Going back to the beginnings of the "illbient" movement, the blissed out drus soaked dub sounds that this series has chronicled over the years, this double-cd reissue of the first two volumes traces the early years of the mostly Brooklyn folks who were influenced heavily by dub and who then started to create electronic music with much of the aesthetics and pathos of their dub mentors. Heavy on the bass, leaving some space and keeping things down and dirty was the common bond between artists like Sub Dub, Him, Spectre, and the only known name at that time Bill Laswell. Looking back at this era '91-'94 it's nice to see who still sounds fresh and interesting (the above mentioned for sure) and yeah there are a few tracks that didn't really age too well, but the good for sure outweighs the not so hot. Nice for those times when you wanna go to outer space as much as u wanna be in Jamaica. Oh and check out the diss in the liner notes to DJ Spooky for taking all the glory from a scene that actually had many others doing more innovative and interesting stuff then he was.
Watch the bassbins! A devastating collection of illbient dub and ultra-twisted hip hop from the Wordsound crew: Spectre, Scarab, Bug, Slotek, Lovecraft Technologies (aka Prince Charming), etc.!!! Awesome.
WordSound's Crooklyn crew is back with an other comp of dark, low-slung beats and breaks. Just like the previous volumes, this is the illest of the "illbient", perfect for pumping on the stereo as you cruise in your car, headlights off, through the urban streets at night, looking for trouble. (We're not really suggesting you to do that, we're just trying to paint a picture here.) Usual suspects on board this time include: Spectre, Twilight Circus, Prince Charming, Bill Laswell, DJ/Rupture, Scotty Hard, Roots Control, Zion Train and others.
It's long been clear that a skilled studio production team can transform a band or artist's music from weak or average into ass-kickingly addictive. Y'know... sorta like polishing a turd. Well, the fabulous DFA production team of Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy brought their expertise to the indie realm. Not only has this duo been instrumental in the metamorphosis of potential college rock fodder into propulsive dancefloor triggers, but also they have brought along a knack for cooler than thou marketing which has spilled over from Goldsworthy's past associations with the once unstoppable Mo' Wax hype machine. An unbelievable example of this was their impressive production / marketing of The Rapture's "House Of Jealous Lovers" last year. Unfortunately this one track drew flocks seeking more of the same from a band whose past recordings were very different and well, somewhat disappointing in comparison. Instead, those folks should've really been searching out more DFA productions, which have been notoriously few and far between. Anyways, fans of The Rapture's aforementioned track will be pleased to hear that the cowbell-laden, Gang of Four makeover reappears on this compilation of DFA produced 12" A-sides. Other highlights include LCD Soundsystem's "Give It Up" as well as their club fave of hipster cynicism "Losing My Edge", plus an older lengthy track and an even lengthier newer one from the very Boredoms-y art punks Black Dice. The latter two proving that DFA are just as deft on non-traditional dance numbers. Eight tracks in all.
New York's best-presented flash-in-the-pan label and mix-masters, DFA, produce and remix some of the most self-conscious dance music ever made... albeit forced and/or contrived, still very well done and definitely worthy of extreme dancing to. This 3cd compilation contains so many irresistable goodies! Some hi-lites on the first two discs: J.O.Y.'S sparse and cool Slits-style vocals set to a DFA remix of their song "Sunplus", (also recently released as a 12" -- see our earlier review), Juan Maclean's (ex-Six Finger Satellite) sinister "Dance Hall Modulator Dub", Pixeltan's driving non-stop beat attack on "Get Up / Say What", DFA producer, James Murphy's band, LCD Soundsystem, featuring 4/4-beat-man-machine, Pat Mahoney (ex-Les Savy Fav) and their song "Beat Connection", legendary Liquid Liquid's "Bellhead" and The Rapture's "Echoes", just to name a few! *sigh* So much hipster dubby disco dancing, so little time. A third disc is actually a mix cd of DFA tracks, so provided you do not own your own DJ mixing equipment, you can enjoy the DFA hyper-active dance jams in one continous angular movement. Recommended.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Including DJ Zinc's awesome "Super Sharp Shooter" track, an old AQ-favorite, previously available only on 12" vinyl. Kick ass drum and bass jungle.
Latest comp of genius dubstep and bass heavy grooves, and it's SO goddamn good, it's been hard to listen to anything else since we got this in. Avid readers of the aQ list no doubt know by now, how much we love dubstep, especially the harder, darker, bassier strains, which is precisely what you get here, two discs of some of the heaviest buzzing low end bass heavy jams of the last few years, the thread that connects them is not just a label, but a UK studio as well, where all these tracks were produced, before being released on various labels, and on various 12"s between 2004 and 2009.
Folks already way into dubstep will probably see the artists included and be sold: Vex'd, Joker, Skream, 2562, Pinch, Loefah, Cyrus and a bunch more, but anyone who's been digging the recent series of Soul Jazz dubstep collections, or like us, is always on the lookout for some seriously dense and heavy buzzy dubstep bliss, well then, this is definitely gonna hit the spot.
Both discs start off with killer jams from Vex'd, whose Cloud Seed record was our Record Of The Week a while back, and of course, these tracks rule just as hard, thick fuzzy bass, distorted synthy squelch, distorted toasting style vocals, lurching stuttery beats, the perfect way to kick off both discs for sure. Drop the needle anywhere though (yeah, we know, or the LASER or whatever), and you're bound to land on some seriously deliriously kick ass buzz and stutter, warble and crunch, Joker & Ginz's skwee-like "Purple City", Pinch & P Duddy's lumbering super blown out bass skitter anthem "War Dub", Circuit Breaker's super hypnotic low end pounding repeto-groove "Phonque", Joker's cinematic epic "Stuck In The System", with its moody string like melodies, and insanely thick bass warble and cool synth pulses, Cyrus's warbly Eastern tinged "Indian Stomp", October's super spare, dubbed out minimal "Euro Dance Hit" which is anything but, Loefah's clattery dubdronescape "System", not to mention a whole bunch of minimal Pole style digidub jams on disc 2.
