Progression - Different Day, Different Light (Original TC Review)

Black Hole Recordings: 2007

(2012 Update:
Comparing these tunes to the ending of Sopranos wasn't fair. Folks discuss that show to this day, but no one's talking about Progression anymore. Hah! Jokes aside, I am surprised this album seemingly tumbled off the face of the Earth shortly after its release, all but abandoned by Black Hole's marketing. Even the supposed 'big hit' Technophobia is forgotten. Me uploading this old review's probably the most exposure Different Day's gotten all this year. What the deal happened?

Well, the duo split up, with Wanrooy carrying on solo. Beyond that, who knows. At first, replaying this album reminded me of how much I enjoyed the aesthetics, giving me pause over my original assessment; however, I was also reminded of how frustratingly vacuous these tracks are. No wonder everyone ignored it.)


IN BRIEF: A step forward, a step back.

Daniel Wanrooy and Robin van de Wiel may have gained much of their initial momentum as Odysseye, but it was their Progression alias that drew the attention of the right person: Mr. Tijs Verwest himself. Having attained his blessing came greater exposure on his label and DJ mixes. After a half-a-dozen or so singles, the Big T suggested a full length. With the opportunity to indulge for the duration of an album, they spent a year in the studio making tracks. Now finished, the end result is Different Day, Different Light. Unfortunately, it hardly seems to have been worth the effort.

Yes, I know that isn’t exactly the most political thing to say but fact is the ideas are lacking on this release. There’s two discs worth of progressive trance for you to gorge on but you’ll be hard-pressed to recall much of it after it plays through, and this is a shame. Progression have lovely synths at their disposal: ethereal wisps, haunting chants, spacey sweeps - all winning ingredients where trance is concerned. Yet despite the exquisite production on display, their music is incredibly singular in execution. They utilize exactly one form of arrangement on every track - the tried and tested lead-up/breakdown/drop method of yore - with roughly two melodic ideas in each (exceptions to this rule will be delved upon, trust). The rhythms, for the most part, remain stuck in forward-drive, rarely deviating to bring us something funky or intuitive. And then there is the overall presentation of this release, of which I’ll get to in a moment.

Their album starts off fine, mind. Beneath The Surface is a pleasant groovy opener, with moody tech influences and vocals provided by Manon Polare that suit the atmosphere. Second track Echoes hits all the right buttons a follow-up in an album of this nature should, upping the energy in the rhythmic department and bringing more melodic elements than its predecessor. In fact, it’s bewildering as to how Different Day... lost its way after hearing this tune; Progression clearly display a talent for producing lovely prog trance that satisfies the body and soul.

Perhaps it’s because they made such a good tune with Echoes that the rest of the album fumbles, as it never quite reaches that lofty mark again (rarely a good sign when one of the best tracks is that early in a double-discer). More than that though, is much of Different Day... hints at wonderful prog trance possibilities that are, frankly, squandered with such bland arrangements. Go The Distance feels serviceable as a transitional track since it just came off a high point but for a long stretch in the middle of disc one, the feeling persists. And this is frustrating because these tracks sound like they could - they should - reach higher. They build anticipation that something better and bolder is about to be dropped, but abruptly end, moving onto the next track which does the same.

The Way Things Move is a prime example of pissing away potential. After the long trudge through “merely fine”, the duo show some promise of changing form with a beat that is tech-heavy, groovy, and fun. But just as soon as you get the sense we’re in store for something unique from the norm, they flush it right down the toilet by bringing in useless vocals to the forefront and an annoyingly hookless hook in the main breakdown (yes, the arrangement is still the same as everything else too).

CD1 ends amiably enough though. Their big hit, Technophobia, is here, and it’s a better-than-average prog trance excursion, although the white-noise synths are rather grating. The rest sounds like the duo were influenced by the stuff coming out of prog-psy camps, which isn’t a bad thing considering how ace that material’s been lately. Disc number two picks things up in the same vein, with Bell Shock being a blissy opener and Stranger slamming in with jagged tech rhythms. Could Progression show some actual progress now?

Sadly, no. CD2 proceeds much the same way most of CD1 does, with prog trance that is limited in scope and a sequence that remains flatlined throughout. Only two tracks sound fully formed, that being Hit & Run and Square Sky. As for the rest, there are flashes of good lurking about but the duo’s ideas never come into blossom. They’re sneezes that disappear into your sinuses. A peepshow that ends just before the clothes actually come off. A defensive re-assessment with an open look at the goal. An ending to an HBO series about a mob family.

