geri halliwell - look at me (terminalhead remix)

this i found on spotify or even earlier on discogs but it didn't grab my attention since i was mostly looking other sorts of remixes back then (and most of them were either house or trance). but even on spotify my attention was on a few other versions and it was probably a carleen anderson remix.

i didn't like "look at me" in it's original form but i did really like "mi chico latino" and that was the extent of that even though halliwell was my spice girl of choice. but i got interested because i was a big fan of the terminalhead remix of just jack's "snowflakes" and the black dog & ofra haza's "babylon". probably also because it was the combination of terminalhead and fucking geri halliwell.

anyhow right from the get go i liked this for its kicking drums & massive bouncy bassline. the vocals have been downpitched a smidge and the verses have been edited as well to fit the track, but the hook gets played as it is with a pad accompanying it. i really like the track because it's that banging and it keeps the song really interesting.

buy here (junodownload)

kings of the universe - watching over you

i heard about kings of the universe a few years ago on myspace when i was looking for information about kyaal's remixes of ciara's "promise" and beyonce's "irreplaceable". he posted up a few songs and i quite liked their songs and their throwback late 80's/early 90's acid house sound. infact i still played "shooting star" and "rules of my house" and a few others.

needless to say, i'm a fan and when kyaal & funky loffe announced their latest single on twitter i was on it. this track keeps in their sound but sound a little more melodic in a moody way. in a really good way. it stays moody and then after a small break the midrangy acidline grows more busy and then it explodes.

what comes out on the other side can only be described as a gospel anthem with a bellowing choir and a kyaal in a killer vocal performance. i love this track and i will keep supporting these guys.

buy here (itunes)

slyboots - fisherman

i picked up the album where this track was taken from in a secondhand store and i bought it blind. you learn to pick up things blindly after digging in crates and i think this was chosen because it had two remixes listed and that it gave an indication that it was sort of electronic music that i was dealing with.

sure enough it was and it was the type of music that would be called trip-hop but it was just breakbeat stuff in general without the typical dancefloor attire. which was typical for the label (named "recordings under constructions) it came from as well, from the info i gathered up.

i'm guessing it started like a ninja cuts/skam kind of thing, actually dot records or flora & fauna are better reference points, and were on own legs until they joined german label "artellier music". this record maybe is from the latter label period and maybe one of the last records released on the label.

but about the music, "fisherman" and "waiting for the tgv" was tracks i found most pleasing and they were something i could work with in sets in a modern setting. actually most of them could so but they sounded the best. this one is a lowkey track with a steady drumtrack that accentuates the quirky sounds and they very midrangy synth-bass.

however i'm guessing most will hear this track and think: "what the fuck, this track is nothing special" and you are perfectly allowed to think so but i like it.

listen here (youtube)

oh and the video, which i never knew existed until today, is really nice

chab - matica (zion mix)

this was a track i got the heads up on from my good mate jan henrik and most likely he got wind of it through marco v who used to cain this track. it was originally the first release on uk label undercurrent in late '00 whom went down after a year in operation.

i had no idea on this one prior to his recommendation but it was quickly a track i took an instant liking to because of it's drive & heavy groove and for it's ability as a workhorse within a set. francios chabloz could make these banging tracks but also do some heavy melodic material such as "keo" (released under the moogwai moniker) which were equally awesome.

this version was originally released as the moogwai mix but was for it's re-release last year on platipus it was renamed the "zion mix". reasons probably being for it's jamaican vocal samples and for him maybe wanting to seperate the chab & moogwai monikers and keep chab for the progressive tracks and moogwai for the melodic.

the difference to the matrix mix (which i'm guessing is the "original mix") is that it's a lot more pumped up and the top is more accentuated, where the matrix mix has a deeper bass & accentuates it's tribal groove. also it's breakdowns hits at two different spots and in the zion mix it comes off more naturally and works better.

it does actually have a tension & release scheme in which the matrix mix is this groove and the break is supposed to be the release for something that built up before it and there is nothing substantial built up. not even in a subtle way, it's that groove before the drop and after the drop it's the same groove after it. not saying it's bad, infact both mixes delivers in their own fields, it's just pointless.

either way, this track has served me well in sets and i really like the combination of banging no nonsense trance with a nice groove and jamaican vocal bits. well recommended track.

