Legiac - The Voynich Manuscript

Dronarivm: 2016

Hey, it's another Dronarivm release. Remember when I went through a bunch of these at the start of this months-long alphabetical backlog? My how time flies. Been nearly one-hundred reviews written since the last item from this label, and the fact I'm still not through yet sends my mind to the lands of Bogglin. Heck, this marks the fifth 'V' album in this batch, which increased my total 'V' albums by 30%! Can you just imagine how many 'W's there are? (spoiler: not many)

There hasn't been much released under the name Legiac, but the players involved have definitely been busy bodies. Dutch brothers Don and Roel Funcken started out doing glitchy braindance, IDM, and electro under a number of aliases, most prominent being Funckarma, Cane, and Mystery Artist. They got a look-in with Very Important IDM labels like Warp and Skam, but never broke out of obscurity in any significant way. The other player involved in Legiac is Cor Bolten, who Lord Discogs tells me was active with new wave bands since the early '80s, whilst doing film score work on the side.

Seems like an unlikely pairing with these folks, but somewhere along the way, they did team up. First it was doing experimental stuff as Cor Bolten, Don Funcken & Roel Funcken, then doing downtempo, abstract stuff as Dif:use, and finally IDM leaning material as Legiac. That one looked to be a one-off effort, and a final one, the individual parties going their separate ways again. A few years ago though, Roel and Cor dusted Legiac off, The Voynich Manuscript their second album under the revitalized project. Yo', where Don in all this?

When I first dove into this album, I wasn't expecting something as melodic as we get here. True, I didn't have any prior musical knowledge of Misters Funcken and Bolten, just my preconceived notions based on what Dronarivm works I have taken in. And for sure there's ample amounts of droning ambience and blanketing field recordings present, but often used in a subtler, graceful manner than most other works in this vein. There's space and depth in these layers of sound, with melodic tones at the fore, but never so prominent they drown out the burbling static and white noise lurking underneath. What's remarkable is the chaotic sub-surface of sound is so consistent throughout this album, whenever it does recede, it not only makes the melodic leads leap out, you also feel that absence as though you've lost a chunk of your soul. Or maybe it's just like that in the final piece Ambikythera Mechanism, what with opulent organ tones driving things forward.

It really is a gorgeous composition, and many of the early tracks in The Voynich Manuscript are darn lovely as well. However, there's also a lengthy stretch towards the back-half that kinda' dithers about with wallpaper sonic doodles and experimental drone. They're fine in their own right, but compared to the highs this album hits, kinda' forgettable too. So it goes.

The Oak Ridge Boys - Voices

Platinum: 1999

Greetings, people of the year 2018. I am 2073 Sykonee, but not the 2073 Sykonee you may have gotten to know in the year 2017. Nay, that Sykonee comes from a different timeline, one that seems impossible to believe, but then from where I sat, so does yours. Sykonee Prime tells me he grew tired of reading that perspective, and scoured the timelines for one where the Oak Ridge Boys never existed, which is where I come from. Things certainly are different compared those other timelines – why, I'd even qualify it as “better”, what with a lack of nuclear arms race happening. Yes, we eventually harnessed nuclear power for our own ends, but after WW2 ended (which did take longer in my timeline, true). Seems without the original Oak Ridge Quartet doing gospel shows for the engineers working on The Manhattan Project, they just weren't inspired enough to keep their work productive. The war ended before they completed their work, and pos-

Oh, right, I'm supposed to review an album of music from Oak Ridge Boys, not detail my alternative history. Sorry, it's fascinating how much impact this group has had over the course of your events – it's as though they're everlasting.

Since I have no knowledge about Oak Ridge Boys, Sykonee Prime offered me some quick notes on the group's status when they released this album Voices. Seems after several years of singing gospel, they switched to country with a lot of commercial success. Then something called “The Eighties” happened (wow, that decade was that infamous for you?), and one of their key members, William Lee Golden, left, replacing 'The Beard' with 'The Mullet'. The group's commercial aspirations petered out for a while, then Golden returned, 'The Beard' once more preserving the Oak Ridge Boys legacy.