Whatever you want to call it, ultimately Different Day, Different Light is unnecessarily stretched out. This album could have been better had a number of tracks been concisely fused into fewer rather than taking their ideas and crafting a standard prog trance tune around each of them. It still may not have been brilliant (they’d have to learn how to make a song in more than one arrangement for that) but at least it would have been solid.

I wanted to like this album. Really, I did. As mentioned, their synths sound great and the production quality is top grade. Unfortunately, most of Different Day, Different Light comes off as a bunch of tracks merely designed for the singles department - you can almost hear Wanrooy and Wiel planning how these cuts would fit into a DJ set rather than their album. And as transitional pieces for such DJs, much of this will work fine. However, like tech house albums of similar nature, this makes for a very bland listening experience at home.

Technical Itch - Diagnostics

Moving Shadow: 1999

Technical Itch was easily among the best names to emerge from the darkstep side of late 90s jungle, but his bizarre refusal to release a follow-up album to Diagnostics has left me wanting. Sure, tons and tons of singles, and perhaps Caro just feels comfortable sticking to that format. I see no reason why he should fear the long-player though, as he’s capable of knocking it out of the park.

Ah, I sense your Over-Hype Alarms beeping. Fair play, but you probably won’t find many hyping Diagnostics these days, if only for the fact it’s over a decade old now. Even then, this passed by with little notice. For whatever reason, Moving Shadow didn’t give the album much promotion, even though Dieselboy and other darkstep DJs pushed Caro’s tracks whenever they could. My enthusiasm for Diagnostics, however, stems not from a deluded belief that I own a buried treasure, but I'll argue this album is something of a rarity for jungle of the 90s.

Fact is, solid d’n’b albums from beginning to end were scarce that decade. Goldie’s Timeless managed to crossover, Roni Size/Reprazent’s New Forms provided some class, and Photek’s Modus Operandi was hailed as a game changer, yet beyond that? Certainly one could find the odd strong album within the niche areas of jungle, but for the most part that scene was a single’s game, the best long-players being compilations or DJ mixes. Even albums would come off as collections of singles.

Diagnostics does not. Whether by accident or design, Caro crafted a proper album, where each track builds upon what came before, all the while offering something different to keep your attention. The Technical Itch aesthetic – aggressive, abrasive, on edge, with a touch of future-shock – is the only linker between these cuts.

First few tracks display Caro's drum programming, which are fine, but when he drops the rhythmic intricacy and goes for the jugular is when Diagnostics truly takes off. Era's a great piece of darkstep, but Led will pummel you, so appropriately named because the bass in that one's heavy as fuck. Even though they both rely on the familiar 2-step Amen, Caro makes each iteration totally unique to his sound. Then he mixes things up with what might be daftly described as industrial broken-beat, and follows that one with a blistering acid workout that would have the London acid techno crew quivering. Oh, Reborn's still a jungle track – the bass drops are awesome! - but c'mon. Acid! Jungle! Together, and brilliant!

The album finishes strong with more darkstep tunes, though save Darkhalf, mostly winds things down while maintaining that twitchy edge. If there's any fault to be had with Diagnostics, it's that it makes no apologies for sticking to its niche, but that’s a complaint of nearly any jungle album, and few come away sounding as varied as this one does. Despite the limited ‘for darkstep fans’ scope, Technical Itch proves it can work in the long-player form.

Marco V - Combi:Nations:III

In Charge: 2007

Hi, Party Sykonee here. You might remember me as that counterpart of Critic Sykonee from a long ago review, Marco V’s Combi:Nations II. Now that he no longer feels shackled by ‘amateur journalistic integrity’ while blogging, we’ve pretty much become the same dude. Hell, even my grammar’s no longer questionable, isn’t that right, Critic Sykonee?

Critic Sykonee: “You know it, P’.”

Ah, some of you might have noticed I never re-uploaded that Marco V review here, even though it fell within my alphabetical guideline. Truth is, I no longer have that mix, as it was handed to me on a CD-RW I re-used for my next review. I do recall liking it, and figured should I stumble upon it cheap, I’d pick up a copy. Well hell, I didn’t find one, but here’s the follow-up, Combi:Nations III. Less than a fiver? Perfect excuse to do the schizophrenic gimmick again. Maybe the CDs will be good too!

