December 1998In the "golden" days of the disco circa 1978 or so there began a definite split in the direction the various pundits of the genre would take. Most would be guided by their labels to take a direction appealing to the already willing masses. But other artists, the godfathers of today's techno and trance, would take the more imaginative path. Some names that immediately come to mind are Cerrone, Moroder, and Cowley. Another name is TELEX. These guys were the original French imports to the dance floors of the world. There were many of us who found an aesthetic respite with each release from Telex when the savvy DJ of his day would work them into their set. Telex "I Don't Like Music" on Boumtchak/SSR UK is a Volume 1 of some of the best remixes of any artist from the early days of club music. There are two offerings here that make the whole package worth the price of admission, the16B remix of "Beautiful Life" and the Glenn Underground remix of "Moskow Diskow." All eight tracks on this album are club ready, these two tracks just stand out as stellar examples that could make it into any set. 16B apply their usual complex, classy polish that produced an outstanding peak-hour slammer. "Moskow Diskow" as interpreted by Glenn Underground will make you forget those Carl Craig mixes, "...fantastique." The rest of the versions pretty much take on a very progressive/esoteric slant. Ian O'Brien takes a percussive, minimalist approach to the title track, "I Don't Like Music." "En Route pour de Nouvelles Aventures" gets a French house, abstract treatment from I:Cube, as does "Raised by Snakes" as mixed by Shake. Buckfunk 3000 retain a lot of the original charm of "Peanuts" but with a breaky big beat flavor. The remixes of "Soul Waves" by Pulsinger & Tunakan and the Auto Repeat mix of "Eurovision" are both trance gems. This package is essential. While we're on the subject of the 80s, GROOVEZONE do a very nice job with "Eisbaer" on the Belgium label Red Alert. Originally released by Grauzone in the middle 80s it was one of those German "electronic" songs with the hallmark monotonal German lyrics and vocals about a polar bear -- don't ask just "touch my monkey." DJ Dan actually found the "Hard Mix" on this release and it was one of his "secret weapons." This column should be the last one to dwell in the past so lets jump ahead to 1991, when The ORB release their ground-breaking "Little Fluffy Clouds" on Island Records complete with those memorable Ricki Lee Jones spoken-words about the clouds in Arizona. With the release of the double CD "U.F.OFF" compilation, the best of the Orb's great music is here in one great package. "Little Fluffy Clouds" was not the first Orb release but it is the first remix from this new anthology. The remixes in this double pack are stunning. Danny Teneglia takes the track on two vastly diverse trips. The stand-out is his "Detour" mix. This powerful version will take us all well into 1999 with its full-on twisted tribalism. His "Downtempo Groove" has the same intensity, except downtempo. Pal Joey's "Cumulo Nimbus Mix" takes the track into a nice down-tempo jazzy house realm. The "Tsunami One" remix turned out by Adam Freeland is an interesting down-tempo jump-up affair. The final mix, the "One True Parker Mix," by O.T.P & Jutta Law is a fierce, straight-up drum & bass stormer. I suppose there must be a small nod to the good taste of Volkswagon for using this classic in the advertising for the new Beetle. Following the still-in-demand "Rain" is "Sunrise" by WET DREAMS with KENARD on Twisted Records. Culled from the upcoming Twisted compilation "From Dusk to Dawn with Twisted (in the dark we live)" this track is for those pre dawn moments, especially with Cevin Fisher on the boards. Fisher's strongest version is his original mix with classic builds and breaks. Rick Phifer provides an early evening, garage mix featuring more jazzy keyboards and an overall rambling funky feel. 95 North offer a surprisingly tech-dub version that drives the track a little harder than we might have expected from these boys. NINA SIMONE has been sampled into many a house track and tapped from the most is her song "Feeling Good." HUFF & HERB did a fairly good track with it about a year or so ago. Now it has been re-released in the UK on Planet E with new mixes. The original mix did just snip in bits of Simone's vocals, the