sunday brunch - my world (night drive mix)

i could easily turn this into a lovedeclaration to swedish label svek but i'll save that for some other time, however it's well known that i do have a fondness this label (and anything jesper dahlbäck released on this label). this one i think i've heard first via james zabiela's 2003 sound in motion cd but in '03. i think it was a couple years later since i wasn't hip to zabiela until his name started blowing up in '04-05.

about the track itself then, it's a darker version of 'my world' which was a steady deep melodic techno record with robert manos on vocals. for the night drive mix they stripped down the track and reshaped it into this deep acid breaks number. manos' have been reduced to his moanings and replaced with some vocoded vocals.

buy here (beatport)

jungle brothers - brain (midfield general remix)

i honestly don't remember when i bought this single. but i know it's in the last year or so and anyhow that's really not relevant but it's good stuff. this single was a remix single for the uk market and contains versions from stereo mc's, hardknox, natural born chillers and midfield general. the natural born chillers version is very typical 1997 sort of mainstream drum & bass. the stereo mc's did a traditional hiphop remix and it's the most uninteresting version on this. hardknox's remix is very hiphop but very jungle aswell except it still operates at hiphop speed.

however the version that i like the most by midfield general and i love it's raw feel. there is so much delay, echo and distortion that is used in a good way and it just adds a big dimension on top of the pounding funk inc. 'kool is back' drums.

youtube

missy elliot - get ur freak on (superchumbo's superfreakon)

heard this first late '02 i think but didn't like it that much and i think my biggest annoyance was that the track was too fast for the vocal deliverance. then i got reacquainted via mart's sets where he found the banging tribal groove to great use and i just got hooked on it. it was the combination of the tribal beats and the acid bassline and the nice use of the hype vocals to build up the groove and then he just drops the full vocal and unleashed more drums and more acid.

back in '02, i never noticed nothing of this, all i kept thinking was well this is just weird and too fast for the vocal. i have no idea what i was on really.

youtube

the source & candi staton - you got the love (new voyager mix)

still to this date i haven't figured out the story behind the original version of this track, everyone knows that it was a mashup between jamie principle's/frankie knuckles' "your love" and candi staton's "you got the love". there is a whole lot of confusion since there have been some rumours that john truelove did not make the bootleg from the beginning and that it was dj eren abdullah. his version however came out (officially) in '91, two years after the original love / rock 12" which contained the original mashup.

john truelove did however pick a peculiar name for the track when he decided to release this since well the original track of the candi staton acapella was also released as the source feat. candi staton - you got the love. but it's not the same artist and some chicago house producers. however he took the acapella from this record but however candi staton said that there is a clean acapella out there that most of the acts that have subsequently remixed the record have worked with.

but the original is good for what it is but in this day and age it's not that version that is getting the airplay. it's the 1996 new voyager version (or now voyager, it's been released as both) and basically it's john truelove's retake of rob dougan's clubbed to death with the candi staton vocals on top. it's this version that's florence & the machine used as a base when they did a cover of this recently. it was this version that appeared on the end of the sex and the city series. it's quite a cliche thing (even more cliche than the original mashup thing) but i still love it.

buy here (7digital)

télépopmusik - breathe (markus nikolai's thinking of s.d.c. mix)

i found the cdsingle of breathe a while ago and i always liked the original and jori hulkkonen remix but i've been recommended to check this version out a couple of times in the past. it's quite a subdued house affair which that sort of techno quality that his perlon is known for. very repetive but works well in it's repetition. starts off kind of wonky and a bit matthew herbert like and then goes into a more berlin kind of sound.

buy here (7digital)

cecilia stalin - summer's coming

back in 2002 when i first discovered koop via their single summer sun and subsequently their album "waltz for koop", i found a great interest in their two female vocalists. yukimi nagano and cecilia stalin and nagano was the one that struck the biggest interest because of her age, her voice and her presence over the tracks. now she's killing it with her little dragon act and rightfully so as she is a proper talent. cecilia stalin was however the other vocalist that struck a chord with me but not instantly, it took a while to realize her greatness and it wasn't until i heard the tracks on the first koop album that sealed the deal.

i started looking for tracks with her presence on it and it was in '05 or '06 that i found her debut album. it was called 'straight up' and had some decent vocal jazz stylings along with funky bits. i had it for a while but i was always puzzled about the name of the hidden track at the end. i kept searching for it and didn't find a name. until a few months ago. stalin who released her album on her own label put her album up online via bandcamp and i then found some of her newer songs. including a collaboration with daz-i-kue, a song for a max factor ad and this this song

this is a collaboration with waiwan and is a funky kind of summery house/nujazz workout, i've been listening to it on my mp3player and playing out in sets for a while and it's just great. waiwan sorts out a bed of shakers and bongos and adds a guitar and then cecilia goes on and does her thing. well worth the money i spent. support good musics.