And the first disc, titled Before, is good. It’s electro house, but it’s fun, funky, and rowdy in all the right places. Pure Main Room At Midnight indulgence. Heck, Critic Sykonee would even like this nowadays. Have we really merged that much in the five years since this was released? Hey, 2007 Sykonee, what would you say about this?

2007 Sykonee: “Trance sucks. Faux-electro is garbage. Minimal’s nonsense. Samim’s Heater’s a disgrace. Only good music now is Ultimae, which I just discovered, and twisted forest psy. Jungle’s still cool too.”

Wow, 2007 Sykonee was a twat. Fortunately, he’s stuck in the past, so forget what he has to say. Maybe even poke fun at some of his reviews whenever I upload them! (Critic Sykonee: “They weren’t all bad…”)

Back to Combi:Nations III. It seems after his dabbling on the previous edition of this series, Marco V found a proper groove with electro house, as all the tunes he uses maintains the peak hour bedlam with a few solid anthems thrown in here and there. One can never go wrong with Josh Wink’s Higher State Of Consciousness - yes, even in a remixed form - and Sander van Doorn’s last great track, Riff, is also present. Overall, the Before disc showcases all the ways electro house got it right.

However, what I was really looking forward to was the second disc, After, as that was a surprising highlight of Combi:Nations II. What kick-ass techno gems would Marco V unleash this-

Huh? That Trentemøller remix of Les Djinns is the lead-off? Okay… I guess that was a popular tune but… Oh, fuck me. Robbie Rivera’s here too? That guy’s been shit forever and… God, this mix is horrible. Track after track of plod-tech-hiss-dribble, arranged with no structure at all. And what’s with that rip-off of Don’t You Want Me? Marco, you totally lost the plot on this one. I never thought I’d say this, but compared to the music on After, the farty electro disc is brilliant. Isn’t that right, 2007 Sykonee?

2007 Sykonee: “You know it, P’.”

Ornament - Bleu

Cyan Music: 2004

Yep, it's been another round of used CD buying for yours truly, though I went about it in a different manner this time. I feel stupid for not realizing this before, but you can browse through a third-party store's inventory at Amazon like you're flipping through racks in a shop. There's a danger, however, in that the temptation for blind purchases increases exponentially. Well, it does for me anyway. I'm like a moth to a flame whenever I see a cover with interesting artwork. So long as I have a vague idea of what kind of music's within, I'll drop a few dollars for a gamble.

A quick check of Ornament’s Bleu at Discogs provided me with all the info I needed, the Recommendations list suggesting the likes of Shpongle, Ott, and assorted Ultimae releases. I’m sold. Wait a couple weeks, and voila, let’s see if this turned out alright.

Elgarhythms, the opening track, seems promising. Laid back vibe, dubby sounds ...almost Balearic in tone, which is odd considering the winter wonderland on the cover. As the song progresses, I’m starting to worry. There isn’t anything about it that strikes me as bad, yet if feels like we’re treading paths well worn by the likes of Bill Laswell, and rather substandard at that. Oh dear, might this be one of those albums, filled with meandering dub jams that, while never awful, comes away as pointless diddling only stoners can vibe on? Nah. The second track, Hypernicus, allays such worries, with soft rhythms and droning glacial pads. It does takes a few more cuts before returning to that style though, so be wary if you’re not a fan of the former.

Yeah, I was a little worried at first, but Ornament - comprised of a pair of studio guys from Australia, apparently - do keep things respectable with their dub jams; titular Bleu in particular tickles all the right dub-pleasure receptors in my noggin.

Their exploration of expansive Arctic (or Antarctic, I guess) soundscapes is where they find their stride. Plenty of sounds and samples they use could have come off as corny or cliché in lesser hands - talk of ‘eskimos’ in To Love Is To Laugh, or the use of woodwinds, voice pads, and ethnic chants in Yehuvaroom (by the way, are these tracks supposed to be lower-case titled?). Ornament never tumbles over that edge though, keeping things classy and restrained, their music drawing you in and easing you along their motif. The closing piece, ambeyond, is a perfect capper, desolate ambient drone that feels like you’re standing on frozen ice sheets in polar night, brisk wind biting into your iced-over skin. Are we sure these guys aren’t Scandanavian?