Voices was their proper return-album, though had too much competition from newer country stars like Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, and Chris Gaines to make much impact (I don't know who any of these people are, but I'm assured they're Very Important). Voices was thus regarded as an album that satisfied fans of the Oak Ridge Boys, but nothing newer country fans cared about, officially relegating the group to 'legacy status'.

Now, we definitely have country music of this sort in my timeline, though I doubt any of y'all have heard the likes of Topper Gantley or Nancy White or Slim Wittikens. Can't say I've heard any country group with vocal harmonies quite like this though. Wow, especially that bass singer! Is he the bearded guy? Really, the clean-shaven one? The song topics are mostly about “regular jane and joe” things like working for the weekend, finding strength with the loves of your life, starting up families, discovering hidden pasts of broken families. It all sounds nice enough, though rather quaint from my end – nowadays, the only family thing I have to worry about is whether my Martian great-grandkids will arrive in time for Earthen Equinox.

Bauri - Vinkelvolten

FireScope: 2017

Bauri is Martin Abrahamsson, a very bearded person in the world of techno. He started out in the late '90s self-releasing material on his own Saundart print, but soon got picked up for an album called Slacker Journal by Lee Norris' original label Neo Ouija. The project then went into mothballs for a while, as Mr. Abrahamsson teamed up with Thomas Jaldemark as Donk Boys to release trendy minimal plonk-house. When that grew out of fashion, Martin dusted off the Bauri alias and joined forces with Nihad Tule for a run of Serious Minimal Techno on Drumcode.

Somewhere along the way, his earlier IDM-leaning works under the guise got picked up for compilation duty on the cancer charity label Touched, rubbing shoulders with many IDM and ambient techno legends old and new. As B12 also recently released music on that label, it follows that they came into contact with Bauri this way, and is how Bauri has an EP out on their Firescope print now. Or, y'know, Mr. Abrahamsson just heard about B12's label through the grapevine, and sent them some stuff for consideration. Occam's Razor, and all.

In any event, Bauri's come full circle with Vinkelvolten (translated to... “angle volts”? “angle revolt”? Angle-something, according to Google Translate... my Scandinavian is mayonasse). After all those years chasing the trends, he's gone back to the genre that's forever unbankable but always adored by die-hard electronic music connoisseurs: ambient techno. Unless he did at another point between this and the clinical dub techno of RISE586, though Lord Discogs doesn't suggest so.

Opener Warm Fuzzy Feeling makes no bone about what sort of vibe you're gonna' feel. The moment you hear that lazily bobbing acid bass and gentle melodic leads, all the ancient Apollo and Warp compilation memories will flood through your brain matter. Warm Fuzzy Feeling has more of a vintage Aphex-chill vibe to it though, whereas the following three tunes edge closer to the realms of Boards Of Canada. Maybe not so much in generating those hazy hauntologic triggers, but certainly in providing the laid-back trip-hop rhythms with an IDM aesthetic. Or is that a Plaid thing? I need to hear more Plaid to confirm.

Kirmumxyl is fairly simple, a nice beat with minor clicky-glitch effects complimenting a gentle melody. The titular cut goes comparitively abrasive on the rhythm end, with lots of click-clack and bleepy electro sounds, but the melody is no less chill than anything else. Final cut Amethyst is the closest Boardsy tune here, coming off playful and cheery, Bauri even throwing in playful skippity vocal snippets. It's certainly a far cry from the Serious Techno he'd been making, and might be a shock to those who only know him for that (or even Donk Boys) – pleasant or not likely dependent on your particular taste. For those who were vibing on Mr. Abrahamsson since the Neo Ouija days, however, they'll definitely enjoy Vinkelvolten a great deal. It's practically tailor-made for such tastes.

Suduaya - Venus

Altar Records: 2016

Again! Again and again and again! I mean, I had a good hunch this would turn out another winner, the Suduaya tunes on various Altar compilations consistently some of the best. Actually diving into his albums though, I wasn't terribly sold just on looks alone. Dreaming Sun and Unity had the sort of New Agey artwork that gives Altar a reputation of being on the cheesy side of psy-chill, though anyone that's taken in a good chunk of the label's output would know such a rep' is bollocks. Not that I should cast stones here, the artwork most definitely a factor in which album's I'll impulsively spring for whenever I dive in for a mini-splurge. If I must choose between mystical mumbo-jumbo or sci-fi star systems, the space stuff is gonna' win out every time. This Venus though, that's equally a reference to planets and goddesses, plus there's an alien hiding in this one's cover art. Guess it won't hurt to finally scope out some Suduaya proper-like.

