Groovin' You

Azari & III

2009-11-28T14:14:00.002Z

Not got a whole lot of info on these guys but I am very much into the three tracks I have heard - all on an early 90s Chicago House tip. Think Jamie Principle, Blake Baxter etc. Their new EP entitled Hungry For The Power is out on I'm A Cliche records (Cosmo Vitelli's label). The title track with its sexy/camp vocals instantly grabbed me. A classic 808 beat, big funky bassline and some great synth work. The video is full of sex and violence so watch at your own risk!

Azari & III - Hungry For The Power

On the flipside is She's An Illusion and it's a real monster of a track. Dark smoke-filled warehouse business with a relentless one-note bassline, all manner of robo-voices and mad computer noises layered over a fat house beat. Get it at 20JFG. Reckless (With Your Love) was their previous single for Permanent Vacation records. It took a few listens to grow on me but now I'm hooked - a great driving house groove that works both in both vocal and instrumental versions.

Azari & III - Reckless (With Your Love)

YOU+ME=LOVE Compilation

2009-11-16T15:33:00.002Z

I've uploaded a little mixtape I recently made for the special lady in my life. Songs about love and that, y'know? All the tracks have lyrics that make me think of her and/or us. She said it made her do a happy cry so it did the trick!

Tracklist:

Lenny Williams - Choosin' You (edit)
Eastside Connection - You're So Right For Me (edit)
Darcus - It's Got To Be Love (edit)
India - To Be In Love (album version)
Lee Garrett - You're My Everything
Marvin Gaye - I Wanna Be Where You Are
Breakwater - The One In My Dreams
Syreeta - I Love Every Little About You
Marvin Gaye - Come Live With Me Angel
Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It

That last MJ track never ceases to amaze me - so perfect.

Download: YOU+ME=LOVE.rar

Keenhouse - Civic Transit

2009-11-11T15:31:00.003Z

I've been listening to Keenhouse's album Civic Transit quite a lot lately (thanks to my girlfriend for putting me on to it). It's a rather jolly affair of (mostly) vocal dance-pop with plenty of lovely synths. The tracks are quite varied in style but there seems to be a mixture of Synth-pop, French House and Electro-House influences, plus I reckon there's a bit of videogame music in there too. My favourite tracks are Starpower Outage, Revolution (which could be a Goldfrapp track) and The Rendezvous but I've not found myself skipping any of the others which is always a sign of a good album.

Fans of Valerie may recognise the album opener Deep In The Forest, which also kicked off the excellent Valerie & Friends compilation earlier this year. Keenhouse are also featured on another new compilation from Binary Records entitled LA Lights and their tracks are definitely the highlights of it. Non-album track Ari-es in particular has been one of my most listened to tracks recently.

Download Ari-es at Discodust
Civic Transit is £3.99 from Amazon
You can stream the album in full at last.fm

Hudson Mohawke - Butter

2009-11-07T16:30:00.008Z

Hudmo's debut LP Butter dropped last month on Warp Records and it's hot! Sounding like not much else that's around at the moment, it's a crazy mixture of Wonky beats, US Hip-Hop and R&B plus more traditional Warp-style electronic experimentation, all covered in lush layers of dazzling neon synthesizers. You can read a short interview with him here where he talks about the album, some of his influences and his deal with Warp.

This track is blowing my mind right now:

Hudson Mohawke - FUSE

It can all get a bit messy and disjointed at times, but with so many ideas being thrown into the pot, even the weaker ones come and go pretty quickly. FUSE and Rising 5 are the stand out tracks for me at the moment, although there are some other great little songs amongst the madness. At only 20 years old, I think this guy has a big future ahead of him. Love that cover artwork too! Check out these free downloads from warp.net:

Hudson Mohawke - Rising 5.mp3
Hudson Mohawke - Butter Snips.mp3 (album sampler)

Floating Points - Vacuum EP

2009-10-14T15:55:00.002+01:00

Some of the best House I've heard for a long time. Deep and warm, melodic and hypnotic.

Buy it at Boomkat.com

Joy Orbison

2009-10-13T20:16:00.002+01:00

If you've not heard anything about Joy Orbison's Hyph Mngo already this year you must be living under a rock. A massive genre defying tune, now finally available digitally on Hotflush Records. The b-side Wet Look is also a stormer.

Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo

Joy Orbison - Wet Look

Buy them at Boomkat.com

Mayer Hawthorne

2009-10-07T14:17:00.004+01:00

His "A Strange Arrangement" album recently came out on Stones Throw Records. It's a throw back to all things old and soulful. It's pretty good, going on the few listens I've had so far. The opening accapella of "Prelude" into the title track is beautifully smooth. The more upbeat tracks like "Your Easy Lovin'..." or "One Track Mind" I could live without to be honest. But what's really been doing it for me recently are the two free remixes available for download from stonesthrow.com.

Astronote's remix of "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" keeps the retro soul vibe of the original but ups the bass considerably and transforms the beat from a light backing track to a heavy funk stomp. Classixx's version of album closer "Green Eyed Love" is far more radical. For a start, the instrumentation is almost completely electronic. There are lovely synth lines and apreggios drenched all over it. The bassline is thick and the drums have a nice analogue warmth to them. The extra reverb on the vocals just enhances the dreaminess of it all. Clearly I need to do my homework on this Classixx fellow.

Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Astronote's El Camino Remix).mp3
Green Eyed Love (Classixx Remix).mp3

Stream "A Strange Arrangement" on Spotify
Mayer Hawthorne at Stones Throw

Gatekeeper

2009-10-06T15:01:00.002+01:00

I mentioned Gatekeeper last year when they had four amazing industrial-electro-horror-disco tracks circulating the internet. They now have their first vinyl release due on Fright Records - a new label set up by Kompakt's Michael Mayer and Jon Berry. The four track EP entitled Optimus Maximus will be available on limited edition granite coloured vinyl from October 26th (and also digitally). There's a video for the title track, created by Tommy Boy (who was also involved in the amazing cover art). Watch the video below and check the Fright Records myspace page for more previews and info.

I-F Mixtape 1986

2009-10-05T13:06:00.002+01:00

There's a great old mix by I-F (CBS / Intergalactic FM) on the Valerie blog at the moment. Never heard any of the tracks before but they're pretty much all awesome; from Italo to Electro Rap to Euro-Dance. Mixing is spot on too. My personal favourite:

I-F - Disco Mix from Tape 1986

Casiopea - Make Up City

2009-10-04T12:50:00.003+01:00

I've been meaning to post this for ages; some 1980 style Japanese Jazz-Fusion from Casiopea that I picked up in San Francisco last summer. First sample track is the straight-up groover, second one has more of a 'shuffle' vibe to it. Nice synths and a healthy portion of noodles throughout the album.

Casiopea - Eyes of Mind.mp3

Casiopea - Make Up City.mp3

Casiopea - Make Up City LP

Baxter - Proof EP

2009-08-24T15:36:00.003+01:00

Willy Baxter first caught my attention back in 2006 when I stumbled across him via Kelley Polar's myspace page. I really liked his music and I blogged a couple of his tracks over on 24:Hours, which lead to the Irish label seedyBurnR putting out his debut release, the excellent Aiming High back in 2007. He finally has another release out, the Proof EP under the alias "Baxter" on OMG! Records. It features 3 quality vocal tracks in a synth-pop/nu-disco style and a dreamy downtempo bonus. There is also a remix EP featuring alternate versions from Lifelike, Spirit Catcher and Idiotproof. Both releases are currently Beatport exclusives but they will be available at other net stores soon. Keep an eye out for his full album and a remix for the brilliant Tesla Boy, both coming soon on Mullet Records.

Baxter - Proof EP (OMG! Records)
Buy it at Beatport
Stream it on Myspace

Johan Agebjörn FACT Mix 76

2009-08-23T18:29:00.003+01:00

Sally Shapiro producer Johan has put together one of the best mixes I've heard for a long time for FACT Magazine. It's an excellent example of the quality and variety of tunes from the 'nu-disco' genre. Mid-tempo pacing, plenty of lovely melodies, an appreciation of song based structure and smooth, no frills mixing.

Tracklisting:

Friday Bridge: This Case Is Closed (Johan Agebjörn Remix)
40 Thieves feat Qzen: Don't Turn It Off (Brennan Green Remix)
Sally Shapiro: Miracle (Bogdan Irkük Remix)
Friendly Fires feat. Au Revoir Simone: Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Dølle Jølle: Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje Remix)
Bogdan Irkük: When I Dream Of New York
Fox the Fox: Precious Little Diamond (12" Version)
Glass Candy: I Always Say Yes (12" Main)
Datassette: Weather Conditions

DOWNLOAD
Grab it while you can, the link expires in three weeks.

