SYNTHESIS Issue #6
In this issue:
Music News
Remix News
Reviews
808 STATE ALERT!! Manchester's most
notable techno innovators, 808 State, are back on the scene with the release of some
long-awaited new material. They've just issued a follow-up to their new "Bond"
track with another single taken from their recent "Don Solaris" album (see this
issue's Reviews section). The new single
"Azura" features guest vocals by Louise Rhodes of Lamb, and will appear in a
couple of different forms -- there will be a two-CD set including a jungle remix by
Dillinja on the first disk, while the second disk has an 808 State remix of another album
cut called "Joyride" and the previously unreleased track "Goa", and
the 12" vinyl offers a new mix of "Balboa" (also from the "Don
Solaris" LP ) as a bonus track.
The collaborative recording by Mike
("U-Ziq") Paradinas and Richard ("Aphex Twin") James is now officially
released. The album (which is accurately entitled "Expert Knob Twiddlers") by
Mike & Rich is out on the Rephlex label -- but that's not all..... Paradinas also has
two new releases out from his Jake Slazenger project -- there's an album called "Das
Ist Ein Groovy Beat, Ja?" as well as the "Nautilus" single on the Warp
Records label -- while The Aphex Twin contributes remix duties to an EP by the novelty
lounge music act The Mike Flowers Pops called "The Freebase Connection" which
also contains the Mellowtrons, Luke ("Wagon Christ") Vibert, Slang, Funki
Porcini, and Perry De Chico mixes of their song "Freebase".
Depth Charge's J. Saul Kane emerges again with two
more 12" offerings. From his experimental electro project The Octagon Man comes
"The Rimm" EP on his own Electron Industries label, and he also provides a Depth
Charge remix for the "Red Tape" single by Agent Provocateur.
UK house-turned-experimental act Spooky are back
with new material on their own Generic record label. They follow up their well-received
"Stereo" EP with the 4-cut "Shunt" EP (featuring the tracks:
"Shunt", "Area 39", "Concussion", and "Falx") and
then comes their second full-length album "Found Sound", featuring the track
"Fingerbobs" which is also out on 12" with remixes by Dave Angel, Doi-oing,
and Spooky themselves as well.
UK ambi-industrial bass cadets Autechre release a
new EP under the guise of their Gescom project. It's called the "Motor 1-4" EP
and is out on the Source label.
The genre-bending collective known mostly for their
ambient recordings and remixes as Global Communication venture into house music on the
recent single from their spinoff act Secret Ingredients. Called "New York, New
York", it appears via their own Universal Language (formerly Evolution) label.
Joey Beltram has had a busy release schedule lately,
with a new album "Places" and single "Instant" for the Berlin-based
Tresor label as well as a new single for the Warp label called "Believer" by
JB3. He also does a remix of "Bang The Acid" by Damon Wild on the "Synewave
New York Vol. 2" EP, which also features Mark Bell from LFO.
Both members of LFO have been turning their
attention toward releasing more of their own material. Jez Varley's G-Man project releases
a full-length album "Kushti" on the SWIM label, while Mark Bell's Speedjack
project gives us the "Surge" album on Belgium's R&S Records. Mark Bell also
serves up remixes for Ian Pooley's "Chord Memory" on Germany's Force Inc. label
as well as the Hardfloor single "Strikeout" from the German Harthouse label.
Hardfloor have released a 'concept album' of acid
techno and weird wobbly funk beats taking their inspiration from the game of baseball. The
album is called "Home Run" and all the tracks are named after various aspects of
baseball, including the track "Strikeout" which is available as a single with UK
remixes from both The Surgeon and Mark Bell.
Harthouse Records sister label Eye Q has started yet
another division to re-release some of their classic tracks in the UK and are calling it
(as you might guess....) Eye Q Classics. Among the titles on offer is a reissue of
Brainchild's "Vol. 1-3" singles as a 12" double-pack and Cygnus X's
"Superstring". Eye Q also has an EP of remixes out for "Vernon's
Wonderland" by Vernon, featuring remixes by Carl Cox and Bill & Ben, as well as
the original Sven Vath mix, and a previously unavailable mix by Laurent Garnier..... Also
of interest to Harthouse/Eye Q followers: Sven Vath and Stevie B-Zet have composed the
complete score for a new German film called "The Cold Finger".