And the first thing I'm struck by is how much Mr. Roquefere is stylistically influenced from Asura, at least in regards to the opening track. This is actually a remix of the tune Universalis by Astronaut Ape, a track that only appeared on a 2012 digital compilation called Everything Is Possible from smallish Russian label Trimurti Records – obscure, in other words. The original is more downtempo, with light arps and spritely melodies, a pleasant little ditty in its own right. Suduaya basically adds those slow, throbbing prog-psy rhythms in his remix, an aesthetic that Asura practically made his own, though obviously not exclusive to him. Still, if you're gonna' ape the sound of any prog-psy producer, Asura's not a bad source to crib from.

The next bundle of tracks stick to the slo-psy side of things, but doesn't come off chill nor dub in the process. It really is prog-psy at a lower BPM, but with things moving at such a languid pace, it give Suduaya plenty of space in creating ridiculously catchy, groovy basslines. I'd expect these from the psy-dub camps, but these tunes aren't especially dubby in their production. Well, maybe Catalan Wind, in that things get all glitchy-trippy with vocal effects, even breaking out a freakin' brisk 2-step rhythm for a while. Mang', when did Altar start getting hip to the glitch-kidz stylee?

The back-half of Venus ups the pace into your standard prog-psy territory, and Suduaya maintains Altar's high batting average for the most part. Diamond Dust with Cydelix brings some acid action with spacious spritely sounds, Lampyris adds some ethnic vocals, The Muse does that Asura-throb again, Knots Of Eternity features nifty little skippy sounds on the low-end, and Baku goes straight for the floating sunrise morning feels. Or, as I like to call it, prog-psy done right, and Suduaya, he do prog-psy done right. Maybe not changing the game or the like, but every quality scene needs its steadying presences keeping that bar high.

Ladytron - Velocifero

Nettwerk: 2008

It took them four albums and nearly a decade, but Ladytron finally, finally, found themselves a label that wouldn't drop them (Invicta Hi-Fi, Island Records) or collapse (Telstar, Emperor Norton). It only seems appropriate that it was Vancouver-based Nettwerk that would take them in, what with their debut album being a reference to the city's area code number. And hey, the print even had ties to new wave and synth-pop since their earliest years, so it's not like Ladytron was out of place there. Sure, Nettwerk's taken a few odd tangents over the decades, but a former electroclash band that was never electroclash in the first place nicely rubs shoulders with the likes of Sarah McLachlan, Skinny Puppy, and Delerium.

By this point, Ladytron was quite evolved from the charming, bristly synth-pop that marked their early work. They were now sounding like an actual band, with actual instruments like drums and guitars to go with their stockade of retro synths. And if the New Order and Depeche Mode influences were only hinted at in tangent with the obvious Kraftwerk and Human League nods, they fully embrace them in Velocifero, their rockiest outing yet. I mean, 'rockiest' in sounding rock-like, not 'rockiest' in sounding shaky and uncertain. 'Rock-like', as in rock 'n' roll, not the stones we find strewn about the ground. The music, I mean, not the act of sex. Curse my language of multiple meanings.

A couple things make Velocifero a decidedly unique album from the previous three. One, Ladytron employ more of a 'wall-of-sound' production to their music this time out. Even when things sometimes got chaotic with their older tunes, you could always pick out distinct sounds apart from each other. That's barely the case in Velocifero though, every vocal, synth, guitar and drum machine melting into a homogeneous whole of dense reverb and echo effects, instrumentation acting more like layers of timbre rather than individual set pieces. For sure you can still identify an organ tone from a drum kick, or Mira's Bulgarian lyrics from Helen's sultry lisp (*swoon*), but more than ever before, they all are in service of the musical whole.

