|
Good news for Canadian Source Direct fans. The 6 track "Controlled Developments" EP, a collection of the three original 12"s recorded for the British Science label, is now available from coast to coast courtesy of Caroline and Page (http://www.pagemusic.com). And if you've already bought it as an import from Astralwerks (http://www.astralwerks.com) in the States, you'll be happy to know that the new u-Ziq release is available simultaneously on both sides of the border. The eight tracks chosen for Mike Paradinas' follow up to last year's "Lunatic Harness" were voted on by websurfers, not that you'd notice anything strange about this EP. MP is still cranking out eerily warm melodies and causing a racket. Later in the month, look for the "Qeuvre" LP from Q-burns' Abstract Message, a collection of early singles and some unreleased treats. Tranquility Bass collates the many remixes from the "...Freak Flag" album one EP, "Beep", and Q is back again with the "Feng Shui" LP. Those who are into the SD sound will want to check the dark drum ‘n' bass of the Sound Sphere label. Their recommended new ones are the "Abduction"/"Fight" 12" from E- Sassin and his team up with R.A.W. for "Soundstorm"/"R U Afraid?". Lots of spit, grit, and no polish, unless it's you carving a spot on the venue floor. British rappers Krispy unveil two tracks off their forthcoming "From The Country" full length. Previously known as Krispy 3, the "Bad 2 Worse"/"Kick Up Dust" 12" (US Bomb Basic/Silent) (http://www.silent.org) is a refreshing change from the manufactured American look and sound and well worth investigating. More San Franciscan madness, this time from Three*Sixty as "Badder Bingo" features remixes from Tim "Love" Lee's incredible "Confessions Of A Selector" album. Sick and silly, sorta like a funky drunk who makes you laugh and won't hurt an ant. Triloka (http://www.triloka.com) has been super busy this year. "Trance Planet IV", put together by KCRW (Santa Monica/Los Angeles) producer Tom Scnabel, is all about world trance music. Music from Bosnia-Hertzegovinia , Senegal, Spain, Rajasthan, Sufi dervish songs, and others that soothe and thankfully expand our horizons beyond that to which we're accustomed. Find the vibe of Deep Forest and Enigma just a bit too saccharine? Tulku's "Season Of Souls" also uses indigenous music from around the globe but does so with a deft hand and much understanding. "Goddess" is remixed from the album by City Of Angels dweller Trinity (aka Steve Snow). Staying on the west coast, Jon Drukman's Bass Kittens project returns from remixing Freaky Chakra with the "One Leaf At A Time" EP. The Kitten philosophy is essentially the James Brownian "whatever I do, it's got to be funky". Electro, acid, and a bucketload of beats. Freddie Fresh and I-F come immediately to mind, so Drukman's in good company. "Fun For The Whole Family" sounds like aliens fed a diet of nothing but jazz and funk landed and their first captive was doppleganger Lord Runningclam. Lord who? Well, that's the guise under which former Electric Skychurcher David de Laski now operates. This Bottom Heavy (http://www.moonshine.com) EP is an appropriately titled mesh of the organic and the synthetic, the acoustic and the electronic. Plenty of break action and deep spoken words from Ken Norine on "Faces In The Night" and "Flibberty Jib" make this worth the search. Matt Chicoine's Recloose has signed to Detroit's Planet E (http://www.mich.com/ ~planete/). With a little help from Carl Craig, the result is the 5 track "So This Is The Dining Room". This is a revitalizing change as the label embraces the Recloose stew of lounge-acknowledging lopes, downtempo breaks, and a coop full of scratches. The rotten apple's Oxygen Music Works (http://www.omw.com) has never been scared of the eclectic. No other word could describe the four tracks on "Continuum". Martiniqan PPF and Tokyo's DJ Taro met in Manhattan while attending an audio engineering program and formed Lord Of Mercy. One rugged industrial piece and some laidback dub and ambient that's much easier on the ears is what they've composed. Rawkus (http://www.rawkus.com) is preparing for the July release of "Renegade Continuum 2" with Dara on the wheels again. Expect exclusive Renegade Hardware material, remixes from John B, Dillinjah, Optical + Fierce, and Technical Itch, plus a twelve or two from it. August oozes "Up Jumps Tha Boogie", a mixed piece of ten exclusive Pish Posh jumpers with plenty of turntablizm and some rocked hip hop acapellas. Watch this space for reviews. Orlando's Eighth Dimension (http://www.imusic.com/worlddom) has Pimp Daddy Nash back out on the street with the "Year Of The Pimp". "The Sixty Nine Affair" and "Private Leftfield Downtempo Fuzz" get the mix treatment in preparation for any evening where anything goes. King Kooba--"The Imperial Solution" 2 X LP or CD (UK Second Skin) Charlie Tate and Matt Harris have released four brilliant singles as King Kooba so it's only fitting that we finally wrench an album from this bunch. These boys know how to work a groove, melding 70s funk and engaging--not coffeetable--jazz to a drum ‘n' bass backbone. It's soothing and smooth