Ultimae Records: 2005/2008
It’s hard to imagine a guy like Solar Fields having a ‘forgotten album’, but that’s honestly what Leaving Home comes off like. There's a transitional feeling to his third LP on Ultimae, an attempt to move on from the psy dub that made Blue Moon Station such a standout, but not quite reaching the musical diversity and epic scope later albums offered. One of Mr. Birgersson's enduring strengths is his willingness to try something different every time he releases an album, but I don't think he quite knew where he wanted to go next on Leaving Home, resulting in something of a hodgepodge CD.
Case in point: the track list, or rather the track 'demarcation'. The first half of this album is indexed in such a bizarre manner, I have to imagine ol' Magnus deliberately aiming for avant-garde. First tune Home is barely a tune at all, serving more as soundscape lead-in for summery chill-out second cut Time Slide. Fair enough, many albums start this way, but the two blends so seamlessly together, you'd think it was the same track. Insum does more to stand out as something distinct, though noodles about for nearly half the track before establishing a proper melodic theme (a lovely bit of lazy ambient techno featuring strumming strings and sweeping synths ...standard Ultimae at this point, if I'm honest). Couldn't the first half just been an independently indexed interlude?
Following that, we get Star Fruit, Magnetosphere (Star Fruit Part 2), and Stereo Hypnosis (Magnetosphere Part 2). Oh cool, a running theme between three tracks, this should be- what, it's over already? Yep, three individual 'tracks', running a total time less than Insum. What was the point of that? Sure, the drum programming grows more complicated with each track (Star Fruit Part 3 almost enters braindance territory), but couldn't this have been one single track instead? The first two parts are simply too short to have much interest as stand-alones.
Following that, we’re treated to three tracks breaking the ten-minute mark – heck, Monogram breaks the fifteen-minute mark, mostly noodly ambient techno but fine for that sort of thing. The first of this bunch though, Air Song, has three totally different ideas during its run-time, yet isn’t split up like the Star-Fruit-Magnetosphere-Hypnosis sequence that preceded it. It doesn’t ruin the listening experience, mind you – I doubt Solar Fields could release a bad album if he tried – but boy does it make for a wonky looking tracklist.
Right, I haven’t been detailing much of the music itself, mainly because there isn’t much to talk about. Leaving Home has a soft atmosphere running through, chill even for typical Solar Fields chill (and if you aren’t familiar with his sound yet, what are you waiting for!?). Fortunately, it ends strong, with Times Are Good coming off like a Pete Namlook tribute, and the titular final cut featuring a great climax of wordly sounds, synths, and trip-hop breaks. It can be something of an ambient-soup slog to get there though.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Perfect Stranger - Learning = Change (2013 Update)
Iboga Records: 2006
(Click here to wander the barren wastes of my old writing.)
*blink* ...*blink-blink*
Sorry about that. My eyes dried out while trying to read that old review of mine. I still couldn't get through it. In fact, just thinking about it has left my creative process a desolate desert. I'm utterly stumped on what to say in this Update. It's still a good prog-psy album, far better than most of the material Iboga Records churned out in later years. What kind of material? Ah, you don't want me to tell you, it's really not interesting. I'm going to though, aren't I, just to burn some word count here.
Iboga was making a name for itself in the mid-'00s as a worthy contributor to a growing prog-psy scene, their finest offerings easily on par with the likes of Spiral Trax. Then, for some totally daft reason, the Iboga roster started getting bit by the minimal bug. Their tunes often had a deeper, tribal tone to them, sandwiched between the driving, melodic numbers, but not any longer. Perfect Stranger, Iboga's main man remember, was particularly smitten by this trend, churning out some of the driest tracks you could imagine. I don't know if they ever recovered from that nonsense, as I lost touch with the label as this decade took form. Didn't want to bother springing for music if it was gonna' be the listening equivalent of traversing the Gobi Desert.
I did have a chance to see if Perfect Stranger had changed his sound this summer, as he was one of the headliners at the Shambhala Music Festival. Unfortunately, he was slotted for a ridiculously early time at the psytrance-worldbeat-hippieshit stage, at which point I was slotted to work on the clean-up crew as part of my volunteer duties. Yeah, after six years attending this festival, I gave back to that which gave so much to me – the early-entry, gettin' fed, warm showers, and cool co-workers was a good incentive too. That Friday evening shift, I rode around on the trash collection truck; dirty work true, but a lot of fun too, hopping on a moving vehicle chanting “Trash! Trash! Trash!” along the way, dancing to music whenever we neared one of the stages. It was one, big, moving party, keeping the grounds tidy and that.
Still, my fondest memory of that trip didn't occur at the festival, but the night before my travelling posse got there. We stayed overnight in a small town called Trail, famous for a massive steel mill in the centre. We thought maybe a pub might be open late, but as it was a holiday night, Trail's downtown was dead, not a soul on the street, and a disconcerting sight for us city goers. Meanwhile, looming in the background of this abandoned area lay the massive factory, its evening lights eerily illuminating massive smoke stacks billowing thick clouds into the warm summer night. A real steampunk sight for this day in age.
What? Oh hey, Learning = Change. Still worth a listen, it is. Trust.
(Click here to wander the barren wastes of my old writing.)
*blink* ...*blink-blink*
Sorry about that. My eyes dried out while trying to read that old review of mine. I still couldn't get through it. In fact, just thinking about it has left my creative process a desolate desert. I'm utterly stumped on what to say in this Update. It's still a good prog-psy album, far better than most of the material Iboga Records churned out in later years. What kind of material? Ah, you don't want me to tell you, it's really not interesting. I'm going to though, aren't I, just to burn some word count here.
Iboga was making a name for itself in the mid-'00s as a worthy contributor to a growing prog-psy scene, their finest offerings easily on par with the likes of Spiral Trax. Then, for some totally daft reason, the Iboga roster started getting bit by the minimal bug. Their tunes often had a deeper, tribal tone to them, sandwiched between the driving, melodic numbers, but not any longer. Perfect Stranger, Iboga's main man remember, was particularly smitten by this trend, churning out some of the driest tracks you could imagine. I don't know if they ever recovered from that nonsense, as I lost touch with the label as this decade took form. Didn't want to bother springing for music if it was gonna' be the listening equivalent of traversing the Gobi Desert.
I did have a chance to see if Perfect Stranger had changed his sound this summer, as he was one of the headliners at the Shambhala Music Festival. Unfortunately, he was slotted for a ridiculously early time at the psytrance-worldbeat-hippieshit stage, at which point I was slotted to work on the clean-up crew as part of my volunteer duties. Yeah, after six years attending this festival, I gave back to that which gave so much to me – the early-entry, gettin' fed, warm showers, and cool co-workers was a good incentive too. That Friday evening shift, I rode around on the trash collection truck; dirty work true, but a lot of fun too, hopping on a moving vehicle chanting “Trash! Trash! Trash!” along the way, dancing to music whenever we neared one of the stages. It was one, big, moving party, keeping the grounds tidy and that.
Still, my fondest memory of that trip didn't occur at the festival, but the night before my travelling posse got there. We stayed overnight in a small town called Trail, famous for a massive steel mill in the centre. We thought maybe a pub might be open late, but as it was a holiday night, Trail's downtown was dead, not a soul on the street, and a disconcerting sight for us city goers. Meanwhile, looming in the background of this abandoned area lay the massive factory, its evening lights eerily illuminating massive smoke stacks billowing thick clouds into the warm summer night. A real steampunk sight for this day in age.
What? Oh hey, Learning = Change. Still worth a listen, it is. Trust.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Enigma - Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Virgin: 1996
Enigma had beaten the sophomore slump on The Cross Of Changes, thanks in large part to songs you couldn't escape anywhere you went. In fact, I suspect it may have been overkill on the casual listener's part, as by the mid-'90s, interest in world-beat pop had significantly dwindled. What, another ethnic chant coupled with Shakuhachi flutes and dated breakbeats? Fah, who's got time for that when 'girl with acoustic guitar' is all the hotness now (then). Michael Cretu, crafty producer he is, also recognized the need to keep his project evolving. Thus his third album, Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!, was promoted as a marriage of his two previous Enigma works. Hey, now I get that title! It's, like, proclaiming old Enigma is dead, but here's new Enigma to lead the way. Deep, man.
Unfortunately, the album itself failed to generate much buzz beyond the lead single Beyond The Invisible, itself memorable mostly for the odd video. I mean, really, what’s going on here: Lola be running to the woods, where a figure-skating competition is being judged by steampunk cenobites (those oddballs on the cover) while tree sprites watch. It’s actually not a bad tune, though clearly a step below such hits as Age Of Loneliness and Sadeness, Part 1 - T.N.T. For The Brain comes close though. I guess if you’ve never cared about Cretu’s vocals, it wouldn’t grab you either. Tough beans if that’s the case, as he sings quite a bit for this album.
In fact, the more there are vocals on Le Roi Is Morty, Live The King!, the less interesting the album is. I appreciate the effort Mr. Cretu puts into his singing, as you can tell he’s giving his limited range all that he can offer (with a little studio boost too), but the tracks he leads on have almost always been the weakest cuts on his albums. His wife, Sandra, adds so much scintillating depth to admittedly daft New Age lyrics, and it’s a shame she doesn’t get more to do this time out.