bandcamp page

buy here

fattaru - hörde jag skål (svensk bas remix)

when fattaru hit the swedish hiphop scene they went off with a bang. their first single was fast and was their whole album treaded the bounce sound of timbland and his comrades. fattaru was unapologetic in their sound and was unlike their clickmates fjärde världen not neo-traditionalists*. the thing was when swedish hiphop had a major boom in turn of the millenium there was constant references to the traditional values of hiphop. every new hiphop believer that repped their wu-wear to their fullest was going on and on about the elements of hiphop and how important it was to keep it real and all that jazz.

fattaru didn't care about any of that and were looking forward and constantly on the search for beats that wasn't the norm. the bounce of the first album and near drum & bass rhythms of the demo tracks was however changed completely to down to earth beats for the second album. mackan price said that he was sick of bounce and was more interested in doing something else than what he was doing before. however their second album was not a big success like the first album but instead of going back to bounce and just try to get some more of that fame they kept on looking forward.

for their third album you heard a new soundscape with influences of uk grime, dub, ghettotech and (what would known as) skweee. there was no compromising in their vision of what hiphop meant to them and it's most apparent in price and stuffe's productions post fattaru where price has become a prolific beatsmith with a pallet like none other. So for their first single they released a 3 tracker with each (rapping) member doing their own solo effort. notably markus price aka mackan would do 100:- with a beat signed pavan (of moder jords massiva and of flogsta danshall) which was nothing i have ever heard before. it really was some other shit and it really blew my mind.

so when i found the cdsingle of second single 'hörde jag skål', i knew i found gold. I had heard the main track before and it was this wicked track which had a backdrop which was really stripped down. It was more or less just some heavy 808 bass kicks, some shuffling percussion and additional melodics and bass. it was excellent but the version to head to is the svensk bas remix done by markus price as his basutbudet project (it was however first known as just svensk bas). a straightforward footwork/ghettotech banger which kicks like no other. get this. now.

buy here

*the funny thing about fjärde världen being the more traditionalist is the fact that tom piha (of said group) later ditched this pathos and had a bigger career in his solo project as max peezay. piha started rapping over grime and would later on his second lp rap over drum & bass and other forms of uk bass music.

billie ray martin - imitation of life (brothers in rhythm remix)

when i first heard the brothers in rhythm remix of 'your loving arms' i was gobsmacked. it was such a different thing to the original which was produced by uk dance act 'the grid' (known for the hit 'swamp thing'). the remix was this grand 13 minute version with a long intro and a strong slow build with an amazing piano breakdown and all the trimmings. it really fit billie ray martins vocals down to a t.

youtube

then earlier today i had a listen to the brothers in rhythm remix of 'imitation of life', the second single from her 1995 album 'deadline for my memories'. it's almost the same track, it even starts the same. similar build, similar piano break, similar coda. with some discogs research, the b.i.r. remix of 'your loving arms' was released in may of 1995. this remix was released in december of 1995. fucking lazy gits but to be honest they weren't the only ones that have ever done the same trick. i don't look down on this remix because it's still quality.

psion - reverse engineering

i got this from the audio blueprint label compo "voyager" which i bought some years ago. it's quite a subtle tune because it's this one groove reinterpreted through some different drums and pads over the course of the tune. yeah i'm well aware that's the m.o. of most electronic music since the 1980's but the track is nice. apparently the vocal sample is from luc besson's 'the fifth element' but i don't remember this scene. then again i mostly remember some of bruce willis' one liners, the whole multicard scene at the airport and of course chris tucker in the only film role he's ever excellent in.

youtube

bt - loving you more (man with no name remix)

the original is one of my favourite trancers of all time and i never cared for the other remixes but i had listen when i got my hands the remix single. on the original single the track was reworked by perfecto (osbourne & oakenfold). but on the remix single there was remixes by the forth (who was making epic & progressive house, who'd go on produce as trafik), alcatraz (who had scored the hit 'give me more') and man with no name. martin freeland aka man with no name was oakey's obvious favourite in goa-trance was supported well by oakey and his version of this is quite nice.

the parts that was taken from the original were taken from the section where bt's original really gets revved up right after the piano break and along with the main hook modified to a machinegun/psytrance type bassline.

the blueboy - sandman (fire island rhodes mix)

i discovered the original through kenny dixon jr.'s 1995 novamix and it was damn catchy. to be honest, it's just a groove and the sample worked to that groove (a concept lex blackmore would revisit for his smash hit 'remember me'). the sample was taken from the intro of the undisputed truth's 'sandman'

youtube

by oogling discogs from time to time, i had known about the remixes and i knew about the main fire island mix (or the "groove mix") which beefed up the main mix and added some more musical elements. but i hadn't heard the "rhodes mix" until i got my hands on the single. fire island (terry farley & pete heller) had already built up enough musical content to not rely on the sample and on the rhodes mix, the sample is taken off completely. instead of the vocals you hear.... you guessed it, some rhodes noodling. quite effective

cesária évora - sangue de beirona (françois k. remix)

this i found when i was digging for cd's & records at diamond records in stockholm. a remarkable good find to be honest. the cdsingle had françois k's main, dub & radio edit versions on it and it was like finding gold. take one african diva who can sing her arse off and does it very clean and set her to the backdrop of a proper nice slab of body & soul house. a classy track that would fit any spot into of a main room set (that is if you are playing new york type house).