Groovin' You Too

2009-08-17T14:58:00.004+01:00

I suppose I should draw your attention to this new mini blog I have set up. There is a permanent link at the top of the sidebar on the left. I don't always find the time to write full posts/reviews here so the new blog is something I hope to update more regularly, albeit with less information. So if I hear a random good track somewhere I'll be posting a link to it there. I'll still be writing more in depth posts here too. You can follow the Groovin' You Too blog if you're a Tumblr member or you can add the URL to your RSS feed. You can also follow me on Twitter for updates and other music related talk. The all important links are below:

Groovin' You Too
Twitter Profile

Silkie - City Limits Vol.1

2009-08-11T15:10:00.003+01:00

I dabble in Dubstep now and then, and there are some really fresh sounds out there if you look beyond the raft of ear bleeding basslines and synths out there. Silkie can certainly be placed in the 'artistic' group of steppers on the strength of his new LP "City Limits Vol.1" recently released on Deep Medi Musik. My only complaint is that it's a little long at 13 tracks and 75 minutes but it does contain a wide variety of sounds, styles and influences over the heavy basslines. These four tracks perfectly highlight the albums quality and variety (though of course, youtube never does Dubstep any favours).

Alan Wilkis - Pink and Purple

2009-07-15T18:38:00.005+01:00

This new release from Brooklyn-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Alan Wilkis was one of the last promos I downloaded before being cut off from the ~~world~~ internet for a month after a recent house move. A crazy mixture of styles and genres (check out his influences at Owl & Bear) that somehow manage to come together to form a cohesive whole.

Starting out with the disco funk of Snuggle Up To Nail Down which is packed with catchy and infectious vocodered vocals and synth melodies layered over a bubbling bassline, lo-fi shuffling drum machines and more meaty percussion. There's even a top notch guitar solo in there; consider my interest piqued. The funk continues on N.I.C.E., this time leaning more towards the P-Funk era. The beat is thick and the bassline thicker, complimented with tight guitar licks, synth hooks and horn stabs.

Alan Wilkis - N.I.C.E.

Gotta Get You Back retains the heavy beat and bass combo but moves in a poppier direction. It reminds me of Jordan Knight's Give It To You (this is a good thing) both tracks using similar staccato rhythm patterns. Title track Pink and Purple is another catchy little pop number until 2m30s in, when we're treated to a small breakdown followed by a grin inducing synth and guitar solo climax. Dance With You manages to squeeze Gameboy sounding blips, synth-pop influences, driving rock and roll drums and guitars, a brief smattering of techno beats and the usual array of vocal and melodic hooks all into a jolly little 3 minute pop song.

Alan Wilkis - Dance With You

Closing track Time Machine is the epic 'serious' contribution to the EP. It hasn't clicked with me like the upbeat stuff but I do like the synths and I'm a sucker for those cheap sounding bossa-nova beatbox rhythms. Overall then, an impressive and varied release, so much so that it was tough to decide which tracks to post. Listen to the whole release on his Myspace page and buy the EP either direct from the artist or from itunes using the links below.

Alan Wilkis myspace
Alan Wilkis store
Alan Wilkis on itunes

Desire

2009-06-15T20:38:00.005+01:00

Desire is the new project from Johnny Jewel of Glass Candy and Chromatics fame. They opened the show for Glass Candy and Lindstrom at the Italians Do It Better party at London's KOKO last Thursday and turned out to be the highlight of the show for me. Singer Megan Louise has a great voice, slightly reminiscent of Billie Ray Martin - she also played a bit of synth. Johnny Jewel was hunched over an array of electronic noise boxes and there was a live drummer. The backing track (and demo cd) contained more live instrumentation such as piano, saxophone and strings. The style is more melodic than Glass Candy and with an emphasis on 'song' as opposed to 'bass', although there are still a couple of nice upbeat numbers for the dancefloor, especially during the live show.

Some news from Mike Simonetti's blog: "the desire lp is done being mastered, and on it's way to the pressing plant. we should have these in the store in a little over a month." That was already 2 weeks ago so I'm not sure if the cd I bought at the show is the full album or another demo. What I do know is that it's great - I've listened to it at least once a day since the gig. For now though, show them some love at a live show or on myspace and enjoy this track from the cd.