HARTHOUSE UPDATE!! The latest list of
releases from the U.S. branch of Harthouse/Eye Q Records:
Der Dritte Raum (aka The Third Room) - Trommelmaschine Remixes 12"
Earth Nation - Live CD
Freddy Fresh - Salt 12"
Hardfloor - Home Run CD
Patrick Lidsey - The Phat Jive CD
Patrick Lidsey - Phat Jive 12"
Planet Jazz - Flying New World CDS
Various - Behind The Eye Vol. 3CD
Various - Dark Hearts 1 & 2 (2-CD set) [re-issue]
Various - Harthouse 100 CD
Various - Pacific Rhythm: The First Wave CD
The Orb releases a two-CD set collecting many of
their remix outings done for other artists together in one package called "Auntie
Aubrey's Excursions Beyond The Call Of Duty". It is out on the Deviant label, a
spinoff of the Volume magazine/ compilation label (responsible for the "Trance Europe
Express" CDs, among others) and comes with a detailed book, as is the usual format
from this company. Included in this collection are remixes of Material, Killing Joke,
Keiichi Suzuki, Zodiac Youth, Primal Scream, Ready Made, Wir, Yasuaki Shizumi, Yello,
Innersphere, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Sun Electric, Maurizio, Time Unlimited, Paradise X,
Pop Will Eat Itself, and Love Kittens.
U.S. ambient guitar group Tortoise have embarked on
releasing a series of remix EPs, taking their music into a more danceable dimension. The
first EP is called "DJed" and is produced by U.N.K.L.E. from the UK trip hop
label Mo Wax. Following this on the Mille Plateau label comes the Tortoise Vs Oval
"Music For Workgroups" EP, featuring the cut "Learning Curve" which is
a remix of their entire last album....!
Indie dance/rockers Black Grape are the recipients
of a somewhat unusual remix treatment (unusual for them, that is) at the hands of the
master jungle artist Goldie on their single "Fat Neck"..... Hmmm, who ISN'T in
line for a jungle remix these days, you have to wonder....!
Things get stranger and stranger..... A band who you
might imagine to have no no dance affiliations whatsoever - Metallica(!) - surrender their
new single to the mercy of Moby and The Chemical Brothers. Presumably a result of the
surprise success of the Die Krupps release "A Tribute To Metallica", this new
beast is entitled "Until It Sleeps". In related news....Moby also comes through
with a very good remix for Smashing Pumpkins on their "1979" single.
Dave Clarke also benefits from The Chemical Brothers
remix treatment on his hard trip hop single "No One's Driving" (not to be
confused with the old John Foxx synthpop tune!) which comes backed with a Robert Hood mix
of "Wisdom To The Wise". Dave Clarke also provides a remix for the "Theme
From Mission Impossible" single by U2 bandmembers Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen,
which also has remixes from Junior Vasquez, Howie B, Goldie and Rob Playford.
A Guy Called Gerald releases new remixes of his
early techno classic "Voodoo Ray". These '96 versions feature production from
Alex Reece, Lionrock, and Gerald himself.
Former eccentric glam-popsters Roxy Music have one
of their best known songs rebuilt for the modern dancefloor with a new release of
"Love Is The Drug". Remixing duties are performed by Rollo and Sister Bliss on
this proto-disco classic.....
Tori Amos goes under the knife (sonically speaking)
of the house-doctor, Armand Van Helden, on her track "Professional Widow". This
track is featured as a bonus cut on the recent "Hey Jupiter" single. The
12" vinyl release also featues B.T.'s Synethasia mix of the song "Talula".
The stylish gothic-indie-alternative rock outfit
Babylon Zoo undergo a radical transformation from legendary DJ/producer Arthur Baker on
their single "Animal Army", which is an interesting - although quite far removed
from the catchy original - version of the song. Also, on the flipside is a groovy
progressive house version of their first hit "Spaceman" which works very well
indeed.
REVIEWS
MEGALON'S REVIEWS (#6)
808 State - Don Solaris (on ZTT/Warner
Music) ---- U.S. release
On this album 808 State continue their tradition of blending lush atmospherics and
melodies with a diverse range of unpredictable (and sometimes downright oddball) elements
-- no all-consuming rave monsters to be found here, but rather a more mellow mood made
mainly for a home listening environment is the priority....with just enough twists and
upsets to keep things confusing (of course!). The rhythms here are going in a distinctly
jungle-oriented direction although they're kept in a relatively subservient role within
the mix, with the hardest and strongest dance cut being "Balboa" which is also
on the 12" version of their soulful jungle single "Azura". Most of the
tracks have a smooth crystalline feel to them, as exempified by the excellent
"Jerusahat". There's still room for things to go a little bonkers however, as on
the weird jumble of "Banacheq" and the earlier single "Bond", which
starts off sounding quite pleasant and innocuous before they deliberately bugger the thing
up with some ponderous guitar sounds and the unusual vocal stylings of one M. Doughty
(from the band Soul Coughing). As you can see it's definitely not what anyone would call a
straightforward techno album - and you can be sure that's exactly the way they want it -
so, if you're interested in hearing something a bit different then here it is.....