Absolute bass bliss, and divine dubstep dreaminess, although not so much dreamy as dark, but still, WAY WAY recommended. Definitely one of our new favorite electronica comps, dubstep or otherwise...
The title for this compilation of gloom 'n' groove bands, "Death Before Disco" is a loaded historical allusion dating back to the late '70s, when rock purists held an irrational, fascistic antagonism toward the culture of euphoria and leisure that disco offered as a legitimate alternative to the American hegemony of straight, white-boy rock'n'roll. Well, with Princehouse themselves claiming that this compilation "represents where Princehouse is coming from and what we're into" (i.e. electro-punk dance bands who often exhibit plenty of disco slipperiness), "Death Before Disco" is an ill-fitting title to an otherwise good (and well-timed) compilation of mutant, death disco with tracks by Adult., I Am Spoonbender, The Pattern, The Numbers, The Vanishing, Ghost Orchids, Gogogoairheart, A Tension, Hint Hint, Dance Disaster Movement, The Pleased, The Lovemakers, Broker / Dealer, Paradise Boys, and Kill Me Tomorrow. Most all of the tracks had been featured on other albums, giving it a sort of K-Tel feel; but the curatorial decisions work well enough in favoring the infectiousness of rhythms dolled up with black eyeliner and plenty of artworld / designer-drug attitudes, typified by the excellent cuts from The Vanishing and Dance Disaster Movement. The compilation noticeably detours with two blue collar rock'n' roll cuts from The Pattern and The Pleased, the latter sounds *exactly* like The Strokes. Those strange additions aside, "Death Before Disco" is worthwhile medicine for those waiting for another fix of Fisherspooner or The Rapture.
MPEG Download: VANISHING "Black Umbrellas" [/audio/dancedisastercestlavie.mp3]
MPEG Stream: VANISHING "Black Umbrellas" [/audio/dancedisastercestlavie.m3u]
A few months ago, we presented the debut quartet of releases from AQ-pal Drew(cifer) Webster's new record label Dielectric. Four stylishly packaged 12" vinyl eps from four diverse, mostly-unknown but excellent sonic architects. Now those four are back, together on this cd, each contributing four tracks apiece -- a total of ten new cuts along with one or two tracks per artist that already appeared on the eps. The disc starts of with Akta Ebtekar aka Sote, who prior to his Dielectric release had already gained some attention with a disc on Warp. Actually two of Sote's cuts are credited to Virgox, Ebtekar's collaboration with Safar Bake. Sote/Virgox produce crunching, stuttering beats and computer melodies -- it's like dance music constructed from the sampled sounds of a mad scientist's laboratory. Definitely in the vein of much Warp/Rephlex/Tigerbeat6/Ambush label material.
Next up is wunderkind Carson Day, operating in an electonica realm not far from that of Sote, but more mysterious, mellow, and pretty -- less house, more home (with headphones). His broken beats, distorted melodies, and digital fuckery meet up with some hiphop flavor on the standout track "Get Hurt" which makes good use of a vocal sample repeating the title phrase. On the evidence of Carson's four cuts here (only one comes from his 12"), he's a match for the likes of Chris Clark, Matmos, and Lesser...
The next four tracks are from Die Elektrischen, the man we know better as Drewcifer. Sure it's his record label, but his music dispels all ideas of a vanity production. It's good stuff. Like Sote and Carson, he brings the beats too, but is much more on the percussive-distorto-drone-extreme side of things. Crinkle, crackle, crumple. There's hints of Merzbow beneath the surface, yet this remains quite musical. Early Scorn meets Philip Jeck meets DJ Scud? Well deserving of his nifty black metal styled Die Elektrishen logo designed by Wrest of AQ black metal faves Leviathan.
Last up is Karen Stackpole, perhaps the most left field entry of these four -- she's no laptop or turntable jockey. Her first track is entitled "Gong and Cello #2" which will give you an idea of the sound: percussion and string drone. We could throw around some descriptive catagories like experimental, Mills College, academic, 20th century avant garde, improv... or we can just say that her stuff is really, really nice. Creepy yet lovely.
Basically, this a great comp, programmed perfectly -- Stackpole's tracks make for fine wind-down at the end after all the electronic/elektrik tracks. If you've already got the vinyl eps you need this too for all the new cuts. If you don't have the 12" records, get this, and if you like what you hear and you have a turntable, then you'll know what to do! We're definitely looking forward to hearing more from these artists -- are full lengths in the offing? -- and to future Dielectric discoveries as well. And we're definitely not saying all this just 'cause Drew's our friend, he'd be the first to tell you that'd be unlikely. Recommended!
Besides being a delightful tribute to '60s electronic pop music pioneers Bruce Haack, Esther Nelson and their Dimension 5 record label, this is also a benefit to raise funds for autism charities. This boasts super-cute graphics, but unfortunately there's very little in the way of liner notes, so for those of you who are unfamiliar with the world of Haack and Nelson, you'll have to do a little or a lot of your own research (perhaps check out the Haack - The King Of Techno DVD released earlier this year). One thing that you should know though is that it appeals just as much to the wee tots as it does to the grown-ups who've chosen a... ahem, chemically altered listening experience. Some of the covers remain faithfully within the realm of the Haack/Nelson's kitschy child-view while others venture out on their own personalized trippy excursions. SF's Oranger's rendition of "Catfish" sounds amazingly like veteran good time popsters Young Fresh Fellows, while Beck's version of "Funky Lil' Song" sounds amazingly like Beck. The star-studded list of participants also includes Stereolab, Money Mark, Apples In Stereo, Tipsy, Eels, Irving, Fantastic Plastic Machine, DJ Me DJ You, Brother Cleve, Geoffrey Owens & Mary Christopher, Anubian Nights, Blue-Eyed Son, The Stones Throw Singers, From Bubblegum To Sky, Chris Kachulis, and Danielson Famile! Pretty neat!
