frost - one hundred years (skatebård remix)

the original was a track that i'd known for a while when i bought the cd-single. it was quite melancholic and it was something that you'd only hear from the hands of aggie frost & per martinsen. i think in it's original form sounds like newbeat rendition of an everything but the girl track. her vocal grabs your attention with it's melancholia and per martinsen will make you dance to it with his razorsharp acidhouse backing.

the single had a few remixes done and martinsen himself did an instrumental club mix as his mental overdrive moniker. cato canari channeled the underlining 80's vibe and went and did a remix that sounds like could have been released on hell's international deejay gigolo label. kompis did my other favourite version of this song which is a very moody piece that takes the tempo down a smidge and let the track embrace more of it's lovely steel guitar.

bård lessenel aka skatebård tweaked the original in a different direction and his version strips off the acid. which is very unlike me as someone who gets giddy by any sorts of resonant buzzing acidsound, i'm even a fan of tracks that as an obviously fake acid sound. i also get that kind of notion of amen drums but that has nothing to do with this.

he builds the track into the more atmospheric but still keeps it as dancefloor piece, starts out four on the floor but goes into a breakbeat in the middle of the first verse. it then starts to sound as moody electro and as much as i like acid & amens i'll have a piece of electro any day. the synth work is kept to the vibe of the track which means omnipresent pads, twinkly arpeggios and all sorts of somewhat spacey sounds.

love this track and all the versions, so get it and all of the remixes. they are well worth it.

buy here (junodownload)

underworld - blueski

the second toughest album is one of underworld's best and this fact have been stated before but i like how it's constructed and also how well the whole thing holds up today. tracks such as "confusing the waitress" or "airtowel" can fit any spot in a modern techno set and "blueski" here is a piece that i love.

in the album it's in a context it's almost an interlude or a calming down with "stagger" being the track that firmly closes the whole shebang. taking it out that form you are left with a track that's built around guitar loops at 69/138bpm (depending how you see it).

the guitars overlap and with the lowkey bassline that's underneath they and create a subtle tension that's really exciting. it was a few weeks ago when it hit me that this could be something else than it is on the album. it could be a really excellent set starter. all you need to do is work it with something that starts with raw beats or something in the same key and you are good to go.

i find it hard to believe that this notion hasn't been executed before but the only times i've heard this track outside of the album is either on "ambient" (i.e. downtempo) mixes or kid loco's dj-kicks album. on the latter it thought he used it to break up the flow and it worked well after that common ground's "dark soul". but then it didn't pay off well when following it up with grantby's "grimble".

anyhow, in the words of john peel "well a killer track either way".

buy here (itunes)

max 404 - spin my world (instrumental)

when the news hit that bloghouse-favourites dfa was going to do a remix of justin timberlakes "my love" it sent of a frenzy that unfortunately didn't pay off. the original was such a big hit that everyone thought expected something to fullfill their wishes. to be honest i think everyone set the bar to high and i quite liked dfa's effort but i do agreed that the best part of the remix was the tailend where they focused on the bassline.

i loved that bassline and the solo it was given along that pingpong-delayed synth patch was just magnificent. one of the things people noticed with the remix quite quick was that it didn't reuse any elements from timbalands original production. although that's fairly usual from dfa who to play live instruments but i think most was expecting to hear that synth melody from the original incorporated in one way or another.

instead they took inspiration from another track and i realised that when i heard a mix from swedish dj zyron a while after. he opened with the instrumental of max 404's "spin my world" and right from the top that bassline is there. dfa borrowed the bass and some of the aesthetics from erwin wan moll's track but i think he probably also took inspiration from some 80's track as it has that sleazy dutch italo-vibe.

moll's synth work on it is incredible as he takes the track up and down i love that really resonant & sinister sound that take control of the track. all of these glorious melodics under that lovely bass. i really like this and as usual it's well recommended



i should note the track is available on juno, beatport & whatnot but only the uptempo remixes that was on the record, not the original vocal & instrumental versions. i guess they weren't as interesting to release and that's shame as i don't like them as much. the problem is that the swung notes in the original loose their feeling when they are kicked up from 95bpm to 120bpm.

but by all means buy them here (junodownload)

gabriella cilmi - sweet about me (matthew herbert's savoury mix)

i've already written about this song before on discogs but it came into my consciousness again. also wanted to get out all my comments on this and the retrosoul boom that happened when amy winehouse hit big. the original version was part of it and with this song it was blatant that they were scouting for an clone.

