nicola conte - fuoco fatuo (koop remix)

i think this one was though either juno or a compilation of sorts but i got interested since the names it had the names nicola conte and koop. koop i was already a big big fan of and enjoyed their remixes and wanted to hear their touch.

i hadn't heard the original before i heard the remix but found out later that it wasn't that different, koop kept the main groove and ideas from conte's original but added a bit more vibe and party into the action. another addition which leads me to like koop's version more is the fact that koop got earl zinger to do a number on their remix.

earl zinger who is rob gallagher's alter ego always does these spot on stories about clubland and dancemusic, always very tounge in cheek but they are also quite funny. most know "escape from ibiza" and "attack of the djs" and "story of the heaviest bassline ever" and i'm a big fan.

on this one zinger tells the story when he was going out to the club on rather rainy evening and finding himself trouble of getting in. zinger tries to get himself in on a couples night and he has some problems but with enough haggling and blagging, he is in.

i quite like the story and i like conte's groove and koop's additions which is a bit heavier bass and some piano. it's also a great introduction to koop, zinger & conte.

buy here (junodownload)

robin s - show me love (tonka's pianomission)

most people know "show me love", or sort of, the stonebridge remix that is which is the defacto original. i'd give a history lesson on that one but let's just say that the original versions never saw any light of the day after 1991.

stonebridge's remix is one of the favourite tunes of all-time and i've rarely taken a liking to the other versions (sans than the '93 stonebridge/nick nice version) than it and lord knows there has been countless remixes. nothing really worked with me until i heard a version in laidback luke's 2005 sensation white set.

laidback luke was rocking out with some big tunes and being his usual creative self behind the decks and then halfway into the set. right after he dropped his cutup of bucketheads' "the bomb", he went into this oldschool section where he played small bits of some big tunes and anthems and he started with this awesome version of "show me love".

i'd never heard it before but i had heard tonka's main remix and thought it was respectful but just ok, but here tonka stripped it down to the piano's and the lovely pads he was rocking throughout the main version. it became a "piano-pella" of sorts and quite frankly, one of the best set-starter/enders out there. but also a killer acapella tool in the hands of a good dj.

shame that it isn't available on digital so here is the youtube link

listen here (youtube)

louis prima & keely smith - that old black magic

i was introduced to this one through kevin smith & scott mosier's podcast that i used to listen to until i grew sick of hearing kevin smith talking about that he was an unmotivated fat stoner all the time. this track was a backing track when they riffed/discussed the harry potter books and i noticed it when i heard that drum fill.

i hadn't heard "that old black magic" before, nor any other versions of the song but with some close listening and some googling i found it and my heart lept with joy. i've mentioned before that i get excited by drums and especially with funky and weird rhythms. love those drumbreaks and i saw this track first a cool track but also a source of sampling.

after chopping it up a few times and using the drums and cymbals for a couple of beats and found that i could do much with it, an idea came into my head. i had sometimes in my sets played funk, disco, soul and danceable jazz with the house and other things (i.e. i wanted to be mr. scruff and gilles peterson). the idea was to do a subtle edit since the track moved around the 130 bpm region (sort of, it fluctuates a lot).

i had the edit mapped out in my head and first it was to time stretch the whole thing and work it like that, but after a while with ableton and audition, i gave up since i was just destroying the track. then i came up with another idea which was basically dropping a beat that filtered in the looped drum fill and running the track almost as per usual but with some additional looping at choice sections.

this idea is what i would do if i ever should finish it, i've just been lazy with it and haven't done it but after a while there was also another idea that i thought of. it came to me since there was a couple of tracks that used samples of these kind of tracks and worked them in a special manner, i'm of course talking about "we don't speak americano".

the problem was this idea really scared me since i knew exactly what to do and which parts to use effectively (it would be the drums, the piano bits and some of louis prima's louder moments). it scared me since since i thought that it was too disrespectful.

but i never made any edit and the times i have played it, i just dropped it like that since it works it's awesome as it is. i really like the vocal counteraction with smith and prima and the tight orchestration and how punchy the rhythm section is. what a lovely song.

buy here (7digital)

microwave prince - eternal light

i think this was introduced to me in 2007 and it was while i was re-acquainting myself with other older microwave prince tracks. it struck a chord with me as i was quite into longer deeper records at the time and this just fit the mould perfectly.