_1 ) Intro
_2 ) Bond
_3 ) Bird
_4 ) Azura
_5 ) Black Dartagnon
_6 ) Joyrider
_7 ) Lopez
_8 ) Balboa
_9 ) Kohoutek
10 ) Mooz
11 ) Jerusahat
12 ) Banacheq
Etnica - Alien Protein (on Blue Room) ----UK
release
Etnica is one of a number of artists to suddenly fall into the spotlight with the surge
of attention that has surrounded the whole Goa Trance phenomenon. Following up their album
"The Juggling Alchemist", they return with slice after solid slice of prime
Goa-style sound which diverges only for one moment of ambience ("Deep East")
before the slowly building final cut. Included among the other tracks is their single
"Party Droid" although they all work equally well to very similar effect --
futuristic head-tripping trance....keeping you within the same cerebral sphere, but
altering the trip as you travel through it with different textures and building /
collapsing layers of sound. Of special note is the astounding production quality of the
music here, which is truly state-of-the-art. Both newcomers and diehard followers within
the Goa scene should be very pleased.
_1 ) Screaming Butterfly
_2 ) Chakra Active 8
_3 ) Party Droid
_4 ) Z-Plane Sunrise
_5 ) Microdrive
_6 ) Starship 101
_7 ) Deep East
_8 ) Trip Tonite
Various - Three A.D. (on
Waveform) ---- U.S. release
This album is basically a repackaging of the "Ambient Dub Vol. 4: Jellyfish"
CD from the Beyond label in
the UK, except that it replaces four of the cuts (and two of the artists) with alternate
selections which make this one a slightly more upbeat version than its counterpart in the
increasingly chilled-out UK series of Ambient Dub releases. Anyone already familiar with
these albums will know that they are home to most of the pioneering artists in this style
of music, with a sound that is rather spacey and cerebral but with enough rumbling bass to
make you want to keep the volume up loud. Fans of the dubbier side of The Orb or the
Planet Dog label artists should be very interested in this, although people looking for
the more danceable part of this scene might want to start with the earlier releases -
especially "One A.D." or "Ambient Dub Vol. 2" (although "Ambient
Dub Vol. 1" also contains a couple of essential classics). This newer material is a
little more ambient and a little less dub, but still very good. Highlights include
"Skank" by Higher Intelligence Agency, "Lighten Up!" by A Positive
Life, and Coldcut's "Sign".
_1 ) Real Life - Shark Infested
_2 ) Higher Intelligence Agency - Skank
_3 ) Sounds From The Ground - Drawn To The Woman
_4 ) A Positive Life - Lighten Up!
_5 ) Another Fine Day - In 7
_6 ) Coldcut - Sign
_7 ) Spacetime Continuum - Oracle
_8 ) Insanity Sect - Solar Prophet
_9 ) The Starseeds - Regina From The Future
Brassic Beats - Trip Hop All Funked Up (on
Skint/Moonshine) ---- U.S. release
This collection of trip hop from the Skint label for the most part eschews the funky
jazz vibes that are typical of most UK labels in favor of a more electro-techno approach
(not necessarily a bad thing at all...! ) that is gaining momentum with many North
American DJs. As such, it forms a sort of companion disk to Moonshine Music's other U.S.
trip hop releases, such as "Hardhop & Trypno" and the "Trip Hop
Test" series. An interesting variety is presented overall, with some dance-friendly
(yet atmospheric) cuts, along with some more twisted and deconstructed beats which are
likely to engage mainly your head rather than your feet. All things considered, this is
definitely one of the stronger titles from the Moonshine label to date. Highlights include
"Santa Cruz" by Fatboy Slim, "Bung" by Midfield General, and Leuroj's
"Rainchant".
_1 ) Fatboy Slim - Santa Cruz
_2 ) Hip Optimist - Anafey
_3 ) Midfield General - Bung
_4 ) Leuroj - Rainchant
_5 ) Bentley Rhythm Ace - Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!
_6 ) Req - Razzamatazz
_7 ) Cut Le Roc - We Rule
_8 ) Midfield General - Brassic Beats
_9 ) Midfield General - Worlds
10 ) Fatboy Slim - Loops For Lindy
11 ) Req - Req's Garden
12 ) Bentley Rhythm Ace - This Is Carbootechnodiscotechnobooto
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