apart from amy there was of course adele, duffy and gabriella cilmi and if anyone wanted something more geniune they could have gone for the sharon jones or nicole willis and even alice russell. or even go for candi staton & mavis staples since they still release records. but anyhow, in retrospect duffy had the biggest shot of taking the crown from amy but then came her second lp.

it then dawned on people that she wasn't the real mccoy and what they were actually hearing was a third rate lulu. adele wasn't the clear choice either to get the top spot either, at least in my mind and i thought duffy would have overtaken winehouse. but adele managed to do something with her first single of the second album that duffy failed miserably with.

fact is that "well, well, well" and "rolling in the deep" tried to do the same thing by giving a new twist with the sound, much like winehouse's "rehab". problem was that "well, well, well" was annoying and then people finally realised, "hangon, duffy was horrible". i try to not go out of my way to slant the popular on this blog but i didn't get the hype with her "rockferry" lp, so i am happy that duffy is out the race.

ms. cilmi sounded very much like winehouse but was a few years younger and probably didn't do any drugs so she was an a&r's or record label's wet dream. but she didn't last long with this sound and they did it for one record, the most notable song being her first single "sweet about me".

it felt sort of genuine and it had the northern soul or motown sound in it's peripheral but it wasn't a hit right from the getgo. i first heard about it through the truth & soul blog because they did a remix that i think outdid the original and should have been the de facto original. the song did get it's push when rexona used it for their adverts when they used the bridge to good use.

the version i'm highlighting is matthew herbert's remix and it was the second version of the song i heard and i fell in love. yes, i did wonder why herbert would even take on this as someone with his integrity usually don't. i think he felt the slight bluesy feeling of the song and knew he could do something wonderful with it.

he rides the melancholic feel to the fullest and builds up a great track with the piano motif. he builds the track around the vocal and accentuates the shifts in mood. herbert creates a really good piece of music and it holds up so well years after it was released. only thing i'm annoyed about is that the end part isn't long since i like what he does with the bass after the vocal have ended

buy here (7digital)


one final thing, talking about adele is pointless since everything have been said already but apart from releasing an great second album, i do believe the reason where she is right now is because the competition either caved or passed away.

dopplereffekt - pornoactress

i got quite late into both drexciya and dopplereffekt but after the first taste it was something to know about. i think one of the biggest impressions was the quality of the music but also when swedish radio program p2 ström did an interview with gerald donald.

donald who is notoriously reluctant to even to do interviews didn't want to talk about his music or producing. he didn't want his real voice to be heard at all and in the end he talked about physics & technology. an interest that is apparent when listening to the music where there are references within the lyrics and the aesthetics of the music.

i have a couple of favourite tracks from him but this one i found weird since it goes outside of his usual lair, i should note that it comes with the companion-piece "pornoviewer" but that track is quite weak. this track is more kin to "voice activated" with the dark atmosphere but unlike that, the sounds are toned down.

at a glance it seems like one groove that doesn't change at all but it on the subtle tip. from the bass-arpeggio to the omnipresent pad lurking in the background. i really like tiny ringing sound and that evil synthstab that comes in. and all of this centers around two or three phrases between the male and female characters voicing this.

this track isn't a clear thumper like "cellular phone" or "rocket scientist" but it's a great track and i love it.

buy here (junodownload)

maurice - feline (trancesetters remix)

i think i discovered the original through a paul van dyk set and in the beginning it had a really good groove that got you hooked in. it's mostly known for being that track with the violin and it's actually a sample from the classic rock song "the gates of babylon" by the ronnie james dio fronted rainbow.

the sample is taken from the end of the track and i think of the reasons why maurice's original sounds like it is has to do with the fact while the violin is open for taking it's not in the most perfect condition. it's fading and has reverb trail from the guitars. with the violins in another state it would maybe started the thing and be built around it in that kind of fashion.

but maurice built the track so well the track could pull it's weight without it but it's a great track anyhow. but for trancesetters remix they decided to take the track into a different direction where it starts out of a more funkier techno groove. it's heavy and you hear drums and a lowkey bass at first but as the track progresses it shifts focus.

the way they used violin is to first bring it in with loops & delay and it stays in this effect while the bass comes alive in the breakdown. i think it's made as a great transition piece as the sinister bass & pounding drums of the second half can lead a set into heavier techno or darker trance for that matter.