the track is a long 10 minute groove that picks up more elements very slowly and has a lot of atmosphere. it's one of those records that is versitile enough to be pitched down and pitched up for greater effect but i think it has it's places in the bookends of a set.

i've mostly taken the pitched down route since it works well with the dubbier deephouse records i have played sometimes. infact the basic channel aficionados could work this one also, if they don't know it already.

buy here (junodownload)

universal principles - inspirational breaks

i found this some years ago on a soma label compilation and it was something that clicked with me instantly. a quite bumping piece of funky broken beat with punchy drums, lovely strings and nice rhodes like stabs. truth be told the name of the track is quite pretentious but it's makes sort of sense if you hear the vocal 4/4 version "inspiration + light"

the drums was the thing i got attracted to the most and it was partly due to it's use of the break from coke escovedo's b-boy classic "i wouldn't change a thing", the other factor was those loud ride hats. the melodics carry out like it's 4x4 house counterpart but with more of a swing.

it's still rhythmical stabby notes that go through a couple of patterns and progressions but it carries out more naturally given the rhythm and nature of the track.

buy here (junodownload)

blundetto - nautilus

i discovered this one though soundcloud while doing a search on bob james' classic "nautilus". i had the bassline of "nautilus" stuck in my head and given the iconic status of the track and how people tend to find new ways of chop it up or recut the track, i wanted to see if there was something interesting.

i was quite disappointed sans a couple of versions; one that used reverb and effects to a decent effects, one that re-sequenced the tracks and chopped it up a nice manner, and then this version. a cover of "nautilus" and i actually know that their is a few of them around, like nuyorican soul (aka masters at work)'s version but i don't like that one.

this one came from a band i've never heard of but it was the fact that blundetto labeled it "jazz / reggae / deep soul" that got my interest. the sounds were like bob james' original but more swing and dub influenced. it did have it's weaker sides and one has to do with that the piano click with me like when james' plays the blues-y section (which if you read my post about mary j. blige's "sincerity", is my favourite part).

however it compensates that with some improvisation and a few new ideas that fits really well to the song. after a listen or three i had to see if it was available for purchasing. after looking on google, discogs and juno i found it and saw that there was also a dub which is also really good. well recommended.

buy here (junodownload)

future breeze - heulender wolf

this one is on the b-side to the single "read my lips" and it was one of those tracks that future breeze used to do before scoring a hit with the pizzicato riffing "why don't you dance with me?". all the songs on the "read my lips" ep had that acidy trance sensibility that le petit prince was known for.

which explained why they were on the label but their later tracks were on alphabet city but the thing is that it's all in the same label umbrella. the alphabet city label (who is founded by marc romboy and klaus derichs aka marc et claude) had a trick that they did on their releases.

that trick isn't limited to them but to many labels and acts (jam & spoon were infamous in doing this as well, see "right in the night"/"follow me!" and "angel"/"can you feel it"), used it with certain releases. the trick is to put out an ep or release and have a quite (or really) commercial a-side and then have a couple of cracking b-sides that were for the underground.

you can then score a hit on charts that'll give the artist/label some commercial recognition and also have some underground appeal. it should be noted that this trick also came a high price as too much of these shenanigans will destroy all your credibility as a serious producer (that is if one was trying to have the cake and eat it too),

in this case "read my lips" were joined by "heulender wolf" and "islamic nights", two stonking acid trancers that are on point and well deserving to be played out. "heulender wolf" starts with a wiggly acidline and carries on in that fashion, quite boshy but it's my kind of bosh. "islamic nights" is tamed down in relation to the former and tones the acid down but is also a good track.

listen here (youtube)

now for some reason heulender wolf isn't available for purchase since that hasn't been put up on digital yet but "islamic nights" has since that was included onto future breeze's first album "why?".

buy here (junodownload)

iio - rapture (john creamer & stephane k remix)

i know that talking about "rapture" is redundant since markus moser and made records seems to issue out new remasters and repackagings of older stuff every week or so. reason for that is that markus moser haven't made a hit record on his own back.

also ever since nadia ali figured out that moser was holding her back and her vocals and the productions from other producers she did a wise move of breaking out and becoming an own star. shame that nadia ali seems to also try to live of her old hits since "rapture" have been resung and re-released under her own name.

anyhow this record when it came out was everywhere and ministry of sound's promotional team didn't spare any expenses of ramming the track down peoples and djs throats. i think it has quite over ten different remixes in it's initial run and it didn't stop there.

