Various - In Trance We Trust 006: DJ Cor Fijneman

In Trance We Trust: 2001

Last round, I lamented ending up with Cor Fijneman’s first mix for In Trance We Trust, as his immediate follow-up looked more interesting of the two. Well fret not, 2013 Sykonee (oh God, I’m doing this…), because your future self will enjoy In Trance We Trust 006 after all. Oh, and while I’m conversing with Near-Past Me, you ought to get on that Silent Season label’s CDs before it’s too late. Trust me.

ITWT005 caught me off guard by high the average BPM was, so thoroughly subjected to trance’s gradual slowing throughout the ‘00s as I was. However, the Blackhole sublabel was initially designed as an outlet for the harder, clubbier side of the genre, so I shouldn’t have been. Yet, diving into ITWT006, fully expecting a brisk tempo from the outset, I’m still struck dumb by how fast these tunes are. They’re not the hard-hard form of trance either (freeform?), mostly hanging around melodic side of things the Dutch jocks adored.

And what’s this? Tunes with energy and drive. Synths flying in from space. Hooks that aren’t sap. Bangin’ 4am tech-trance business. Freakin’ old school acid trance! I know the release date on this claims 2001, but ol’ Cor’s mix sure feels like a ‘90s one. It’s not like he’s included a pile of older producers and tracks in here either. Yeah, Mr. Lieb get’s repped, and Airwave had a solid discography behind him by that point. Many more on here were just breaking out though, and would go on to have lengthy, respectable careers. Marco V’s here! Orkidea’s here (providing a mint remix to Tiësto’s Flight 643)! Darren Tate’s here (as Citizen Caned)! Of course Mr. Fijneman’s here too, bringing in a Geert Huinink assist for a surprisingly solid tech-trance outing in 10 PM. Unfortunately, Geert Huinink is also in at his Geertiest on the track Escalator from Headstrong. Too… much… Dutch…

While most of these trance tunes tickle me right, ol’ Cor’s mixing still isn’t much to get fussed about. That said, his set construction’s mostly sound, melodic stuff dealt with early, and then segueing into pounding tech-trance for a strong finish. Oh, except for one utterly daft moment near the end with cheese-mongers Dance Nation’s Sunshine (with Mr. Fijneman on the rub of course), hopelessly misplaced in- ah, forget it. The CD’s been good, and you’ve earned this silly moment, Cor. Nu-italo lives!

Anyone new to trance will figure In Trance We Trust 006 as rather old-fashioned these days. We better get a Street Fighter who’s about as old-fashioned as they come, T. Hawk. This guy’s so old-fashioned, it’s like he’s an old-timey stereotype!

T. Hawk: Hn. I’ll ignore that. The music does little for me. Some okay rhythm, not much else. That’s all I have to say about this.






Nothing at all? How about some of these titles, like Spirit In The Sky?

T. Hawk: …






Mysteries Of Life?

T. Hawk: …






The Journey? Nothing?

T. Hawk: …






Implacable.

T. Hawk: Yes.

In Trance We Trust: Super Champion Review Project Turbo - Round 2 Fight!

C-c-c-comber Breaker! Wait, wrong game. Initiate Super Fire Blow! No, that's not it. Test my might? Oh HELL no! New challengers appear! Yeah, that's the stuff.

Whatever famous fighting game phrase you prefer, I am indeed breaking up my regular queue for a brief return to the world of In Trance We Trust. Revisiting the series' music for my December 2013 ACE TRACKS Playlist got me curious whether the label was still kicking around or had quietly folded into the glowstick illuminated night. Not only has it held on, but even knocked out another mix, reaching the mighty Volume Twenty in a 3CD extravaganza! Damn, I knew I shouldn't have let Dan Hibiki deliver the final blow to the series. Guess it’s time for me to step into the fighting arena for another round (plus a few assists from various Street Fighter Alpha 3 participants, ‘natch).

