Artist: VARIOUS
Title: Dirty Vegas - Stealth Live!
Label: Harmless
Format: Mix CD
Released: Now!
Live recording of Dirty Vegas in DJ action in Manchester, rolling out their trademark breakbeaty house to a rapturous response. Thinking of the power of Orbital at Glastonbury 1993 and Jeff Mills’ ‘Liquid Rooms’ mixes, it’s surprising more people don’t record it this way. Although the idiotic MC who interjects here should give it a rest, even if his presence is heavily restricted.
Their own remix of 21’s ‘Death Metal Disco Scene’, with its clonking Peter Hook bassline and skippy, Basement Jaxx-y house beats rounded off with some truly debauched spoken word purred by an on-heat female, drops early and ups the pace.
It’s a perfect example of what Dirty Vegas have going for them - a drugged up sense of party fun, flirtations with dance’s culture’s messy side and a skill in taking their ideas to an almost but not quite ludicrous degree.
Other names contributing tracks include Santos, Mark Knight & D Ramirez and Adam Beyer, along with several of DV’s own productions, and if big room house music with a largin’ it attitude to match is your thing, this should be top of your shopping list.
6/10
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
ALBUM REVIEW: TASTY
Artist: VARIOUS
Title: Tasty Episode 1
Label: Electric Tastebud
Format: Mix CD
Released: Jan/Feb 2010
Shockingly one dimensional and unreconstructed breakbeat selection most notable for the inclusion of a handful of unremarkable tunes by Leeroy Thornhill of Prodigy fame.
Production that sounds like it was someone’s first effort on a cheap plug in studio, plus some attempts at early 90s Prodigy-style rave alongside equally cheap stabs at dubstep and garage all consign this to the creative dustbin.
2/10
Title: Tasty Episode 1
Label: Electric Tastebud
Format: Mix CD
Released: Jan/Feb 2010
Shockingly one dimensional and unreconstructed breakbeat selection most notable for the inclusion of a handful of unremarkable tunes by Leeroy Thornhill of Prodigy fame.
Production that sounds like it was someone’s first effort on a cheap plug in studio, plus some attempts at early 90s Prodigy-style rave alongside equally cheap stabs at dubstep and garage all consign this to the creative dustbin.
2/10
ALBUM REVIEW: FOUR:TWENTY MUSIC:03
Artist: VARIOUS
Title: Four:Twenty Music:03
Label: Four:Twenty
Format: Mix CD
Released: January 2010
House music never died for a reason - and this 27-track strong collection of undeniably loveable big and beefy tribal four to the floor behaviour.is a great example of why.
On paper this mixed waltz through the back catalogue of Bristol-based label Four:Twenty might seem anything but revolutionary. The fact its resident constructor Glimpse’s main claim to fame is featuring on Detroit techno originator Carl Craig’s Planet E label should give you a clue as to the strict adherence to a vintage blueprint of late 80s/early 90s house-verging-on-techno here.
But the real test is not on paper but in the CD drawer the prestigious line up including veteran underground names like Move D, Loco Dice and (Luke) Solomun makes for results which are in the main hypnotic, cunningly building,
7/10
Title: Four:Twenty Music:03
Label: Four:Twenty
Format: Mix CD
Released: January 2010
House music never died for a reason - and this 27-track strong collection of undeniably loveable big and beefy tribal four to the floor behaviour.is a great example of why.
On paper this mixed waltz through the back catalogue of Bristol-based label Four:Twenty might seem anything but revolutionary. The fact its resident constructor Glimpse’s main claim to fame is featuring on Detroit techno originator Carl Craig’s Planet E label should give you a clue as to the strict adherence to a vintage blueprint of late 80s/early 90s house-verging-on-techno here.
But the real test is not on paper but in the CD drawer the prestigious line up including veteran underground names like Move D, Loco Dice and (Luke) Solomun makes for results which are in the main hypnotic, cunningly building,
7/10
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
VAMPIRE WEEKEND WOULD RATHER FLEETWOOD MAC THAN JACK
Backstage gossip from Vampire Weekend's triumphant King's College gig last week
suggests that the band's trend-bucking obsession with Fleetwood Mac is far from over.
The American jiggy popsters may have dropped their cover of the Mac's 'Everyone' single, previewed at their Kentish Town Forum shows last year,
but Spikyben overheard singer Ezra Koenig telling a fellow ligger how he's been entranced by FM singer Lindsey Buckingham's obscure 2006 solo album 'Under The Skin'. "It's like a really weird sound he's got on it," he said, "all these really clean, precise sounds on it, it's totally amazing."
Check this track from the album to see the similarity, in guitar style at least...
So don't be surprised if you see Vampire Weekend ditching their trademark preppy look in favour of skinny black leather ties and mullets when their new album 'Contra' hits the shelves in January.
suggests that the band's trend-bucking obsession with Fleetwood Mac is far from over.
The American jiggy popsters may have dropped their cover of the Mac's 'Everyone' single, previewed at their Kentish Town Forum shows last year,
but Spikyben overheard singer Ezra Koenig telling a fellow ligger how he's been entranced by FM singer Lindsey Buckingham's obscure 2006 solo album 'Under The Skin'. "It's like a really weird sound he's got on it," he said, "all these really clean, precise sounds on it, it's totally amazing."
Check this track from the album to see the similarity, in guitar style at least...