Desire - Don't Call.mp3

Desire on Myspace

Nite Jewel

2009-05-23T20:56:00.006+01:00

I can't stop listening to this song. And when I'm not listening to it, I'm singing it in my head. A beautiful, amazing record. I found it on the new Milky Disco 2 compilation from Lo Records (not as good as the original or the digital only Milky Disco 1.5). It also came out as a 12" on Italians Do It Better. Taken from the Good Evening LP, which is just as great from start to finish. Buy it direct from the artist for maximum satisfaction.

Nite Jewel Myspace | Nite Jewel Website

Colin McNeil - Cantina

2009-05-18T16:21:00.002+01:00

A lost gem from my vinyl collection, the b-side to the Monsters of the Deep 12" on Ritual Recordings. A lot of Techno/Tech-House from this period (2001) hasn't aged well but I think this still has some interesting sounds, a healthy amount of funk and a slightly Detroit influenced groove to it. Can't tell you much about Colin McNeil I'm afraid, though all of the releases on Ritual Recordings were from him. So just sit back and enjoy the music with this one, pitched down slightly for your listening pleasure!

Colin McNeil - Cantina.mp3

Karin Klark - In The Night

2009-05-12T17:43:00.004+01:00

Love the SNES sounding synth hook and the guitar solo in the third minute of Karin Klark's "In The Night". Sourced from the new Flemming Dalum mix entitled "Italo Magic". It's full of obscure tracks and as ever, it's mixed and sequenced flawlessly. Get the mix, full tracklist and some cool cover scans from a selection of the records he used over at the Robots for Robots forums here.

Deep House Mix 27-04-2009

2009-04-27T17:53:00.003+01:00

Here's a little something I put together this afternoon.
Selected and mixed LIVE using Vinyl and Serato.

acidbearboy - Deep House Mix 27-04-2009

Tracklist:

Bogdan Irkuk aka Bulgari - Everything is Changing
Trentemoller - Le Champagne
Dolle Jolle - Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje Extra Doll Mix)
Circlesquare - Dancers (Russ Chimes vs. Anoraak Remix)
Grace Jones - Williams' Blood (Yam Who? Electric Dub)
Metro Area - Orange Alert
Andy Stott - Talk Touch
Nick Holder - Paradise '98
Model 500 - Starlight
Ame - Engoli
Brendan Moeller - Dynamo
Quantec - Circular

I realised I didn't post my last mix here, no idea why, but it's also available to download from Soundcloud so grab it if you haven't already. Lot's of synth, some chunky but funky house and a rather French influence.

acidbearboy - mélodie superbe de synth mix 27-01-2009

Tracklist:

Sebastian Tellier - Kilometer (Aeroplane's Italo '84 Remix)
Bottin - No Static (Main Mix)
Shirley Lites - Heat You Up [Melt You Down] (Gerd 4lux Edit)
Metro Area - Erodyne
Bogdan Irkuk AKA BULGARI - When I Dream Of New York
Kish Mauve - Loose Control (Fred Falke Remix)
Anoraak - Night Drive With You
C-Mos - Calling All Cars
College feat. Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
SymbolOne - Love Juice (Danger TV Remix)
Fear of Tigers - Study Hard Drugs School
Together - Together
Fred Falke - Love Theme
Cut Copy - So Haunted (Knitelife's Sun-Soaked Reprise)
Sneak Thief - My Sullen Mistress
Professor Genius - Down There
Octogen - Influential Perfection
Entertainment - U 1988 (Kruton Remix)
Discodeine - Joystick
Amplified Orchestra - Zweap
The Beat Broker - Cactus Cooler
Michael Mayer & Reinhard Voigt - Transparenza
Blackbelt Andersen - November
Defender - Bliss

Martyn - Great Lengths

2009-04-18T17:32:00.003+01:00

The new long player from Martyn entitled Great Lengths is out now on his own 3024 label. His stuff isn't something you can easily lump into a specific genre. It sounds new and interesting, and most importantly original. It has some great artwork too from co-label owner Erosie. The album is a mixed bag of influences, combined to create something fresh. There are Detroit-esque chords all over it. The production is top notch and the bass is huge throughout. It starts out a little dark, with the heavy rhythms of The Only Choice, Krdl-T-Grv and Right?Star! - the latter two both having an old Rave/Jungle feel to them. Seventy Four is a slow, throbbing 4/4 track with a deep techno groove which eventually builds to some lovely synth pads. Little Things lightens the mood with it's light rhythms and bobbling melody lines. Vancouver is killer - a perfect mixture of Dubstep and Dub-Techno.