Of course, I can’t return to a DJ mix series without adding some stipulations for which volumes I’ll buy. Last round, I picked up every edition that was cheaper than In Trance We Trust 011, my official introduction to these CDs. Turned out every single mix after DJ Phynn’s set fell into that condition, so I’m left with very few still out there regardless. Since I was getting In Trance We Trust 020 no matter what (because glutton for punishment, right?), I figured rounding up whatever mixes were cheaper than that one as the best option for a purchasing stipulation. So now I have every volume of In Trance We Trust aside from the first four (expensive rare now). That includes In Trance We Trust 011, but the CD still hasn’t arrived, now two weeks overdue - I don’t know if it ever will. I’d rather not waste anymore time waiting, but I’ll see if I can come up with something in its space instead.

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version

Elektra: 1995

This is the first Wu-Tang album I actively recall playing, though I probably heard a couple other Clan tracks before without realizing it. Not that I even knew Ol' Dirty Bastard had anything to do with the Staten Island supergroup at the time – nay, t'was that bizarre cover that drew me in. Hell, the name alone had me grabbing the CD for an in-store demo, curious what a self-professed dirty bastard would sound like. Skipping past a far too long intro, I was hit with the instantly catchy piano hook of Shimmy Shimmy Ya and boisterous rap of Ason Unique demanding he be given the mic’ so he could take it away. Yeah, I hadn’t a clue what that meant, and it still seems like a clumsy line, but damn does he ever make you want to repeat it. Aside from a few hilariously juvenile sex raps though, I don’t recall much else from that first playthrough. Guess I was distracted by a nearby, shiny new Club Cutz 6 CD or something.

Much has been made of the utterly daft notion that Dirt McGirt had enough lyrical skill to have Second Wu-Tang Solo Album honoraries bestowed upon him, much less an actual solo career. Folks loved his sing-songy style of off-kilter flow, sure, and he had a crap-tonne amount of charismas (it’s how he keeps his rhymes smellin’ so funk-aayy). No one, however, labelled him a remarkable wordsmith. Hell, how often did he even pen lyrics? So much of Return To The 36 Chambers sounds like he has a cliff’s notes version of material to hang off a menacing RZA beat, then freestyles the rest. Ol’ Dirty spouts off so much seemingly random jargon and rapping styles over the course of nearly any track, it’s honestly quite a thrill hearing which tangent he goes on next. Like, here’s some lyrics from Hippa To Da Hoppa:

“Niggaz better loosen they ass, felt the glass / A forty ounce bottle, yo yo yo yo money yo pass! / Woooh-woooh-woooh! I sweat it live / MC gonna live God? No, the nigga die / The max-imum of MC's are populating / The min-imum of those MC's are dominating / Now all and together now, to what what who? / Rhymes come stinky like a girl's poo-poo.”

They don’t read like much, but coupled with his unpredictable flow and RZA’s unpredictable production, this simple tune is oddly mesmerizing. And the whole album’s like this! Even when fellow Wu-Tang members pop in for a few bars, they all fall lock-step into Mr. Russell Jones’ off-kilter world in the slummiest Shaolin back alleyways.

I don’t think there’s another hip-hop album out there quite like Return To The 36 Chambers. It’s the ODB unleashed in all of his unhinged charm, the RZA getting his gear grimy as fuck, released in the prime of the Wu-Tang Clan’s musical output. You may not care for the Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s content, but you sure don’t wanna’ look away either.

Victor Calderone - Resonate

Statrax: 2003

Victor Calderone’s Resonate was not something I counted on reviewing, and I mean ever. Maybe there was a microscopic chance I’d stumble upon it in a used shop and, with few other options, pick it up because it was a music CD with the adjectives ‘electronic’ and ‘dance’ associated with it. Even then though, I’d be finicky, lest I grab Generic House Mix Number Ten-Thousand Ten – why settle for the obvious when a used shop can offer the bizarre and obscure? All those Hed Kandi and Ultra House collections can carry on collecting dust in the racks as far as I’m concerned, and if a few gems slip through as a result, so be it.

All this is just a long way of saying ol’ Victor’s output isn’t high on my list of Must Hears, nor would I go out of my way to indulge his records – just not enough minutes in the month to hear everything. Someone figured I’d vibe on his style though, and included this mix CD for free in an Amazon purchase. Gee, wasn’t that nice of him. Guess it’s time to suit up for a little Calderone action. Yay Discogs research!