We're always on the lookout for killer dubstep compilations, like most UK electronic music genres, the really great stuff ends up being released mostly as 12" singles or even impossible to track down white label dubplates, so often we look to folks who might just be able to get their hands on the best of the best, and hope that they're willing to share the wealth, more often than not in the form of a banging mixtape. Which is exactly what this is, courtesy of beatmaker/producer Diplo, a seriously banging, bass heavy dubstep mixtape that KILLS. The sounds and styles vary, but almost all the tracks here rule, our favorites being the ones with that relentlessly buzzing bass warble and stuttering big beats.
DZ's "Down" is is the perfect example, a shuffling hiccupping big beat is defined almost entirely by HUGE slabs of buzz, warbly, rumbling, wheezing basslines, sometimes more than one, and constantly being sped up an slowed down, changing the rhythm and the pitch and turning the song into a dizzyingly dense bass dub jam. Doctor P's "Sweet Shop", begins life all bouncy and ravey, with soulful female vox, but after 30 seconds, the track switches gears and sloooows way down, and becomes this dubbed out bass heavy creep, rife with buzzing synths, and whistle like melodies, all wound around some of the fiercest electronica we've heard in ages. And did we mention the bass? This is the sort of shit we'd pump if only we did in fact possess a booming system.
James Blake, who has been getting hyped a lot lately, but who we had never heard, takes a more Zomby-ish tack, a sort of retro eighties pop, but rendered woozy and warbly with processed vox, squelchy synths and heavily effected bass buzz. Dubstep legend Benga of course does not disappoint, after a tangle of high end synthy squiggles, launches into some awesomely twisted bass warble driven skitter. Rusko is another one who starts out with some soft focus radio pop, all diva driven and warm and swirly, only to pull the rug out, and send us tumbling into a swirling psychedelic dubbed out bass synth blowout, only to eventually slip right back into that breezy electronic soul pop. So fucking great. And there's loads more dubbed out bassy goodness, tracks from Ginz, Major Lazer, Diplo himself, Zomby, Untold, Rudi Zygadlo and more more more...
We've been waiting for this one with all kinds of excitement and anticipation. The always eclectic and forward minded folks at Tigersushi have compiled one of the more intriguing and rewarding comps of recent times. Digging deep into the vaults of the slow and drugged out side of disco's past they have miraculously connected dots that we always dreamed would finally be joined together. Dirty Space Disco brings together folks from the more avant and krautrock worlds like Roedelius (of Cluster), Conrad Schnitzler, and Clara Mondshine, setting their tracks up alongside disco luminaries and obscure dance floor burners from Sylvester, Fern Kinney, Odyssey, Undisputed Truth and more. This is all about the moody, seductive and way late night side of disco.
We've been big fans of the current movement of artists tapping into this seductive sound (Lindstrom, Chromatics, Prins Thomas, etc.) but we're so happy to have the blueprints and origins of those sounds all on one disc. Though he's not included in this collection we know Arthur Russell would be so happy to see this disco / avant-garde match up finally happen. We're in love with so much of this comp but it's pretty much worth it alone for Sylvester's "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight" one of the greatest spaced out disco gems of all time, from his amazing Stars LP which came out in 1979 and features the innovative production of Patrick Cowley, one of the unsung heroes and pioneers of the San Francisco electronic/dance scene.
Luckily just about every other track is just as fantastic. This collection has been at the top of the charts on KUSF (our local college radio station, where both Irwin and Andee have shows) ever since it went into rotation and it's no surprise because it's the kind of collection that easily wins over folks who thought they just weren't into disco just as much as it pleases those of us who are huge disco freaks!! Highly recommended!
About a year ago we wrote about a 12" split of a couple of Wackie's tracks that were both amazing in their own ways. The A-Side was Horace Andy's "Musical Episode", an extended 12" mix which is probably one of the best disco mixes we'd ever heard and the B-Side was an absolutely bizarre extended mix called the "Wack Rap" from 1979 and featuring some completely off kilter impersonations of the Sugarhill Gang. Well, Dis-Joint records, the fellas who released that 12", have put together a nice compilation of tracks featuring the aforementioned along with several singles -- new and old -- that their label has released. Now the vinyl-ly challenged can also join in on the enjoyment of these two tracks and then some. There's quite a few rare tracks here, including an instrumental mix of Ronnie Gee's "Raptivity" from 1980, Zap Pow's reggae homage to Kool & The Gang "Lottery Spin" recorded at Dynamic Sounds way back in 1976, plus some new dance floor cuts inspired from the old school by the likes of DJs Cool Chris & Romanowski, Ben Cook & Deep Fuzz, Dub Diablo and more.
Oh how we've adored the Germans' take on various musical styles over the years, and we're not just talking about their obvious kosmiche krautrock brilliance. No, it's German musicmakers' handling of the more unexpected genres that have deepened our love affair tenfold. The hip '60s kitten heeled go-go pop of the In-Kraut compilations? The spaghetti (er, sauerkraut?) westerns of the Wig Wam Weste(r)n Weisse Wolfe collections? Yes and yes! Those two genres are unquestionably more commonly associated with French chanteuses and American cowboys, so the unmistakable German inflections that surface always make for a delightful twist on the familiar.
Now Marina Records, who brought us those In-Kraut comps, takes it (or is it retakes it?) to the dancefloor with this compilation of German disco and funk music circa 1975 thru 1980. They're not messin' around. This is straight-up boogie wonderland business. Awesome.
Some highlights include the 8+ minute Supermax track, a lowdown I'm so sexy unstoppable groover... the Giorgio Moroder studio band Munich Machine's classic "Get On The Funk Train"... and a disco-era hit from In-Kraut alumnus Peter Thomas and his Sound Orchestra... among 15 other mainly killer, glitterball dazzlers. Now, if the weird thing is, this isn't really that weird. Heck disco's even back "in" now. Don't go expecting krautrocky craziness, instead just get yer dancing shoes on and yer ass in gear. Seriously, this has been getting spun in the store by AQ staffers just as much or more than anything else lately, and when it's on we've been getting our work done with just a little more groove.