Musically, The King Is Dead; Oops, He’s A Zombie! is softer than the previous two. Morphing Thru Time lazily coasts, Shadows In Silence floats on tranquil oceans, Almost Full Moon blissfully rocks back and forth in a dreamy daze, and Prism Of Life... well, would likely go good around a campfire. Even the upbeat tunes aren’t as driving in their rhythms as older Enigma, The Roundabout about the closest thing coming to a proper club cut.
LREM,VLR! is a better album than most gave it credit for back in the day, but has the feeling of an ambitious theme that never quite gels. Some trimming of the sappier moments like Why!... (oh God, Cretu just can’t sing here) and The Child In Us (oof, what platitudes) would have helped. If anything, the instrumentals are gorgeous, and worth checking the album out if you’ve been a fence sitter for all this time.
Enigma had beaten the sophomore slump on The Cross Of Changes, thanks in large part to songs you couldn't escape anywhere you went. In fact, I suspect it may have been overkill on the casual listener's part, as by the mid-'90s, interest in world-beat pop had significantly dwindled. What, another ethnic chant coupled with Shakuhachi flutes and dated breakbeats? Fah, who's got time for that when 'girl with acoustic guitar' is all the hotness now (then). Michael Cretu, crafty producer he is, also recognized the need to keep his project evolving. Thus his third album, Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!, was promoted as a marriage of his two previous Enigma works. Hey, now I get that title! It's, like, proclaiming old Enigma is dead, but here's new Enigma to lead the way. Deep, man.
Unfortunately, the album itself failed to generate much buzz beyond the lead single Beyond The Invisible, itself memorable mostly for the odd video. I mean, really, what’s going on here: Lola be running to the woods, where a figure-skating competition is being judged by steampunk cenobites (those oddballs on the cover) while tree sprites watch. It’s actually not a bad tune, though clearly a step below such hits as Age Of Loneliness and Sadeness, Part 1 - T.N.T. For The Brain comes close though. I guess if you’ve never cared about Cretu’s vocals, it wouldn’t grab you either. Tough beans if that’s the case, as he sings quite a bit for this album.
In fact, the more there are vocals on Le Roi Is Morty, Live The King!, the less interesting the album is. I appreciate the effort Mr. Cretu puts into his singing, as you can tell he’s giving his limited range all that he can offer (with a little studio boost too), but the tracks he leads on have almost always been the weakest cuts on his albums. His wife, Sandra, adds so much scintillating depth to admittedly daft New Age lyrics, and it’s a shame she doesn’t get more to do this time out.
Musically, The King Is Dead; Oops, He’s A Zombie! is softer than the previous two. Morphing Thru Time lazily coasts, Shadows In Silence floats on tranquil oceans, Almost Full Moon blissfully rocks back and forth in a dreamy daze, and Prism Of Life... well, would likely go good around a campfire. Even the upbeat tunes aren’t as driving in their rhythms as older Enigma, The Roundabout about the closest thing coming to a proper club cut.
LREM,VLR! is a better album than most gave it credit for back in the day, but has the feeling of an ambitious theme that never quite gels. Some trimming of the sappier moments like Why!... (oh God, Cretu just can’t sing here) and The Child In Us (oof, what platitudes) would have helped. If anything, the instrumentals are gorgeous, and worth checking the album out if you’ve been a fence sitter for all this time.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Neil Young - Le Noise
Reprise Records: 2010
It was about the mid-'aughts that I caught the Rusty bug, but even as ol' Neil continued releasing albums of new material at a good clip that decade, I didn't pay his post-millennial output much heed. I had nearly four prior decades of Young's discography to catch up on, and while press for the likes of Living With War or Chrome Dreams II was positive, I saw little point in catching such albums. They were good, so said the journals, but not going anywhere his classic material hadn't been before. Thus I figured I'd stumble along to Young's 2000s music long after the fact.
Then I heard the early promos for Le Noise. Say, this is different. I’d heard him as a solo guitarist plenty of times, but never with an emphasis on fuzzed-out distortion. Also, what’s with these songs about aged reflection? It’s almost as though his head was in an autobiographical mindset when he wrote them. And hey, Daniel Lanois is the producer? Holy cow, Neil ain’t never get professional producers on his work, always preferring the ragged, first-take approach guys like David Briggs provided. How would a guy known for spacious, perfected studio mixdowns mesh with a rocker known for almost the exact opposite?
Truth be told, Neil Young’s something of a music perfectionist himself, always aiming to capture the spark of his creativity as close to the source as he can. Couple that with an almost insatiable pursuit of discovering the highest-fidelity medium out there (he got no love for MP3s), and pairing up with Lanois isn’t quite so surprising. “Give me space for the music to breathe,” said Neil, “and you can use fancy studio gadgets to take it further.” Sounds good to me, as does Le Noise.
Instead of recording in a traditional studio, they set up a make-shift one at Lanois’ Los Angeles mansion, resulting in a fuller sound as Neil’s guitar tones filled large rooms. Also unique to the project was splitting the guitar into two amps, one for rhythm and one for lead, creating audio separation of the two. As Mr. Young’s never been the most technically proficient guitarist around though, flubbed chords are a consequence of simultaneously playing lead and rhythm. Still, as any longtime Rusty will attest, that’s always been part of his charm. As for Lanois’ production, it remains in the background while Neil sings about relationships (of course), global problems (damn hippie), and his sordid drug history (ooh, tantalizing!). When songs go pure instrumental, however, or during a coda, dubby effects emerge, lending Le Noise to something of a shoegaze feeling, though with a producer doing the sonic manipulation rather than the musician with footpedals.
This album received a ton of accolades when it came out, though I figure more for the concept than the actual content since most songs are typical Neil Young: simple. It’s definitely one of his most unique sounding albums though, and a must-have for anyone willing to take the Rusty plunge.
It was about the mid-'aughts that I caught the Rusty bug, but even as ol' Neil continued releasing albums of new material at a good clip that decade, I didn't pay his post-millennial output much heed. I had nearly four prior decades of Young's discography to catch up on, and while press for the likes of Living With War or Chrome Dreams II was positive, I saw little point in catching such albums. They were good, so said the journals, but not going anywhere his classic material hadn't been before. Thus I figured I'd stumble along to Young's 2000s music long after the fact.
Then I heard the early promos for Le Noise. Say, this is different. I’d heard him as a solo guitarist plenty of times, but never with an emphasis on fuzzed-out distortion. Also, what’s with these songs about aged reflection? It’s almost as though his head was in an autobiographical mindset when he wrote them. And hey, Daniel Lanois is the producer? Holy cow, Neil ain’t never get professional producers on his work, always preferring the ragged, first-take approach guys like David Briggs provided. How would a guy known for spacious, perfected studio mixdowns mesh with a rocker known for almost the exact opposite?
Truth be told, Neil Young’s something of a music perfectionist himself, always aiming to capture the spark of his creativity as close to the source as he can. Couple that with an almost insatiable pursuit of discovering the highest-fidelity medium out there (he got no love for MP3s), and pairing up with Lanois isn’t quite so surprising. “Give me space for the music to breathe,” said Neil, “and you can use fancy studio gadgets to take it further.” Sounds good to me, as does Le Noise.
Instead of recording in a traditional studio, they set up a make-shift one at Lanois’ Los Angeles mansion, resulting in a fuller sound as Neil’s guitar tones filled large rooms. Also unique to the project was splitting the guitar into two amps, one for rhythm and one for lead, creating audio separation of the two. As Mr. Young’s never been the most technically proficient guitarist around though, flubbed chords are a consequence of simultaneously playing lead and rhythm. Still, as any longtime Rusty will attest, that’s always been part of his charm. As for Lanois’ production, it remains in the background while Neil sings about relationships (of course), global problems (damn hippie), and his sordid drug history (ooh, tantalizing!). When songs go pure instrumental, however, or during a coda, dubby effects emerge, lending Le Noise to something of a shoegaze feeling, though with a producer doing the sonic manipulation rather than the musician with footpedals.
This album received a ton of accolades when it came out, though I figure more for the concept than the actual content since most songs are typical Neil Young: simple. It’s definitely one of his most unique sounding albums though, and a must-have for anyone willing to take the Rusty plunge.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Lodsb - lazer.eyes.love
Force Intel: 2011
When pioneering glitch 'n experimental label Mille Plateaux relaunched in the late '00s, it was swamped by several up-and-comers’ promos looking to join the roster. I mean, when you're new to that scene and hoping to gain prestige, what better way to do so than having a Mille catalogue number attached to your work? Turns out though, some of these promos sent in weren’t weird enough for ol’ Plateaux, but would serve as fine examples of ‘classic’ IDM (bleepy ambient techno, scattershot breaks, etc.). If only there was a label that promoted the stuff still. Since Warp went all shoegaze though, I guess a whole new label was required, hence Mille offshoot Force Intel coming into its brief existence.