buy here (junodownload)

markus enochson - don't walk away

this was a track that i discovered like many on the svek compo "lords of svek - galaxy", about 9 years ago or so when i caught on to svek records. it's somewhat shameful to have heard about the greatness of this label, from the country you live in a time where you were into dance music. truthfully though, i don't know if i would have known what svek was back then as i wasn't onto deeper house when the label was it's prime.

but i discovered the music and my life was infinitely better after that and this was one of the countless tracks that held high quality. i've told before that i discovered enochsons works through his remix of koop's "summer sun" but i will propagate for that track any day as it's an all time favourite.

this was probably the track i found after that or "i am the road" but i liked the bugz in the attic remix of that more. the discovery of this song also fell appropriately with my fascination of broken beat. on record there is three versions of the song with two deeper house versions (named "deep mix" & "full vocal mix") and one broken rerub (named "choice mix") that i think was a de facto original mix.

it's not really broken beat as most would classify it but it's deephouse with breakbeats but that has nothing to with this. it's a track that grew on me fast since i liked the combination of vibes, guitars, wild congas and of course ingela olsson's vocal. the whole track is very musical and i found it something hard to resist.

the track is very musical in content and the instruments are given solos and it's also why the bass is deep and subby and plays a background role. in the house versions the bass plays a more rhythmical role especially with the four on the floor in effect but in the choice mix you hear the sequencing of the notes in the bare. but without it's overpowering kickdrum the bass is then sending out nice frequencies on it's own.

i love this track and i wish i could i do it more justice when i try to work it in sets but to be honest it delivers on it's own so this toolbag doesn't have to worry that much.

buy here (beatport)

astrid suryanto - rainwater (mr. velcro fastener remix)

i was introduced to finnish duo mr velcro fastener by mr jyri lehtinen who i invited for my latest mini reviews thing. he like i enjoy the combination of acid and electro or breakbeats or good music in general. he gave me the heads up with a track called "sunday night" of their second album "otherside" from 2001.

the whole album is excellent in general and is filled with razor sharp electro beats, robots, som occasional acid, great bass and nice melodies. fact is that i could talk about any track of this album but i'm going to talk about a track i used in a mix a while back but embodies what these finns are all about.

the original is a quite moody track and this comes across even more in this remix where the pads are in contrast to the dirty drum machines. the vocals are treated with effects to and the piano motif just solitifiy the icy nature of the track. the rhythmical backdrop are made that in mind for the dancefloor but the rest of the track give an air of sorrow, or something pretentious like that.

i would feel weird dancing to this but i know it has it's place in a set and it isn't anything you would bust out in peaktime but something to use for bringing the high down or in transitioning. either way it's a really good track and when that acid comes alive it just seals the deal for me.

buy here (beatport)

house of virginism - reachin' (love 2 new jersey mix)

one of the first records i ever bought, well over ten years ago mind you, was this ep by swedish vocal house project house of virginism. it was fronted by fredrik asplund more known as apollo and the most known record by this project was "i'll be there for you".

this was a track that i've heard countless times and like and i still have that "doya doodoo doya" hook burned into my brain but they also put out a few other tracks including a cover of blaze/phase II's "reachin'". a track i know that i've heard prior since it was on a compilation that i had.

but i didn't recall it but damn if i liked it on the first listen (or re-listen) since that vocal performance was just something else. apollo told me that he recorded the track the day after a night out with leila k in germany and from personal experiences i wouldn't be able to knock out a track after that. but he really outdid jerry edwards' vocals on the original phase II track and i favour apollos vocals over edward's although i like blaze's original as well.

on that ep there was two versions, one by stonebridge who did the original mix and the other one by danny rampling. he dubbed his remix as the "love 2 new jersey mix" probably as in tribute to blaze. whereas stonebridge did a rugged hardbag version that does the job well, rampling goes all out and does an epic.

right from the piano intro it sets the tone for the ride and along with the additional female vocal. for whatever reason she isn't credited on the inlay but requires mentioning. and i think saying that she is additional is an understatement as it's almost a duet since rampling let her take up so much space. i've asked apollo if he knew who it is but he doesn't remember, and that's a shame.

the track grabs you instantly, it's builds and breaks down and it goes through several states all of which are divine. it's all very uplifting and if the inspirational vocals doesn't solidify it, the pianos & crescendos will. i love this track so much and i could describe it more but it feels futile.