The albums first vocal track These Words is next, I'm still not sure but it's growing on me. Bridge is a short piano interlude which is really quite lovely. Elden St. is basically deep House and real beautiful stuff. Had to upload this one, album hight for me at the moment - Elden St.mp3. Far Away is alright, nothing special. Hear Me has a deep organ bassline and is an update of the classic 2-Step Garage sound. Is This Insanity features rhymes from Spaceape. It's a heavy beat but probably the album low point. Brilliant Orange is some Derrick May style synth's only shit. It should close the album really but the final track is the previous single Natural Selection. Still sounds amazing, with a vibe not dissimilar to The Other People Place, so a great addition to those who don't already have it. There is also a hidden bonus track which is annoyingly familiar sounding but I've no idea what it is.

I can't find the full album online to stream. These links are the best I could do:

Stream Natural Selection and Vancouver on Boomkat
Stream Right?Star! at Dusted
Album sampler on Youtube with clips of all the tracks
There are some more sample tracks on Myspace

Parallels - Ultralight EP

2009-04-17T15:20:00.003+01:00

Parallels, the Canadian duo of Cameron Findlay and Holly Dodson have a forthcoming EP on Thisisnotanexit Records next month. I've been listening to the promo over the last couple of weeks and it's been growing on me each time, to the point where I actually love it now. From the press release: "Cameron thrives on early eighties music – most of which could be categorised as ‘new wave’ and ‘disco.’ Whilst Holly approaches from pop music that appropriates those same electronic influences into classic pop structures, a la ABBA et al." I have described it as Italo-Pop.

Lead track Ultralight is a driving electronic track with a strong vocal performance and classic Italo arpeggio's and synth layers. Midnight Voices has a more disco feel to it, even though it has a similar bassline to Ultralight. Think Glass Candy meets Alden Tyrell and your halfway there. Final track Dry Blood is the dark dancefloor destroyer. The vocals are low in the mix and have been distorted with some heavy vocoder action. Three great tracks, available on limited edition 12” (500 copies only) from 11th May 2009 on Thisisnotanexit Records. The debut album will be released in late 2009.

Parallels - Ultralight

Mark Du Mosch

2009-04-10T11:33:00.006+01:00

Syncom Data Records sent me the promo for the Overlord EP from Rotterdam's Mark Du Mosch, due later this month. Mark's previously released material for the Keynote and Moustache labels, but this is the first I've heard of him but it's a solid, varied EP of melodic electro/techno. Title track Overlord starts things off with a heavy thump and a menacing bassline. Genisis smooths things out with some deep bass, light percussion and warm melodic elements. Next up is the aptly titled Summer Breeze; here we get a rolling bassline, gorgeous chord patterns and a real uplifting vibe. In The Clouds continues the melodious vibe, opening with 2 minutes of ambience before a bassline and eventually a beat come in. It's a shame it takes so long to build as the last couple of minutes of the track have a really nice lazy house groove. Digital buyers get the ambient First Flight as a bonus track. Promo edits below, check out the full version of Summer Breeze, along with his previous work on his Myspace page.

Mark Du Mosch - Summer Breeze

Mark Du Mosch - In The Clouds

Arthur Prysock - When Love Is New

2009-03-30T16:10:00.003+01:00

The sun is shining here today so I've been spinning some mid-tempo funk and disco grooves. I picked up this track by jazz and R&B singer Arthur Prysock with the intention of extending the lovely instrumental section in the second half. I've not done so yet and like most of my re-edit ideas, it will probably never happen. The full song is pretty sweet though, so enjoy it in its original glory. It was written by Gamble & Huff and features John Davis & The Monster Orchestra. I remember hearing this coming out of my Grandma's kitchen radio via BBC Radio 2 not long after I bought it, think of that what you will.

Arthur Prysock - When Love Is New (Disco Version)

Lovelock

2009-03-25T15:22:00.002Z

Lovelock is an alias of Steve Moore from synth-rock duo Zombi. There isn't much material out there at the moment, but what's there is very good. The first (and currently only) official release was the smooth disco groove of Don't Turn Away (From My Love), which closed last years Cosmic Balearic Beats Vol.1 compilation on Eskimo records. I found a couple of other tracks floating around the net this week that really caught my attention, somehow I managed to miss the hype last summer!