i heard the original first but then it was armin van buuren's remix and later riva's and creamer & k's versions. the latter is the one that stuck with me to date with it's heavy groove, effected vocals and that bassline that correlates well with the repeated staccato riff.

john creamer & stephane k were excellent at this kind of prog and they knocked out a couple of tracks and remixes around this time that had heavy chugging grooves and deep basslines. this version however had flaws that bugs me even to this day; the breakdown and how it goes out from the break.

i think it takes the tempo down just a few notches more than it should and this is where i found paul van dyk's reworking, for his "the politics of dancing" mixcd, a nice solution since it kicked it in again more effectively and added a nice acidline to the mix.

rumour has it that van dyk did the rework since m.o.s. pushed him to include "rapture" and since none of the other versions wouldn't work he took it into the machine and beefed up the creamer & k remix.

buy all of the versions here (junodownload)

but ignore all of the first ones since they are really crap.

ananda project - secrets (king britt's sunset mix)

heard this one when it came out probably, i was into king britt and was quite into chris brann and thought version was magic, right from the sample i heard on juno. it's quite a subdued version that king britt does for this one and it's very sexy.

the original is a great track and king britt takes a lot from the original and then just works on a slightly different groove. i think the main difference is that it's not a four on the floor and uses a softer breakbeat and that the track is loaded with atmosphere.

the thing that attracted to me was that sexy vibe and how it reminded me of one my alltime favourite tracks, the miguel migs dub of britney's "stronger". it's just early night deep house at it's warmest and lushest.

buy here (junodownload)

nine inch nails - the hand that feeds (the dfa remix)

this definitely came from a heads up on some website and at the time neither nine inch nails or the dfa was on my radar. nin was something i didn't care about sans a few songs that i liked ("leaving hope" for instance) and the dfa was just something i wouldn't get until i heard their remix of justin timberlake's "my love" and a few other tracks.

what i understood from those tracks was that dfa (both the core and whole label group) worked with material that they self played and their remixes and productions could be seen as jams sometimes. this is one those remixes and it's quite disco in that edgy stripped down way.

it does borrow slight influences from moroder/belotte but i guess that whole thing is second nature since they were the starting point with that sound. but it goes beyond his synth workouts, there is live drums on here and also live bass.

while the main mix is awesome and is really good there is two versions that the dfa did that appear on promos and some slightly elusive releases of "the hand that feeds" single that are jams. obviously they were played before or after or when making the main remix and then that was edited down to make the main version.

some of the ideas presented in the main version are explored upon more and the key thing is the fact that there is a female vocal that sings lines from donna summer's "i feel love". along with that is more noodling on the synths and just more or that lovely thing. shame these versions didn't get a wider release but anyhow.

buy here (7digital)

listen to version one (youtube) | listen to version two (youtube)

steve angello - teasing mr. charlie

this track has been on my mind ever since i had the displeasure of hearing lmfao's "sexy and i know it". i believe that it's actually afrojack's "pacha on acid" which was a bigger source of inspiration for that one but the riff sounds more like steve angello's track.

now all tracks in question aren't original in one bit and people has been doing records like that since the eighties. but for all intents and purposes and considering acts like lmfao seem to sample/borrow from newer records, i'm going to say they clearly did draw ideas from these two (and other tracks).

anyhow "teasing mr. charlie" came at a point where the s.h.m had firmly established themselves in clubland and they seemed to do no wrong. i either heard it out in the club or in a set but it was a simple track that worked extremely well. one infectious acidlike bassline and a catchy rhythm and some filtering. boom.

buy here (junodownload)

goldfrapp - strict machine (benny benassi dub)

this is one of those remixes that changed my view on the benassi cousins for one inkling during the time they seemed to "satisfaction-ise" everything with their remixes and tracks. they later toned it down and kept it to having their signature sound being the sidechaining but not the other parts from "satisfaction".

i think they did two versions of this remix and that the main mix is infaction a sfaction version but the dub is the more interesting one. it's this resonant pumping piece of "not quite acid house" and "pumping clobb muzik" had it been released five years earlier.

it kicks along with a bassline that filters in the rest and it gets right into action quite fast and has a line from the original saying "i'm in love" repeated. benassi does throw a link to moroder/donna summer but so did goldfrapp sort of.