radiohead - codex (party ben remix)

found out on this one when party ben put it up on his soundcloud since i'm a fan of his material ever since i heard a mashup of his from a few years ago. there he put together mylo's "paris 400" and tegan & sara's "walking with a ghost" into a perfect mesh.

but about this one i didn't know how the original sounded like since i'm usually the last one to hear the latest radiohead since well, i'm not that big of a fan. since the original lends well to remixing i have seen many take a crack at it and ben here did a mighty fine job.

much like the original it's a slow groover and based on atmosphere but he added some substantial beats and sounds to fit the vision of the track. i liked what he did with the track and piano from the original is well incorporated but expanded on with harmony rather than just simple chords.

but what really sealed the deal was the second half of the track where he brings in this sparse waggly acidline and a soaring pad. it brings more atmosphere to the track when the drums get more intense along with the acidline that gets more resonant and lovelier.

ben claims his inspirations for this was a remix of a jamie xx track done by nadastrom & sabo along with some of gus gus works but i only maybe hear that in the first half. the second half reminds me more of some mid 90's hardfloor, from the time when they introduced their "da damn phreak noize phunk" ep's and moniker. they started bridging out to breakbeat stuff instead of their usual acid house/techno works.

it was things like acid breaks and electro but initially it sounded like raw breakbeats, at times some tr909 enforcements and their twiddling of the tb303. i can hear things like "dubdope" and their remix of depeche mode's "it's no good" within this track and it's not because those two are favourites of mine.

i really recommend this much like most of party ben's other works. also hardfloors material if that sidetrack wasn't clear enough for you.

listen here (soundcloud)
and buy hardfloor stuff here (junodownload)

josé james - detroit loveletter

much like most i found out about josé james via gilles peterson as he discovered & signed him to his label brownswood. i really liked his first album "the dreamer" where his voice set the mood for the type of jazz that he was bringing to the table. i want to say that he had a hiphop attitude to his work but there isn't anything hiphop about the music.

it was just soulful but moody jazz music that gave off an vibe instantly and it was clear that it was his vision as he produced & arranged the album mostly on his own. but on  his second solo lp "blackmagic" that he started bridging out of the jazz as it was obvious on his collaborations prior to it that he wanted to do more than jazz. i'd say this where that hiphop attitude comes to mind.

the people he brought to his album included flylo, taylor mcferrin, dj mitsu and kenny dixon jr. of course james was highly involved with most of the tracks as i think it's part of his artistic & musical integrity but i'm also guessing that he was impressed with some of the work coming from the players in mind.

on "detroit loveletter" he collaborated with kdj/moodymann who prior to it made a really good remix of "desire". his remix took a track that felt impossible to remix but pulled it off and even kept the vibe of the original while being an original entity in itself.

for this track kdj works up something that starts of a soulful acid jazz ballad straight out the late '90's but then it goes into a groovy midtempo number. but it doesn't stay in that lovely groove for the rest of the song and he breaks it up and goes into stacatto jazz drums and bass.

this may sound like a choppy juxtapose but in the hands of moodymann and josé james it's an example of a great song and you should get it. and all of josé james' other works and kdj's as well.

buy here (junodownload)

patrick el-hag - d som var (yesterdays) (featuring ison & jan allan)

i didn't know who this patrick el-hag but i did know about ison since i'm a fan of ison & fille, and i heard about this track through a friend of mine who is real tight with him. he told me that el-hag and ison glasgow was childhood friends and that he was this jazz-dude.

but after doing my research a few years on after i found out that he started out in the late 90's and put out a record on his own in '97. it was in a more soul/r&b slant but with a poppy undertone and fact is that sans a few songs on that album, it was awful and el-hag did not have a good english singing voice. but it also had what i believe is ison's first appearance musically on recod when he does some quick complimentary raps on "new york".

but ten years after that he probably came to his senses and started singing in swedish and it fit him much better and he shifted sound for a more light smoky jazz sound. his '07 album was a collection of songs with jazz & latin feels.

it's a lot of versions of standards and some classics but a few of his own but this one is a version of the jerome kern/otto hernbach classic "yesterdays". in this one he keeps the touch of the composition but goes off with a hip-hop touch but still keeping the jazz and it's not like the acid jazz experiments or the hip-hop that samples jazz but just cool latin jazz with a touch of thump.

