played at 33, or with a lot of Kompakt influence (hi, The Field!). There's a little synth-pop and indie croon (Weval's Out Of The Game; YEWS' Believe, Belong; Mercurio & Catnapp's On My Way To Hell), but we're mostly in mildly groovy, quite melodic, ultra blissy music here, with occasional quirky flourishes to keep things a little spicy. Just wish much of it would stick in my mind after, beyond a general feeling of “eh, that was nice while it played”. Like, maybe two non-BoC tracks really leaped out for me, but not much else.
And it's weird that such a quibble should hold CD1 back, but not Hernán's second set, because CD2 is exactly the sort of proggy outing where I can't really recall highlights either. Yet, from start to finish, I'm all in for the ride, rhythms powering on with melodic peaks and valleys to spare. Maybe I'm just held in awe that, even this late in the game, Mr. Cattáneo still finds records serving up that vintage prog style that so many (so very many...) thought long since dead and buried. How he do, mang'?
For a decade, one man, and one man alone, ruled the Renaissance (brand): Hernán Cattáneo. Sorry, Dave Seaman, but when it comes to the '00s, it's hard thinking of the venerated label's many DJ mix collections without automatically thinking of the Argentinian. While Seaman would often have flights of fancy with Global Underground, Hernán stayed true to Renaissance, contributing seven sets until the label... Well, didn't exactly close doors, but certainly aren't in any rush to release DJ mixes anymore either. Where was Mr. Cattáneo to go, then? Start his own label? Ah, he's a pretty popular DJ, but not that popular, such that he transcends his niche. Surely there's another brand that's still chugging along though, that's been quite open in taking in the prog elite? You bet there is!
So finding his way into the arms of Balance was inevitable, but who'd have thought Hernán would go full Thanos and dominate this label too? Not only did he make his premiere on the mainline series, but became the first DJ to have a (proper) repeat showing in the newer Balance Presents sub-series with Sudbeat. And then he did it again with Balance Presents Sunsetstrip, becoming the first DJ to have three outings with the brand. Not even Jimmy Van M accomplished that! (note: Jimmy was indeed the first jock to have a 'sequel' with Balance, Balance Issue N. 10.1, but no one ever mentions that).
You know what else Hernán does here that Jimmy already did before? Include a Boards Of Canada track, is what (that Jimmy, always the trailblazer). Mind, the track included here is probably the most obvious BoC tune anyone could have used (“Orange.”), but if it means we're in for another unconventional mid-tempo outing from one of prog's luminaries, I'm down for that.
It's... not quite that. If anything, CD1 feels like a prog set played at 33, or with a lot of Kompakt influence (hi, The Field!). There's a little synth-pop and indie croon (Weval's Out Of The Game; YEWS' Believe, Belong; Mercurio & Catnapp's On My Way To Hell), but we're mostly in mildly groovy, quite melodic, ultra blissy music here, with occasional quirky flourishes to keep things a little spicy. Just wish much of it would stick in my mind after, beyond a general feeling of “eh, that was nice while it played”. Like, maybe two non-BoC tracks really leaped out for me, but not much else.
And it's weird that such a quibble should hold CD1 back, but not Hernán's second set, because CD2 is exactly the sort of proggy outing where I can't really recall highlights either. Yet, from start to finish, I'm all in for the ride, rhythms powering on with melodic peaks and valleys to spare. Maybe I'm just held in awe that, even this late in the game, Mr. Cattáneo still finds records serving up that vintage prog style that so many (so very many...) thought long since dead and buried. How he do, mang'?
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Various - Balance 024: Danny Howells
Balance Records: 2013
Did I misremember things? Wasn't Danny Howells part of some famed group, like Nick Warren with Way Out West or Darren Emerson with Underworld? There was Science Department (with Dick Trevor) and Squelch (with Tim Cook), but neither released more than a handful of singles, much less timeless, genre-defining club anthems. Maybe it's just the name “Danny Howells” looking like the most typical of British names you'd find in the credits of so much '90s Britronica.
But nay, Mr. Howells main avenue of revenue is disc jockeying, also among the newer breed of prog DJs that came up in the wake of Sasha and Digweed's dominance. He became a regular contributor to the Renaissance series, did occasional spots for Global Underground, plus had his own short-lived outings called Nocturnal Frequencies (no, not Nokturnel). When those respected series fell by the wayside, Balance was there to scoop up the alum for a rinse out on their brand, and Danny was no less tempted within.