the breakdown is one of those that fades down to silence and i think i discovered this one before i went on a tirades against those kind of breakdowns which is why i haven't treated the track like leper. it also has to do that the break does sort of suit the purpose of the track since it's energy level is set to firmly on eleven in all points (sans the break).

youtube

aruba >> melo - upp till dig

bought the song and single in one of the stores on st. eriksplan (stockholm) in '04-'05, can't remember which because i've bought a lot from the three-four stores in that area. i think i picked it up on the strength that rasmus faber and alf tumble was on production. i don't remember if i'd heard of melo but i think he was starting to become a name on the scene.

the curiosity of this track however is the fact that it's 2-step with swedish vocals, the former isn't surprising (in retrospect) as i found out later that tumble and faber but mostly tumble had dabbled with 2-step around the 2000's.

but with swedish vocals and it's the same style of r&b vocals that have been cut up and shaped much like how the uk producers used to do, left me thinking "huh" on the first listen. reason being is because hearing this kind of music but not with english vocals is wierd, it was like that when people heard the first hiphop song on swedish or r&b song or soul song in swedish.

but it's only weird since the music is so associated with another country and in the case of 2-step and garage, that's the uk and this track really tries to sound the uk. but with a swedish vocal. it took a few listens to get over that but after that i was vibing to it because it was a nice bumping piece of 2-step.

the other weird thing was that i was picking up on 2-step and whatnot in 2005 when that the whole hype of that music had died and the music was becoming what is now 4x4, grime and dubstep. yeah, this track is quite an oddity but a cool one.

listen here (grooveshark)

oh since i mentioned r&b, soul and hiphop in swedish. my opinion is that swedish hiphop is awesome and was nice even when everyone wanted to sound like americans. but soul and r&b in swedish (when trying to sound american) is still a quite a joke and there has only been a few records that's been good.

hott 22 - want you

as i mentioned in the post about kmc/live element i am a fan of the gossip records production crew and i heard about this one right when it was released. loved this right from the get-go and thought it was a lovely piece of disco house. the main thing that got me hooked on it was the fact that they used vocal samples of a favourite song of mine, annie's "the greatest hit"

buy here (junodownload)

"the greatest hit" is quite known for being annie's first big hit and it was produced by tore kroknes (aka erot). erot really knew how to shape tunes and he was quite creative with samples and with the sound in general. on this one he used the bassline from madonna's "everybody".

buy here (7digital)

but much like when kanye used a vocal sample from m.i.a.'s "paper planes" (which samples the clash's "straight to hell") for "swagga like us", the end result of this sample-chain doesn't have the influence from the original track (in this case madonna's song).

what hott 22 did was to borrow two lines and set it to this filtertastic loop which has me confused since i can't identify where they used that from. i was rocking this for most part of '08 and '09 and thinks it deserves play. it's be cool to work it with the longer annie dub or original mix.

buy here (junodownload)

oh yeah, i recommend most versions on the digital ep for that annie track. especially the b-side "i will get on" which is also produced by erot and is, i think, based on taana gardner's "heartbeat"

lasgo - alone (hiver & hammer instrumental)

believe a mate of mine tipped me off on this one on the basis that hiver & hammer's remixes at the time was on point. he was right also, they were quite cracking and they saved a lot of tunes with their versions and had a really good idea on how to build tunes, sort of.

i bought the cdsingle for this one at stockholm recordstore pitch in their second location at gamla brogatan. it was on positiva and i remember that i bought it cheap and was pleasantly surprised when i took it home. reason being was while the version on the cd was billed "hiver & hammer's ground control mix" (in this case meaning the main remix with full vocals) it was the instrumental.

which was the only version worth bothering with any way, this remix takes the only good bits from the original: a sound effect. the rest is a cracking hiver & hammer track and it has found it's way into my sets plenty of times. the one thing that bugged me with quite a few of their remixes and productions was either horrible vocals or the fact that they had these great builds and everything was mintos, except for a lengthy breakdown.

to the defense their breakdowns seemed to have a rhythm behind it but it did take down the energy at a point where it wasn't needed at all. in this case it had one of these longer drops but it used a break loop for it's rhythm. i quite enjoy this track, how non-credible lasgo is and i am one of those people that find pleasure in finding good versions of cheesy tracks.

the only thing is that often these versions tend to be slightly or heavy reworked version of other their own productions and a small (or in many cases slim to none) bit from the tune they are remixing. you might aswell buy and support the original tune (that the remixes based their remix on) then.