Includes a 14-page booklet of informative liner notes, with such interestin' tidbits as that Berry Lipman's track "Sex World" was used as the theme song for an American porno film, but originated as an instrumental from the German sci-fi TV series Star Maidens...
The past few years have been good to disco. Somehow it's managed to rise above its mucky kitsch value in which it had become historically mired. The popular conception that it was just a mess of ridiculous clubs jamming The Andrea True Connection packed tight with sequins and cocaine is apparently not wholly true. Not every club played Andrea True. But amidst the silly outfits and copious drug use, there were some fantastic songs and artists that expanded on the innate dance potential within funk and soul. As the ubiquitous cowbell and 4/4 rhythmic pattern of disco spread across the world like a glamorous plague, different regions seemed to add their own take on the dance phenom. Perhaps most notably were the Italians. Ah, even in pop culture, where would dance music be without the bassline arpeggiations of Giorgio Moroder? The clearest trademark of much Italo Disco, along with the synthetic drum sounds, and the overall spacey, futuristic bent. That is to say, there was a specific sound that became relevant and distinctive. And while this compilation really does have some amazing songs - like the semi-obvious "Now Baby Now" from Kano - not every song really does a good job at conveying what it is that makes this very recognizable genre what it is. Moreover, even as a disco collection, there are some notably weak moments. For instance, Revanche's "1979 It's Dancing Time," with b-rate, throw away choral vocals that cheaply hint at the Philadelphia sound. Not to mention the insanely dated and just plain cheesy title. Then there's D. D. Sound's "Burning Love," a secondhand version of the wonderfully sleazy, inventive Rinder and Lewis work that earmarked the AVI sound from LA - geez, will someone reissue that stuff?! There is a booklet inside, which is fairly informative, if not a little self-serious. An example is contained within the first paragraph where the author of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life," Bill Brewster, very boldly claims that if not for Italo, then "dance music would have remained decidedly more monochrome and house music would almost never have happened." We're going to say that Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles might disagree a bit. Sure it was definitely an important chapter in dance music history, but let's not get completely carried away. Okay, enough of the negative aspects. There are some great songs on here that are totally worth owning, like Kasso's "Brazilian Dancer." What an amazing song! Totally in the vein of French group Voyage's completely epic and timeless "I Love You Dancer." Bands like Daft Punk and Phoenix can just send them a thank you letter and royalties at any point in time. So, completists will want this, but maybe it's not the best starting place for someone just working their way into this type of music. Although if you're a big fan of disco already, then you have probably been searching for one or more of these tracks at some point.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Wow! As if the Tony Allen reissues and the stellar Club Africa compilations weren't enough, the excellent UK label Strut has undertaken to compile a look back at the early days of *underground* disco when disco was an outgrowth of both New York punk and "No New York" proto new wave. This record is fantastic. It is ass kicking stripped down disco with no affectations and no stupid fashion victim Saturday Night Fever synth action to muck up the groove. Wailing JB's-style horns, chiming guitars and staccato bass, all backboned by totally organic percussion that makes you think "fucking kick ass live drummer" instead of "hmmm, good drum machine programming". Sure, this music has been sitting around for years and most of you have probably heard a track or two contained here, but Strut's stroke of genius has been to compile these tracks *together*, coming as they do from seemingly totally disparate groups who don't (to our ears today) share much in common -- from Yoko Ono (a track she began remixing on the day John Lennon was killed) to Liquid Liquid (the classic "Cavern", whose bassline was stolen, er, appropriated by Grandmaster Flash for "White Lines")... to Bill Laswell, Ian Dury, Steve Miller(!) and Don Cherry(!). The pages and pages of liner notes do a lot to bring these artists together in a musically logical sense, and I have to say that the Loose Joints track "Tell You (Today)" is hands down my fave single of the year -- thank god for "Disco No Disco" or I never would've heard it (we put almost the whole seven minute track up on the website so you can hear it in all its glory -- it starts in one place and ends up in quite another and you're not quite sure how you got there but you're glad).
If the word "disco" makes you cringe, get ready for your world to change. And if you thought that band !!!'s record funkified your indierock life, they ain't NOTHING compared to "Disco Not Disco".
P.S. Someone really needs to tell Neil Hamburger he sounds exactly like Steve Miller on "Macho City".
Strut is back! After releasing 2 amazing comps of the finest in underground leftfield disco and post-punk dance rarities, Strut called it a day. This was heartbreaking news as we were hoping Strut would become a stalwart reissue label like Soul Jazz or Numero Group. Miraculously, they have defied the odds and with the help of K7! and risen once again, hopefully to stay around for awhile. And with their return comes this third volume from the always exciting Disco Not Disco series. Billed as Post Punk, Electro and Leftfield Disco classics from 1974-1986, the bulk of the cuts are heavier on the eighties side with classic tracks from Shriekback, Quango Quango, Material and Konk. But also with rare leaps into Belgian and German territory with Liaisons Dangereuses, Kazino and Gina X performance (which due to an 11th hour dispute may or may not really be a Yellow Magic Orchestra track). Vivien Goldman and Delta 5 represent classic late seventies British post-punk while a Kid Creole remix of James White and The Blacks "Contort Yourself" offers a breezier twist on the New York scene favorite. The proto-disco fusion groove of Isotope is the earliest and our least loved track, but the white hot store favorite status goes to A Number Of Names' "Sharivari" and The Pop Group spin off project, Maximum Joy's minimal dub winddown "Silent Street / Silent Dub". So Killer! Strut's essential comps do not stay in print for very long so don't miss out on the first of 2008's awesome party jams!