the dub focuses much more atmosphere and keeps parts of the percussive backdrop but instead of cesaria as center stage you have this slow, sweeping synth that does it's thing well. i think this needs to be played at 4 am to really emphasise the late night aspect.

buy here (7digital)

girls aloud - sound of the underground (remix)

some months ago i got to dig for cd-singles at a mates place. he'd apparently bought some crate loads of crap for quite cheap and was going to make a profit by selling them all to someone else. he asked me to come to his place, to hang out and if i wanted to dig through the crap and see if i wanted anything. so i grabbed a big load of stuff, including this. the remix was done by brian higgins of xenomania (who produced the original aswell) but on my cdsingle it was untitled

i loved the original girls aloud track since it was a sort of retake of puretone's "addicted to bass". a poppy drum & bass joint but instead of keeping it "d&b" they added guitars and such. so imagine my surprise when i put the single in and listen to the remix. this one strips the whole track down and emphasises on atmosphere and keeps it deeper. you have some lowkey pads and strings and the drums from alex reece's 'pulp fiction' and some reese bass is brought on 90seconds in.

buy here (7digital)

chaser - life in loisaida

this one is by lars sandberg (aka funk d'void) & nigel hayes and i think this is a lot more nigel hayes than funk d'void because in 1996 when this was released sandberg's output was still funky techno. then came this which is this funky percussive broken beat workout. it's nearly all rhythm until a minute or so where you get this sparse organ melody and some sweeping pads come in a bit after that and it's quite stunning. it goes on till halfway in where the bassline comes in and you get this fast bass rhythm which juxtaposes the drums quite well but compliments it aswell.

i wouldn't know of this until a 4-5 years ago when i accidentally clicked wrong on juno and heard the sample and was hooked. i tend to crack it out when i dj since it's a very versatile record but i've never managed to get it working properly (yeah, i know, i'm shit at it like that). stunning track

buy here

the jon spencer blues explosion - flavor (part 1 & 2)

i recently bought 1995 "experimental remixes" by the jon spencer blues explosion and it's basicly a remix ep with workings of tracks from the 1994 album "orange". a lot of good stuff but what caught my attention immediately was a joint reworking of 'flavor' by beck, mike d and mario caldato jr. so with heavyweight players on board, i take a listen and am not disappointed. like the original is sort of two parted with one funk bit and a moody lo-fi pseudo-hiphop bit (i.e. something that sounds like what beck was doing with the mellow gold album and forward on), this is also split into two parts.

the first part basically extends the track and keeps the groove going a bit longer and adds some bits on top like a high pitched sinewave which helps when they go into the second part, it transitions into it with the sinewave just going slower and slower and then it turns into a glitched noise and then goes into the track. here the groove is beefed up in a hiphop way and since jon spencer were trying to sound like beck, beck went in and on vocals instead and does it really well.

part 1 youtube
part 2 youtube

irakere - chekere son

gilles peterson, who is basically my inspiration dj-wise* introduced me to this via his worldwide show. it's this amazing latin jazz-funk track by cuban group irakere which started out in the 70's. this is all info from wikipedia as i never knew who they were until the french englishman played the track. it's from their international debut back in the late 70's and it's apparently a classic, i have no idea to be honest. fucking tune though, the break with that buzzing sax does it for me every time.

youtube

* well amongst the big names, i have much more admiration for a few others more unknown ones, including jan henrik steffensen aka sand leaper and martyn bone aka mart

loco dice - la esquina

when loco dice released his album in 2008 he was hot property in the world of 'techno and house' (or basically the world that worshipped that blonde canadian guy and that sweaty chilean guy) and i remember getting to hear the album and not being not that into it except for one track. 'la esquina' which to be honest is just a piano loop.

very repetitive but kind of hypnotic, it plays straight and then all sorts of subtle effects (meaning both modulation and sound stabs) are added to the track and also some piano noodling on top. bass doesn't come in until halfway in and it's a very much a mighty tool in the hands of the dj. although i find it enough in it's composition to be more than a tool and it's brilliant, i'm just pissed that i managed to ever work it properly in a mix.

youtube

company flow - the fire in which you burn

this one is from the excellent album "funcrusher plus" which was the cd release of company flows 1995 lp "funcrusher". a very dark album and one that put el-p on the map as a beatsmith. it was uncompromising and didn't have any radiofriendly material, it was strictly for the heads.

this track stood out because of it's beat which consists of a wonky drumpatttern and a sitar sample, and on top is bigg juss & el-p mashing it out along with guests j-treds and brewin.

youtube

róisin murphy - checkin' on me

the first sign of róisin murphy after the '05 'ruby blue' album was the acidic slowburner 'overpowered' and that was a corking tune. when i then bought the album, there was this track that stood out as one of the high points. kind of a mid-tempo groover that starts off with beatboxing that emulates the bassline and then murphy comes in and does her thing. the track in general bears a slight resemblance to 'sow into you' but not in a bad way. the combination of the horns, the strings and the beatboxing bass is as the intarweb kids call it 'win'.

youtube