So in all, bleu turned out to be a sound blind purchase (okay, with a minor peek). I’m hesitant to say ‘pleasant surprise’ because I had some idea of what to expect (snow covered cover... winter themed music?). Check it out if you stumble upon it.

Felix Da Housecat - Devin Dazzle & The Neon Fever

Emperor Norton: 2004

Felix da Housecat had to have felt some pressure when it came time to follow up his ridiculously successful Kittenz And Thee Glitz. What was no more than a fun ode to music and style decidedly retro turned into a phenomenon, and Felix found himself a fashionable tastemaker, a figurehead of electroclash, and a DJ-slash-remixer in demand. That scene was short-lived though, burning itself out on ironic kitsch in but a few short years. He had to push forward to stay relevant, but how does one accomplish such when your whole (re)claim to fame's based around something purposely dated?

He managed it though, not by reinventing the game as before, but jumping on a few trends that were gaining steam in the year of 2004. Disco punk makes its presence felt, especially so courtesy of What She Wants (with James Murphy on vocals no less!). There’s celebrity navel-gazing/bashing in the form of Everyone Is Someone In L.A., some kinky grrl-power pandering with Short Skirts, Hunting Season, and my god is this ever turning into a boring review.

Bleh, I don’t know why either. I like this album. It’s fun and though lacking any of the insta-classics that were on Kittenz, I’d call Neon Fever a better overall experience. For one thing, no damn phone call or interview interludes; just song after song celebrating this weird, gaudy late-70s/early-80s notion of high times on the Sunset Boulevard. A lot of people gave approving nods to it, and Watching Cars Go By somehow became a crossover hit few DJs felt ashamed to play. Sasha F’n... um, Sasha used it on Involver! What the deals, eh?

Yet, something about it feels off eight years later. No doubt there was a great amount of hype leading to Neon Fever, and Felix had turned into such a charming success story that folks from all parties were eager to see him maintain that momentum. We enjoyed this album because we wanted to, and whatever faults there happened to be were easily dismissed. Unfortunately, forgettable subsequent albums had everyone questioning that former optimism. Where once there was celebration in dusting off classic bits of italo disco, there instead came scoffing at a lack of originality. Innovative trend setter? Bah, more like lucky guy at the right time with the right people in the studio.

So therein lays the problem above. A regular review of Neon Fever at this late stage will either be apologetically analytical, or ridiculously disparaging - here, with me actually liking the damned thing, probably the former. Felix da Housecat simply has gathered far too much critical baggage in the years following it to treat anything within a vacuum anymore. Kittenz is still regarded as a classic, for good or ill depending on your stance over trashy electro house music. Neon Fever, however, is something only fans of that scene will enjoy, where ‘the larger picture’ doesn’t matter. It seemed more important at one point, but like so much celebrity fascination, you now wonder why.

Marcel Dettmann - Dettmann

Ostgut Ton: 2010

Marcel Dettmann isn’t a very important person in the world of techno, but he does regularly DJ at Berghain, the most important techno club in the universe. I guess that makes him a little important by association, but compared to the other Ostgut Ton guys, he doesn’t receive quite as much hype. Oh, there’s still hype - it’s Berg F’n Hain, after all - just more subdued compared to the likes of Ben Klock or Shed.

Subdued. Yeah, that's a good way to describe his debut album. Dark and stark? Hmm, that's not bad either. Abstract, enveloping, and spacious. Ooh, choice journalistic words there. Tedious and pointless. Well, after a fashion.

Let's get to the point. This is a loop dub techno album at its most functional. Every track starts with basic four-to-eight bar segments of sound and percussion, then repeats them for around five-to-six minutes. Then they end. Nothing more, nothing less. There's little tension or release in any of these cuts. Melody? Don't be daft. This are serious techno. Real warehouse hardware, or some faceless bollocks.

Okay, okay, it's not all monotonous loops. Dettmann does add and subtract things throughout, with neat reverb and echo effects scattered about. The bass is also wonderfully cavernous, each kick enveloping you (there's that word again!) as though reverberating off warehouse walls. Occasionally something draws my attention into the loopy nature of these tracks: the droning pads of Motive (it's almost trance!), the grumbling bassline of Reticle, or the funky rhythm of Captivate. Plus, the roomy sound design gives those with quality audio equipment much to gush about. It makes all that money I sprung for Sennheiser 650s, HeadRoom Micro Amp, and HeadRoom Micro DAC seem worth it. Mind, so does a lot of music now, and they also sound okay coming from my shit Acer whocareswhatmodel computer speakers. Not the stuff on Dettmann though, but that's a pointless argument as these tracks were clearly made with techno fetishists in mind, proper listening gear and all.