This leaves the album as something of a double-edged sword, though. Front to back, Velocifero is easily the most consistent and flowing LP Ladytron ever put out. By the same token though, it lacks those instant ear-worm tunes that forever (and a day) get lodged in your head. Absolutely there's still wonderful songs on here. Singles Ghosts, Runaway, and Tomorrow hit insta' pop triggers the group have always done with ease, while Burning Up, The Lovers, and Versus yank all the feels out of my spleen-soul, leaving me aching for more. Yet when the album ends, old hits like Destroy Everything You Touch and Discotraxx pop into my head first, individual songs on Velocifero fading away into an amorphous glob of sound that dominates the album's production. Whatever, I can still vibe on some amorphous glob of sound, especially when it's coming from Ladytron.

L.B. Dub Corp - Unknown Origin

Ostgut Ton: 2013

L.B. Dub Corp is Luke Slater, whom I've mentioned in the past as being a Very Important Person in the world of techno, primarily for his work as Planetary Assault Systems. Following the turn of the century, however, he put that project on hiatus, focusing his attention elsewhere (DJing, label managing, misplaced stabs at crossover material). During this period, he released a couple EPs cashing in on that trendy dub techno action of the mid-'00s, this here alias its outlet. They didn't garner much attention, and L.B. Dub Corp would likely have been left a footnote within Mr. Slater's discography.

At the start of this decade though, Luke signed a deal with techno tastemaker Ostgut Ton, reviving P.A.S. in the process. Folks got super-hype in his output after that, giving him enough clout with the Berghain print to release more material from his side project too, the result of which being this here debut L.B. Dub Corp album Unknown Origin. And a good thing too, because we can always use more music in the Bandulu stylee these days.

Wait, isn't L.B. Dub Corp a dub techno thing, as is in the Basic Channel stylee? At first, yes, when doing Basic Channel clones was all cool an' hip, but there's plenty of those, and Slater wasn't adding much to the discourse making it. Nah, 'tis a far better thing to do, exploring the tribal side of dub techno when so few ever do anymore.

And Luke doesn't waste time letting you know where this album's heading. Opener Take A Ride gets in on a shuffly, broken dub rhythm with husky whispers uttered from famed rasta poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Nearly Africa and Ever And Forever lay out a bobbin', minimalist grooves, echoing chants, dubby pianos, and spaced-out synth leads. Elsewhere, L.B.'s Dub offers up some vintage heavy Bandulu rhythms, while No Trouble In Paradise inches things back to the lands of Detroit without ever losing that tribal dub fell. To close out with I Have A Dream, an opulent tribal-dub sermon with Zephaniah preaching celebrating multiculturalism, I can't think of a better vibe to end a record on. Shame Mr. Slater doesn't, then.

Four more tracks take us out of Unknown Origin, but they don't have much in common with the Afro-tekno that cames before. Turner's House and Generation To Generation stick to classic Detroit vibes, while Any Time Will Be OK reminds us that L.B. Dub Corp was a serious dub techno project at one point. Roller with Function sounds like a something initially intended for the P.A.S. albums, but contains enough of a dubby, tribal thrum to warrant inclusion here. None of these are deal breakers for this record, just less interesting paths taken compared to the unconventional roads the first half of explored. Considering we haven't seen any new L.B. Dub Corp material in the half-decade since Unknown Origin's release, maybe this was all Luke needed to make to satisfy that Afro-dub techno itch he had niggling at his muse.

Various - West Coast Grooves Volume One: David Alvarado

DMC: 2000

This is when United DJs Of America was irrecoverably changed, a shadow of its former self. Perhaps the series concept had grown redundant, the DJ mix market ballooning to such a degree that spotlighting overlooked US jocks was unnecessary. Everyone was a DJ by the year 2000, and stores were far from lacking in CD options for Yet Another Mix. If DMC wanted to keep this series fresh in the minds of casual consumers, a shake-up was in order. First, do away with that iconic logo – too '90s. Next, implement a cheap-as-fuck cover design, making your product as unappealing in shelves as possible. Finally, cancel the UK market distribution, because who among the Brits really liked American DJs anyway? Amazing this series made it twenty volumes before folding.

United DJs Of America, Vol. 15 was the first in this change, and it shows. DMC was still offering UK options (which I have in my possession), but the only indication this mix was still part of the series is the barcode. Maybe they had some small faith they could translate this 'west coast grooves' concept beyond a volume one, but they sure weren't putting any effort into it.