i don't know if this one is heavily based on anything else besides a small influence from other remixes done at the same time so i'll continue support this one.

buy here (junodownload)

abdel halim hafez - gana el hawa

this was a song i thought was by george wassouf had done since i was introduced to his version first. every time i heard it on weddings, parties and all sorts of gatherings where people from the middleeast got together and danced etc. etc, it was in the arrangement that wassouf used.

later i was told that all wassouf did was update it and it was actually a song by abdel halim hafez. the thing that really captivated me with hafez version was the live version i saw on youtube. my mother mentioned hafez was a carismatic guy with enormous stage presence and sure enough the video clip showed it well.

said youtube clip

my favourite point is where he just teases the crowd and has his band play the introduction and first part and right where it's expected that he goes in he lets the band play the melody again. it's a marvelous song and thanks to youtube becoming bigger and some videos being uploaded from original sources you can see other performances as well.

like this one

that's from tunisia and it's a great performance as well. the "studio" versions that can be bought are almost as good as the live versions but they seem a bit tame. probably just me.

buy here (7digital)

kmc - i feel so fine (live element remix)

bought the cd single for "i feel so fine" around the time it came out after hearing it in a mix cd. was quite a fan of this song and am still sort of, it had a lot of versions on the cd-single and i liked most of them. however one stood out eventually and i would just focus on that one, live element's version.

it didn't use the melodics that most of the other remixes was based on and this swelling kind of rhythm, this was before i knew what sidechaining was called. the discoloop it filters around is treated with phasers and ducking and it's quite infectious.

this version started my liking towards the live element/hott 22/gossip records production team. they just have a knack of making good funky house records. records that steered just a few notches the other way could be like any insipid hed kandi track.

buy here (junodownload)

cappella - move on baby (armand's peaking mix)

this one came to me through discogs and youtube because i was looking at van helden's backcatalogue and seeing what other eurodance songs he had reworked. i've already talked about his version of urban cookie collective's "the key, the secret", but he also did rednex's "cotton eye joe" and cappella's "move on baby".

the universal theme in most of these remixes is that he used a little bit and then did what he wanted to do. in the remixes of rednex they are more of a hard house thing, the short version called the "dosey-doe mix" uses the full hook and the strings set to a backdrop of stripped down chicago hard house. the "funky trance mix" works around repeated vocal stabs and a jacking beat in that "witchdoktor" style.

do they hold up? no, not at all and they are more just a fun artifact but his remix of cappella still sort of works and is a bumping piece of music. armand's uses of the original is a sound effect and of course some vocal stabs. it's one of those 90's big room pieces that's a little bit to epic for it's own good. on the track itself armand works the usual repetitious rhythms across.

i still get a kick out of finding when certain names did remixes of artists that aren't credible, especially early on but i know with armand it was a story of he took on most of what was given. van helden has said in interviews that he doesn't know many of the poppy artists and don't care who they are and will remix things like this or sugababes and others.

it's because this was at a time when remixing often meant quick money and many producers / dj's take on anything just because. he's a bit of a paradox because while he is known for doing edits (for x-mix in the early days) and remixes, van helden claims he doesn't like remixes himself. anyhow

buy here (beatport)

note, while it says "tell me the way", it's "move on baby". armand's remix was done for london records and as a promo on the side. but was given more exposure on the "tell me the way" release.

mj cole - wondering why (recloose vocal mix)

don't remember when i heard this one first but i do know it was when i was introduced to some recloose tracks. there was a type of bounce in his tracks that was infectious and it sort of reminded me of the rhythmics of some uk garage.

this version of "wondering why" is not that however and is more boogie but it's fun none the less. i find the dub to be the best version but that's not available anywhere on the intarwebs so the vocal version will suffice. the thing that really caught my ear again to it was when i heard a song on the radio two years ago, ciara's "love sex magic"

it's not a big similarity but there is something there that connects these two tracks, i think it's just the bass notes and vocal stabs. but i found a big liking to recloose remix of mj cole again and both tunes was under my radar until i hard the ciara song on the radio again, and i remembered how good this remix is.

buy here (7digital)

malorix - belsalama

this one i was introduced to by my good friend jan henrik when he recommended me a set by american dj ripley. it was this frantic mix of everything and the kitchensink and it was quite luscious. there was a few tracks that caught my attention but one stood out.