new Curtis & Moore Vox mix sounds more like a remix of Nina's original song than of Huff & Herb, respect to them for that. This version comes off as a full-on vocal house track, much better than the "circuit-y" other versions. For those purist Nina Simone fans who would even disapprove of this fine house interpretation there is a new compilation of her finest moments, "Nina Simone -- The Masters" on Eagle Rock. "To Love Somebody," "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," "Here Comes the Sun," and "The Look of Love" are just a few of the classics on this album. Sadly, "Feeling Good" is not amongst the selections. It's always a pleasure finding out about good new labels from our own shores. Earthtones Recordings has launched their label with a bomb, NATURAL RHYTHM "The Jive EP." This track has it all from a driving beat with percolating percussion to enticing vocal snippets that "Yeah, Yeah" and "Got to Be Free" as all the while building layers of keyboards drive you to the climax. I rarely feel the need to acknowledge packaging -- I believe it should always be a primary consideration after the music -- but Eathtones lovely embossed sleeve and colorful label deserves recognition. Speaking of new labels, Pink Music offer their debut from under the Strictly Rhythm umbrella. G-TRON "One Day Lover" is an outstanding first outing, produced by former Basement Boy Maurice Fulton. There is a full, sexy vocal from Jakie Sangster on the straight-up house vocal mix. Albert "One Rascal" Cabrera does a very nice breakbeat version. Charles Webster goes the deepest with his "Love from San Francisco" mix; we can always count on Webster's seductive touch. Speaking of Mr. Webster, his PRESENCE project "Sense of Danger" finally gets its official release on Pagan UK. This release was previously reviewed in this column when only the advanced single sided original mix was sent out. This splendid release featuring the vocal talents of Shara Nelson is now in its full glory as a double pack of mixes. Pepe Braddock pulls it off with a minimalist approach, stripping the track down to bare essentials. Highlighted are the organ stabs and kick, he then adds a funky guitar, filters, and fazing. Attaboy give "Sense of Danger" a whole new, up-front soulful attitude with a funky vibe and dreamier keyboards. Furry Phreaks lighten up the whole tone of the song, which even make the vocals seem as though they had been rerecorded. All of these mixes are strong and certainly expand this tracks accessibility, I still think the original mix is the strongest with its overall sexy moodiness. BLAKKAT follow that great double pack "Fear of a Blakkat" with "Full Circle" on Shaboom UK. Mark Bell writes and produced this track with our own Doc Martin on the mix. This track taps into the Bohannon arsenal with a heavy dip into "Let's Start the Dance," keeping that phat bassline intact. This track is worked over by Doc giving up that slammin' west coast house flavor. THOMAS BANGALTER finally follows up his wildly popular "Trax on da Rocks" with "Trax on da Rocks II" on Roule France. The three cuts are in a similar tone to the first issue and quite the opposite realm of his Stardust project (thank god). As with the first one these are unique and challenging tracks. There are filtered disco effects with lots of off-key analog synths and tech house treatments. THE CARLOS SANCHEZ MOVEMENT "Flying High (Got to Keep On)" gets released on Maxi. This track has power coming from three different angles. The full original vocal mix has Carlos Sanchez's fantastic voice wrapped around a very inspiring lyric and a pumping house rhythm. Paul Simpson turns in an energized "disco delight" and lastly Joe Claussell and Boyd Jarvis take the track on an almost thirteen minute excursion through Nu Yorica with a Spiritual Life flavor. There are two new ones out through Waako Records that deserve some attention, D-MONSTA "There's Some Disco Fans Here Tonight" on Episode Records and "Salvation EP" by MEMPHIS GIANTS on Dental Records. D-Monsta is Robbie Rivera (one of the busiest guys on the boards recently) and Richard F. This is the debut release for Rivera's own label Episode. This track burns rubber and do not expect a typical "disco" sample fests. It does give a disco flavor but backed by full peak-hour energy. We all like that funky feel but more often that not the sound gets regulated to either very early or not at all, everyone will be cutting this one in when the sweat is pouring. 