So this Lodsb fella' got to release a debut album on the 'net label. The Lord That Knows All apparently knows very little about who's behind the moniker. There isn't even a name assigned to his Discogs page, despite two albums to his credit. Heck, the only reason I know Lodsb is of the male persuasion is because there's a picture of him on his Last.fm profile - still no name, though. Curse those IDM wonks making research difficult.
lazer.eyes.love primarily falls into the breakcore side of IDM, so if you’re a fan of Venetian Snares and the like, this is a good bet for you to download (it was only available as a digital album). The opener, Analogue Arcade, is rather mellow for this stuff, even settling on a pleasant house beat while glitchy harmonics weave in and out. Yeah, you aren’t getting much more of that beat on this release. Second cut Eve lets loose with the cacophonic rhythms, then things go down Squarepusher’s frenetic jazzy acid avenue for a few tracks after. In fact, the next number of tracks all kind of blend together, so short as they are and sharing similar aesthetics, if not actual musical content. It can get to be a bit much though, so thank God Lodsb cuts it back by track six (Bubblegum Hypothesis, if you’re wondering, but it’s not like IDM song titles are meant to make a lick of sense).
Apparently Lodsb has a background in orchestral music study too, which becomes apparent on tracks like Deer Ride, Juno, Rubiq, and Zebra, where arrangements are cut up to form whole new compositions. Heck, Deer Ride forgoes any spastic breaks altogether, and if there is any glitch trickery at play, it sure doesn’t make itself known, sounding as seamless as though Lodsb was conducting a one-hundred-twenty string section himself. Mind, it seems every IDM wonk has to show off his classical capabilities in such a manner, but it’s nice to have such music break up the breakcore on albums like this one.
Of course, music such as this remains incredibly niche, and if even the popular names in this scene hold little interest for you, I doubt lazer.eyes.love will sway your opinion on it. Cool as a curioso, but not much else.
When pioneering glitch 'n experimental label Mille Plateaux relaunched in the late '00s, it was swamped by several up-and-comers’ promos looking to join the roster. I mean, when you're new to that scene and hoping to gain prestige, what better way to do so than having a Mille catalogue number attached to your work? Turns out though, some of these promos sent in weren’t weird enough for ol’ Plateaux, but would serve as fine examples of ‘classic’ IDM (bleepy ambient techno, scattershot breaks, etc.). If only there was a label that promoted the stuff still. Since Warp went all shoegaze though, I guess a whole new label was required, hence Mille offshoot Force Intel coming into its brief existence.
So this Lodsb fella' got to release a debut album on the 'net label. The Lord That Knows All apparently knows very little about who's behind the moniker. There isn't even a name assigned to his Discogs page, despite two albums to his credit. Heck, the only reason I know Lodsb is of the male persuasion is because there's a picture of him on his Last.fm profile - still no name, though. Curse those IDM wonks making research difficult.
lazer.eyes.love primarily falls into the breakcore side of IDM, so if you’re a fan of Venetian Snares and the like, this is a good bet for you to download (it was only available as a digital album). The opener, Analogue Arcade, is rather mellow for this stuff, even settling on a pleasant house beat while glitchy harmonics weave in and out. Yeah, you aren’t getting much more of that beat on this release. Second cut Eve lets loose with the cacophonic rhythms, then things go down Squarepusher’s frenetic jazzy acid avenue for a few tracks after. In fact, the next number of tracks all kind of blend together, so short as they are and sharing similar aesthetics, if not actual musical content. It can get to be a bit much though, so thank God Lodsb cuts it back by track six (Bubblegum Hypothesis, if you’re wondering, but it’s not like IDM song titles are meant to make a lick of sense).
Apparently Lodsb has a background in orchestral music study too, which becomes apparent on tracks like Deer Ride, Juno, Rubiq, and Zebra, where arrangements are cut up to form whole new compositions. Heck, Deer Ride forgoes any spastic breaks altogether, and if there is any glitch trickery at play, it sure doesn’t make itself known, sounding as seamless as though Lodsb was conducting a one-hundred-twenty string section himself. Mind, it seems every IDM wonk has to show off his classical capabilities in such a manner, but it’s nice to have such music break up the breakcore on albums like this one.
Of course, music such as this remains incredibly niche, and if even the popular names in this scene hold little interest for you, I doubt lazer.eyes.love will sway your opinion on it. Cool as a curioso, but not much else.
Labels:
2011,
acid,
album,
breakcore,
Force Intel,
glitch,
IDM,
Lodsb,
modern classical
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Vector Lovers - Late Shift / Babette (Original TC Review)
Simple Records: 2008
(2013 Update:
Hoo boy, is this ever a brief review. Guess it came at that point where we didn't really care much to review singles at TC anymore, though occasionally something would pique our interest enough to give it a shot. Had I gotten to this sooner in this year, I'd probably have written something about how it was a shame this MP3 single was among the last of Vector Lovers' releases. But lo', he came out with another album this year! Yay and stuffs, I suppose.
Also, in case you're wondering, yes, I do have an obsession with all-night noodle houses. They're quite tasty after a night at the clubs!)
IN BRIEF: Herbert would nod approvingly.
When last TranceCritic left Martin Wheeler, he was still manipulating R2-droid squeaks and squawks into sweet serenades while grooving to electro-coo’ disco dandies in Neo-Tokyo. That was a few years back now, and he has released a couple more albums since his lovely little self-titled debut, remaining quite on the fringe of dance music awareness, sadly. It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of promotion on Soma’s part, but perhaps joining up with Will Saul’s Simple Records will help spur some renewed interest in Vector Lovers, by way of this simple little MP3 single.
It would appear Wheeler has found more funk to his flavor, as both Late Shift and Babette get down on some fine tech-house grooves. The latter is more straightforward than the former, bumping along nicely before gradually bringing in deep pulsing synths accentuated with brief bright stabs. It’s rather old-school sounding as far as tech-house is concerned; I’m quite reminded of the kind of material you’d hear the odd German kick out around the early-mid 90s. As solid of an offering Babette is though, Late Shift easily steals the show.
Even right off, the track’s cool-groovin’ synths and mildly funky rhythms are win, conjuring up 2am cruises through lonely metropolitan streets in search of an afterhours or all-night noodle-house. But this is par for the course where Vector Lovers is concerned. What lifts Late Shift into quirky class territory are funny little sound-effect samples littered throughout. Like what, ask you? Like these, I reply: breezy winds; click-clacky kitchen utensils; a noise that sounds like a saxophone player struggling with a broken reed, but is actually Wheeler’s squeaky fridge door. No, really! ...well, according to him, anyway. Whatever it is, it isn’t used as gimmicky noise either, but rather as though it’s some kind of jazzy instrument. My friends, that’s just daftly brilliant!
Folks who’ve followed Wheeler over the years will definitely enjoy this. If you’ve never taken the Vector Lovers plunge though, this is a fine single to get your feet wet with. While it may not encompass all that is his discography, it highlights his intriguing musicianship just the same.
(2013 Update:
Hoo boy, is this ever a brief review. Guess it came at that point where we didn't really care much to review singles at TC anymore, though occasionally something would pique our interest enough to give it a shot. Had I gotten to this sooner in this year, I'd probably have written something about how it was a shame this MP3 single was among the last of Vector Lovers' releases. But lo', he came out with another album this year! Yay and stuffs, I suppose.
Also, in case you're wondering, yes, I do have an obsession with all-night noodle houses. They're quite tasty after a night at the clubs!)
IN BRIEF: Herbert would nod approvingly.
When last TranceCritic left Martin Wheeler, he was still manipulating R2-droid squeaks and squawks into sweet serenades while grooving to electro-coo’ disco dandies in Neo-Tokyo. That was a few years back now, and he has released a couple more albums since his lovely little self-titled debut, remaining quite on the fringe of dance music awareness, sadly. It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of promotion on Soma’s part, but perhaps joining up with Will Saul’s Simple Records will help spur some renewed interest in Vector Lovers, by way of this simple little MP3 single.
It would appear Wheeler has found more funk to his flavor, as both Late Shift and Babette get down on some fine tech-house grooves. The latter is more straightforward than the former, bumping along nicely before gradually bringing in deep pulsing synths accentuated with brief bright stabs. It’s rather old-school sounding as far as tech-house is concerned; I’m quite reminded of the kind of material you’d hear the odd German kick out around the early-mid 90s. As solid of an offering Babette is though, Late Shift easily steals the show.
Even right off, the track’s cool-groovin’ synths and mildly funky rhythms are win, conjuring up 2am cruises through lonely metropolitan streets in search of an afterhours or all-night noodle-house. But this is par for the course where Vector Lovers is concerned. What lifts Late Shift into quirky class territory are funny little sound-effect samples littered throughout. Like what, ask you? Like these, I reply: breezy winds; click-clacky kitchen utensils; a noise that sounds like a saxophone player struggling with a broken reed, but is actually Wheeler’s squeaky fridge door. No, really! ...well, according to him, anyway. Whatever it is, it isn’t used as gimmicky noise either, but rather as though it’s some kind of jazzy instrument. My friends, that’s just daftly brilliant!
Folks who’ve followed Wheeler over the years will definitely enjoy this. If you’ve never taken the Vector Lovers plunge though, this is a fine single to get your feet wet with. While it may not encompass all that is his discography, it highlights his intriguing musicianship just the same.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Various - LateNightTales: Fatboy Slim
LateNightTales: 2007
This was a release I was supposed to review at TranceCritic, but totally flaked on because I had no idea how to approach it. For one thing, I knew very little about LateNightTales, other than it was yet another compilation series dedicated to showcasing the esoteric tastes of musicians and DJs. Fair enough, but with Back To Mine, Choice, DJ-Kicks (sometimes), and who knows what else doing the same thing, I had difficulty drumming up interest in this one. Second of all, the music contained within is very, very, very un-electronic, and for a website that already frequently skewed away from its main focus (trance!), going that far off our beaten path probably wasn't wise (or just bad for traffic). So now that I'm writing on a blog dedicated to all electronic music, but often skew towards heavy metal, prog rock, and even country (but not Western – I do have standards here), finally tackling Fatboy Slim's contribution to LateNightTales just be honky-dory.