I've heard Dettmann's regarded as a better EP producer, and if this release's anything to go by, I firmly agree with that assessment. Despite the presence of an intro and an outro, this is not structured as an album; no narrative, no flow. Perhaps a little rise in energy as it progresses, but you could play these in random order and the listening experience wouldn't change much. Dettmann's a collection of singles, with him coming off as the very epitome of a DJ-producer who knows exactly what works for the dancefloor, but not so much for a home listening experience.

There's still some enjoyment to be had playing this at home, if anything for the sound design. Essential listening though? Not at all, no matter what the Ostgut Ton cult proclaim. Then again, even they seem to have already forgotten about this release, creaming their shorts over the latest Shed or Klock material instead. They are very important persons in the world of techno, after all.

Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist (Original TC Review)

Planet Mu: 2008

(2012 Update:
This was one of the albums that helped get me out of a writing funk I had in 2008, where I went nearly two months without contributing anything to TC. I think I made a big, melodramatic deal about not "having anything left to say" or some bullshit like that to explain my absence.

Detrimentalist has gone on to be a handy bit of ammunition for many forum arguments over 'awesome intense musics'. I've put many a bro-stepper into place by throwing Eurocore MVP and such in their faces. y0 betta' recognize, son!)


IN BRIEF: You thought this shit was easy?

As Venetian Snares, Aaron Funk has spent the last decade assaulting ears with all kinds of noisy glitchcore, gabber, and drill’n’bass productions, in the process building up a sizable following of aficionados for that sort of thing. Thus, whenever the curious inquire about the genre, Funk’s name is one that is oft repeated. What they’re usually stunned to discover, though, is there is more to the Venetian Snares moniker than distorted beats and scattershot rhythms. Modern classical compositions, chip-tunes, sprinklings of trip-hop and whatnot – it’s certainly an eclectic discography, and with something like “332” disparate albums (though realistically more like a dozen), trying to dive into Venetian Snares new can seem like a terrifying proposition.

So it’s just as well we bring our attention to his latest full-length, Detrimentalist; after all, if you’re looking to get your feet wet, it might as well be something relatively current. And fortunately for the fearful, this album is probably among his most accessible. Like so many, Funk has been bitten by early 90s nostalgia. And like his fellow IDM screwbars and nutballs, this also means dedication to old school hardcore rave. Ragga jungle! Hoovers! Big riffs! Oh shit, yes!

But allow me to reign in my unapologetic enthusiasm for the moment, as there’s more going on here than a simple love-in. This is, after all, Venetian Snares, and the project from Winnipeg never would have gained a well-deserved reputation without providing music that’s oftentimes compelling head-music. For sure, Dentrimentalist has old school vibes bursting at the seams, but when coupled with glitchy noise, confounding time signatures, and spastic breakcore, you have something that’s wholly unique in the process.

To put it bluntly, this some next level shit, motherfuckers! Ragga rave-jungle squared. Beats and patterns that are at once chaotic and infectious. An audio assault you can barely handle, yet crave more once the track ends. There’s acid, hip-hop samples, rhythmic drops that’ll have you moving like you’re suffering from an epileptic seizure. Leonard Nimoy going on about how his eyes and heart are flame (Koonut-Kaliffee lifts a nifty lengthy sample from an old Star Trek episode; the use of “I burn” is especially mint!). Screechy gabber will bludgeon your brain and you’ll thank Funk for it. One of the most common clichés in dance music reviews is that a track will “destroy a dancefloor” but some of the material off Detrimentalist could probably cause mass chaos, were it not for those good-time ecstatic rave riffs keeping a smile on your face.

Eh? Is all this talk of intense rhythms too much for you? Well if so, you could always scurry over to the deadmau5 stage, where you’re guaranteed a clap every second beat and not much else. Still, despite Funk ably holding his frenetic beats together, there are points where it does fly off the rails, and you begin to wonder if he’s about to loose all sense of direction. Flashforward in particular comes off wholly wayward, not only sounding misplaced on the album but directionless overall; as though Funk couldn’t resist throwing in a ‘breakcore-for-breakcore-sake’ track. Detrimentalist needs more of those snappy reggae notes found in Eurocore MVP, not less.