Featured on the current Mixmag cover cd from Aeroplane, Burning Feeling has a slow but solid chugging metallic beat with a number of melodious synth elements layered on top. The male vocal is pretty decent and everything builds nicely to the BIG sounding chorus. Love Reaction ups the tempo, this time with a female vocal over a driving beat, high energy bassline and guitar power chords, with twinkling synths sprinkled in at all the right moments. Midway through the track is an awesome guitar/synth solo. The only complaint about either of these tracks is that they both fade out (and that they are still unavailable).

Download the tracks from Electrorash
Lovelock on Myspace

Space Art

2009-03-19T18:06:00.003Z

I've featured Space Art here before as part of my Psyche-Out! series of posts. They were a French duo formed in 1977 and their music is very French sounding. On keyboards was Dominique Perrier and on drums was Roger Rizzitelli. I was lucky to find all 3 of their albums on my travels in North America last summer. I wasn't previously aware of the group but picked them out due to the cover art, the band name and track titles; I wasn't disappointed. This post is to celebrate the fact that I've finally got around to transferring all three LP's to mp3! Apparently these were not released outside of France but obtaining a copy of the first two LP's online certainly won't be difficult, nor will it break the bank (they were also released more recently on cd). A copy of the vinyl only Play Back on the other hand turns out to be rather rare and expensive. Possibly my favourite of the three though.

Their self titled debut album was released in 1977 by I-F Records, with distribution by Carrere. Certain melody lines and phrases are re-used throughout the album, giving it some continuity. Onyx opens the album with beautiful, ethereal synth melodies and smooth live drumming. There were a lot of experiments with the synthesizer and electronic music during the late 70s but the drums here really stand Space Art apart from the rest of the crowd. I find this album to be a little darker and more intense than the others. Axius is a good example of this with its growling bassline and nagging, alarm like one-note synth lines. Ode A Clavius is another highlight. It starts out light and dreamy, almost classical, before dropping into a funky syncopated hook. There are also a bunch of alien noises which sound like they were lifted straight out of some weird 70s cartoon or videogame.

Space Art - Onyx

Space Art - Ode A Clavius

Not sure if this is from 1977 or 1979, no dates on the LP itself, but Trip In The Center Head (or Head Center as some pressing state) continues where the previous album left off, opening with two short upbeat melodic pieces: Speedway and Odyssey. Things turn darker with the slow burner Eyes Shade. Opening with a rush of white noise, followed by a lonely synth with some muffled telephone chatter in the background. The track closes with a slow beat and some electric guitar noodling. L'obsession d'Archibald is one of my favourite Space Art tracks. It opens with a pulsing synth note which is joined with an arpeggio and lead melody line. Then out of nowhere this killer bridge section drops in at 2:17 - smooth as silk. I think its greatness is enhanced by the fact that it's gone within a minute, never to return. Epic closing track Psychosomatique is another moody slow burner, though it's a little unspectacular.

Space Art - Speedway

Space Art - L'obsession d'Archibald

Released in 1980 by Waves/Carrere, the third and final LP called Play Back opens with the lush chords, floating synths and rolling drums of Folkstone Hovercraft. A truly beautiful piece of music that I posted here previously. This album had more players on it and a wider variety of instruments accompanying the synths/drums combo of old. This led to a more varied selection of styles within the tracks and also some vocals for the first time. Paris Vision, whilst not having lyrics, makes good use of a vocoder for its scat style vocals. Love Machine is pure pop with a full on vocoder vocal and guitar power chords. Very cheesey and kitch, and not my favourite to be honest. Alpha du Centaure is nice, coming in three parts, but I don't see the theme running between them myself as each is quite different. Closing track Welcome to Love is another thing of wonder and amazement. More vocoder vocals, more beautiful chord sequences and synthesizer sounds, all accompanied by a brilliant shuffling drumbeat and complementary bassline. The seemingly never ending solo in the last 2+ minutes does eventually fade out unfortunately, but its still one of my favourite tracks.

Space Art - Paris Vision

Space Art - Welcome To Love

Yars' Revenge

2009-03-13T14:20:00.006Z

The constant throb of dirty static bass.
The slight raise in pitch when entering the safety of the neutral zone.
The frantic nibbling of the wall around the Quotile.
The panic inducing siren of an incoming Swirl.
The satifying sound of a successful hit with your Zorlon Cannon.

Not many games from 1981 hold up well today, especially in the audio departmart. But Yars' Revenge for the Atari 2600 was brilliant back when I was a kid and it still is today. Grab an emulator and a rom and see for yourself. Try the self titled debut LP from Zombi or the 2003 Demo LP from Steve Moore for musical accompaniment.