I don't know if it's a running theme with this series, but Monsieur Normane Cookie opted for something akin to a mixtape here. He even goes at length in the liner notes about the lost art of the craft, which strikes me as odd even for 2007. I'll grant all the kiddie-Joes out there likely don't care much about it, but almost every music connoisseur I know of appreciates the concept of mixtaping, if not the practical application of it.
And as this is a mixtape mix, there’s hardly any mixing at all; mostly quick blending as a song ends and another begins, if even that. Frankly, I doubt anyone could reasonably mix this music anyway. It opens with a bunch of sunny, psychedelic rock by the likes of Nick Lowe, Mink de Ville, and The Modern Lovers that screams ‘70s, only to follow it up with a run of obscure funk, soul, and reggae of the same era. Oh yeah, Fatboy Slim’s penchant for fun-time music’s in full effect here, and as a bloke who’s undoubtedly gathered tons of vinyl in his time, Mr. Cook’s gonna give us one heck of a history lesson on this stuff.
Since this is such old music meant for singles and radio play, they all breeze by in a hurry, no track exceeding four minutes. There are a few recognizable names in the back half (Willie Nelson, The Velvet Underground, Taj Mahal, Sly & The Family Stone), often rubbing shoulders with utter unknowns like ‘60s r&b outfit The Sandpebbles and calypso singer (plus actor) Robert Mitchum. And of course there’s cute novelty bits like Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Linus And Lucy (yes, from those Peanuts cartoons), Fatboy Slim doing a Senor Coconut-ish cover of Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity (!!), and ending everything with some poetry as recited by Bootsy Collins (!!?).
So an entertaining CD, all said, though not the most essential. If you don’t mind taking a stroll down music roads less travelled, this volume of LateNightTales is a handy soundtrack.
This was a release I was supposed to review at TranceCritic, but totally flaked on because I had no idea how to approach it. For one thing, I knew very little about LateNightTales, other than it was yet another compilation series dedicated to showcasing the esoteric tastes of musicians and DJs. Fair enough, but with Back To Mine, Choice, DJ-Kicks (sometimes), and who knows what else doing the same thing, I had difficulty drumming up interest in this one. Second of all, the music contained within is very, very, very un-electronic, and for a website that already frequently skewed away from its main focus (trance!), going that far off our beaten path probably wasn't wise (or just bad for traffic). So now that I'm writing on a blog dedicated to all electronic music, but often skew towards heavy metal, prog rock, and even country (but not Western – I do have standards here), finally tackling Fatboy Slim's contribution to LateNightTales just be honky-dory.
I don't know if it's a running theme with this series, but Monsieur Normane Cookie opted for something akin to a mixtape here. He even goes at length in the liner notes about the lost art of the craft, which strikes me as odd even for 2007. I'll grant all the kiddie-Joes out there likely don't care much about it, but almost every music connoisseur I know of appreciates the concept of mixtaping, if not the practical application of it.
And as this is a mixtape mix, there’s hardly any mixing at all; mostly quick blending as a song ends and another begins, if even that. Frankly, I doubt anyone could reasonably mix this music anyway. It opens with a bunch of sunny, psychedelic rock by the likes of Nick Lowe, Mink de Ville, and The Modern Lovers that screams ‘70s, only to follow it up with a run of obscure funk, soul, and reggae of the same era. Oh yeah, Fatboy Slim’s penchant for fun-time music’s in full effect here, and as a bloke who’s undoubtedly gathered tons of vinyl in his time, Mr. Cook’s gonna give us one heck of a history lesson on this stuff.
Since this is such old music meant for singles and radio play, they all breeze by in a hurry, no track exceeding four minutes. There are a few recognizable names in the back half (Willie Nelson, The Velvet Underground, Taj Mahal, Sly & The Family Stone), often rubbing shoulders with utter unknowns like ‘60s r&b outfit The Sandpebbles and calypso singer (plus actor) Robert Mitchum. And of course there’s cute novelty bits like Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Linus And Lucy (yes, from those Peanuts cartoons), Fatboy Slim doing a Senor Coconut-ish cover of Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity (!!), and ending everything with some poetry as recited by Bootsy Collins (!!?).
So an entertaining CD, all said, though not the most essential. If you don’t mind taking a stroll down music roads less travelled, this volume of LateNightTales is a handy soundtrack.
Labels:
2007,
calypso,
classic rock,
country,
DJ Mix,
Fatboy Slim,
jazz,
LateNightTales,
psychedelia,
reggae
Monday, December 23, 2013
Various - Red Jerry: Late Night Drive Mix
Muzik Magazine: 2002
Oh look, we're back in 2002, and Muzik Magazine's been kind enough to rope in Hooj Choons godfather Red Jerry in for a mix. With that, you instantly know this is gonna be a good ol' prog-athon, of the deep, dark, (dull?), tribal bent. After enduring such a long stretch of plodding McProg beats, this'll be a breath of fresh air. Still, kind of odd seeing a mix CD of such music featured on Muzik’s part, as they were starting their snarky “lol, prog is boring, grime’s the mint, mate!” phase when this came out.
Fortunately, Mr. Dickens provides an excellent freebie of a set. He’d already made a number of mixes the few years prior, including constructing deeper offerings for the Euphoria series from Telstar TV. Curiously, Late Night Drive Mix is one of the last CDs he put out. Heck, his entire discography quickly dries up shortly after this, possibly due to Hooj Choons shutting down the year after. I’ll grant he was more of a label runner than a producer or DJ, but considering the dominance Hooj held over the progressive scene, its sad things ended so limply for him. Oh well, I hear he still DJs here and there, likely caning out classic Hooj with aplomb.
As for Late Night Drive Mix, yeah, it’s 2002 prog, so you get some deep tribal cuts like Creamer & K’s Pipeline Mix of Blackwatch’s Foreshadow, Joshua Collins’ Phonosynthesis, Peace Division’s R U Somewhere, and 16B’s Escape. Meanwhile, Smith and Selway’s dubby chugger Yess makes for a strong mid-set peak, and a Tony Thomas tribal mix of 16B’s The Game hits another high point near the end. Good vibes, all said, especially for those 3am cruises down urban streets in search of an all-night beef noodle house (or the afterparty). I’m still bummed this sound fell off to the degree it did (deep tech-house just ain’t as fun), but maybe we’ll start seeing a retro-return in short order. It has been a decade since it was in vogue, after all.
What gives this freebie CD an extra bit of class over most ‘dark prog’ of the time is the inclusion of breaks and even electro. While it may not be surprising to find PMT’s remix of Creamer & K’s Wish You Were Here in the early going (deep prog breaks!), Anthony Rother shows up at the end with Red Light District. Okay, it’s an obvious cut too (Danny Tenaglia ended his Athens Global Underground with it), but it fits the feel of Late Night Drive Mix wonderfully, and makes for a great blend into the Smith & Selway remix of David Alvardo’s Blue, itself an excellent, pulsing slice of space-dub prog.
So perhaps not the most unique prog mix you’ll find out there, but for a freebie, Red Jerry gave Muzik a definite keeper for folks fancying this sort of sound. Definitely worth a pick-up if you see it lying about cheap in a used shop.
Oh look, we're back in 2002, and Muzik Magazine's been kind enough to rope in Hooj Choons godfather Red Jerry in for a mix. With that, you instantly know this is gonna be a good ol' prog-athon, of the deep, dark, (dull?), tribal bent. After enduring such a long stretch of plodding McProg beats, this'll be a breath of fresh air. Still, kind of odd seeing a mix CD of such music featured on Muzik’s part, as they were starting their snarky “lol, prog is boring, grime’s the mint, mate!” phase when this came out.
Fortunately, Mr. Dickens provides an excellent freebie of a set. He’d already made a number of mixes the few years prior, including constructing deeper offerings for the Euphoria series from Telstar TV. Curiously, Late Night Drive Mix is one of the last CDs he put out. Heck, his entire discography quickly dries up shortly after this, possibly due to Hooj Choons shutting down the year after. I’ll grant he was more of a label runner than a producer or DJ, but considering the dominance Hooj held over the progressive scene, its sad things ended so limply for him. Oh well, I hear he still DJs here and there, likely caning out classic Hooj with aplomb.
As for Late Night Drive Mix, yeah, it’s 2002 prog, so you get some deep tribal cuts like Creamer & K’s Pipeline Mix of Blackwatch’s Foreshadow, Joshua Collins’ Phonosynthesis, Peace Division’s R U Somewhere, and 16B’s Escape. Meanwhile, Smith and Selway’s dubby chugger Yess makes for a strong mid-set peak, and a Tony Thomas tribal mix of 16B’s The Game hits another high point near the end. Good vibes, all said, especially for those 3am cruises down urban streets in search of an all-night beef noodle house (or the afterparty). I’m still bummed this sound fell off to the degree it did (deep tech-house just ain’t as fun), but maybe we’ll start seeing a retro-return in short order. It has been a decade since it was in vogue, after all.