The final two tracks also stray from the general theme Detrimentalist tends to maintain, in that they are more along the lines of some of Venetian Snares‘ previous material. Bebikukorica Nigiri is all chip-tune bleeps, classical chords, and skitter-breaks, and fun in its own unique way. Finally, Miss Balaton dips into analogue ambient waters and orchestral strings before engaging us with rather subdued breakcore, providing us with a relatively soothing bit of music to ease us out of the intensity the rest of the album bombarded us with. Allow me to just add here that I am continuously amazed by these IDM producers’ yin/yang capabilities - they create some of the most ruthlessly noisy music out there, yet will often deliver incredibly gorgeous synth textures within the same album.

So, if you’re still wondering whether Detrimentialist is worth your time, the answer is a definite yes. Even if the notion of drill’n’bass and breakcore seems scary and absurd, this here new album from Venetian Snares should cure you of such concerns. Funk has thrown in more than enough inviting classic EDM conventions to draw in the most cynical of IDM detractors, all the while maintaining his signature complexity throughout.

Kraftwelt - Deranged In Space

Hypnotic: 1996

If you got through some of my earliest shit reviews, you may have noticed a minor gush over the name Audio Science. A four-piece group from Germany, they were one of the better hard trance acts of the early 90s, and seeing their name crop up on a Hypnotic Records release suggested at least some quality would be found within. They had another project too; an electro act named Kraftwelt that very much was inspired by that other ‘kraft’ German group that made it big in the 70s.

Electro was going through some lean times in the middle of the 90s. Though a few acts like Jedi Knights and Aux 88 kept it afloat, it’d take until the latter end of that decade before a proper revival occured. I can see Kraftwelt treating their project as nothing more than a fun tribute side-project but, for some reason, Hypnotic Records got behind it to an almost unprecedented level. Maybe they just really, really loved their covers on the Tribute To Kraftwerk CD?

So a whole album of fresh material was commissioned, and to promote it Hypnotic released this disc as the lead single. Fair enough, but were a dozen remixes necessary? Good lord, even the classics of dance music take years to acquire that many to their name, and here’s Hypnotic tossing out twelve in the first shot.

As you can imagine, Deranged In Space isn’t a great package. Hypnotic relies on artists signed to them (or parent label Cleopatra), and few were major names, even within the niche genres they covered. Kinder Atom, Zero Gravity, Surface 10, Coercion, and Space Ship Eyes mostly stick to spacey electro, while Leæther Strip and Virex take the EBM road. The remixes are fine for the most part, but it does grow tedious repeatedly hearing the same samples and pieces culled from the original Deranged.

Three cuts do stand out though. First, The Path is a totally different track, sounding like a proper nu-Kraftwerk track that suites the whole project. At the other end of the spectrum is the Controlled Bleeding remix, a glorious mess of a cut that befits the noisy bastards they are - it’s like hearing Deranged fed through a number cruncher, then expunged back into your face as digital vomit. Awesome! Finally, Überzone provides a rub, doing his chemical breaks thing, though rather subdued for his style (the Interfaith Super 8 Remix is probably closer to what folks would expect). ‘zone’s done better, but it did get featured on the old MTV show Amp, so there’s that. Man, Hypnotic must have pushed the hell out of this single.

If you’re curious about this project, you’re likely better off picking up one of the two Kraftwelt albums instead of picking up Deranged In Space. It could have been a respectable EP with half the content, but trying to milk a full remix album out of one relatively unknown song is bonkers. Oh, Hypnotic, always doing more than you should.

Scott Stubbs - The Depths Of Progressive Trance

Topaz: 1999

When starting a new dance label, it's usually a good idea having a prominent DJ or two as a figurehead promoting releases. Sometimes, like John Digweed or Markus Schulz, they'll double as management. Other times, the DJ will simply be a hired gun, like Ferry Corsten was for Ministry Of Sound, or Scott Stubbs was for Topaz Records. Wait, who?

Apologies for that lame lead-in, but those were the thoughts swirling in me brain-pan while re-listening to this CD, and dammit, I only have an evening to write these. I can't be bothered to do that much back-checking into the relationship between Stubbs and Topaz, so I'm going with a gut feeling, on account ol' Scott had several mix CDs released on the label when it started out. I assume he was a hired gun, as info regarding Topaz has dried up when it folded around 2005, whereas Stubbs' career as a Las Vegas resident has carried on regardless.

