April 2000During the meager music months around the holidays this column leaned heavily on really great full-length releases to fill the void. March music madness motivated me with a deluge of fantastic new single releases. All music reviewed in this column has been tested out in the field for club viability. I want to fit as many titles in this column as possible, so here is my set from last Friday night with annotation. OSUNLANDE presents BEATS DE LOS MUERTOS "Volume 1" on Yoruba Records was my first choice for the evening. I opted for "Cantos a Ochun et Oya," one of three excellent choices. Complex tribal rhythms drive this epic track, played on an assortment of acoustic percussion instruments. Vocals interweave throughout in a sing-song, South African township style which gives an authentic, ad-lib feel to the variety of voices. Very infectious. Full-on, jamming harmonica harkening to Stevie Wonder adds soulful warmth to the mix. FEMI KUTI "Sorry Sorry" remixed by Francoise Kevorkian on MCA was almost too obvious of a segue but it works beautifully in tone and theme. "What Will Tomorrow Bring," remixed by Joe Claussell, and "Truth Don Die," remixed by Kerri Chandler and Louie Vega with Kenny Dope as Nuyorican Soul (available previously only on very limited import 10"), are equally rewarding. DJ ASSAULT "Belle Isle Tech EP" on MoWax/Booty Wax (UK) is a prime example of what we can expect from this label in the future -- less esoteric but with more slammin' hooks. Picking from the three great tracks was difficult, I went for the Detroit funkiness of "Disco Guitar." This pick offers a tasty portion of bass lines and vocals culled from Curtis Mayfields' classic "Pusherman," taken from the "Superfly" soundtrack. The Peacefrog label UK have also taken a left turn with JOSH BRENT "Clap Your Hands." This selection is a lengthy builder that shakes it up with a DC "go-go" attitude. It's over ten minutes long but I couldn't mix out. The elements of sound keep layering until the very end, creating a taut energy. The next two from the UK on 20/20 Vision are remarkably compatible. THE HUGGY FACTOR "Tight Ass Jam" was a good transition piece, fuelled by extremely "tight," funky drummer snare and tom-tom work. Hooky vocal stabs of "move your ass, c'mon, c'mon" could control any dance floor. Weird acid doodling and blues-y sax stabs add special spice. DAVID DURIEZ presents PLASTIC MUSIC "Under Blister" follows with a slice of funky French house dominated by thick vibe-laden keyboards. "Under Blister" is unassuming but takes a twist midway through with insidious layering of "headz-y" elements, "I-defy-you-to-understand" vocal stabs, and swooshing synth washes. JUNGLE BROTHERS "Freakin' You" on V2 is at home in this funk-based set. The Buffalo Bunch mix may have been more appropriate to follow with its class-y French approach. But I am still hooked on the styling of Michael Moog's midtempo Monster mix with all of the "Bros'" psychedelic rock-ish insanity intact. This mix is not for the faint of heart due to its exquisite fuzzy-feedback guitar work. Stick with the Buffalo Bunch mix if you need your edges smooth. This song should position the group up there with Blink-182, R.H.C.P.S or Limp Bizkit, but with great remixes. LOOP FACTORY "Volume One" is a white label from the UK that is worth hunting down. Out of four delectable tracks, "The Funk" worked the best with its electro-sensibility and bounce-y, funk bass line. At first listen to HOUSE PROUD PEOPLE "Lonely Disco Dancer the Remixes" double-pack on Cross Section UK, I thought it was a compilation of seven different tracks. Each had such a dissimilar sound. I choose DJ Sneak's mix because of his aggressively disco/house-with-a-twist approach. Chris Simmonds, Tim Deluxe, and Dino & Terry all present equally strong versions. NO MILK "Theme" Capricious UK, a carnival-like drum track, is a useful bridge track when you need to bolster the energy. NORTH, INC. "Instant Funk EP" Forced Recordings (UK) is a useful four-track tools record. I opted for "What is Feeling?", always being a sucker for a track that knows its way around a classic Sylvester track like "I Got The Feeling." It has been done before, but this is nicely executed with a recognizable bass line, swirling, filtered disco-guitar, and Syl's "feeling, feeling" as the only vocal. OIL "The Future" Pagan (UK) gets down and dirty with a late-night Teneglia-styled grinder. Sinewy, sexy bottom is coupled with a studly pulse, you know the score. DON DISCO & JEREMIAH "Chemistry" Grow! (GM) carries the ball from Oil adding Grow! Warped-styling, a few strokes per minute, and a dominating slap to the downbeat. San Francisco's reigning maven of the boards, MIGUEL MIGS, has his first foreign release "Inner Excusions EP" through the UK's NRK Records. The four exceptionally phat tracks on this EP further reinforce Migs' already exalted reputation as the best the Bay has to offer. You could make some comparison to the best of Glasgow Underground, but Miquel adds the necessary kick and a lot more fun. "Infectious Groove" from Migs over-layed beautifully from "The Future" brings the set into an uplifting space. Sexy male vocal snippets decry "da music ... in-fec-tious." MUTANT JAZZ "Shades of Red" Twilight (UK) made for another useful bridge and the name says it all, "mutant jazz." Twisted