What gives this freebie CD an extra bit of class over most ‘dark prog’ of the time is the inclusion of breaks and even electro. While it may not be surprising to find PMT’s remix of Creamer & K’s Wish You Were Here in the early going (deep prog breaks!), Anthony Rother shows up at the end with Red Light District. Okay, it’s an obvious cut too (Danny Tenaglia ended his Athens Global Underground with it), but it fits the feel of Late Night Drive Mix wonderfully, and makes for a great blend into the Smith & Selway remix of David Alvardo’s Blue, itself an excellent, pulsing slice of space-dub prog.
So perhaps not the most unique prog mix you’ll find out there, but for a freebie, Red Jerry gave Muzik a definite keeper for folks fancying this sort of sound. Definitely worth a pick-up if you see it lying about cheap in a used shop.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Various - In Trance We Trust 019: Kris O'Neil
In Trance We Trust: 2012
Well, at least I didn’t have to endure a breakdown until two minutes this time, but there it is once again. God almighty, when will this trope- oh, it’s already back to the beats. Well, good then. But I bet this opener will come to a full stop for a standard build-up and- wait, it’s already doing the build-up? Without a pause? Holy cow, and it drops right after the peak; no dawdling, just hitting that anthem instantly. Okay, that wasn’t so bad, but it was just a one-off, I’m sure. The rest of this disc will- oh, wow! The entire first half of this mix has tracks like that.
I’ll grant some builds go a tad long (Cosmic Gate just can’t help themselves), but there’s no sense of momentum lost - just bangin’ tune after bangin’ tune, many with a hooky anthem and hard rhythms. Hm, and snares or claps on every beat, no less; rather like hard house come to think of it. Hey, this isn’t trance at all, it’s anthem house!
Right, so I should have expected it from a 2012 mix CD, as tons of DJs jumped on that genre’s recent resurgence (and stop calling it retarded names like ‘trouse’ or Trance 2.0). I can totally see the euro-trance faithful hating Kris O’Neil’s offering to the In Trance We Trust series, signifying yet another example of the scene they reverently coddled turning to sounds more popular to a general audience. Yeah, well, them’s the breaks, kids. Now you know how the old-old schoolers felt when the Dutch sounds ya’ll loved started dominating trance many moons ago. Stings, don’t it.
Anyhow, Mr. O’Neil’s quick mixes (average of four minutes per track!) of tunes that keep the energy escalating does peter out by the midway mark, after which he indulges in some tepid vocal cuts (dear Lord, that Wanrooy track with Blake Lewis is hokey), and tech bangers for the end. A couple are okay, but can’t match the unabashed stupid-fun the first half of the CD offered, which was more than could be said for so many other volumes.
Thus, that’s the last of the In Trance We Trust series, perhaps period. ITWT019 was released a year-and-a-half ago, and though the label still comes out with the odd single, there hasn't been word on a twentieth volume hitting stores any time soon, digi or not. Gee, I know the whole mix CD market’s got little appeal to most young punters out there, but surely a mega-label like Black Hole Recordings sees some merit in maintaining In Trance We Trust. Did Kris O’Neil’s offering tank that bad to kill it off? Or was the inclusion of so much anthem house a sign that In Trance We Trust no longer trusts in trance?
If this really is the end, then it’s only fitting to have In Trance We Trust put to pasture. Let ‘em have it, guys!
Gen: “Zan’ei!”
M. Bison: “Psycho Crusher!”
Akuma: “Shun Goku Satsu.”
Dan: “Chouhatsu Densetsu!
Well, at least I didn’t have to endure a breakdown until two minutes this time, but there it is once again. God almighty, when will this trope- oh, it’s already back to the beats. Well, good then. But I bet this opener will come to a full stop for a standard build-up and- wait, it’s already doing the build-up? Without a pause? Holy cow, and it drops right after the peak; no dawdling, just hitting that anthem instantly. Okay, that wasn’t so bad, but it was just a one-off, I’m sure. The rest of this disc will- oh, wow! The entire first half of this mix has tracks like that.
I’ll grant some builds go a tad long (Cosmic Gate just can’t help themselves), but there’s no sense of momentum lost - just bangin’ tune after bangin’ tune, many with a hooky anthem and hard rhythms. Hm, and snares or claps on every beat, no less; rather like hard house come to think of it. Hey, this isn’t trance at all, it’s anthem house!
Right, so I should have expected it from a 2012 mix CD, as tons of DJs jumped on that genre’s recent resurgence (and stop calling it retarded names like ‘trouse’ or Trance 2.0). I can totally see the euro-trance faithful hating Kris O’Neil’s offering to the In Trance We Trust series, signifying yet another example of the scene they reverently coddled turning to sounds more popular to a general audience. Yeah, well, them’s the breaks, kids. Now you know how the old-old schoolers felt when the Dutch sounds ya’ll loved started dominating trance many moons ago. Stings, don’t it.
Anyhow, Mr. O’Neil’s quick mixes (average of four minutes per track!) of tunes that keep the energy escalating does peter out by the midway mark, after which he indulges in some tepid vocal cuts (dear Lord, that Wanrooy track with Blake Lewis is hokey), and tech bangers for the end. A couple are okay, but can’t match the unabashed stupid-fun the first half of the CD offered, which was more than could be said for so many other volumes.
Thus, that’s the last of the In Trance We Trust series, perhaps period. ITWT019 was released a year-and-a-half ago, and though the label still comes out with the odd single, there hasn't been word on a twentieth volume hitting stores any time soon, digi or not. Gee, I know the whole mix CD market’s got little appeal to most young punters out there, but surely a mega-label like Black Hole Recordings sees some merit in maintaining In Trance We Trust. Did Kris O’Neil’s offering tank that bad to kill it off? Or was the inclusion of so much anthem house a sign that In Trance We Trust no longer trusts in trance?
If this really is the end, then it’s only fitting to have In Trance We Trust put to pasture. Let ‘em have it, guys!
Gen: “Zan’ei!”
M. Bison: “Psycho Crusher!”
Akuma: “Shun Goku Satsu.”
Dan: “Chouhatsu Densetsu!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Various - In Trance We Trust 018: Marc Simz
In Trance We Trust: 2011
I've gone on about how bad some of these In Trance We Trusts are, but they haven't been dreadful-bad or anything. Despite many stretches of misery, unoriginality, or boredom, I can at least get through them with some decent tunes along the way. This one though... Oh God, this one...
Not even ninety seconds in, and I’m hit with a full-stop breakdown. What the fuck was the point of those limp opening beats then? You didn’t mix from anything, Mr. Simz. Either start your set with proper rhythmic build to hook me in, or don’t bother at all – use an ‘ambient intro’ if you’re going this route. Fine, the main track is nice as an opener, but the next track after that has another full-stop breakdown. And the one after that. And after, and after, and practically through the whole bloody CD. So much for set flow. Here’s the start of a new tune, it stops, here’s your dithering breakdown and build, thump-thump, and moving on. And dear lord do these breakdowns ever go on. It’s like the worst of DJ Scot Project, but with plodding prog beats rather than pounding hard trance.
And I thought I’d heard some wretched ‘melodies’ in such breakdowns before. Saint X’ Gabriel has to rank up there with the most overblown Dutch synths victimizing my ears, made even more hilarious by the ‘minimal’ bloopiness that forms the rhythmic backbone. Give me the good ol’ days where Dutch anthems were just supersaw nonsense. Wow, how I miss those alre-
Ah, fack me, I didn’t mean for you to actually include those sort of tunes at the end, Marc! Virtual Vault’s really getting his System-F on with Freedom, Simz teams up with Geert Huinink for an orchestral breakdown-build that lasts nearly three fucking minutes, and Juventa’s As You Are is, well, about typical for the classic Anjunabeats sound. Guess it was alright for what it is, but not after such a pathetically structured set such as this one.
Man, even some of the tunes I kinda like have things working against them. Fefelove & Abramasi’s Try To Catch A Goldfish has strong, spacey trance elements in play, but are undone by a distorted low-end drowning everything out. Ruby & Tony’s Praya kinda tickles my ‘dumb-fun’ centres with its anthem and chopped up McProg vocals, but it don’t last long enough.
Ugh. In Trance We Trust 018 is a total turkey. I can’t imagine the series getting worse after this, but there is still one more to go. Courage, Sykonee...
Is this the worst CD of this reviewing project? Let’s ask the worst Street Fighter, Dan Hibiki, if it’s so.
Dan: “Hey now, don’t be like that. I’ve proven myself in the fighting arena, as I’m sure Marc Simz has proven himself in the DJ arena. In fact, I don’t even need to listen to this to know it’s the strongest CD of them all. Yahoo! Am I right, Jimmy?”
Blanka: “Aaroohoaahoo! (You go, Friend Dan!)”
I've gone on about how bad some of these In Trance We Trusts are, but they haven't been dreadful-bad or anything. Despite many stretches of misery, unoriginality, or boredom, I can at least get through them with some decent tunes along the way. This one though... Oh God, this one...
Not even ninety seconds in, and I’m hit with a full-stop breakdown. What the fuck was the point of those limp opening beats then? You didn’t mix from anything, Mr. Simz. Either start your set with proper rhythmic build to hook me in, or don’t bother at all – use an ‘ambient intro’ if you’re going this route. Fine, the main track is nice as an opener, but the next track after that has another full-stop breakdown. And the one after that. And after, and after, and practically through the whole bloody CD. So much for set flow. Here’s the start of a new tune, it stops, here’s your dithering breakdown and build, thump-thump, and moving on. And dear lord do these breakdowns ever go on. It’s like the worst of DJ Scot Project, but with plodding prog beats rather than pounding hard trance.