for at home enjoyment with plenty of edge for the dancefloor. Soon come are the Klute mixes of their fifth single, "Brown Blood", plus an EP and album from Dogs Deluxe. Natural Language--"em:t0098" CD (UK em:t) (emit@msn.com) Nottingham's em:t consistently manages to amaze with each successive release. First on the shelves from them in 1998 is the Natural Language full length (look for the openmouthed ravenous baby bird covered disc). In design and musical content, em:t productions revel in the creative use of space. Natural Language's Hywel Davies creates an audio world and peppers it with scenes from a dreams-- the man who grabbed the bass at a latenite coffeehouse, remembered he wasn't a bassist, but gained instant knowledge--and echoes of what might or perhaps never will be ("Not Going Gently"). Tone Rec--"Pholcus" 2 X LP or CD (BEL Sub Rosa) "Pholcus" is the follow up to "Thugny-Trugny", Tone Rec's first album for Belgium's Sub Rosa label, and the "Halogen Street Lamp" 12" (which was given a "disco remix" by Robin Rimbaud's Scanner). This foursome of two men and two women have produced seven more tracks that one would, despite the slight presence of guitars and drums, hardly describe as conventional rawk n' rull. In fact, format has been quashed here and less is more has become the maxim. Picture the scene: you're lounging in the living room while Oval (the people known for creating pieces from the sound of skipping CDs) seeps through the walls from the neighbor's stereo. The window is open and you can just barely hear the garage band down the street as they tune up. Thankfully, their singer has stayed home, and the drummer's trying out some new fills. You close your eyes, and it's actually quite relaxing. Such is the sound of Tone Rec. Various--"Big Beat Conspiracy BBC 1" CD (US Pagan) (http://www.Ark21.com/Pagan) Journalists are stumbling over themselves to come up with names for the latest style as the beats keep growing in size. This compilation pairs brazen scenesters like Fatboy Slim ("Give The Po Man A Break") and Bentley Rhythm Ace ("Midlander") with subtler works from Jedi Knights ("Catch The Break" schools us on the importance of Grandmaster Flash) and Environmental Science. Yes, seven of these twelve tracks are North American exclusives, but why include Underworld's "Rez" and cashins like Chemical Brothers remixing The Charlatans and Death In Vegas suffocating St. Etienne? Is that the mentioned conspiracy? Various--"Endlessnessism" 4 X LP or 2 X CD (SWE Dot/US Silent) Ever play this party game with a group of friends: The first person thinks of a witty line, whispers it just once to the next participant who in turn does the same until the words finally come back to the original phrasemaker and the difference is compared? Dot's "Endlessnessism" is the sonic equivalent. As Sarilou, the label's Magnus Lindberg starts things off with a track called "Compactism". This in term is remixed and renamed by Quant, whose track is then mixed by Bedouin Ascent, and so on. Each artist, including the likes of Ian O'Brien, Endemic Void, Kirk Degiorgio's As One, and Funky Porcini, had to use in their new version at least one element of the track they were given to remodel. 15 takes later and Friend's "Mannerism" has the final say; this song will be used as the starting point of the next installment, to be released in March of next year. The Swedish imprint's logo is a magnifying glass examining a dot. "Endlessnessism" is all about seeing the beauty in the details we so often overlook. Take some time and give this release a thorough investigation. Various--"Magnetic Blue" 3 X EP or 2 X CD (CAN Interchill) With the increasing frequency of compilation releases, the focus seems to have shifted from the music to who can license the biggest tracks and who can get the name DJ of the moment to splice them together. Music and business are two words that should be able to coexist, yet often the later obliterates the former. Montreal's Interchill can only be accused of one crime, that of ambition, and listeners are only benefiting from the pairing of this with their stubborn desire to release only the best electronic music. If only the majors would take notice. Over the course of "Magnetic Blue" (20 tracks on double CD, 16 if you buy the triple vinyl version and advance EP) we are treated to brilliant pieces from Amsterdam, England, Berlin, the States, and plenty of Canadians. Legion Of Green Men, Dreamlogic, Adham Shaikh, David Kristian, and the rest of the North of the 49th bunch continue to rub shoulders with the best of them. The music ranges from dub to breaks to chillout to watery wonders that defy description. There's collaborations, music from artists just starting out, and acts with which you'll be familiar. A perfect companion to and ante upper from the label's "Northern Circuits" compendium, "Magnetic Blue" is astonishing in its caliber and a landmark achievement for a Canadian label and electronics in general. This is a must buy for all lovers and supporters of the music of our future. Cognition Electronics Top 15 1. Various--"Magnetic Blue" 3 X EP (CAN Interchill)(http://www.interchill.com)
|