ison who is one my favourite rappers does two great verses and sets the tone really well with his flow. the way it contrasts to el-hag's smooth voice and slow delivery is a delight and it's just so good. ison does fairly fast rapping on the first verse and takes it down a notch on the second. i also like the way the play off each other in the vocal adlibs with el-hags deep voice on isons and the more sporadic but effective hiphop ones by ison on el-hag's verses.

this song is one those that a grew some buzz but it didn't really get the proper attention that it deserved. also don't sleep on the parametrial remixes, the dub in really good.

buy here (7digital)

martin solveig - i'm a good man (mousse t's breakbeat mix)

this one i discovered quite recently and i find it strange that i haven't heard it before since it's a) damn funky b) been featured on a number of compos. it was well played out at the time and while after but it's better late than never i guess. the original i had heard before but i didn't think that much of it but i did like it but i think i liked "rocking music" more.

what peeped my interest and what made me fall in love with this track was those drums in the beginning. played by a mr. david haynes, they are raw, punchy & really driving. for someone that loves their funk and drums it was a quite a delight.

the drums are backed up by a deep but swinging bass, a great cutting funk guitar played by a mr. loomis greene and some dirty organ stabs and noodlings, probably played by mousse t himself. of course the topping is vocalist lee fields whose delivery works better here than in the original. it's probably because the nature of the song and how his vocals stand out on top of the funk which is stripped down to the essentials.

in fact i don't care that this song is just one funky groove. that's how i like it sometimes and so should you. keep it raw and all you need is most music is punchy drums and groovy bass.

buy here (junodownload)

monty - dina armar

david pagmar aka montt mardié really didn't make much of a impression on me when he was doing his indiepop in english and i preferred his contemporary emil johansson (aka parker lewis) but then something happened. he started singing in swedish and this clip started circulating from mtv sweden's shortlived program fuzz.

it was this stripped down cover & translation of rihanna's monsterhit "umbrella" and it spread like wildfire and eventually on an ep of covers/translations along with beyoncé's "halo" (gloria), r.kelly's "the greatest" (den bäste), simon & garfunkle's "the only living boy in new york" (den enda levande pojken i new york) & peter gabriel's "solsbury hill" (saltarö berg).

this got me interested again and i liked a few songs from his 2010 album called just that "2010" but the track that hit me the hardest was this marvellous song called "dina armar". right from the attention grabbing bassline in the intro it sets the tone for a song that is going to be a torch-song.

pagmars songwriting carries on this tradition with the swedish indie scene of mixing the metaphors of love and death. with in that you have catchy songs saying things like "jag ska inte dö i dina armar, (jag ska inte) vila i din famn" (translation: i'm not going to die in your arms, (i'm not going to) rest in your embrace").

it reminds me really much of the lyricism in a song by annika norlin aka säkert/hello saferide called "vi kommer och dö samtidigt du & jag" (translation: "we're going to die at the same time you & i") and i think it's a constant reminder of the ironic generation of the 90's where joking about death was a common stature and it worked it's way into the emotional generation.

but anyhow this is a breakup song but the twist is that monty sings the verses in his laidback way and where he manifests that he & this respective other is not going to last anymore. but the hook on a glance is something that is cheery & positive and he pagmar belts it out.

i really love this song and i really like how that guitar comes in with the relentless rhythm keep pounding in the background and it just breaks up and it goes into this light synth melody and then the song kicks back after a verse and then with full force.

buy here (itunes)

umo jazz orchestra meets magnum coltrane price - brown sugar

magnum coltrane price, the first time i heard that name was in the 90's and probably on ztv but i hadn't heard much material from him besides a few songs. thing was that i really liked his full name. i found out a few years later the origins of his awesome name in fredrik strage's book "mikrofonkåt" where he talks to his younger brothers mingus & marcus of fattaru.

according to that their father mr. melvyn price, originally from detroit and a jazz musician himself, named his sons after his favourite jazz musicians (i.e. john coltrane, charles mingus & marcus miller?). sidetrack, i do recommend melvyn price's 1974 album "rhythm & blues" which was reissued in '08 by wax poetics. "voodoo love dance" is the track that is most known thanks to kon & amir but i think "happiness is..." is the best track on that lp.