buy here (junodownload)

cari lekebusch - unite

this one i got wind of this track through a discogs comment that mentioned that it was possibly more jamaica than any other techno track. apart from that employs a dub reggae sample i don't really think so, but it is is a banging track and a great production. but not just for this track, the whole ep is oozing of quality.

the name of the game on this one is funky techno with deep chunky basslines, vibrant percussion loops and a steady drumtrack. it is very much in line with what would be dubbed the swedish sound or the drumcode sound. the melodic elements are appearent but are in this case featured by echoed & reverbed stabs.

while the sample from scientist's "dangerous match 6", taken from the album "scientist wins the world cup" (and is the version of johnny osbourne's "never stop fighting"), is what the track is built around, it would carry itself without it because of it's heavy groove. it's a killer record and worth a revival.

buy here (junodownload)

mini reviews #9

ninth edition now and again for the this one i've asked a person who i've had in mind from the get go. he is jyri lehtinen but goes by the name of grimreaper. he is a serious musicenthusiast, a massive record collector and someone that used to be called "the walking discography" because of his deep knowledge of electronic music. i've discussed music with him so much and he's given me so much information & heads ups of music.

01. slowhill - come back as a butterfly | soundcloud
it builds slowly but incredibly well and i really liked the track.

02. orbital - new france (tom middleton cosmos mix) | youtube
it was ok, it sounded like a generic anjunadeep track.

03. saint etienne - only love can break your heart | youtube
sometimes i find myself singing the hook for this on a whim. love this tune.

04. giant robot - dub controls | youtube
very lowslung and quite hypnotic but with a good headknod factor. liked it but just that

05. percy mayfield - nothing stays the same forever | youtube
really good tune, quite funky it's smoky blues stylings.

06. dj shadow - building steam with a grain of salt (nit grit mix) | soundcloud
it was ok but wasn't up to par with the original. the wobble-saw & the stretched elements became a bit annoying after the second break

07. jii hoo - let me luv u | youtube
quaint but funky and this tune is a much welcomed classic any day.

08. slowdive - in mind (reload remix - the 147 take)  | youtube
really nice atmospheric jungle rooted with a slight techno slant that sound incredibly fresh to date and also relevant within these times

09. starecase - lost 22 (max graham remix) | youtube
quite banging and a good example of max grahams quality trance productions but i prefer the original over the remix.

10. the coup - me and jesus the pimp in a '79 granada last night | youtube
love it. great storytelling with the combination of a great beat.

thanks for those ten jyri. and as always i asked if he wanted to anything extra about his picks and the response was:

hmm can't think of anything reasonable. I just tend to play whatever gets stuck in my hand from the shelves.

right on.

destiny's child - say my name (plaebac remix)

this was another soundcloud discovery and by searching on "say my name" and i was particularly looking for a 2-step rendition or something within the uk bass music area. the original is interesting in it's structure where it shifts between 138 bpm fulltime and halftime and it was again, like i said in the previous entry something i discovered a few years it's release.

the original had a few remixes done back in the day both official and bootleg and they shifted from house to garage and more hiphop oriented. most of them were good and i could easily write something on them but this remix by plaebac grabbed me harder than groove chronicles mix (done as a bootleg i think), the dreem teem mix (official) or the maurice joshua house mixes.

it set a mood on an instant with those warm airy pads and the crisp drum hits pounding away setting the tone. the drum programming is on point and it also shifts between calm & frantic like the original while fitting the track perfectly. also when that lucious bass comes in right when beyoncé sings the first verse along with the lovely pads & sweeps in the background, it's just brilliant.

i quite like the original but this production seriously rivals the jerkins brothers production.

listen here (soundcloud)

aaliyah - try again (andre-u refix)

i wouldn't be wrong in saying the original is one of the best songs of all time and it's one of timbalands best productions of all-time. it was one of those songs that i didn't realise it's greatness until a few years after when i listened to it with fresh years.

so when i noticed that andre-u posted his remix on soundcloud, my interest peaked instantly. i had noticed this producer on soundcloud a little while back when i ran a search on eric b & rakim's "follow the leader" to see if anyone had done anything interesting with that. andre-u did an nice take on it and i sort of liked it but it was another track ("brandy & mandy") of his that prompted me to follow him.

andre-u works with glitched out sounds and that sort of funk and his remix of "try again" has like the original one foot in the straightforward hiphop game and the other foot in the more electronic. it uses the same melodic groundwork but it sounds now more like how kid606 would tackle a just blaze production.