Tesla Boy and others

2009-03-12T15:32:00.001Z

Too much good music going around at the moment and I don't always have mp3's to share and the time to write about each artist so here is a little round-up of what's hot with some links elsewhere for music.

Tesla Boy are all kinds of awesome. I've listened to their EP on repeat since finding them yesterday. Retro melodic synth-pop with a modern twist - think Anoraak, Sally Shapiro etc. If anybody can help me obtain the EP on cd, please get in touch.

Stream the full EP on last.fm.
Download mp3's from Valerie, Death Electro and Discodust.
Show them love and support on Myspace.

Chicago's Gatekeeper (didn't) release one of my favourite EP's last year with their 4 tracks of horror soundtrack inspired Electro/Techno/Industrial tunes. Two more tracks, Optimus Maximus and Slow Walk, have been added recently and the duo show no signs of letting up.

Stream all six great tracks on their Myspace
Download mp3's via The Hype Machine.

I Am The Cosmos have some dreamy melodic synth stuff on their page. At times it's reminiscent of some of the instrumental tracks on Italians Do It Better, only more intense. It's all deep and slow and trippy, and most importantly good.

Stream 3 tracks on Myspace.
Download The Final Form from 20 Jazz Funk Greats.

This is kinda cheating but Valerie have been on a roll lately. The blog is full of great 80s inspired synth-pop and synth heavy melodic house. My faves:

College feat. Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
Fare Soldi - Survivor (Keenhouse Remix)
Cecile (both tracks are tops)
Fear of Tigers (again, both tunes are great)
Sally Shapiro - Anoraak Remix
Edwin Van Cleef - I Want You

New Musik - Warp

2009-03-11T17:20:00.003Z

If you were lucky enough to get a copy of the excellent Cut Copy promo mix So Cosmic then you'll know the track Warp by synth-pop pioneers New Musik. It was one of the stand out tracks in the mix and I didn't hesitate to pick up a copy of the LP when I found it in Vancouver last year. I was all set to record just the title track from the vinyl, as on a previous listen I wasn't keen on the rest of the album. But after a few more listens, it's really grown on me. Released in 1982, Warp was the group's third and final album. It was written and produced by Tony Mansfield, who also produced work for Captain Sensible, a-ha, The B-52's and After The Fire. It definitely sounds like it's from the 80's but in a good way. There are some very cheap sounding drum machines used (including a Roland TR-606 I believe), plenty of synths and a bunch of what would then have been 'new' studio effects.

Side A opens with Here Come The People, which has a nice laid back groove to it with a stuttering electronic beat, clean and tidy guitar chords and some plinky plonky piano. A Train On Twisted Tracks has a similar tempo but is more synthetic, using thick layers of synth pads over a robotic bassline; lovely stuff. Two tracks on side one share the same title - the familiar looking All You Need Is Love. Version one is their own composition; a fairly traditional sounding pop song (in comparison to the rest of the album). At the end of the 4 minutes there is an ambient interlude, after which the second version begins. It's a cover of The Beatles' classic. The swing of the original is lost and replaced with a driving 16th note bassline. The second half of the track is totally different, introducing new melodies and a great piano solo to fade - one of the best moments on the album.

Over to Side 2 and Hunting repeats a short piano loop over a thick synth bassline and 4/4 beat. The lyrics don't really make much sense but I love the feel of the track. Green And Red (Respectively) is the weirdest track on the LP, starting with the word "GREEN" and ending abruptly with the word "RED". Inbetween are 3 minutes of frantic 4/4 beats, heavily processed piano, wonky sounding synths, metallic percussion and a bunch of studio effects. The Planet Doesn't Mind has a nice ambient introduction before turning into a slightly cheesy synth funk/pop hybrid. Warp itself has a proto deep house kinda vibe to it. I love the rolling bassline and the ethereal synth pads low in the mix. The vocals are also well delivered, although the "WARP" shouts sound a little dated. Things go crazy at the end of the track, with all sorts of trickery trying to fool you into thinking your LP or cassette has warped and broke.

New Musik - Hunting

New Musik - Warp

The album was re-issued on CD in Japan in 2001. Clips of each track can be heard on last.fm. There is a great website full of info on the band here.

Herbie Hancock & Quincy Jones 1983

2009-02-26T15:01:00.001Z

Synthesis. Geekiness. Funkiness. Genius.