anyhow so the first track i really remember hearing by magnum coltrane price was "when love begins" and that was from the 1994 acid jazz compilation called "totally wired sweden". that is a great song and that compilation also featured an all-time favourite song being fatima rainy's "love is a wonderful thing" and other groovy music from blacknuss, stakka bo and gordon cyrus amongst others.

but after that i haven't consciously heard a lot of his music but i do know that he's been active doing music during the years. mostly solo material but he's also been part of jazz-funk act nils landgren funk unit and done session work playing bass on a few records most notably on janet jackson's "all nite (don't stop)". but he's also done vocal work over the years and one really good song that i've played in sets countless of times is "i want you" which is his collaboration with danish house act filur.

but he slipped into my conciousness a few months ago when i was listening to melvyn price's record and then dropped a shoutout to marcus price on twitter and then for some reason magnum coltrance started following me on twitter. i still found that weird but i'm grateful because he's a cool person with nice ideas and thought.

he mentioned that he was doing a record with finnish orchestra umo jazz and he sent a link to a song from the album on soundcloud and i liked it. it gave me the buzz to hear more and when i bought & listened to the record in full it was pleasing and really worth a second, third and umpteenth listen. it was a collection of funky music with some of price's own compositions and some funk & jazz standards.

including a really good version of lee dorsey's "everything i do gohn be funky (from now on)" but also a version of d'angelo's "brown sugar". that on the first glance had me going red since the original is perfect on so many levels and i think it's still a bit early to start working as a standard but they proved me wrong.

i do have to say while it's not on d'angelo's level and neither on the level of the new funky live version that he's been doing on his latest tour, it holds up. when i listen to it now after the initial listen i don't put it up the comparison of d'angelo because it'll just be stupid and petty in the end to constantly compare it to the original.

it's obviously a tribute but when i talked to price he said something in the lines of "i wouldn't have done it on my own record but i wouldn't have put it out if i didn't feel that we made a good version" and he is right on both counts and it's well worth the attention. but so is the rest of the record and i recommend it deeply so i well recommended and i'll keep supporting it.

buy here (itunes)

fredrik almquist - not human

the last almquist production i made an entry about was very electro and so is this one but with a techno slant.  much like the previous one it also comes from a compilation. i found it on the direkt/cari lekebusch musik label compo "the listening audience" which is chock full of stunning downtempo, dub, electro & lower paced breakbeat musics.

this track kicks right along with an effective drummachine groove with a robotic feel to it, and i think it's a tr-707 or tr-606 that's operating. on top there is subtle echoed sounds & reverb effects which emphasise the metallic soundscape.

the sounds get heavier and heavier as the track progresses and the track shapes up for a really nice excursion.  the additional sounds make their way into the frequencies and it's all from subtle midrang-y synthbass to clonky percussion. also some vocodered vocals and a nice quaint synth hook that get a solo exposure in the small breakdown.

there is so much detail to the sound and i think it's such a stunning production that i fell in love with this track on the first listen. but to be honest i could have done an entry on a number of tracks from the compilation as the tracks are on a high quality range. some of those tracks i also recommend are: peter benisch's wonderful "skymning", conceiled project/adam beyer's dubby techno track "blåton", damm's noisy & dubby "feber erya & omnimotion's lovely "sensitive"

buy here (klicktrack)

andy caldwell - don't hold back (phuturistix mix)

i don't remember how i discovered this one but i have a suspicion that it was though a set. i'd heard the original set of mixes before it and wasn't impressed. it had a really good soulful vocal and good production values as per usual from the san francisco based producers.

it was very much in line with what would be known as the naked music sound or in this case the om records sound. and while i wasn't that impressed it wasn't bad but zed bias & dj injekta's phuturistix remix knocked the original set of mixes out of the park. it grabbed me quite fast and it was through the combination of heavy set drums, a really slick bass and of course that soulful vocal.

the original is a broken beat effort like this remix but the drums are lighter and overall it feels weaker compared to zed bias & injektas version. in terms of drum patterns four on the floor can get boring and when i discovered broken beat i tended to go for the stuff with the weirdest ones (well, the ones according to me).

this one isn't that odd but it's actually a pattern relying on triplets and many kicks and a really popping & impacting snare. the rhythm is really strong and driving and it sets a good juxtapose to the omega brooks' vocal and frank swart's live bass that was incorporated from the original.

i love this tune so much and i'll keep supporting it till day dot. it's just so good in all aspects whether it's rhythmically or melodically or vocally.