68 BEATS which is aka Robbie Rivera has had several out recently; "The Scream" on Play It Loud has been the best yet. You may be able to discern by the title this track is intense with a capital "I." Rivera has quite comfortably nestled himself somewhere between Junior Vasquez and Danny Teneglia's (well I don't know how cozy that might be) knack, the hard tribal sound. Of course there is a crowd-enticing "scream" that interlaces the hard beats and works it over the top. There are three variations on this theme, but then there is a surprise "Robbie's Groovy Mix" that turns this track 360 into a very deep garage piece that you wouldn't expect from this hard beats meister, very cool. The Memphis Giants aka Vito Benito rallies a double a-sided treat on this EP. "Salvation" is a funky hard pounder with vocals from Chyna. Although this is very tracky with minimal vocals Chyna keeps it sounding "fresh & sexy." "Junkie" is equally powerful with a bit more of a funky tech-house attitude. Nikkie V. does the vocals here, she was the voice on the seminal "Sugar Is Sweeter" by CJ Bolland. There is a real funky treat in store for all who pick up the new one from P Funk legend BOOTSY COLLINS, "Party Lick-a-Bles" on Black Culture UK. The "Rubber Band Man" is really back on track with this phat release. Norman "Fat Boy Slim" Cook does all the producing and remixing and it couldn't have been in more qualified hands. Don't expect a hashed-out house version (although that could work on the part 2 remixes), this one is down and dirty, giving us "da funk" for the new millenium. JOFF ROACH "See Inside for Details" on the Dutch subsidary of Jiinx, Smoke Free, is a huge scorcher. This one has a big display of production with a pumping 4/4 that could peak out any floor. This tech-houser also has numerous layers that offers a lot of punchy disco basslines and trippy noodling to hold your interest throughout. From Rocky & Diesel's Low Pressings label is the new one from the stars of the stable, Peace Division. "Over & Over/The Music I Like" is another dose of quality production. Both tracks are insidiously edgey with a deep quality throughout both tracks making this release as much for the house heads as the tech monsters. For all that have followed the Sense series the newest addition is SENSE 5 "Korben Dallas" (I guess someone besides me liked 5th Element). This release is a slight departure from the previous four, but it is just as worthy of your attention. Following a more soulful jazzy path #5 is a late night groover that would be a very stylish way to cool down, with numerous filtered horns and distorted sexy vocals. There is a lot bang for your buck on POWER TRAXX "EP" from Big Big Trax. There are four "A" sides on this great EP. DJ DUKE begins the set with a punchy, moody late night affair "Get It On." Duke has been progressing lately in the best possible way. This track has some very familiar samples, but no not Marvin Gaye, it some early 90s thing that my "trainspotting" talent can't come up with. I like when that happens; familiar yet out of the common catagory of samples. It does have some coaxing vocals of "get it ons" that work very well. Second up is our own RICK PRESTON & BILL WILLIAMS with "Into Your Soul" with fantastic vocals from Kimbraily Evans. Why haven't we heard from this gal before! Evans definitely has diva potential. This is finally the direction we would all like to see Rick Preston go into, a punchy soulful straight-up house track. It has all the jazzy undertones that he has been working on his tracks of late, however this one really puts it across. The jewel in this set. The third and fourth up are both beautiful groovy tracks not unlike some of the better Glasgow Underground releases. "Something Special" and "High" are both written and produced by Jordan Fields and Nate Williams. If you have been keeping up with these guys you will not be disappointed. EARTH VOLUME 3 is out and if you were impressed by LTJ Bukem's first two installments this will be an essential drum & bass purchase for you. Released on a glorious 5 LP set and single mixed CD with yet again another fine array of artists including: Odyssey, Artemis, Big Bud, Bjorn, Tayla, Intense, Blame and of course the man himself. Send review material to: |