And I thought I’d heard some wretched ‘melodies’ in such breakdowns before. Saint X’ Gabriel has to rank up there with the most overblown Dutch synths victimizing my ears, made even more hilarious by the ‘minimal’ bloopiness that forms the rhythmic backbone. Give me the good ol’ days where Dutch anthems were just supersaw nonsense. Wow, how I miss those alre-
Ah, fack me, I didn’t mean for you to actually include those sort of tunes at the end, Marc! Virtual Vault’s really getting his System-F on with Freedom, Simz teams up with Geert Huinink for an orchestral breakdown-build that lasts nearly three fucking minutes, and Juventa’s As You Are is, well, about typical for the classic Anjunabeats sound. Guess it was alright for what it is, but not after such a pathetically structured set such as this one.
Man, even some of the tunes I kinda like have things working against them. Fefelove & Abramasi’s Try To Catch A Goldfish has strong, spacey trance elements in play, but are undone by a distorted low-end drowning everything out. Ruby & Tony’s Praya kinda tickles my ‘dumb-fun’ centres with its anthem and chopped up McProg vocals, but it don’t last long enough.
Ugh. In Trance We Trust 018 is a total turkey. I can’t imagine the series getting worse after this, but there is still one more to go. Courage, Sykonee...
Is this the worst CD of this reviewing project? Let’s ask the worst Street Fighter, Dan Hibiki, if it’s so.
Dan: “Hey now, don’t be like that. I’ve proven myself in the fighting arena, as I’m sure Marc Simz has proven himself in the DJ arena. In fact, I don’t even need to listen to this to know it’s the strongest CD of them all. Yahoo! Am I right, Jimmy?”
Blanka: “Aaroohoaahoo! (You go, Friend Dan!)”
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Compilation
Comrie Smith
Congo Natty
Conjure One
Connect.Ohm
conscious
Control Music
Convextion
Cooking Vinyl
Cor Fijneman
Corderoy
Cosmic Gate
Cosmic Replicant
Cosmo Cocktail
Cosmos Studios
Cottonbelly
Council Estate Electronics
Council Of Nine
Counter Records
country
country rock
Covert Operations Recordings
Craig Padilla
Craig Richards
Crazy Horse
Cream
Creamfields
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Crockett's Theme
Crosby Stills And Nash
Crossing Mind
Crosstown Rebels
crunk
Cryo Chamber
Cryobiosis
Cryogenic Weekend
Cryostasis
Crystal Moon
Cube Guys
Culture Beat
Curb Records
Current
Curve
cut'n'paste
CYAN
Cyan Music
Cyber Productions
CyberOctave
Cyclic Law
Cygna
Cymphonica
Cypher 7
Cypress Hill
Cyril Secq
Czarface
D York
D-Bridge
D-Fuse
D-Topia Entertainment
Daar
Dacru Records
Daddy G
Daft Punk
Dag Rosenqvist
Damian Lazarus
Damon Albarn
Damon Wild
Dan Terminus
Dan The Automator
Dance 2 Trance
Dance Pool
Dance With The Dead
dancehall
Daniel Heatcliff
Daniel Lentz
Daniel Pemberton
Daniel Wanrooy
Danny Howells
Danny Tenaglia
Dao Da Noize
Daphni
dark ambient
dark disco
dark psy
darkcore
darkside
darkstep
darksynth
darkwave
Darla Records
Darren Emerson
Darren McClure
Darren Nye
DAT Records
Databloem
dataObscura
David Alvarado
David Bickley
David Bridie
David Cordero
David Guetta
David Morley
DDR
De-tuned
Dead Coast
Dead Melodies
Deadmau5
Death Grips
death metal
Death Row Records
Decimal
Deconstruction
Dedicated
Deejay Goldfinger
Deep Dish
Deep Forest
deep house
deep tech
Deeply Rooted House
Deepwater Black
Deetron
Def Jam Recordings
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Delerium
Delsin
Deltron 3030
Denshi Danshi
Depeche Mode
Der Dritte Raum
Derek Carr
Detroit
Deviant Records
Devin Underwood
Devroka
Deysn Masiello
DFA
DGC
diametric.
Dido
Dieselboy
Different
DigiCube
Dillinja
Dirk Serries
dirty house
Dirty South
Dirty Vegas
Dis Fig
disco
Disco Gecko
disco house
Disco Pinata Records
disco punk
Discover (label)
Disky
Disques Dreyfus
Distant System
Distinct'ive Breaks
Disturbance
Divination
DJ 3000
DJ Brian
DJ Craze
DJ Dag
DJ Dan
DJ Dean
DJ Gonzalo
DJ Heather
DJ John Kelley
DJ John Storm
DJ Merlin
DJ Mix
DJ Moe Sticky
DJ Observer
DJ Premier
DJ Q-Bert
DJ Shadow
DJ Soul Slinger
DJ-Kicks
Djen Ajakan Shean
DJMag
DMC
DMC Records
Doc Scott
Dogon
Dogwhistle
Dooflex
Doom Poets
Dopplereffekt
Dossier
Dousk
downtempo
dowtempo
Dr. Alban
Dr. Atmo
Dr. Dre
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
Dr. Octagon
Dragon Quest
dream house
dream pop
Dreamworks
DreamWorks Records
Drexciya
drill 'n' bass
Dronarivm
drone
Dronny Darko
drum 'n' bass
DrumNBassArena
drumstep
drunken review
dub
Dub Pistols
dub techno
Dub Trees
Dubfire
dubstep
Dubtribe Sound System
DuMonde
Dune
Dusted
Dyadik
Dynatron
E-Mantra
E-Z Rollers
Eardream Music
Earth
Earth Nation
Earthling
Eastcoast
Eastcost
Eastern Dub Tactik
EastWest
Eastworld
Eat Static
EBM
Echodub
Ed Rush & Optical
Editions EG
EDM World Weekly News
Ektoplazm
Electric Universe
electro
Electro House
Electro Sun
electro-funk
electro-pop
electroclash
Electronic Dance Essentials
Electronic Music Guide
Electrovoya
Elektra
Elektrolux
Ellen Allien
em:t
EMC update
EMI
Emiliana Torrini
Eminem
Emmerichk
Emperor Norton
Empire
enCAPSULAte
Encym
Engine Recordings
Enigma
Enmarta
Ensiferum
Enya
EP
Epic
epic trance
EQ Recordings
Equal Stones
Erased Tapes Records
Eric Borgo
Erik Vee
Erol Alkan
Erot
Escape
Esko Barba
Esoteric Reactive
Espacio Cielo
ethereal
Etic
Etnica
Etnoscope
Euphoria
euro dance
eurodance
eurotrance
Eurythmics
Eve Records
Everlast
Ewan Pearson
Exitab
experimental
Eye Q Records
Ezdanitoff
F Communications
Fabric
Facture
Fade Records
Faex Optim
Faint
Faithless
Falcon Reekon
Fallen
False Mirror
fanfic
Fantastisizer
Fantasy Enhancing
faru
Fatboy Slim
Fax +49-69/450464
Fear Factory
Fedde Le Grand
Fehrplay
Feist
Fektive Records
Felix da Housecat
Fennesz
Ferry Corsten
FFRR
Fictivision
field recordings
Filter
Filteria
filters
Final Fantasy
Firescope
Five AM
Fjäder
Flashover Recordings
Floating Points
Flowers For Bodysnatchers
Flowjob
Fluke
Fluxion
Flying Lotus
folk
Fontana
footwork
Force Intel
Fountain Music
Four Tet
FPU
Frame
Frame Of Mind
Francis M Gri
Franck Vigroux
Frank Bretschneider
Frankie Bones
Frankie Knuckles
Frans de Waard
Fred Everything
freestyle
French house
Front Line Assembly
Frou Frou
fsoldigital.com
Fugees
full-on
Fun Factory
Function
funk
future garage
Future Sound Of London
Futuregrapher
futurepop
g-funk
G-Prod
gabber
Gabriel Le Mar
Gaither Music Group
Galaktlan
Galati
Gang Starr
gangsta
garage
Gareth Davis
Gary Martin
Gas
Gasoline Alley Records
Gee Street
Geffen Records
Gel-Sol
Genesis
Geometry Combat
George Issakidis
Gerald Donald
Gerd
Get Physical Music
GGGG
ghetto
Ghostface Killah
Ghostly International
Glacial Movements Records
glam
Gliese 581C
glitch
Glitch Hop
Global Communication
Global Underground
Globular
goa trance
Goasia
God Body Disconnect
God's Groove
Gorillaz
gospel
Gost
goth
Grammy Awards
Gravediggaz
Green Bay Wax
Green Day
Grey Area
Greytone
Gridlock
grime
Groove Armada
Groove Corporation
Grooverider
grunge
Guru
Gustaf Hidlebrand
Gusto Records
GZA
H:U:M
H2O Records
Haddaway
Halgrath
happy hardcore
hard house
hard rock
hard techno
hard trance
hardcore
Hardfloor
Hardly Art
hardstyle
Harlequins Enigma
Harmless
Harmonic 33
Harmonic Resonance Recordings
Harold Budd
Harthouse
Harthouse Mannheim
Havoc
Hawtin
Headphone
Hearts Of Space
Hed Kandi
Hefty Records
Helen Marnie
Hell
Hercules And Love Affair
Hernán Cattáneo
Herne
Hexstatic
Hi-Bias Records
Hic Sunt Leones
Hide And Sequence
Hiero Emperium
Hieroglyphics
High Contrast
High Note Records
Higher Ground
Higher Intelligence Agency
Hilyard
hip-hop
hip-house
hipno
Hollywood Burns
Home Normal
Honest Jon's Records
Hooj Choons
Hope Records
horrorcore
Hospital Records
Hot Chip
Hotflush Recordings
house
Howie B
Huey Lewis & The News
Human Blue
Humanoid
Hybrid
Hybrid Leisureland
Hymen Records
Hyperdub
Hypertrophy
Hypnotic
Hypnoxock
I Awake
I-Cube
i! Records
I.F.