tilt - the phantom (tilt's masked mix)

this one fascinated me on the first listen as it was not a typical tilt track and in hindsight it was the start of the sound that tilt would shift into as john graham would leave the group. but it was more than that as it carries out an element from graham's past productions and history as a hardcore/jungle producer skanna.

this track is odd in the same sense that the blue amazon remixes of alex reece's "candles" is odd since it's rhythmical basis sounds like drum & bass. but it's melodic structures, sounds and production in general sound have that root in trance, or at least the progressive trance sound coming out of tilt and hooj record/lost language.

a tilt record was always some of the best in the game since they carried high production values with great memorable hooks that didn't go off into the utter extremities of epic. this track is no exception on that with it's driving bass, sharp drums and tension-building pads.

the main melodic aspect in this one is of course that plucked guitar-sounding thing but it's backed up with a good trancy type arpeggio tucked away in the back. i also love it's breakdown that takes it to the jungle side of the track and have the drums get chopped up and getting shine.

the whole track has so many good parts and it was a nice thing to include something like this as a b-side to butterfly & rendez-vous which was two cracking trancers. showing that range that tilt has within trance music and still keeping it interesting.

buy here (junodownload)

i mention in my discogs comment about the blue amazon remix of candles that the best way to play that is to pitch it down and for this one i have to recommend that as well since it can work the best within a trancy set. plus that it makes for a good bridging record within that kind of set.

metro area - honey circuit

this was a record i bought way back when it was initially released and i think i bought it with the intent of getting another record. but i had heard of metro area/morgan geist before and knew of his work and liked a number of his tracks.

i seem to remember that ep (metro area 6) that "honey circuit" was released on was not really well received and there was talk amongst heads saying geist was repeating himself. i don't really agree about that and i think this record wasn't given enough attention.

i hadn't cared about this track in a while until i was sorting some record and i was holding it in my hand and it all came back to me. it starts on a simple sequence that sort of reminds me of the ending king britt's remix of the h-foundation's "tonight". but it then shifts focus and goes into an arpeggio with a funky bassline backing it up.

the track goes into a few mood changes throughout the track and keeps it really interesting all the way. it can be 80's for a moment but then a flute comes in for a while and it goes very deep disco but then it goes back to the boogie. all of the musical changes is well accompanied by a groove that responds equally well.

geist & jeshrani put so much detail into their tracks and produce them so well that it will sound fresh, exciting and the sound of now. even when sound is actually a reanactment of something that happened 30 years ago and the track itself was probably released 6 years ago. it work all the time and their tracks are that good

buy here (junodownload)

the black dog & ofra haza - babylon (hanging gardens)

i have been meaning to do an entry about this one for a long time but wanted to get some answers on it before i write about it. like most my fascination with ofra haza started with a little known song called "im nin alu" and it hasn't stopped there.

according to an ofra haza fanpage the project had it's origins in 1994 but for whatever reasons it wasn't realized until '98 when ofra haza, her collaborator/producer bezalel aloni and ken downie (as he was just the black dog at the time).

it was conceived as a project that called for peace in the middleeast and wanted to bring attention to the history of the ancient civilisations, the city of babylon and king hammurabi. there is a whole essay written by downie in the inlay and which you can read if you look on the intarwebs.

to be really honest the original black dog versions isn't that great but they hold a little relevance but it's ofra haza's vocal that carries the tracks and make them work. however the hanging gardens version, done by no other than pete lazonby (most known for "sacred cycles" with it's genesis sample and "wavespeech") is a track that was way ahead of it's time.

it doesn't fit in any genre or folder and for someone that is a pidgeonholer (but believe me, i'm trying not to be) it was impossible to say if this was dub, drum & bass, experimental or whatever. it was just something else and it's relevance is strong in a time where this new offshoot of drum & bass is taking off where the traditional guidelines have been thrown into the bin.

lazonbys vision of the track is a haze of reverbed-out vocals, heavily affected untraditional drumloops & sounds and a repetitive bassline that takes command. all of this glorious madness in a really fast tempo and a progression that goes from one kippenvel to another. if ofra haza's first speaking appearance doesn't hit you with one, the bassline will.

same goes for that lovely melody that comes out nowhere in the second half of the song. it gives a big impression in the last drop of the song where it's soloed and the filters eventually get a hold of it in the frantic haze that is the coda.