there is so much detailed sound-trickery and effects and even the way the vocals are reshaped in a subtle way is really good. i like how he sets up and builds up to aaliyahs' vocal by working timbaland's vocal (that of course is a rephrase of rakim's first bars of "i know you got soul") along with a vicious glitched saw stab.

also even though the bassline comes in 16 bars before the vocal the impact it gives when you hear the drums, aaliyahs vocal and that really subby bass is really effective. of course i would i have wanted that andre-u would have included that waggly acidline from the original but i think that phased synth sound that comes in halfway in is nice as well.

listen here (soundcloud)

ernesto - reelin'

i caught wind of this one through twitter a week back and the idea of a new ernesto track got my interest instantly. this is probably the third or fourth entry i do with bäckelie/ernesto but it's no secret that i'm a fan and i'll probably hype his material as long as he makes good records.

bäckelie splits his output with his monikers and the ernesto material focuses on his vocal abilities and by default the soulful side. this one starts with him and his ivories and the first verse stays beatless and then when the subtle harmonies come in on the chorus a rhythm is introduced. a really recognizable rhythm...

anyone who knows their michael jackson knows that bäckelie was obviously influenced by jacko's classic "liberian girl". the beat sets a new context to the song and while the concept of bringing the drums in halfway in isn't new but it shifts the song into even more soulful territories. but the problem is that when the song really becomes good, it stops.

but the upside to that small annoyance is that it makes me want to hear the song more, on repeat even. i am well aware that there are hundreds of soulful lovesongs like this one and they all should get the recognition, but i wouldn't leave this one out in that list.

buy here (junodownload)

normally i would have done a focus on hulkkonens remix and to be honest, this version is going to get more shine than the original. it's a great rerub and he converts the original into a great deephouse tune. all the melodics & harmonies are kept and the additional synth melody he added is killer.

amel larrieux - down

i found about this one after rediscovering "get up" through ron trent's lovely remix. most found out about larrieux through her involvement in 90's constellation groove theory where they had the hit "tell me" and i still love that tune.

this song grabbed me since it had that brand new heavies and 4hero type feel to it. swinging drums and nice upright bass set the groundwork for amel's vocal delivery. there is a subtle smoky sarah vaughan influence in her voice which accentuates this well and her ella fitzgerald like scatting on the end is lovely as well.

the only thing that bugs me is her phrasing of the words that are meant to rhyme but otherwise i really love this tune. the rhythm section is nice, the piano is working well with her tone of voice and mood and i love that subtle tabla in the back. ye. killer song, well recommended.

buy here (7digital)

britney spears - toxic (felix da housecat club mix)

the original of this took everyone by surprise with it's stunning production and catchy hook and suddenly the names bloodshy & avant (real names: christian karlsson & pontus winneberg) were on everyones lips. they had cut up this indian track and reassembled for the song and it really got me interested and i was a huge fan of the song.

it left a real good impression and i got interested in what bloodshy & avant had else done and fact was, they were two swedish guys and they had done some hip-hop and r&b production. mostly at the poppier end but most notably was that they produced & co-wrote christina millian's "am 2 pm".

i even bought the cd-single for "toxic" and 12" vinyl in a proper legit way (by that i mean not second hand) when this was out and i stand by owning it. i have quite a few records and items from artists that aren't credible but have songs that are amazing. but it's more singles than albums, britney isn't an artist i would shell out money for an album. i'd rather buy a mandy moore album or a christina aguilera album because they are and were better singers.

soon after the original was out the remixes came out and as an armand van helden fan, my focus was on that version and i think he really did a great effort and gave it a gritty touch with that thick bassline. i thought that was the version that was going to be the remix that everyone was going to focus on given that it was the a-side on the remix 12".

but i heard a lot of hubbub about felix da housecat's remix and even the heads who wouldn't give two shits about britney were on this one and i heard it and was floored. a really hard tr909 drum programming leads the way and affected pieces of vocal builds up for a small but vicious bass drop. it carries on that driving way until felix unleashes the indian string hook and then the track goes back to being this chicago hard house thing.

the track is just energy and i really like how he messed around with the vocal and the other elements of the track to form this really pounding piece of music. it was a really big shocker and reason why i was this stunned since i had grown custom to felix's more 80's flashback sound. but i was given wind on the fact that before the devin dazzle period felix was known for being very chicago sounding.

i was also given the advise to check his aphrohead tracks and more of the stuff in his back catalogue and i think you should too. solid.

buy here (amazon)