I.F.O.R.
I.R.S. Records
Iboga Records
Icarus Music
Ice Cube
Ice H2o Records
ICE MC
IDM
Iempamo
Ignis Fatum
Igorrr
Ikjoyce
illbient
ILUITEQ
Imba
Imogen Heap
Imperial Dancefloor
Imploded View
In Charge
In The Face Of
In Trance We Trust
Incoming
Incubus
Indica Records
indie rock
Indisc
Industrial
Infastructure New York
Infected Mushroom
Infinite Guitar
influence records
Infonet
Inhmost
Ink Midget
Inner Ocean Records
Innovative Leisure Records
Insane Clown Posse
Inspectah Deck
Instinct Ambient
Instra-Mental
Intellitronic Bubble
Inter-Modo
Interchill Records
Internal
International Deejays Gigolo
Interscope Records
Intimate Productions
Intuition Recordings
ISBA Music Entertainment
Ishkur
Ishq
Island Def Jam Music Group
Island Records
Islands Of Light
Italians Do It Better
italo disco
italo house
Item Caligo
J-pop
Jack Moss
Jackpot
Jacob Newman
Jafu
Jake Stephenson
Jam and Spoon
Jam El Mar
James Blake
James Holden
James Horner
James Lavelle
James Murray
James Zabiela
Jamie Jones
Jamie Myerson
Jamie Principle
Jamiroquai
Javelin Ltd.
Jay Haze
Jay Tripwire
Jaydee
jazz
jazz dance
jazzdance
jazzstep
Jean-Michel Jarre
Jeannine Sculz
Jefferson Airplane
Jerry Goldsmith
Jesper Dahlbäck
Jesse Rose
Jessy Lanza
Jimmy Van M
Jiri.Ceiver
Jive
Jive Electro
Jliat
Jlin
JMJ
Joel Mull
Joey Beltram
John '00' Fleming
John Acquaviva
John Beltran
John Digweed
John Graham
John Kelly
John O'Callaghan
John Oswald
John Shima
John Tejada
Johnny Cash
Johnny Jewel
Jon Hester
Jonny L
Jori Hulkkonen
Joris Voorn
Jørn Stenzel
Josh Christie
Josh Wink
Journeys By DJ™ LLC
Joyful Noise Recordings
Juan Atkins
juke
Jump Cut
jump up
Jumpin' & Pumpin'
jungle
Junior Boy's Own
Junkie XL
Juno Reactor
Jupiter 8000
Jurassic 5
Justin Timberlake
Ka-Sol
Kaico
Kay Wilder
KDJ
Keith Farrugia
Ken Ishii
Kenji Kawai
Kenny Glasgow
Keoki
Keosz
Kerri Chandler
Kevin Braheny
Kevin Yost
Kevorkian Records
Khetzal
Khooman
Khruangbin
Ki/oon
Kid Koala
Kiko
Killing Joke
Kinder Atom
Kinetic Records
King Cannibal
King Midas Sound
King Tubby
Kiphi
Kitaro
Klang Elektronik
Klaus Schulze
Klik Records
KMFDM
Koch Records
Koichi Sugiyama
Kolhoosi 13
Komakino
Kompakt
Kon Kan
Kontor Records
Kool Keith
Kozo
Kraftwelt
Kraftwerk
Krafty Kuts
Kranky
krautrock
Kriistal Ann
Krill.Minima
Kris O'Neil
Kriztal
KRS-One
Kruder and Dorfmeister
Krusseldorf
Krystian Shek
Kubinski
KuckKuck
Kulor
Kurupt
Kwook
L.B. Dub Corp
L.S.G.
L'usine
La Luz
Lab 4
Ladytron
LaFace Records
Lafleche
Lamb
Lange
Lantern
Large Records
Lars Leonhard
Laserlight Digital
LateNightTales
Latin
Laurent Garnier
Layer 3
LCD Soundsystem
Le Moors
Leaf
Leama and Moor
Lee 'Scratch' Perry
Lee Burridge
Lee Norris
Leftfield
Leftfield Records
Legacy
Legiac
Legowelt
Lemony Records
Leon Bolier
Les Disques Du Crépuscule
LFO
Life Enhancing Audio
Linear Labs
Lingua Lustra
Lionel Weets
Liquid Frog Records
liquid funk
Liquid Sound Design
Liquid Stranger
Liquid Zen
Literon
Live
live album
LL Cool J
lo fi
Loco Dice
Lodsb
LoFi
Logan Sama
Logic Records
London acid crew
London Classics
London Elektricity
London Records 90 Ltd
London-Sire Records
LongWalkShortDock
Loop Guru
Loreena McKennitt
Lorenzo Masotto
Lorenzo MontanÃ
loscil
Lost Language
Lotek Records
Loud Records
Louderbach
Loverboy
Lowfish
Luaka Bop
Lucette Bourdin
Luciano
Luke Slater
Lunarian Records
Lustmord
M_nus
M.A.N.D.Y.
M.I.K.E.
Mack 10
Madonna
Magda
Magicwire
Magik Muzik
Mahiane
Mali
Malignant Records
Mammoth Records
Mantacoup
Marc Simz
Marcel Dettmann
Marcel Fengler
Marco Carola
Marco V
Marcus Intalex
Mark Farina
Mark Norman
Mark Pritchard
Markus Schulz
Marshmello
Martin Allin
Martin Cooper
Martin Nonstatic
Märtini Brös
Martyn
Marvin Gaye
Maschine
Massimo Vivona
Massive Attack
Masta Killa
Master Margherita
Masterboy
Matthew Dear
Max Graham
maximal
Maxx
MCA
MCA Records
McProg
Meanwhile
Meat Loaf
Median Project
Medicine Label
Meditronica
Melusine Records
Memex
Menno de Jong
Mercury
Merr0w
Mesmobeat
metal
Metal Blade Records
Metamatics
Method Man
Metro Area
Metroplex
Metropolis
MF Doom
Miami Bass
Miami Beach Force
Miami Dub Machine
Michael Brook
Michael Jackson
Michael Mantra
Michael Mayer
Michael Stearns
Mick Chillage
micro-house
microfunk
Microscopics
MIG
Miguel Migs
Mike Saint-Jules
Mike Shiver
Miktek
Mille Plateaux
Millennium Records
Mind Distortion System
Mind Over MIDI
mini-CDs
minimal
minimal tech-house
minimalism
Ministry Of Sound
miscellaneous
Misja Helsloot
Miss Kittin
Miss Moneypenny's
Mistical
Mixmag
Mixmaster Morris
Mo Wax
Mo-Do
MO-DU
Moby
Model 500
modern classical
Modeselektor
Mohlao
Moist Music
Moljebka Pvulse
Moodymann
Moonshine
Morgan
Morphic Resonance
Morphology
Moss Covered Technology
Moss Garden
Motech
Motionfield
Motorbass
Mount Shrine
Move D
Moving Shadow
Mr. Scruff
Mujaji
Murk
Murmur
Mushy Records
Music link
Music Man Records
musique concrete
Mutant Sound System
Mute
MUX
Muzik Magazine
My Best Friend
Mystery Tape Laboratory
Mystica Tribe
Mystified
N-Trance
Nacht Plank
Nadia Ali
Nano Records
Napalm Records
Nas
Nashville
Natural Life Essence
Natural Midi
Nature Sounds
Naughty By Nature
Nav Bhinder
Nebula
Nebula Meltdown
Nebulae Records
Neil Young
Nelly Furtado
Neo Ouija
Neo-Adventures
Neogoa
Neon Droid
Neotantra
Neotropic
nerdcore
Nervous Records
Nettwerk
Neurobiotic Records
neurofunk
Neuropa Records
New Age
New Beat
New Jack Swing
New Order
new wave
Nic Fanciulli
Nick Höppner
Night Hex
Night Time Stories
Nightmares On Wax
Nightwind Records
Nimanty
Nine Inch Nails
Ninja Tune
Nirvana
nizmusic
No Mask Effect
Nobuo Uematsu
noise
Noise Factory Records
Nomad
Nonesuch
Nonplus Records
Nookie
Nordic Trax
Norken
Norman Cook
Norman Feller
North South
Northumbria
Not Now Music
Nothing Records
Nova
NovaMute
NRG
Ntone
nu-italo
nu-jazz
nu-metal
nu-skool
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast Entertainment
Nulll
Nunc Stans
Nurse With Wound
NXP
Nyquist
Oasis
Ocelot
Octagen
Offshoot
Offshoot Records
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Olan Mill
Old Europa Cafe
old school rave
Ole Højer Hansen
Olga Musik
Olien
Oliver Lieb
Olivier Orand
Olsen
OM Records
Omni Music
Omni Trio
Omnimotion
Omnisonus
On Delancey Street
One Little Indian
Onyx
Oophoi
Oosh
Open
Open Canvas
Opium
Opus III
orchestral
Original TranceCritic review
Origo Sound
Orkidea
Orla Wren
Ornament
Ostgut Ton
Ott
Ottsonic Music
Ouragan
Out Of The Box
OutKast
Outmosphere Records
Outpost Records
Overdream
Owl
P-Ben
Pale Glow
Paleowolf
Pan Sonic
Pantera
Pantha Du Prince
Paolo Mojo
Parental Advisory
Parlaphone
Part-Sub-Merged
Pascal F.E.O.S.