it was this really bassheavy track sampling an arabic track. it was quite funky and i really liked how the samples was twisted around and manipulated. but the bass was the main course and was buzzing in the background and made it impossible to not move atleast one part of the body to the rhythm.

listen here (myspace)

the sample is from samira said's hit track "bil salama bil salama" and that track has a few key points which is twisted around in malorix's version. it's a production that sounds very post millennial as the arabic producers started to take notice of the both cheiron productions and shak'speare/darkchild/timbaland type bump that was the sound of the time.

buy here (7digital)

emeli sandé - heaven

i got introduced to the this one through radio and as most people i was gobsmacked by it's production. not that it was groundbreaking but it was the fact there was a record released with a backing that was just funky drummer, a bassline and strings.

you couldn't have pulled this off ten years ago since it'd been stigmatised with the wrong side of nostalgia. but now it's a whole different ballgame and it will be possible to do those records that were stripped down and sample based. it sort of started with that jazmine sullivan's "holding you down" which was just the "impeach the president" break and some vocal samples.

but then again that was a us track and i think the real kickstart for the uk was the skream remix of la roux's "in for the kill" which had that infamous ending that was nothing but an amen break, heavy subbass and vocals. skream and other jungle tekno revivalists decided to use the amen in a manner that been deemed outdated.

i.e. using it as it is with no chopping or editing. then a little while later came this song and some month after that a new track by some bloke by the name of olly murs (who i've never heard of) which has a track which is just the think break. i wondered when this magical timebarrier had been crossed when certain producers could do things like this again without being scrutinised.

now i know this honeymoon will only last for a little while but i'm glad that amidst the other junk and adele songs (not calling adele songs junk, she is awesome) there are songs like this to please us people who grew up in the 90's.

buy here (7digital)

the nu:tone remix which is heaven jacked kicked up to jungle speed and with an amen along with the funky drummer is also good and well recommended.

scott hardkiss - come on, come on (joe claussell's sacred rhythm version suite)

i think i was given a wind on this or that scott hardkiss was active through another blog. i've enjoyed his music and the hardkiss heritage for a long time now. i saw a mentioning that claussell had done a version of the song and it appearently was one of his long epics.

yeah i mentioned that i like when claussell do these kind of pieces in my entry about his remix of d*note and this one goes one step beyond that one. claussell reshapes what was a nice six minute song into a 15 minute one and he loads the track up with so much musical content.

the track has this extensive lush breakdown that starts with some ivory tickling by bennett pastor but it's claussell's brother congas that dominate the backdrop. after that he introduces backing vocals by the group called "voices of mali" that give some wailings until he brings back lisa shaw's chorus.

the suit starts out as something for the one a.m. but as it unfolds it's a five a.m. thing and claussell did some other versions as well. they are called "the dance dance version" and the "humidity dub" and they don't revel in the musical excesses that claussell did for his suite. he also used the "electro" lead that hardkiss used for his original.

buy here (beatport) | soundcloud

mini reviews #6

sixth edition now and another one really long overdue. this person was in my mind from the persons i wanted to ask in the beginning since she has a really big music interest. she's quite opinionated and on the intarwebs you can see her razzing and discussing all sorts of ideologies within music and club culture. she's a dj, producer (but i think she's put this part on the side for now) and a selfproclaimed glamazon, i've been a fan of her mixes for a long time. it's no other than avana vana

01. kaval - august night | youtube
nice rhythm and use of effects but the flute doesn't have the impact it should

02. burnt friedman - sex working class | boomkat
there is a strong funk piece underneath but the main vocal takes away from it

03. the cure - the figurehead | youtube
you can easily get lost in the bass & drums on this as it's lovely, roberts vocals are roberts vocals.

04. true widow - blooden horse | youtube
more shoegaze and i enjoyed this one, it just did nothing special for me.

05. forest swords - miarches | youtube
nice and dubby but i could do without the guitar being so prominent

06. outpost 13 - ice planet | myspace
i listened to this twice and both times i came to the same conclusion, nice bassline and soundscapes but it did nothing else for me

07. ike yard - a dull life | youtube
it sounds like funkstörung remixing throbbing gristle, not in a good way though.

08. sonic youth - i dreamed i dream | youtube
kim gordon's parts on this is nice, rest don't really give a lasting impression

09. bernard szajner - welcome (to death row) | youtube
sounded like casiocore in the beginning but i liked it a lot after that.