T’was not long before The Lord That Knows All revealed where I’d seen ol’ Victor’s name before. See, this that dude who helped push New York City house music out of Strictly Rhythm’s garagey dominance into danker territory. Specifically, tribal tech-house of the sort Danny Tenaglia became synonymous with, and many prog DJs adopted into their sets after the turn of the century too. Hell, during my initial playthrough, I guessed Resonate was a 2002 release, so prevalent with the year that sound was (just a bit off). This I can definitely vibe on - if house music ain’t workin’ the disco funk, then it damn well better hit that Afro thump.

And sure enough, plenty of tribal action goes down in Resonate, with African chants, drum circles, and gnarly rhythmic groove dominating throughout. Towards the end, Calderone goes prog-prog, including King Unique’s remix of Underworld’s Two Months Off as a finisher, because of course you close a prog set with Underworld. On the way there, we hear two versions of De Loren & Color’s Alessa, an acapella mash-up of J Majik’s Love Is Not A Game upon Babilonia’s Impress Me (though since it’s Kathy Brown on the vocals, shouldn’t she get the credit?), and three of Mr. Calderone’s own productions. Oh, and can’t forget remixes from Superchumbo, Masters At Work, and D. Ramirez, because there’s always space for a few more namedrops in reviews!

If any of this sounds appealing to you, then by all means scope up Resonate wherever you happen upon it. Calderone treats his mix as though you’re arriving at a dark, sweaty club already in full swing, grabbing you by your dancing shoes early and not letting go until 6am dawn; New York house at its finest. No, I’m not saying that just because I got this free.

ACE TRACKS: November 2013

Woo hoo, I’m but a few days away from an honest-to-God real vacation, my first in nearly a decade! Like, absolutely no commitments I’m obligated towards in my time off work. No classes still to attend, no relatives to visit out of town, no festivals to volunteer for – just pure freedom from any and all responsibilities. And I’ll probably grow mind-numbingly bored within 36 hours. Or spend all that time making Spotify Playlists. Until then, here’s ACE TRACKS: November 2013.



Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Felix da Housecat - Kittenz And Thee Glitz
The KLF - Justified & Ancient

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 18%
Percentage Of Rock: 6%
Most “WTF?” Track: either track from Squarepusher (you just don’t expect it from Jenkinson)

Man, these truncated months are so much easier to put together. I should get super bummed out and stressed by Real World things more often, so I don’t end up reviewing so much unwieldy music. I barely even listened to most of these tracks before slotting them, so easily they slid into their positions within the Playlist by sight alone. Why yes that Cheb I Sabbah world music tune would work great in contrast with Juno Reactor’s Navras. Obviously Tosca and Delerium were meant to go together. Clearly that Public Enemy binge I enjoyed is best served in two mini-segments. And the whole thing runs a nice, easy-breezy three hours. Only the final few tunes are cumbersome, but who ever listens to these things to the very end, amirite?

Surprising that Felix’ classic album isn’t on Spotify. Not surprising all those burned CDs I started reviewing aren’t though, but most of the tracks used on those were found, so it’s all good. Eh, Kid A? Ah heh, sorry, I never did find out which songs off that album CokeMachineGlow and Tiny Mix Tapes approved as being ace.

Instra:mental - Resolution 653

Nonplus Records: 2011

As the '00s drew to a close, duo Alex Green and Damon Kirkham were gaining themselves a solid rep in the drum 'n' bass scene as Instra:mental. It certainly didn't hurt they found collaborative work with tech-step veterans like Jonny L and Source Direct, nor finding a home with trendy upstart labels like Nonplus Records. Then they found another future-looking kindred spirit in D-Bridge, set up their own Autonomic label, and pretty much created a whole new sub-genre within 'deebee's already convoluted mess of micro-genres. Despite being short lived cul-de-sac of a style, that's still a mighty impressive accomplishment in a scene filled with many one-off dead end attempts at new directions. Has there ever been an official name for the Autonomic sound? Eh, whatever, I'm still calling it microfunk because... reasons (hint: look in one of those Twitter links to the right).