i defy anyone to not get this reaction when hearing this song for the first, second or the umpteenth time. it still sends those shivers down my spine like i heard it initially a few years ago.

listen here (grooveshark)

melanie c - i turn to you (hex hector dub)

the main mix of this became the defacto radio mix on most stations and i believe the video also used it and for all right too. hex hector and his co-producer & engineer dezrok nailed it with this one and it's a stunning piece of epic trance hitting all the right spots.

this was at a time as i've mentioned before when hex hector started doing trancier remixes that sounded more like the uk than his native new york. and it shows more in the dub mix where he reshaped the track to impact more and get a bigger & more epic outcome.

right from the beginning of the track it starts to build up and it shapes up for an intense ride with a combination of dezroks synthwork, a massive use of stabs; both synth-hits and orchestral pieces. and when it finally hits the break you are treated with the familiar melodic pieces and it then rebuilds really well.

i quite like to play this one with other epic trance as it's a really good piece of music and does it job well, although the version i play shortens the breakdown a smidge and takes out the small break near the end. but that's just my preferences. bang this one out

listen here (youtube)

just realised that this is the third entry i do about a former spice girl but chances of writing about scary or posh is slim and none. i mean i am probably going to do another mention that dame dash signed victoria beckham to roc-a-fella after naomi campbell persuaded dame to get beckham to do some modelling for roc-a-wear. but since i don't do completely negative posts on this blog i'm not going to talk about the other two spice girls solo career.

kaori - good life

i've written before that the two inner city songs ("big fun" & "good life") along with "strings of life", "jaguar" and "black water" are some of the most copied, sampled, borrowed & nicked pieces of dance music. that doesn't mean all is bad and in many cases they really deliver and in particularly this one.

it starts with a upright bass and filtered in jazzdrums who set the mood for the track. after kaori sings paris greys first verse the melody is brought in and it sounds very much like the real mccoy. it then goes back to the swinging jazz drums and bass which really packs heat. i fell in love with this track on the first listen and i know many others who did so as well.

fans of gilles peterson know of it and the biggest shocker about this track is that it's produced by thomas schumacher. he is usually known for his techier productions but have been doing all sorts of electronic music over his career. it was first released under his own name and his own label (speil-zeug schallplatten) for his 2000 album "electric avenue" but i'm guessing it saw interest in other regions and i'm guessing it was from west london area.

it features japanese singer kaneki kaori, known mostly then for her collaborations with nozaki ryota aka jazztronik. her vocal performance is just as crisp and powerful as paris greys and give the extra edge for this remake. otherwise it's just been half-arsed and it'd probably be mocked as another example of europeans trying to do detroit and failing. luckily it isn't. support and bang this one out

buy here (junodownload)

kaah - så hög

i think i was going to eventually write about this track but, since the news that swedish rapper petter had persuaded kaah to come out of his musical hibernation it felt fitting. kaah has been long awaited and his musical legacy has grown ever since albin gromer hit the scene with his brand of digital soul that felt like a continuation of kaah's sound.

"så hög" is a song that i really love and it comes off his third album titled "beats, melodier & baby kaah". it's the closing track on a really awesome album that had a soundscape of stripped down beats with a hefty dose of swing in it. somewhat jerky synthetic drums, quaint sparse basslines, cutting synthlines and really bright vocals. or prince meets dilla meets d'angelo c:a voodoo except not.

what really seperates this track from the album is that it doesn't have a underlining danceable funk rhythm, it's very slow and grindable which means it's really lovely. the mood is set really right and there is so much detail within the synthsounds. kaah is also really on point with his vocals and he jams this one out to a 7minute epic.

the track goes into a new level of awesome once that really rugged synthbass comes in near the end and it just sends me all right right vibes. to be fair, i could have written about any song of the album and it would have given me those feelings as well. kaah delivered massively on this one.

buy here (itunes)

terry callier - when my lady danced for me (live)

i heard the original on a talkin loud sampler and there it was a welcomed piece with all of the uptempo funk and swinging music. it's a beautiful song in terry calliers usual stripped down folky type soul that is utterly timeless and it grabs you instantly.

the original is short but sweet and on a first look i thought it didn be longer but the live version proved me wrong. callier & his live band plays the song almost as it is and then goes into some experimentation and inject these jazzy crescendos to build it up and take it down. it's this that take is to the next level and they make a great song even better.

original: buy here (7digital)
live version: buy here (7digital)