David Alvarado's a chap I should have come into contact more often, but simply haven't. He's released many singles on Very Important Labels (Peacefrog, Strictly Rhythm, Yoshitoshi, Ovum), has been playlisted by many Very Important DJs (Deep Dish, John Digweed, Terry Lee Brown Jr., lots of minimal tech-haus sorts), yet I have but three scattered tracks of his in my entire library (so sayeth Lord Discogs). Bizarre.

Yeah, I don't know much about Mr. Alvarado. A Los Angeles native, he mostly focused on the deep side of house, shifted towards a techier style when that became more fashionable, and even self-released a techno LP this past year. United DJs Of America – West Coast Grooves finds him still in deep house mode, and he provides a serviceable set of chill Naked-OM vibes with a little Latin flavour thrown in towards the end. Petalpusher (aka: Miguel Migs) shows up, as does Kerri Chandler, but I don't recognize many names beyond those.

An early highlight is the Kevin Yost and Peter Funk track Another World, which plays to their impeccable sense of mellow, dubby jazz-house just as wonderfully as their classic Dreams Of You. Mind, it's not quite as mint as that tune, but it does provide me with an easy, lazy comparison with Mark Farina's Frisko Disco, in that David's set pales compared to it. All the tunes here are fine, but little leaps out at you either, making this perfect background fodder at a swanky club while sipping cocktails, and not much else.

Things aren't looking too hot for United DJs Of America. Think it's time I bail myself out of this series pronto. As luck would have it, a certain expert in escapes just happens to be in L.A. too! What say you, Mr. Plissken?

Mr. Plissken: The name is Snake.

Various - United DJs Of America, Vol. 14: DJ Soul Slinger

DMC: 2000

It took six years, fourteen entries, and seventeen DJs, but d'n'b finally, finally, gets a look-in with United DJs Of America. What, did the U.S. Of A. just not have any love for jungle throughout the '90s? My dudes, of course there was a strong contingent of junglists on this continent, with plenty of prominent DJs doing the rounds. DJ Dara! AK1200! Dieselboy! Freaky Flow! Wait, I'm just listing off jocks that came out on Moonshine. Come to think of it, that was the only significant Stateside label promoting homegrown d'n'b DJs. What gives, Soul Slinger? You had a jungle label, Jungle Sky, and an outlet for it with your Liquid Sky shop. Surely you could have given a few jocks a promotional bump based off your brand? Then again, perhaps America's d'n'b scene simply didn't have enough presence to make national marketing a viable option, not until a print with the financial backing of Moonshine got some cross-continental exposure going.

It's also a surprise that, for as long as he'd been in the business, Carlos Slinger had never made a commercial DJ mix until this point. Yeah, there was Upload: A Continuous Mix a couple years prior, but that one mostly featured his own productions, so was more an album than a proper rinse-out of vinyl crate weapons. Not so here, names like Scitex, TNT (2), Uncle 22, and The Burner Brothers all showing in the Soul Slinger's set for United DJs Of America, Vol. 14. I haven't heard of any o' these cats.

The CD opens with some live crowd action and MCing – was this a live recording? there's no indication in the inlay – and Mr. Slinger shows off his Brazilian roots with his own Zulu Transform (Samba Mix). At first I was worried that such MCing would overtake the music, but it's only for a couple early tracks, and T.C. Izlam doesn't appear again until the very end, where the crowd noise returns for a jump-up remix-singalong to Mike & Ike's Plutonic (you've heard it before as Biz Markie's Just A Friend).

Surprisingly, I wish he did show up a few more times throughout, because the tracks on offer grow rather monotonous after a while. Slinger seems intent on showcasing d'n'b with weird base noises above all else, whether they're a good tune or not. Some of it kicks proper darkstep ass, like Slither's Distorted Minds and Future Cut's Whiplash. Others are hilariously limp or silly - the bassline in DJ Del Mar's Him sounds like a wet fart dribbling out. I don't think the mix CD suited Slinger's particular style, and perhaps he knew it, never releasing another commercial set again. Maybe he preferred focusing on fashion.

New York City has had far too much representation in this series. We need to get out of this place, pronto, and there's only one man for a guest review capable of doing so. What say you, Snake?

Snake: The name's Plissken.