With all that musical momentum behind them, a proper full-length album was inevitable from Instra:mental. What sort of music would they venture into? More of that tasty microfunk business as heard on their FabricLive 50 mix? A return to the jungle they built their early career on? Maybe some further venturing into post-dubstep’s experimental realm? Nah, none of that, guy. For their debut LP, Instra:mental set out to do nothing less than a pure Detroit techno homage, d’n’b fanbase be damned.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise, as their Nonplus singles skewed that way as it was (heck, the whole label does). Still, they kept one foot in the UK’s bass scene, familiar ground for those who’d wandered in from jungle’s realm. Resolution 653 has almost none of that, dragging the listener into 313’s domain of electro, techno, and its various permutations. That includes a little of that post-dubstep sound (Thomp, Rift Zone), which often took audio cues from Detroit’s lineage. Mostly though, we’re dealing with broken-beat futurism (Sun Rec, Arc, Love Arp), Hawtin-plonk minimalism (8, Talkin’ Mono), renegade warehouse techno (Aggro Acid, Delta Zone (Advance), Memory Implant), neo-Tokyo ambience (Waterfalls, Plok), and technobass (User). Holy shit, there’s actual old-school technobass on this album! Haha, Dynamix II represent! Yeah yeah, that genre was technically a Miami thing, but whatever – t’was southern bass heads doing Detroit, is all. And now London chaps too.

However, there’s a problem with Resolution 653. Well, two if you were expecting proper jungle t’ings from Instra:mental, but I sure didn’t. Hell, I wasn’t even aware of them when I first checked this out, only that they had this really neat looking cover art, and it was being billed as a collection of throwback electro. That said, folks well-versed in electro’s history likely won’t find much that’d have them abandoning their Anthony Rother records anytime soon. Instra:mental do the genre justice, and bring a couple tricks from their d’n’b pedigree, but for the most part they remain so fixated on Detroit’s heritage, it’s blinkered them from exploring any new avenues. And that’s disappointing for a duo that blazed their own paths leading up to Resolution 653.

Inspectah Deck - The Resident Patient

Urban Icon Records: 2006

As an MC, Inspectah Deck is nigh impossible to fault, easily top tier in any Wu-Tang conversation. No, this isn't a debate. Every fan of Wu-Tang Clan has their favourite member, but whenever the Rebel INS starts spitting some fire, you darn well pay attention to his words. Why, then, has he struggled in the solo album market? Lack of an identifiable persona would be my guess. Excellent lyricism only gets you so far in an image conscious rap game, and when you’re surrounded by a bevy of outlandish characters in Wu-Tang, it's difficult sticking out. Hell, even when Method Man did his famous rundown on each Clan member's trait, he struggled describing what Inspectah Deck's name meant (“He's like that dude that'll sit back and watch you play yourself and all that right? And see you sit there and know you lyin; and he'll take you to court after that.” ...th'duq?).

Still, with his first two albums, Rebel INS showed some promise in coming up with a persona unique to him within the Clan: the crafty street hustler who remains embedded in the projects even as he gains affluence. After all, that inner city knowledge ain’t gettin’ dropped by itself, and Mr. Hunter’s greatest verses are often about ghetto illumination. Or just taking rival MCs to task – seriously, why can’t Deck and Del collab’ just once?

Okay, I’m rambling. The Resident Patient, Inspectah’s third solo outing. Or was it? Yes, it was, but it’s long been rumoured this was intended as a mixtape offering, not a proper LP effort. I can definitely believe that, as this is one dodgy release. For one thing, Mr. Hunter’s raps just aren’t as interesting compared to his other albums. He sounds good, but the content’s just not there. A lot of brags we’ve heard before, a few rudimentary come-ons, and an occasional street drama that runs far too short, lacking the sort of vivid imagery or intensity heard on many other records.