How could we resist a disc with cute lil' bitty lo-res computer graphic zombies on the cover? We couldn't! Disco Undead is a theme compilation, an electro tribute to horror movies, especially the Italian '70s and '80s gore and suspense variety, as directed by maestros like Argento and Fulci. So of course you should expect some Goblin worship, and you get it with Bangkok Impact's version of Goblin's seminal Profundo Rosso theme, here titled "The Pianist And The Reporter". Not only that, but the theme to Suspiria also gets covered as well (Solenoid's "Suspiriorum"). We've gotta say, though, that it is just a little weird/lame that Goblin themselves are credited nowhere on this! It's a tribute after all, so why not give credit where credit is due? Other artists/tracks include Gigue's "Fulci's Rotting Children", Negative's "Cannibal Sluts", Orgue Electronique's "Le Notti Del Terrore", Legowelt's "Season Of Samhain" and Porn Darsteller's "Holocaust" among others. Movie themes are plundered and re-interpreted, beats get dropped onto spooky incidental music, and much inspiration is taken from the stylishness of these campy slasher flicks. Just imagine if John Carpenter made electro/techno dance mixes...kinda like his theme to Friday The 13th. Creepy keyboards, distorted computer voices, zombie-plodding rhythms, soulless textures, all good stuff! It's true that some of this comes off a bit like electro elevator music, but that's the case with a lot of the original horror scores as well, which are eerie and sinister mainly due to context, not content. After all, a lot of the best Goblin is more funky than frightening! Anyway, this is a perfect fit for the already-retro electro approach, and that Profundo Rosso version is a classic!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Let's hope that nobody confuses this compilation with any of the "Documenta" shows, as there is really nothing in common with this compilation and the massive art exhibit in Kassel, Germany. Rather this is the second in a series from Agenda (the avant-rock subsidiary of UK house label Peacefrog), featuring "some of the finest moments in the movement of modern acoustic and electroacoustic grooves." What Agenda means by such half-baked lingo is the groovier side of post-rock, and has gotten together a pretty good sampling from the Hausmusik crowd (Lali Puna, Tarwater, Tied + Tickled Trio, and Notwist), plus cuts from Mum (the Icelandic, not the German band), Labradford, Calexico, American Analog Set, Windy & Carl, Mice Parade, State River Widening, Bergheim 34, Re, and Savath & Savalas. It should be noted that while some of these tracks are qualified as "rare," nothing's unreleased or exclusive.
Alec "The Destroyer" Empire, fed up with the Berlin scene, returned to the New York DHR offices and rummaged through the huge box of demo tapes from numerous underground and largley unheard American artists. These three jam-packed discs feature 35 of those
A follow-up to Sub Rosa's "Folds & Rhizomes" tribute to philosopher Gilles Deleuze, this time with the original participants (an electronica who's who: Main, Scanner, David Shea, Oval, Mouse on Mars, Tobias Hazan) remixing each other's contributions to the (quite excellent) first compiliation, and in so doing somehow exploring Deleuze's ideas�
In all of its shapes, forms and incarnations we do love dub! Whether it's vintage dub from Jamaica, or more contemporary sounds channeling dub through electronics like the Basic Channel camp and the new wave of dub-steppers. There is just something so intoxicating about the reverb, the echo, that seductive pulse that pulls you in and makes you never want to leave. Soul Jazz has struck gold once again with a two disc collection that brings together the best sounds of dub in many of its incarnations from the past and the present. In lesser hands this could come off as some haphazard hit and miss intersection of music spanning several decades, but what has made Soul Jazz a label to trust so much when it comes to reissues and compilations is what great taste and understanding they have of making records that flow and make sense as a whole.
A record like this is perfect, combining the world of dub's pioneers and those who are now carrying the torch into the future. Dub was always such a futuristic and forward thinking movement as artists like King Tubby, Bunny Lee, Prince Jammy and Lee Perry found ways to turn the studio into a full on sonic time machine, a musical instrument unto itself. So along with tracks from those pioneers there are also folks like Kode 9, Harmonic 313, Roots Manuva and Disrupt, who have taken from the blueprints of that holy grail of dub and found new ways to make those echoes reverberate with such sizzling delight. Highly Recommended!
PS there's a Soul Jazz Films dvd also entitled Dub Echoes that came out when this did, we have it in stock too but haven't had a chance to view it yet, should review it soon...
Three way split between Small Rocks (a.k.a. Matt Wand of Stock Hausen & Walkman), The Rip Off Artist (a.k.a. Matt Haines) and Atom (a.k.a. Senor Coconut a.k.a. Uwe Schmidt) with each contributing four original tracks. As the title would lead one to expect, the three irreverent plunder-tronicists take on Jamaican dub for this project. I guess it had to happen eventually. While the myriad cheese farmers of electronica out there "pay homage" to the genre (the final installment of Select Cuts From Blood & Fire that we listed on the last AQ newsletter to present an example), it seems only appropriate that the jesters of electronica should have their day in court as well. Oddly enough, the three seem to take a lasseiz-faire attitude (in comparison to their usual output) when applying humor to the pieces presented here. But, unlike the Select Cuts series, the fellers here are not directly referencing tracks -- these are not remixes in even the most remote sense, but original compositions that are about as "dub" as you would expect any of them to be. To this end the rhythms and bass lines are all appropriate to the genre, but the palette of sounds are not. Of the three, Atom Heart tends to approach the task at hand with possibly the greatest sense of familiarity with the genre being decomposed. Where Small Rocks and The Rip Off Artist seem content to merely applying their palette of sounds to a virtual MIDI dub template, Atom Heart has the knack of pulling out all the iconic elements of dub and smashing them back together. With Atom, the grainy edge of decaying tape delay is looped and treated like King Tubby might ride the fader on a vocal track with reverb or delay. In other words, treatments in which the effect is paramount and the source becomes inconsequential. I can only hope that these (Atom Heart tracks) are trial runs for a future Rather Interesting release. The relative success of the artists here might be attributed to how much time each spent on these tracks. Glancing at the inside of the booklet, The Rip Off Artist apparently got his tracks recorded just last month (September of 2002) and the other two in August. Seeing as how it's only mid-October now, and they obviously had to get this thing mastered, have artwork made, the whole thing produced, and sent to distributors before reaching our digs, that doesn't leave much time for schlepping tracks together in the studio.