Topaz itself began as a promising American-based label featuring trance, back in the glorious time when trance was at its commercial peak (that's the year 2000, kids). They roped in a few other well-regarded names like Blue Amazon and some Platipus distribution, but their primary focus was centred around US DJs that were just as good as any of the big UK jocks at playing out progressive trance. Noble intents for sure, and their first few releases hinted they'd offer competition against the likes of Renaissance. Sweet deal for those tired of paying import prices on such music!

This debut mix for Topaz and Stubbs catches progressive trance at the flashpoint of the genre's shift into the dark, dubby sound that would come to encompass 'prog' in the early '00s. Not surprising, as the opening clutch of tracks feature names largely responsible for that direction (Mara, Dominion, Bill Hamel, and Chris Fortier). The mix does pick up midway though, bringing in proper hooks for all your trance needs. Nothing cheesy or overwrought; just solid, energetic tunes offered by Expansion, Arrakis, Trinity Sight, and Dream Traveler. And say, do I see that Markus Schulz fella’ in a remix credit there?

Overall, it’s the sort of mix you’d expect to hear Heaven Scent near the end of, had Topaz managed to clear the rights for it. Guess it was just a bit too new when this one was released, so only ol’ Diggers got to milk it that year. Arrakis’ Medusa is an alright substitute, almost a missing link between the Bedrock classic and a prior anthem like Café Del Mar.

Scott Stubbs as a DJ then? Fine, I suppose, though certainly no Digweed (not even a Dave Seaman, to be honest). It lacks silky smooth transitions and the mixdown sounds flat, but there aren't any embarrassing flubs either. Promo mixes of similar quality were plentiful around that time, so there’s no reason to shell out major dollars for this CD.

Fear Factory - Remanufacture (Cloning Technology)

Roadrunner Records: 1997

Nah, fuck it! I get to invoke a reissue loophole here, in that all the remix material was bundled on a second CD of the Demanufacture package (plus a couple extra tagged on the end of CD1). Thus, Remanufacture is technically labeled as CD2 of its parent album in my media player list. Since it was initially an entirely different release though, I’ll talk about it separately.

Story goes Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb were commissioned to do remixes of material from Fear Factory’s first album, Soul Of A New Machine, which led to Fulber becoming the band’s unofficial fifth member. Rather than making another EP length remix album, it was decided to give the full remix treatment to Demanufacture, each song having a re-rub to itself. Fulber was tasked with the bulk of the work, but several other tunes were sent to other producers, giving some much needed variety to the project.

I know what you're thinking. Remix albums suck, for the simple fact there's no cohesion or communication among the various remixers. Agreed, which is why having only four keeps things musically tight and flowing from track to track. They aimed to make Remanufacture just as solid of a standalone album as the parent one, and though it's not quite as good, it's still a fun ride.

Unsurprisingly, Fulber takes his remixes fully down the industrial road. Though he throws a couple surprises here and there - Zero Signal is turned into a bass-sludge EBM work titled Faithless - his work mostly retains the originals' pace and attributes. It's as though he's now the main attraction with Fear Factory backing him rather than the other way around on Demanufacture. The other remixer of note was Junkie XL, who provides two cuts for Remanufacture, and a few additional ones that initially only appeared on the Burn single but are included with the reissue as well. I've always felt he's best at block-rockin' big beats, and he's in as fine of form as ever here.

The show stealers, however, have to be Kingsize and DJ Dano. The latter goes full-on gabber with T-1000, outclassing all the other gabber remixes that were done for New Breed overseas (and yes, they're also included on the reissue). Kingsize's remix is utterly bonkers though! Titled Cloning Technology, it brings all the best aspects of big beat while making brilliant use of Fear Factory's thrashier side. Just when you think this track can't get any more headbangin', he adds another layer of intense mosh, over and over again. Some out there might be miffed that Replica's morbid theme (about a person born from rape) is essentially wiped away for the purpose of ravaging dance floors, but then that argument can be made for most of Remanufacture.

It does make me wonder how many within the metal scene appreciated these remixes. They certainly enjoyed Demanufacture enough to hail it a classic, but I don’t hear much mention of this one. Their loss, then.