The production quality’s all over the map too, a plethora of way underground hip-hop beatsmiths lending their hands in what sounds like several disparate recording sessions. Mondee’s the main one (five tracks), who I’ve never heard before but Lord Discogs tells me has enjoyed a modestly successful career. He does fit the style Deck prefers spitting rhymes over, heavy street funk and cinematic soul, perfect for all your blaxploitation needs. Yet why do I much prefer the one-off gritty Chinatown slum bump of hopelessly obscure Concrete Beats? Or the vintage Wu stylee of RZA protégé Cilvaringz? Or even Deck’s own funky head-bop production? (Let’s not get into the others. Yes, even Psycho Les – was never a fan of Beatnuts)

I guess the most damning thing I can say about The Resident Patient is it’s an album with no real flow, an almost criminal accusation for an MC with impeccable flow. A few moments do shine through, but unless you’re a hardcore Inspectah Deck fan, I wouldn’t bother with this.

L.S.G. - Rendezvous In Outer Space (2015 Update)

Superstition: 1995

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

A do-over for the L.S.G. debut album? Eh, I don't think that's necessary. Technically, that review I wrote for TranceCritic a decade ago (!!) was my second go at Rendezvous In Outer Space, the first a blurb on Lord Discogs. Yeah, I was carrying a torch for the CD back in the day, hoping to get all the young trance fans hype to some proper, authentic, genuine, indisputable, legitimate, um, authoritative, uh... twenty-four carat...? Are you messing with me, Online Thesaurus?

Point being, I felt like a man on a mission in ye’ olde year of 2004, a strident, determined soul set upon the harsh environment of internet web forums filled with ‘noobs’. They were gonna’ learn some history, gosh darned it, understand that trance did not, in fact, begin with Tiësto’s In Search Of Sunrise or Armin’s A State Of Trance. Oliver Lieb is the don of this scene, sons and daughters, the Godfather, the King Kahuna, the Khan, the Czar, the Duke and Duchess, the potentate, the oligarch, the overlord, the, um, rex, uh... the ‘crowned head’? Dammit, Online Thesaurus, you suck sometimes, you really do.

Obviously, I was a fool in turning the L.S.G. discography into weapons for a trance jihad, even subtly hijacking a young, hopeful trance website for my own nefarious plans. I shouldn’t be forcing my interests and opinions down the ears, eyes, and throats of fresh fans of a genre because I feel their current heroes are pale imitations of the real deal. See, there I go again - believing my taste superior than theirs because I have better albums in my possession (you know it’s true!). I cannot deny it though: Rendezvous In Outer Space should be mandatory listening for anyone who fancies themselves a fan of the genre. Lieb helped lay down so much of the groundwork future producers would emulate, why deny the roots of a form of music one purports to love? I mean, any metal fan worth his rock-salt dutifully digests the works of Black Sabbath – L.S.G. deserves the same respect, yo’.

Okay, enough of that torch. For one thing, there’s nothing else to prove with this argument. Those who’ve stuck with trance in the ten years since eventually came around to ol’ Oliver’s music regardless. It’s kinda’ hard not to look to the past when the present kept turning to such crap, right? More than that though, I no longer see music as tools for crusades, quite content in enjoying it for my own reasons and sharing my thoughts with those who are willing to hear or read. Oh yeah, I’m totally turning into that old guy sitting on the park bench with Sennheiser headphones feeding the raving raccoons. What makes Rendezvous In Outer Space so peerless, they ask, and I tell them, I tell them I says, “Hear how Lieb uses percussion for maximum effect with minimal fuss? By g’ar, that’s some mighty fine trance beat craftsmanship there, the likes you don’t see any more, b’gosh.”

Various - Renaissance: The Masters Series Part 12 - James Zabiela (Original TC Review)

Renaissance: 2009

(2015 Update:
Oh yeah, I called it for sure. CD1 still sounds great, timeless, and class; CD2 is aging so poorly it hurts. Dear God, I didn't give that 'Reconstruction' of Energy Flash enough shit. What the Hell are Huggy & Newton even doing with the acid? It sounds like a sick duck quacking. And shame on you, James, for including such a crap cover in your mix. Stick to the original, mate, always. MAOR field recordings too!