Number eight in this ongoing series, where various dubstep DJs and producers, put together sets of their favorite 12"s, creating killer mixes featuring the cream of the dubstep crop. The last few volumes seemed to be moving in a weird direction, toward a more mainstream strain of 'bass' music, but this one is back to business, featuring Distance, who for his mix is focusing on the classics, the jams that are the cornerstone of his DJ sets, which of course means a whole bunch of his own tracks, all of which kill, but also classic jams from Skream, Cyrus, Benga, and loads more.
We're long past the point where we're trying to win over new converts to dubstep. If that This Is Dubstep 2011 didn't convince you, then hell, we're not sure what will. But if that comp was the best dubstep comp EVER, which we so boldly proclaimed in the review, then this one would have to be in the running to place. At least. It's definitely not as weird, or all over the map, but what it is, is dark, and hard and heavy, this is some seriously sinister dubstep, the tone ominous and sinister, the bass thick and fat and distorted, the beats heavy and hard, the soulful vox kept to a minimum, a continuous mix of low slung bass heavy dancefloor destroying dubstep with some of the HEAVIEST bass ever, that huge speaker rattling warble that threatens to blow your woofers, it's everywhere, pulsing and throbbing beneath all manner of skitter and shuffle, with some of the drops absolutely devastating, you can understand how mental crowds must go when some of these get spun in the club.
If you're a fan of this strain of dubstep, the hard and heavy and dark, then this is exactly what you're after...
The idea behind this series through Tranquility Tapes is simple enough: present collaborative works from the far reaches of the cassette underworld of synthwranglers. For the most part, the resulting sounds are grimy, crystal-powered oceanic washes of deep listening synth churnings cast through the necessary filter of stoned tape hiss, slumped meanderings, and low-wattage recording techniques; and for the most part, all of these projects seem wholly obscure. There's no information other than a name like Cream Juice, Dozens, or Roped Off to go on; and cursory searches don't provide any clues whatsoever, although many of the projects have some affiliation in some way shape or form with the cassette imprint Orange Milk, which as of the posting of this review is as enigmatic as most everything on this tape. The one thing we do know about is Coyote Image Revisited, which is the collaboration of Rachel and Grant Evans of Hooker Vision fame and their numerous solo projects (Rachel's Motion Sickness Of Time Travel being the most well known), and who deliver a piano and tape fragment collage akin to any number of William Basinski's loop mantras. Other highlights include the tape-loop hypnosis of gong vibrations and Zoviet-France like tricks from Perspectives, the wheezing minimalism of Urkas and the weirdo radiophonic blorping from Cream Juice. Pro-duplicated edition of 150 copies on a 60 minute tape.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Double cd compilation featuring stretched out tracks heavy on the sitar, tabla and ethno-ambient vibe, if you know what I mean, featuring Talvin Singh, Bedouin Ascent, T-Power, Rhys Chatham and more. This is a recent AQ-bestseller, due to repeated instore play by Marc who thinks it's brilliant, and not due to Windy and Andee who don't get it, and Allan's too busy listening to the most highly-anticipated black metal album of the summer. Choose your salesperson accordingly!
This is a compilation from Economy, the new breakbeat/drill & bass subsidiary of the dark ambient label Manifold. With such notables as Justin Broadrick, Mick Harris, and Neil Harvey appearing under various pseudonyms and in various combinations, expect devastating dub production, fractured two-step drum & bass, and an overall malevolence.
Volume twa! Or at least that's how the pronunciation sounds, yeah our French sucks here but that never kept us from leaving work sore from chronic head bobbing and rabid fist thrusting. Okay maybe not that extreme, but it's like our own mini rave here at aQ whenever this is bumped. Yep, it's the third installment of much hyped French imprint, Ed Banger Records. More pumping electro from the masterminds behind the more commonly used term, "the French touch" and a very consistent example of the description.
Within this compilation the Ed Rec roster explore new ground and take some unexpected yet intriguing attempts at chopping the hell out of samples, synths, and vocals, and turning them into full on grueling disco-house anthems. But not ALL of it's that jump up, dancey, semi-rave hype shit, they tend to unveil more of their hip hop roots this time around with the likes of label frontman, Busy P's number, "To Protect and Entertain" a collab with Murs from LA's underground hip hop troop The Living Legends, including a simple yet arduous analog synth melody rolling over boosty drum patterns to accompany Murs' simple yet catchy raps. Along with Spankrock's rap appearance on the indie-rave thriller "Back it Up" by Feadz, as well as new predominately hip hop label signees DSL, who deliver a new twist to French rap with "Find Me a World". But of course the majority of the artists shine most with their dancefloor thrashers and grinding synth driven tunes that we've grown to love. Veteran Mr. Oizo cooks up more of his signature punchy and spastic sample chopping techniques, horns and all, with everything in its right place to produce a bouncy yet fun rhythm. Then of course there's Sebastian who delivers a mind fuck of a track, "Dog", sampling, yes, a black metal tune and cutting it to shreds, guitars, screams and all, delivering a punishing yet addictive, sweatdriven "banger" that we like to call "metal house" if we may...(yeah we said). While Dj Mehdi delivers his blissful disco composition "Pocket Piano", not necessarily for the dancefloor but amazing "groove" music nonetheless! Simply put, Ed Rec 3 is a well rounded hype machine that's bound to work wonders at any given party. Truly one to check out!
We often feel like we're totally out of the loop when it comes to dance music. And as if to prove that point, every once in a while we'll randomly stumble across a disc that totally kicks our ass, only to realize, that the world at large had already been hyping said disc to death. Such is the case with this second comp of far out futuristic electro weirdness from Ed Banger Records. We sort of just picked it up on a whim (some AQ folks were already hip to it, we're not all dance music squares) and were immediately smitten. Wild and fun, funky and funny, heavy and fuzzy and if the person writing this review actually danced, this disc would have had him out of his seat like a shot.