Various - United DJs Of America Presents: Murk Starring In Miami Vice

DMC: 1999

This series is being screwy again. No where on the cover or the inlay does it tell you this is Vol. 12 of United DJs Of America. I could understand if they'd be reluctant to include the number if it was Vol. 13, but for whatever reason, DMC/Mixer decided this was the point they were to break with tradition. No more numerical volumes. Glorious gimmick cover art of the DJs involved. Reduce their series logo to a footnote (well, for the UK version of this release). Dammit, they rented that Lamborghini and retro suits for the photo shoot, and they're gonna' make sure you see them in all their glory! Naturally, United DJs Of America went back to basics with Vol. 13, never doing such a gimmicked release again.

Anyone worth their house-salt knows who Murk is. Oscar Gaetan and Ralph Falcon have been staples of the American scene since the early '90s, establishing their own Murk Records to self-release vinyl under various aliases. When house music was struggling to figure out what to do next, the Murk Boys took the vibes of Chicago and added a deep, sexy Miami bump 'n' grind aesthetic to it, eventually leading to what's often referred to as 'tribal house'. All the big proponents of it – Danny Tenaglia, Steve Lawler, Roger Sanchez – always namedrop Murk as highly influential in the development of their rinsing style.

The one United DJs Of America trend Vol. 12: Miami Vice does maintain is being the the debut commercial DJ mix for the chosen jock(s). So to it is with Murk, although they were mostly known as record makers rather than record spinners. Still, I'm sure they hosted plenty of nights throughout South Florida (and New York), so they have some experience behind the decks.

And they don't do anything to dash expectations. The thick, heavy, sweaty, tribal rhythms hit you early, and remain steady, familiar names like Peace Division, Krome Avenue, Eddie Amador, and Kings Of Tomorrow all weapons in Murk's arsenal. Also, Pete Heller's huge anthem Big Love is on here, one of the earliest CDs to get a feature. This was ridiculously overplayed by the year 2000, but many years removed from it now, it all comes flooding back why everyone went apeshit over this – at least until Daft Punk's One More Time completely changed the game. Anyhow, if you like yourselves a Tenaglia set that isn't quite so silky smooth, you'll dig Murk's contribution to this series.

Obviously the cover art invites a guest review spot from Crockett and Tubbs of Miami Vice fame, but I know which individual y'all really want to hear from, the infamous Tony Montana (aka: Scarface). Have at you, mang'.

Tony: Ay, this [bleep] mix is [bleep] alright, right? Murk Boys, they [bleeep] all day long, and when they [bleeep] the [bleeep] club with [bleeeeep] records, them sexy [bleeep] chicas and [bleeep] with [bleeep]. They proof of [bleeeeeeeep] American dream, livin' [bleeep] and well.

Various - United DJs Of America, Vol. 11: Cevin Fisher - My First CD

DMC: 1999

This name tasks me. Taunts me. Flies in the face of all that I hold grammatically pure and true. Cevin is pronounced with a hard 'C', like 'Kevin', but my brain wants me to pronounce it with a soft 'C', like 'Seven'. Anytime I see a 'C' beside an 'e', I gotta' say it as an 's'. Brains are weird.

Folks new to the house game may know Mr. Fisher for his vocal contributions in recent singles, but he's been a New York City fixture for many, many years. He spent a good chunk of the '90s releasing his own singles under several one-off aliases, and built up a rep' as one of house music's emerging talents on the DJ circuit. By the turn of the millennium, he looked poised to stand shoulder to shoulder with Morales, Sanchez, Knuckles, and Vega, especially since they'd all done prior mixes for the United DJs Of America series. This would launch the next stage of Cevin's career!

He... didn't take off quite as expected. It wasn't a fall off or anything, but house music kept morphing throughout the '00s, and Cevin's vintage New York disco house kept him firmly entrenched in the clubbing underground. Thus he never broke out the way his contemporaries did, though it wouldn't surprise me if he prefers it that way.

And yes, 'dangerous disco' is the name of the game on United DJs Of America, Vol. 11 (his first CD!). The opening Beautiful Day from House Of 909 takes us off with chill, uplifting vibes, but Cevin doesn't waste time in getting us to that ultra-loopy house action, including his own anthem of House Music - Cevin don't mess around with fancy titles, yo'. From there, things go a little deeper (Those Norwegians' Soda), a little Latin (Agent Purple's Kings Of Spain), a little bumpin' (Wet Dreams' Sunrise), and back to disco (Studio 45's Freak It). And what New York house set is complete without the obligatory nine-minute gospel cut to take us out? Well, some, but Mr. Fisher's making sure all flavours of house are repped here, so raise those damn hands and sing the praises of your Lord Jesus!