So don't be surprised if you see Vampire Weekend ditching their trademark preppy look in favour of skinny black leather ties and mullets when their new album 'Contra' hits the shelves in January.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
SINGLE REVIEW: MISTABISHI
Artist: Mistabisi
Title: From Memory (Matrix remix)
Label: Hospital
Format: 12" vinyl
Released: October 26
I’m a big fan of Mistabishi - check out my previous post on ‘Printer Jam‘ - and Matrix too, but this trance & bass ‘anthem’ does absolutely zilch for me. Sickly, sentimental and generally over the top, it’s designed for some end of season Ibiza stadium rave where everyone‘s getting a bit melancholy because they‘re all going home soon. Boo hoo.
Better is b-side ‘I Feel Lol’, a sequencer-powered homage to Donna Summer’s ’I Feel Love’
with a touch of the meltdown middle of Lil Louis’ 1989 classic ’French Kiss’.
Unlike those two tunes, though, this is not necessarily essential, alas.
2/5
Title: From Memory (Matrix remix)
Label: Hospital
Format: 12" vinyl
Released: October 26
I’m a big fan of Mistabishi - check out my previous post on ‘Printer Jam‘ - and Matrix too, but this trance & bass ‘anthem’ does absolutely zilch for me. Sickly, sentimental and generally over the top, it’s designed for some end of season Ibiza stadium rave where everyone‘s getting a bit melancholy because they‘re all going home soon. Boo hoo.
Better is b-side ‘I Feel Lol’, a sequencer-powered homage to Donna Summer’s ’I Feel Love’
with a touch of the meltdown middle of Lil Louis’ 1989 classic ’French Kiss’.
Unlike those two tunes, though, this is not necessarily essential, alas.
2/5
ALBUM REVIEW: KRAFTY KUTS
Artist: Various Artists
Title: Krafty Kuts - Against The Grain
Label: Against The Grain
Format: 2x mix CD
Released: Dec/Jan 2010
There’s nothing krafty about Krafty Kuts - they wear their dumbness on their sleeves throughout this double mix CD. They’re usually filed under breakbeat, but with such an obvious love of hip-hop beats and poppy hooks, not to mention lyrical content which rarely progresses intellectually beyond the shaking of booties and the putting of hands in the air, this has its disgraced elder brother big beat written all over it.
While having been a huge fan of Fatboy Slim, Mekon, Les Rythmes Digitales and even some Propellorheads at the time, the world moves on and much of CD1 seems to be stuck in that era of beer spilling, block rocking party tunes circa 1996/7.
Thanks mainly to the considerable input of Deekline on CD2 things look up as we build to a cruching climax of ’Painkiller’ by Pendulum, Freestylers and Sir Real,
but overall there is a real dated, recycled feel to proceedings. Back to the drawing board.
3/10
Title: Krafty Kuts - Against The Grain
Label: Against The Grain
Format: 2x mix CD
Released: Dec/Jan 2010
There’s nothing krafty about Krafty Kuts - they wear their dumbness on their sleeves throughout this double mix CD. They’re usually filed under breakbeat, but with such an obvious love of hip-hop beats and poppy hooks, not to mention lyrical content which rarely progresses intellectually beyond the shaking of booties and the putting of hands in the air, this has its disgraced elder brother big beat written all over it.
While having been a huge fan of Fatboy Slim, Mekon, Les Rythmes Digitales and even some Propellorheads at the time, the world moves on and much of CD1 seems to be stuck in that era of beer spilling, block rocking party tunes circa 1996/7.
Thanks mainly to the considerable input of Deekline on CD2 things look up as we build to a cruching climax of ’Painkiller’ by Pendulum, Freestylers and Sir Real,
but overall there is a real dated, recycled feel to proceedings. Back to the drawing board.
3/10
ALBUM REVIEW: FABRIC LIVE - MAGDA
Artist: Various Artists
Title: Fabric 49 - Magda
Label: Fabric
Format: Mix CD
Released: November 16
Detroit techno scene stalwart and close affiliate of Richie Hawtin, Magda
delivers a multi-layered mix experience for Fabric that shows the words experimental and fun needn’t be mutually exclusive.
Taking her cue from vintage psychedelic disco act Goblin, whose trippy ‘Buio Omega’ gets an airing in re-edited form here, she opted to theme this mix around a 70s horror soundtrack, although personally I don’t remember any ‘Hammer Horror’ flick with great big, thumping techno beats all over it.
Spooky and tripped out it certainly is, though. With two or three tracks running at almost all times, ranging from 80s synthpop pioneers Yello‘s ’Heavy Whispers’ to spiky, cutting edge jack house from Christian Vogel. There are unreleased tunes from new artists mixed with a healthy selection of tracks from the vaults of the m-nus label which she co-runs and produces for.
So experimental, yes, and futuristically escapist to boot, but without the kind of furrowed brow seriousness that so often accompanies the tag.
9/10
Title: Fabric 49 - Magda
Label: Fabric
Format: Mix CD
Released: November 16
Detroit techno scene stalwart and close affiliate of Richie Hawtin, Magda
delivers a multi-layered mix experience for Fabric that shows the words experimental and fun needn’t be mutually exclusive.
Taking her cue from vintage psychedelic disco act Goblin, whose trippy ‘Buio Omega’ gets an airing in re-edited form here, she opted to theme this mix around a 70s horror soundtrack, although personally I don’t remember any ‘Hammer Horror’ flick with great big, thumping techno beats all over it.
Spooky and tripped out it certainly is, though. With two or three tracks running at almost all times, ranging from 80s synthpop pioneers Yello‘s ’Heavy Whispers’ to spiky, cutting edge jack house from Christian Vogel. There are unreleased tunes from new artists mixed with a healthy selection of tracks from the vaults of the m-nus label which she co-runs and produces for.
So experimental, yes, and futuristically escapist to boot, but without the kind of furrowed brow seriousness that so often accompanies the tag.
9/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)