No need to do a total track by track run down, as every single song here is a killer, a few names we knew, most we didn't, but the sound is crazy. And fucking awesome. It's like the music of LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, but supercharged, injected with youthful energy and punk rock snottiness, peppered with more distortion and buzz, fucked up beats, off kilter loops and samples, but remaining totally hooky and danceable.
Some of the best tracks:
The killer dis track "Dismissed" from Uffie, a killer slab of seriously foul mouthed electro nastiness using a bastardized version of what sounds like Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" as the main loop, but it's all about the vitriolic invective, what sounds like a nasty teenage white girl awkwardly rapping and spitting all sorts of goofy playground insults.
Ultra hyped next big things Justice who do their best Daft Punk, and offer up a super damaged cop-show block rockin' beat workout with machine like rhythms and cool crumbling synthy bass lines and awesome glitched out buzz drenched synthesized riffage.
Krazy Baldhead who come closest to Jones Machine for sheer mindless electronic bliss, throbbing synths, bouncing bass, another track that sounds like some futuristic chase scene.
Sebastian, who offers up a blast of ultra distorted beats, weird blown out fuzzy loops, the whole thing chopped and hiccuping like some radio with bad reception or a turntable with fuzz all over the needle.
We could go on and on. Needless to say, every time we play this in the store folks go nuts for it, and even some of the dance music phobic we know have been rocking this like crazy! Some of the other folks on the comp: Mr. Oizo, DJ Mehdi, Mr. Flash, Feadz, Busy P, Klaxons, Fancy and Vicarious Bliss.
Way recommended.
Fact 1. This album was recorded in two hours. Fact 2. This album does not feature any music from Terre Thaemlitz, Ekkehard Ehlers, Thomas Brinkmann, DJ Spooky, Scanner, or Noto. Fact 3. This album represents the 'idea' of those artists as reduced down to 'one-trick musicians.' Fact 4. This is crap. Fact 5. Assholes at ArtForum will probably try and tell you otherwise.
It would be one thing if the anonymous 'artist' behind this atrocity of post-modern posturing had decided to parody electronica or legitimately attempt to translate one form of music into another (i.e. Zeitkratzer's orchestral recapitulation of John Duncan's shortwave compositions). Instead, "Edition Kunst Plays" is a collection of hurried audio scribblings that may have begun as a sarcastic comment on the ubiquity of these artists; but these re-interpretations are so clumsy, so clunky, so unlistenable as to render any dialogue with the original artists irrelevant. For example, Noto's work has been reduced down to an unprocessed sinewave firing at regular intervals and aimless pitched up and down for a couple minutes. Any sense of Noto's sublime use of rhythm with a perfectly controlled post-techno context? Any sense of the beauty within crisp lines and sharp turns? No fucking way. Sure DJ Spooky, Terre Thaemlitz, et al. deserve to be mocked and humiliated for their own insipid post-modern posturing. But they can do that on their own.
One of the worst albums of the year.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
"Electric soul for rebels" -- two volumes of electronica. Contributors include Zulutronic, Alec Empire, Techno Animal, DJ Vadim, and plenty more.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Abstract hip hop operated by Alec Empire, DJ Spooky, Spectre, DJ Vadim etc.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The fourth in Mille Plateaux' series of advanced electronica comps, and you can't argue with the lineup: Techno Animal, DJ Spooky, Alec Empire, Panacea (thrice!), Spectre, and more. "Electric soul for rebels."
This is another Reader's Digest compendium from Mille Plateaux that inevitably features Kid 606 and brings together the diaspora of the contemporary electronica spectrum under a singular heading. Here it's "ClickHop" (ugh), a term to describe the Hip Hop
Back in stock! (And, also, when we reviewed this a few weeks ago, we spaced out and somehow listed it under the title of Electro Grind Holocaust, which is a totally different comp on the same label, whoops!)
For those of you who just flipped over our recent Record Of The Week selection the Drum>MachineGun compilation, and want MORE crazed drum machine grindcore insanity, this other collection entitled Electro Grind Gore Compilation should also be of interest! It's slanted a bit more toward the underground and obscure than the Drum>MachineGun comp, and also more towards the porno/gore obsessed side of this bizarre metal/punk subgenre -- a subgenre that features, as displayed here, razor sharp spastic guitar riffage, techno dance beats, belching death metal grunts and growls (some so subsonically extreme that they sound like bubblings from below the earth), non-sequitorial samples (often offensive and, um, humorous), and lots of bleepy bleepy bleargh distortion and noise. There's a unexpectedly high catchiness quotient, in spots, but these tracks are definitely utterly maddening at the same time. It's kind of a "chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter" deal with the electro danciness and the harsh splattermetalgrindnoise in collision. In fact, it's kind of unclear just who this sort of music is supposed to appeal to: we can't imagine techno fans digging all the noise and gore, and we didn't think so many metalheads liked techno-dance beats -- but I guess we were wrong! Of course we like it, so...
Electro Grind Gore contains 28 tracks from 17 bands, most of whom we'd never heard of before. Some names: Atomik Surfing, Shunt Incision, Basket Of Death, Vomitrone, Skrotum, 666.Porn.Star, SMES, Posthuman Worm, Absurd God, Tourette Syndrom, Firbrosarcoma... A very international line-up indeed, the bands hailing from Brazil, Japan, Mexico, France, Croatia, Holland, Germany, Panama, Spain, Australia, and Italy. It's a veritable World Cup of sick underground electro grind! While here at Aquarius we're better versed in black metal, doom, and "true" metal, if we ever do decide to turn this drum machine fueled electronic grindcore deviancy into an AQ specialty, we'd definitely start by tracking down more stuff by the bands on this comp!