Oh man, there's so many famous fictional people from New York City I could get to do a guest review spot. For some reason though, an investment banker by the name of Patrick Bateman wants in.

Patrick: I didn't understand house music, not at first, when black people in Chicago were dancing to it. Something about that environment didn't seem right, like a primitive version of the disco nights of Studio 54. New York City made house better, merging it with something called garage. I believe that's another disco genre. It gave house music more soul, not unlike an upbeat Whitney Houston song. House music is now played in many clubs around the city, including The Tunnel. Hardbodies there like dancing to it.

(Uh, you've hit the word-cap, Patrick, and didn't talk about the CD at all.)

The first Cevin Fisher track I heard was It's Gonna Be Alright, a collaboration with Jus Us as No Pain, in 1993. The single came out on Hardtrax Records in 1993, and had five different versions on it. The first two mixes, titled No More Pain Mix and Gonna Be Alright Mix, have little variation between them. Cliff's Deep Flute Mix has some jazz flute notes being played. Rio Beats adds some Latin influences to the track. The Vox adds long delay and echo effects to Cevin's vocals. This was the only single Cevin Fisher released as No Pain.

It was after this single that Cevin Fisher started releasing music under this name. His first record was called Oye Ese Pito!!! on the label Gettin Lifted. His next single was an eponymous record, released on Groovilicious in 1996. This had the tracks Do You Wanna Fly, Take You To The Skies, Pump It, and Pump The Beats. Cevin released many more singles that same year, including I Want Music on Subversive, Raise Your Hands on Sound Of Minisry, and Check This Out and The Most Wanted EP on Maxi Records. In 1998, he paired with Robert Owens, a popular house music singer, and Satoshi Tomiie, a progressive house producer, for the single Darkness, released on S3. By far though, his most popular track was (You Got Me) Burnin' Up, released on Tommy Boy Silver. It's success lies with a sampling of Love Sensation by Loleatta Holloway, a disco hit from 1980, released on Gold Mind Records. In capturing Loleatta Holloway's impassioned belting voice, Cevin Fisher recaptures the hedonistic feeling of late '70 disco for a modern era. Another club anthem Cevin released in 1998 was The Freaks Come Out.

(what are you doing? I said your word cap was tapped out)

Cevin Fisher used a slightly different alias for The Freaks Come Out, called Cevin Fisher's Big Freak. This would be the only record he'd use the alias for. The track uses a sample from Whodini's Freaks Come Out At Night, released on Jive in 1984. Another key feature is the belting refrain of a 'disco diva' singing "Oh baby, oh!" Also in the track are horns that sound like a mardi gras celebration. In combining all these elements, Cevin Fisher captures the melting pot of New York City's varied clubbing cultures both past and present. Many popular DJs have now featured it their mixes and radio shows. This includes Pete Tong's Essential Selection - Summer 1998, on FFRR; Boy George's set in the tag-team release with Judge Jules of The Annual IV, on Ministry Of Sound; DJ Dan's mix CD Beats 4 Freaks on Moonshine Music; Tall Paul's set in Cream Anthems, released by Virgin EMI; Carl Cox's Non Stop 98/01, released on FFRR; The Klubbheads, in their set for the three CD release Kontor - Top Of The Clubs Volume 2, released on Polytel; Flavio Vecchi's set on New York Bar Compilation Volume 1, released on Dream Beat; Allister Whitehead's set in Fantazia - British Anthems 2000, released on Fantazia; Robert De La... Gauthier's Club Foundation, released on ID&T; Richard Evans & Johnathon Robbins' set from In The Mix Ibiza, released on Circa Records LTD.; Mas Ricardo in OXA House Vol. 2, released on TBA; DJ Erick-E's set on Work 9, released on Work Records; Alan Thompson's set in Trade: Summer Holiday, released on Jive.

(oh my god, doesn't this guy ever shut up?)