At which we find ourselves at an interesting juncture within the prog-osphere. The dark, tribal sound of yesteryear was long gone, the 'minimal' bandwagon derailed into a ditch, and no clear future of where things would go next. No longer so counted on to be clubbing tastemakers, jocks like Danny could indulge themselves down less-travelled roads, and with Balance still holding onto some rep' as being the series to do as you wish, Danny does indeed.
First though, the obligatory nitpick of both sets: these are some soft-ass beats here. Like, real mellow music, with such smooth mixing even the peaks and valleys are edged down to rolling hills. There are times when I wished things could crank up another notch or three, but it is what it is. If Mr. Howells is feeling chill in his aging years, who am I to complain about tunes kept at a relative simmer.
CD1: That is the disc where Danny does his most exploring, providing tunes that work in small bunches but don't coalesce into a narrative whole. Going from future garage to deep tech to techno to deep house isn't the daftest of directions, and the tunes doing the work all sound fine. I just sense these are tracks being played for their own sake, because Mr. Howells had them, wanted to showcase them, but lacked the time and space to do the styles more justice. It doesn't help that CD2: This starkly contrasts with its laser-focused celebration of all things space disco.
We've heard spots and hints of this stuff in previous Balance sets, but the opening half of disc two goes whole hog on the glittery cosmic funk. Somehow, Danny even throws in Balearic touches, such that you feel like you're disco dancing on an Enceladus beachfront overlooking Saturn's rings. Even when he detours for some de-e-e-ep house (Brotherland) and classic prog (Pages), he brings it back with a pair of Prins Thomas remixes. Overall, a lovely outing, and quaintly retro at a breezy fourteen tracks.
Did I misremember things? Wasn't Danny Howells part of some famed group, like Nick Warren with Way Out West or Darren Emerson with Underworld? There was Science Department (with Dick Trevor) and Squelch (with Tim Cook), but neither released more than a handful of singles, much less timeless, genre-defining club anthems. Maybe it's just the name “Danny Howells” looking like the most typical of British names you'd find in the credits of so much '90s Britronica.
But nay, Mr. Howells main avenue of revenue is disc jockeying, also among the newer breed of prog DJs that came up in the wake of Sasha and Digweed's dominance. He became a regular contributor to the Renaissance series, did occasional spots for Global Underground, plus had his own short-lived outings called Nocturnal Frequencies (no, not Nokturnel). When those respected series fell by the wayside, Balance was there to scoop up the alum for a rinse out on their brand, and Danny was no less tempted within.
At which we find ourselves at an interesting juncture within the prog-osphere. The dark, tribal sound of yesteryear was long gone, the 'minimal' bandwagon derailed into a ditch, and no clear future of where things would go next. No longer so counted on to be clubbing tastemakers, jocks like Danny could indulge themselves down less-travelled roads, and with Balance still holding onto some rep' as being the series to do as you wish, Danny does indeed.
First though, the obligatory nitpick of both sets: these are some soft-ass beats here. Like, real mellow music, with such smooth mixing even the peaks and valleys are edged down to rolling hills. There are times when I wished things could crank up another notch or three, but it is what it is. If Mr. Howells is feeling chill in his aging years, who am I to complain about tunes kept at a relative simmer.
CD1: That is the disc where Danny does his most exploring, providing tunes that work in small bunches but don't coalesce into a narrative whole. Going from future garage to deep tech to techno to deep house isn't the daftest of directions, and the tunes doing the work all sound fine. I just sense these are tracks being played for their own sake, because Mr. Howells had them, wanted to showcase them, but lacked the time and space to do the styles more justice. It doesn't help that CD2: This starkly contrasts with its laser-focused celebration of all things space disco.
We've heard spots and hints of this stuff in previous Balance sets, but the opening half of disc two goes whole hog on the glittery cosmic funk. Somehow, Danny even throws in Balearic touches, such that you feel like you're disco dancing on an Enceladus beachfront overlooking Saturn's rings. Even when he detours for some de-e-e-ep house (Brotherland) and classic prog (Pages), he brings it back with a pair of Prins Thomas remixes. Overall, a lovely outing, and quaintly retro at a breezy fourteen tracks.
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