Ol' Zabs returned to The Masters Series for its 15th edition, which I haven't heard. However, seeing as how he has Boys Noize follow Peter Benisch in that mix, tickle me intrigued. He's since drifted away from the commercial DJ mix market, offering up several free MP3 mixes online instead, including a running series called Paradigm Shift. While I don't doubt it's provided him a greater sense of creative freedom, it'd be nice to see him return to the mix CD scene too. Come on, Balance, grease him palms a little...)


IN BRIEF: Almost there.

So much for being ‘the next Sasha.’

Actually, that’s unfair. I doubt James Zabiela ever wanted such an association. Be that as it may though, it was a handle he earned very early in his career when he toured with the iconic British DJ, even teaching the old chap a few new tricks along the way. Then, when Zabiela paired off with Nic Fanciulli a few years back, promoters and paid journalists figured they had a new Sasha & Digweed in the making, and eagerly pushed them as such. Unfortunately, although their One + One release got reasonable reviews and the subsequent tours were generally successful, they were never able to build upon that momentum, and they’ve been in relative stasis since as hip upstarts took the limelight. Might all that early promise in Zab’s career be disappearing into unfulfilled hype?

That’s a stupid question (but oh such a tempting segue, eh?) –James’ skill as a DJ is just as competent as ever. What’s still up in the air, however, is whether he’ll ever release a mix CD that will attain the ‘classic’ status Papa Sasha has repeatedly done. On the twelfth edition of Renaissance’s Masters Series, Zabiela has come about as close to doing so as he ever has.

Being the ambitious technical geek that he is, James wasn’t satisfied in providing ‘just another mix’, and, as seems to be quite the trend of late, got his conceptual on. The gimmick is this: Zabiela took a mini-recorder around with him for a while and recorded various sounds and speeches to make use of; then, after much studio tinkering, crafted a true musical journey of a mix.

The CD starts on a mellow tip, which will be the general theme maintained for much of its running time. Yeah, as per the Down title, this is mostly a downtempo set. Fear not, though, as it neither rambles nor dawdles – in fact, despite obvious transitions and changes of tempo, Zabiela has crafted an incredibly engaging and evolving mix. Sets of chill music are at their best when it feels like you’re being taken on a sight-seeing tour of various moods, atmospheres and soundscapes, all the while always making progress on the trip. Not only has James accomplished this here, but by making use of his samples, he’s given his chosen songs stronger context in the sort of story he aims to tell. For instance, how about a bit of melancholy dialogue regarding losing our humanity as a bridge between the somber minimalist Pattern 4 from Cyan341 and the warm, fuzzy nostalgic tones of Boards Of Canada’s Amo Bishop Roden? There are plenty of lovely little bits like this scattered throughout the mix.

Towards the end, Zabs starts cranking the BPMs up a notch – several notches, actually. Esky’s Number Station establishes a fitting sci-fi setting before IDM-breaks mainstays Plaid are given a chance to take off, reminding us just how sublimely exhilarating these guys have been throughout their career. And while the ‘two-step prog-house’ of Quivver obviously can’t compare to Marry, John Graham’s offering still makes for a worthy contemporary set closer, with Departing Gates’s blissful piano tones providing a fitting coda to the CD.

Overall, I’d rate Zabiela’s set just as good as anything you’d have expected from the prog DJ legends of the 90s – yes, even Sasha’s sets from Northern Exposure. Don’t miss out on this excellent CD from The Masters Series!

Eh? You say there’s two CDs to talk about here? No there isn’t.