Past Inside The Present
Patreon
Patrick Dream
Paul Moelands
Paul Oakenfold
Paul van Dyk
Pendulum
Pentatonik
Perfect Stranger
Perfecto
Perturbator
Pet Shop Boys
Petar Dundov
Pete Namlook
Pete Tong
Peter Andersson
Peter Benisch
Peter Broderick
Peter Gabriel
Peter Tosh
Phantogram
Phonothek
Photek
Phutureprimitive
Phynn
PIAS Recordings
Pinch
Pink Floyd
Pioneer
Pitch Black
PJ Harvey
Plaid
Planet Dog
Planet Earth Recordings
Planet Mu
Planetary Assault Systems
Planetary Consciousness
Plastic City
Plastikman
Platinum
Platipus
Pleq
Plump DJs
Plunderphonic
Plus 8 Records
PM Dawn
Poker Flat Recordings
Polar Seas Recordings
Pole Folder
politics
Polydor
Polytel
pop
Popular Records
Porya Hatami
positivesource
post-dubstep
post-punk
power electronics
Prince
Prince Paul
Prins Thomas
Priority Records
Private Mountain
Procs
Profondita
prog
prog metal
prog psy
prog rock
prog-psy
progress house
Progression
progressive breaks
progressive house
progressive rock
progressive trance
Prolifica
Proper Records
Prototype Recordings
protoU
Pryda
psy chill
psy dub
Psy Spy Records
psy trance
psy-chill
psy-dub
psychedelia
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia
Psychomanteum
Psychonavigation
Psychonavigation Records
Psycoholic
Psykosonik
Psysolation
Public Enemy
Pulse-8 Records
punk
punk rock
Pureuphoria Records
Purl
Purple Soil
Push
PWL International
Q-Burns Abstract Message
Quadrophonia
Quality
Quango
Quantic
Quantum
Quinlan Road
R & S Records
R'n'B
R&B
Ra
Rabbit In The Moon
Radio Slave
Radioactive
Radioactive Man
Radiohead
Rae
Raekwon
ragga
Rainbow Vector
raison d'etre
Raja Ram
Ralf Hildenbeutel
Ralph Lawson
RAM Records
Randal Collier-Ford
Random Review
Rank 1
rant
Rapoon
RareNoise Records
Ras Command
Rascalz
Raster-Noton
Ratatat
Raum Records
rave
RCA
React
Rebecca & Nathan
Recycle Or Die
Red Fog
Red Jerry
Redman
Refracted
reggae
ReKaB
REKIDS
remixes
Renaissance
Renaissance Man
Rephlex
Reprise Records
Republic Records
Res
Resist Music
Restless Records
RetroSynther
Reverse Alignment
Reverse Pulse
Rhino Records
Rhys Fulber
Ricardo Villalobos
Richard Durand
Richard Stonefield
Riley Reinhold
Ringo Sheena
Rising High Records
RnB
Roadrunner Records
Robert Hood
Robert Miles
Robert Oleysyck
Robert Rich
Roc Raida
rock
rock opera
rockabilly
rocktronica
Roger Sanchez
ROIR
Rollo
Roman Ridder
Rough Trade
Rub-N-Tug
Ruben Garcia
Rudy Adrian
Ruffhouse Records
Rumour Records
Running Back
Ruptured World
Ruthless Records
RX-101
Rykodisc
RZA
S.E.T.I.
Saafi Brothers
Sabled Sun
Sacred Seeds
SadGirl
Saitoh Tomohiro
Sakanaction
Salt Tank
Salted Music
Salvation Music
Samim
Samora
sampling
Samurai Red Seal
Sanctuary Records
Sander van Doorn
Sandoz
Sandwell District
SantAAgostino
Saphileaum
Sarah McLachlan
Sash
Sasha
Saul Stokes
Scandinavian Records
Scann-Tec
sci-fi
Science
Scooter
Scott Grooves
Scott Hardkiss
Scott Stubbs
Scuba
Seán Quinn
Seaworthy
Segue
Sense
Sentimony Records
Sequential
Seraphim Rytm
Setrise
Seven Davis Jr.
Sghor
sgnl_fltr
Shackleton
Shaded Explorations
Shaded Explorer
Shadow Records
Sharam
Shawn Francis
shoegaze
Shpongle
Shuta Yasukochi
Si Matthews
Side Effects
SideOneDummy Records
Sidereal
Signature Records
SiJ
Silent Season
Silent Universe
Silentes
Silentes Minimal Editions
Silicone Soul
silly gimmicks
Silver Age
Simian Mobile Disco
Simon Berry
Simon Heath
Simon Posford
Simon Scott
Simple Records
Sinden
Sine Silex
single
Single Gun Theory
Sire Records Company
Six Degrees
Sixeleven Records
Sixtoo
ska
Skanfrom
Skare
Skin To Skin
Skua Atlantic
Slaapwel Records
Slam
Sleep Research Facility
Slinky Music
Slowcraft Records
Sly and Robbie
Smalltown Supersound
SME Visual Works Inc.
SMTG Limited
Snap
Sneijder
Snoop Dogg
Snowy Tension Pole
soft rock
Soiree Records International
Solar Fields
Solaris Recordings
Solarstone
Soleilmoon Recordings
Solieb
Solieb Digital
Solipsism
Soliquid
Solstice Music Europe
Solvent
Soma Quality Recordings
Songbird
Sony Music Entertainment
SOS
soul
Soul Temple Entertainment
soul:r
Souls Of Mischief
Sound Of Ceres
Sound Synthesis
Soundgarden
Sounds From The Ground
soundtrack
southern rap
southern rock
space ambient
Space Dimension Controller
space disco
Space Manoeuvres
space music
space synth
Spacetime Continuum
Spaghetti Recordings
Spank Rock
Special D
Specta Ciera
speed garage
Speedy J
SPG Music
Sphäre Sechs
Spicelab
Spielerei
Spinefarm Records
Spiritech
spoken word
Sport
Spotify Suggestions
Spotted Peccary
Spring Hill
SPX Digital
Spy vs Spice
Squarepusher
Squaresoft
Stacey Pullen
Stanton Warriors
Star Trek
Stardust
Statrax
Stay Up Forever
Stealth Sonic Recordings
Stephanie B
Stephen Kroos
Stereo Raptor
Stereolab
Steve Angello
Steve Brand
Steve Lawler
Steve Miller Band
Steve Porter
Steven Rutter
Stijn van Cauter
Stimulus Timbre
Stone Temple Pilots
Stonebridge
Stormloop
Stray Gators
Street Fighter
Stuart McLean
Studio K7
Stylophonic
Sub Focus
Subharmonic
Sublime
Sublime Porte Netlabel
Subotika
Substance
Subtle Shift
Suction Records
Suduaya
Suicide Squeeze
SUN Project
Sun Station
Sunbeam
Sunday Best Recordings
Sunscreem
Suntrip Records
Supercar
Superstition
surf rock
Susumu Yokota
Sven van Hees
Sven Väth
SVLBRD
Swayzak
Sweet Trip
swing
Switch
Swollen Members
Sykonee Survey
Sylk 130
Symmetry
Synaptic Voyager
Sync24
Synergy
Synkro
synth pop
synth-pop
synthwave
System 7
Taboo
Tactic Records
Take Me To The Hospital
Tall Paul
Tammy Wynette
Tangerine Dream
Tau Ceti
Taylor
Taylor Deupree
Tayo
tech house
Tech Itch Digital
Tech Itch Recordings
tech-house
tech-step
tech-trance
Technical Itch
techno
technobass
Technoboy
Tectonic
Telefon Tel Aviv
Telstar
Terminal Antwerp
Terra Ferma
Terror Cell
Terry Lee Brown Jr
Tetsu Inoue
Textere Oris
The 13th Sign
The Angling Loser
The B-52's
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
The Black Dog
The Boats
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Bug
The Chemical Brothers
The Circular Ruins
The Clash
The Council
The Cranberries
The Crystal Method
The Digital Blonde
The Dust Brothers
The Field
The Frozen Vaults
The Gentle People
The Glimmers
The Green Kingdom
The Grey Area
The Grid
The Hacker
The Herbaliser
The Human League
The Irresistible Force
The KLF
The Micronauts
The Misted Muppet
The Movement
The Music Cartel
The Null Corporation
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Offspring
The Orb
The Police
The Prodigy
The Real McCoy
The Roots
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