jazz elements are chorused with catchy male scatting reminiscent of George Kranz, nicely bound with a rolling house rhythm. The only vocal in KLUSTER "Music Down" on Filtered is "music down, music down" and that made it appropriate as the next selection. The rubber-y bass line added a weird funkiness that can really hook a floor. Clearly the best of this lot is GTS featuring Loleatta Holloway "Share My Joy" on Artimage/King Street Records. It is always electrifying to hear Ms. Holloway belt out new material instead of the constant sampling of her voice into hackneyed tracks. Go straight to Bobby D'Ambrosio's "Osio Dub" and do not bother with the other mixes which I guess are supposed to be "commercial" (?). D'Ambrosio treats the Diva with the proper respect using a lush, classic sound that never seems retro. Loleatta's better-than-ever vocals are lovingly placed along side a well-suited, sophisticated version of this song that you would expect to hear from the "God-mother" of house. There will no doubt be a "part two" that will feature D'Ambrosio's full vocal version -- I just hope it doesn't come imported first. When I first heard of STEVE "SILK" HURLEY's "Jack Your Body 2000" on Silk Entertainment I had to moan -- at the same time I wondered why it took him so long to do it. My trepidation was unfounded because this release is totally on the "money." A lot of the new school DJs will jump on this for the original version offered here "digitally re-mastered & re-edited." It sounds great, with sounds I never knew were there. The "Silk's Y2K" mix brings this timeless classic into the new millennium quite neatly. Its beautifully recomposed deep house arrangement is sophisticated enough to follow "Share My Love" -- an apt coupling of legends. I only wish Mr. Hurley would add this kind of post-production work to the other releases on Silk Entertainment. The Bush Records associate label Boo Records (UK) has yet to let us down and SF EXPRESS "New Beginnings EP" is the latest testimony to their quality. "New Beginnings" is late-night club fare at its best. Simple in composition, all the elements are subtly applied within a framework of complex rhythm made most infectious with a variety of percussion. Provocative vocal stabs, male and female, are brought in at just the right moments to keep the floors glued. COMBUSTIBLE is a subsidiary of Chronobrain Records UK. Presumably it's the artist's name on the label's first two releases and on this third, "Manaus." This is a skillfully constructed and energized tech houser. The deep, cross-over techno approach makes for a perfect record to tweak them feet. Francoise Kevorkian applies his genius and sagacity to GINTARE "Guilty" EMI (UK) with exceptional results. Francoise is an aknowledged master of transforming the alternative performer into dancefloor darlings. I have the strong suspision such is also the case with Gintare, which may be either the female vocalist's name on this project or the group name. The vocals are in the school of Bjork or Liz Fraser, sweet without being saccharine and soft without being weak. And then there are the utterly indecipherable lyrics -- very Cocteau Twins. The music is luxurious, comparable to the cinematic quality of Angelo Badalemanti's scores for Twin Peaks, and sure to please the Sasha/Digweed crowd or anyone working with melodic trance. ORINOKO "Mama Konda" has yet more remixes from Malcolm Duffy and man of the moment Timo Maas. Both have deconstructed this recent chestnut and given it new life. I used the Duffy mix which worked most harmoniously with Gintare. The new RANDY CRAWFORD meets TIEFSCHWARZ covers the soulful classic "I'll Be Around" on Deep Culture out of Germany. In this set the "Extended Club Mix" work nicely, being an agressive uptempo dub, with much of Crawford's timeless vocals and classic strings used. The full vocal presentation would bowl them over used in the right context. Not much room left, so here's some quickies. SOLID GROOVE "Won't Stop/No Non Sense" Slip 'N' Slide (UK), out of character for the label with kinky madness. MOOGROOVE "Carnival/Emergency" Nite Grooves, this ex-Twisted group found the right new home for their punchy, underground house expertise. TAN-RU/MINIMAL MAN "Cool Down" Trelik (GM) finds Baby Ford reinterpreting his roots with what could be Ford Traxx for 2000. TRIBADELICS "I Am/Use Me" Paperecordings (UK), a new group maintains the established quality of this respected label. DESTINATION "Destination of Love" In-Tec (UK), G. Flame & Mr. G does cutting-edge tech-house remixing for Carl Cox's newest label. GIORGIO MORODER "Love to Love You/Evolution" Caus N'-ff-ct Records (GM) is the best offering from the recent deluge of revamped Moroder (the effective "Love To Love You" was used). MOJOLATORS "Drifting/To The Music" Moody, "Drifting" gracefully began the wind down with soulful male vocals and a dreamy melody. JOURNEYMAN "Departure EP" Fiji Recordings, Timewriter's other self does deep like no one else. SCIENCE DEPT. "Persuasion/Repercussions" Bedrock Records (UK), Digweed's label establishes a refined profile with its first three instant classic releases. POWDER PRODUCTIONS "The Future" Glasgow Underground (UK) is exceptional, groovy late-night house of the kind we have grown to expect from this established group. Send review material to: |