Okay, there is, but can’t we just ignore it? It’s not worth getting into. No, really, it’s not. *sigh*

CD2 is called Up, but Down is more up than this disc. The BPMs may be geared for the dancefloor, but there’s very little ‘up’ about these beats. For the most part, this is an ‘I are serious techno DJ’ set, with rhythms that plod along, atmosphere that remains in k-hole murk, and generally very little fun. Despite the sounds and effects never being outright awful, it’s just agonizingly dull to endure - especially so is Zabiela’s own Darkness.2, which is little more than an extended effects wank-a-thon. The set has an alright start with Paul Woolford’s Surrender, but forget about anything being built upon it. Komytea’s Professional Killers nearly rescues us from the middling affair - it at least has some decent groove - but is quickly undone when the track doesn’t really lead anywhere, and James falls back on boring techno-stomp right after. Of course, the pointless cover–sorry, ‘reconstruction’ of Energy Flash will get your attention, in that it’s such a recognizable anthem, but it isn’t until the tail end of Perseverance that things finally pick up. Love You All makes a valiant effort to bring some proper fun back into the mix, but Luomo and Apparat’s track is far too little too late. Even Zabiela doesn’t seem too fussed with this set, as he only adds his walkabout samples at the bookends, not bothering to create the same kind of concept that worked excellently on CD1.

Up just can’t compare to Down in any way. It lacks the first set’s finesse, creativity, spunk, emotion… Hell, anything. And as a standalone, forget it. With tech-plod sets of this sort all over the place, there’s nothing about it to recommend. I hope CD2 isn’t meant to be a representation of what Zabiela plays at the clubs – I’d be spending a very long time at the bar were I hearing this out live.

Masters Series 12 is totally schizophrenic. One half is brilliant, the other not; one half makes a strong argument that Zabiela deserves all the hype, the other makes a strong argument that good prog DJs are dull techno DJs; one half will get repeated plays, the other will collect dust. Mind you, this isn’t a 5/10 release by any stretch, but a mediocre CD2 makes paying a two-disc price for a great CD1 mighty painful.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved

Groove Armada - The Remixes

Jive Electro: 1999/2000

I'm sure taking my sweet time in tackling a proper Groove Armada album, aren't I? First it was that DJ mix provided by Muzik Magazine as a freebie CD, and now it's a remix collection. Bro, do I not even like Groove Armada, bro? I ask myself that often, always coming to the same answer of a bewildered “I don't know.” I think I like Groove Armada, pretty sure they've never led me astray in the odd times I've dabbled their discography. Hell, I have The Remixes, the sort of release only hardcore fans ever bother with. I don't remember why I got this – I assume because I liked what I heard, enough that it survived the Great CD Pawning Of 2002. And yet, I lack so many of their LPs, only grabbing Vertigo because it was the only Groove Armada album you're supposed to have, even if you're not a Groove Armada fan. Something just don't add up in this equation. Ah well, musing for whenever I reach the 'V's.

Vertigo itself was hugely successful, gaining even more commercial clout when Fatboy Slim offered up a big-beaty remix of the hit single I See You Baby (shaking that ass, shaking that ass). That remix isn’t on here though. Cue Dark Helmet .gif if you bought The Remixes thinking it was. Surprisingly, in its original UK format, there weren’t any rubs of that tune, while the American version gets a standard tribal house go from Futureshock slotted at the very end as an afterthought. What does The Remixes think it is, some sort of original LP experience? Absolutely it does, guy.

Truth is, despite earning all the pounds and shillings, Vertigo only spawned two singles (At The River was released a couple years prior), so it’s not like they had a huge abundance of options for a full-length remix package. Rather, Groove Armada outsourced rubs for seven of the original album’s tunes, plus added an alternative remix of B-side Rap. The first few cuts are fine for what they are, Akasha (jazzy d’n’b), DJ Icey (breaks, d’uh), and DJ Dan (thump house) bringing their distinct styles to Pre 63, If Everybody Looked The Same and Chicago, respectively. It’s also quite the genre hopping out the gate, lending The Remixes to the sort of collection you’d expect out of such a title – a pile of tracks useful for DJs or hardcore fans, but not worth a casual home listen.

However, rather subtly, the CD becomes something more. A little deep house from Attaboy, some groovy jazz-soul care of Time “Love” Lee, a spice of funky downtempo breaks business provided by Kinobe, and a trip-hop outing from Natural Born Grooves (using an alias of Elephant, for some reason). You’re likely seeing a pattern here, and it’s a good one, a vibey flow on a compilation where there shouldn’t be, one you don’t mind returning to sometime down the line. And that, my friends, is why The Remixes is still with me.