One of two new Medical Records releases on this week's New Arrivals list, this one the first ever Medical compilation, gathering up a collection of extremely rare singles in conjunction with the like minded Crispy Nuggets blog. Electroconvulsive Therapy gathers up five rare singles, both the A and B sides and tacks on two super obscure compilation tracks. Fans of Medical Records will no doubt be thrilled by these obscure gems, and like most Medical releases, we can safely say we'd never heard, or even heard OF any of these. Up first is The Electronic Circus, who hail from the UK and feature Chris Payne, who played on Gary Numan's Pleasure Principle. The sound here is much more synth poppy though, female vocals and swirling synths over pulsating rhythms and pulsing percussion, the B side though is much more strange, at least contextually, just stately solo piano, wreathed in reverb, and laced with subtle synthiness. Up next is Psychic Youth, from Boston, both sides of their only single, originally released in 1982, the sound is more cold wave, frosty female vocals over minimal synthwave, the B side featuring male vocals, but otherwise sonically similar, arpeggiated step sequenced synths and stripped down programmed rhythms. Then there's another UK band, this one going by the strange moniker Aaaah...!, their sound classic eighties synth pop, moody and minor key, with dramatic crooned vocals, the B side warped and woozy and squelchy, and definitely the more twisted of the two.
Then there's Shazam, another obscurity, whose A side sounds a bit like Depeche Mode via Men Without Hats, swirling synths, and skittery programed rhythms, and a main melody that sounds lifted straight from another classic song you'll no doubt recognize, the B side more stripped down and spacey. Finally, the last complete single is from Claude Arto, he of another outfit recently reissued by Medical, Mathematiques Modernes, the A side another purloined classic melody, here wreathed in bleeps and bloops and squelchy synths, while the B side is all crunchy distorted synths and tangled melodies. The comp tracks come from N.A. Pop 2000, whose song is a moody slab of dark electro pop, complete with some really cool, weird female vocals, dramatic and affected, and Berliner Strasse from Yugoslavia, who adds some guitar jangle to woozy, bloop, bleep synths and some super icy, male vox, the whole thing fantastically woozy and warped.
Fantastic stuff for sure. Medical Records obsessives will definitely want, as will anyone into rare synth pop and vintage cold / new / synth wave weirdness. Super deluxe packaging as always, the vinyl pressed on 180 gram paint splatter transparent green vinyl, housed in a heavy, full color jacket, and like most things on Medical, very, very limited!
We hadn't heard of DIEM before, but the title - and the cover art of a couple dozen VU meters in action - whet our curiosity. Turned out to be an awesome collection, of just what it says, a curated selection of electronic music produced at the Danish Institute Of Electronic Music (originally the Danish Institute Of Electroacoustic Music), since its founding in 1987: everything from conceptual, computer processed droneworks to the skittery scribble scrobble of abstract IDM beatscapes. Some pieces hold to a more traditional, academic 'musique concrete' aesthetic; others venture into ambient, 'lower case' laptop electronica realms. Both old and new stuff flow together well (the tracks are arranged in alternating chronological order, going both forwards and backwards, so you get a piece from 1988 followed by one from 2012, then one from 1989, 2011, etc.), and all are pretty great, seeing as how they were able to chose some of the best from 25 years worth of avant-garde output. Almost all tracks are exclusive to this box, which is enjoyable for what it contains, while also serving as a sampler of sorts to the works of a host of hitherto unknown to us electronic musicians that we now may have to track down other releases by. We hadn't previously heard of most of these artists, though many are presumably well-known in academic circles and/or in the European electronic music scene - some in fact being award-winners in Scandinavia.
$11.98 is certainly a "nice price" (perhaps subsidized by the Danish government?) for this, considering what you get - two cds in cardstock sleeves accompanied by a thick 30 page booklet, stuffed inside a hinged-lid cardboard box, a handsome little package indeed. The booklet contains several in-depth essays detailing the Institute's history, providing an account of all the (at the time) state-of-the-art recording equipment and computer music-making gear and software they acquired and discarded over the years, while pointing out the irony of how the rise of home PC recording rendered obsolete not only a lot of their studio's expensive machinery but also affected an aesthetic change in electronic music, where glitch and noise were to be valued rather than technologically scrubbed away. Many pages of the booklet are further devoted to providing information about each individual track and composer found on the discs. And there's photos too, some good retro gear porn for anyone into that sort of thing (you'll see the Otari MTR-90 24-track analog tape machine that was DIEM's pride and joy in 1987, and from where those VU meters on the cover come; and we're especially we're partial to the photo of the Macintosh Plus computer, circa 1988, hooked up to an Emulator SP-12 drum machine and Emulator II sampler).
Rather than provide a list of unfamiliar names, we'll just mention a few favorites amongst the 20 tracks here. There's the constant-pitch drone of "Tunnel Vision" (1995) by DIEM director Wayne Siegel, the percussive onslaught and processed sound collage of Rasmus Lunding's "On Learning How To Kill" (2002), the playful mad scientist bleep and bloop mixed with sampled chamber strings of Fuzzy's "Electric Gardens And Their Surroundings" (1989), the amazing vocal experiments (from inhuman gutturals, to Yoko Ono or Bjork like babble) of Line Tjornhoj-Thomesen on her 13+ minute "Lauria" (1998), Puzzleweasel & Richard Devines's quite IDM-ish "Mad Bonce" (2008), the blissfully-blown-out whoosh of Vectral's "AC-3" (2007), the piercing, dramatic drones of Anker Fjeld Simonsen's "Octav III" (1988), the noisy/melodic mashup of Hans Hansen's "Passaics Monumenter" (1998) - and we could go on. Well worth picking up!
The second in the series of squiggly early electronic pop rarities from the 60s from Bruce Haacke, The Mindexpanders, Harry Breuer, Gil Tryhall (featuring a cut from his "Switched On Nashville" album of electronic hillbilly weirdness), Fred Weinberg, amongst others. Just like the "Love Peace & Poetry" series, "Electronic Toys" is packaged with the idiosyncratic pin-up photos of Bunny Yeager; after all sex sells.