10. le1f - saltimore | tumblr
nice piece of abstract hiphop and that water break is awesome.

thanks for those ten avana. and as always i asked if she wanted to anything extra about his picks and her response was:

these tracks comprise a rather dark group of new and old music that I am finding myself drawn to as autumn creeps into winter.

right on.

d'angelo - chicken grease

i've mentioned before that i have a whole big load of albums and records but that i keep them in storage in the basement mostly. except for recent purchases or albums that i just feel like listening to through and through. which is something special for someone who enjoys singles more than albums.

d'angelo's second album is one of those albums and it's been said before but there is so much quality on that album. every time i listen to it i find a new favourite track but there has always been three that has been on top from the beginning. "devil's pie", "untitled (how does it feel)" and this track "chicken grease".

the thing that most will react on is that d'angelo practically raps on this one and the groove is perfect for the flow he employs. the groove itself is some drums that are very upfront and a bass underneath. all the other elements like the guitar, the trumpet and d'angelo's vocals are subdued in the mix.

the other thing that i reacted to instantly was the fact that d'angelo quotes/rephrases rakim with a classic line from "i know you got soul". he turns "but i'll wait 'cause i mastered this / let the others go first so the brothers don't miss" to "but i'll wait till i've mastered this / let the others go first so the brothers won't miss".

the slight change makes rakim's bragging (even though he was perfectly entitled to say it because rakim did master it) into a different slant and gives him an aid in his simile for fatty food as that good gunky funk. or something.

buy here (7digital)

leann rimes - life goes on (29 palms remix)

this one came to me after i heard some other 29 palms remixes and liked the sound that pete lorimer was trying to do at the time. it was the kind of circuit sound that people like hex hector and others were doing when epic trance got big in the us gay clubs. only a bit more fuller and sort of more housey but still keeping all the trancy tones.

it's been in my playlists for years since it's a really nice slab of trance and i've worked it well as a driver. however it's not in it's original form. i thought that it was really good but i thought it could do without the breakdowns. i discovered this track right around the time i grew sick of the excesses in beatless breaks and how some tracks had strong parts and then came this part in the middle which didn't make sense.

so i took out most of the first breakdown where it breaks down into half-time and goes into a lush vocal part which is good but served no point when i was playing it. i had it go in to the drop and then went straight into the part of the drop where the acid-like sound kicks right along.

the drop then became more effective worked better with the rest of the song and as for the second break i just took it out completely. the end result is some pete lorimer goodness and some dabs of leann rimes on top. now that sentence made it sound like i didn't like rimes' original, it's quite nice actually but it's not something that works with trance.

now i'm not going to give out my re-edit since i don't do that at all so see my comments as a guideline on how to do your own cutting and splicing in your audio-editor of choice.

buy here (itunes)

apollo 440 - liquid cool

naturally this one came to me with the fact one of deep forest remixes (ice cold @ the equator) was featured on sasha & diggers northern exposure set. as much as that version is good i think the other deep forest remix (trans-afrique life extension express) is better.

the second one is a bit more funky and i think the first one just seems to redo the ideas from the original and/or the rerub on the rumble ep and i think that one is much stronger but hey, if it wasn't played by sasha then it's now worth tracking down...

"liquid cool" is one those pieces of music that can be classified as progressive house or trance. i'd say it's the former because it's not quite the kind of trance that was made during the time even though it does share it's idiosyncrasies. it's kind of the trancy house with atmospheres that seemed to be reinvented about 8 years after that.

the track seems to revolve around this buzzing low-key bassline and the hypnotic chord sequence played on a piano and a few synth patches. but the other striking feature is it's reverbed out guitar that is much ignored on all the other versions except the future sound of london remix (which is the best remix of this song besides version on the rumble ep).

it's quite a subtle track and it's weird when apollo 440 as a production team are associated with all these big breakbeat and techno productions and remixes. this one is quite a gem and the way the vocals have been treated really emphasise the ethereal mood that they nailed. from elizabeth gray's hazy "fade away" to noko's speech parts.

buy here (7digital)

i should give a short word about the other remixes since i mentioned three or four of them. i'm torn about jah wobble's remix since i like all the ideas he put in and especially his bassline but i don't think it was executed well. the two space versions are the longest and the beat one is decent but the ambient version which is 24minutes in it's entirety really doesn't fill the time well.