Stinkworx - Coelacanth

2009-02-25T15:45:00.002Z

Nope, I'm not sure how you pronounce it either. Wikipedia tells me it's some kind of fish but whatever, I'm here to tell you about the Stinkworx track of the same name. Released as a 12" on Legowelt's Strange Life Records late last year, the original is a thick synth funk track. The chord progressions are lovely, the bassline even better. Proper techno-soul style business. On remix duties are Syncom Data, who strip it down and make it a little darker and more menacing without losing the rolling groove of the original. Amira on the flip is some deep as fuck melodic dub-techno. Highly recommended release.

Stream in full on Boomkat

Zombi - Spirit Animal

2009-02-19T17:00:00.009Z

A plethora of new material is out there from Zombi at the moment. Firstly, and most importantly, is the new long player entitled Spirit Animal. It's an immense piece of work, much more organic than previous albums, and all the more interesting for it. The album opens with the epic prog-rock of the title track, complete with wanky guitar lead and synth counterparts. It breaks down for long enough to grow an extra inch on your beard; with accoustic guitars, a detuned piano and some strings drifting in and out of the mix before eventually the track evolves into one huge euphoric hook as powerful as the elephant in the album art. Spirit Warrior treads a more familiar territory with its arpeggiated bassline, shuffling 3/4 drum patterns and choral synths. Again, it breaks down and mellows out before building to a climax in the final third.

Earthly Powers is fat, the thick bassline groove at times sounding like a lazy Rage Against The Machine lick. It's on this track that the addition of guitars to the Zombi sound is most apparent, with both fuzzy power chords and swirling lead lines used to great effect. Not that the thick layers of synth pads and arpeggios are forgotten of course, particularly in the dreamy bridge section. Cosmic Powers uses another odd time signature to vary the relentless synth riff and heavy drums routine. Not a lot happens but as the shortest track on the album it doesn't outstay its welcome, fading out to leave the drums high in the mix. Fith and final track Through Time is a 17 minute monster that rarely lets up. A dirty great distorted bassline runs throughout the track and the drums take a real pounding. Credited as the only Paterra composition, it's clear he is the more rhythmic minded of the group. Layer upon layer of synth is added upon the chugging bass which eventually fades, leaving just ambient noises to close the album.

Stream the whole album on last.fm

Also available is a split EP with Masarati (not a name I'm familiar with but one I shall be looking into) on Brooklyn's Temporary Residence label. Masarati supply 2 two-part tracks on the A side, both with a good shuffling dancefloor friendly instrumental space-rock kinda vibe. Zombi on the B side deliver another epic called Infinity. Starting out slowly with drones that wouldn't sound out of place in an old 80s horror movie, the track begins to evolve after a couple of minutes with the introduction of some eerie chords. An arpeggio begins to bubble and Paterra treats us to a 4 minute drum solo before eventually letting rip with a driving beat. From here the bassline expands and layers of synths are continuely added until the track unfairly fades out before I want it to end. Listen on myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/zombi

Finally, there's is the Sapphire 12" to mention. This was the track that originally got me into Zombi, from the Digitalis EP released a few years back now. It's been re-issued by another US label Throne of Blood with an unnecessary remix by Escort and a new track The Long, Mirrored Corridor. Like Sapphire, it smells like the work of Steve Moore, all dark Italo loops and 100% electronics. It's essential listening though if you dig Zombi for the synths and not just the rock. Stream all 3 tracks on Boomkat, where the release is also available digitally.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=157489

The Amen Break

2009-02-06T19:05:00.004Z

This video had been sat in my bookmarks folder for some weeks but today I finally got round to watching it. Very interesting it was too. Recommended viewing.

"Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip."

Jean-Pierre Bourtayre

2009-01-30T16:32:00.004Z

I love the way the internet can link you from one place to another, and then another and you end up somewhere unexpected and yet fantastic in mere minutes. Today's find is this beautiful soundtrack by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre to the 1982 French animated movie Les Maîtres du temps (aka Time Masters). The film was directed by René Laloux with designs by Moebius. Jean-Pierre was one half of Universal Energy, whose track Disco Energy is a classic slice of cosmic disco. Now to find the movie on DVD.....

Amnesie - Turas

2009-01-29T14:21:00.004Z

My new favourite tune, found on the recent mix that Bottin did for 24:Hours to promote his excellent new single No Static on Italians Do It Better records. This one and only release from Amnesie is classic era Italo-Disco with a great vocal by Dora Carofiglio (Valerie Dore, Novecento, Answering Service etc.). The groove is driven by some lovely piano chords and a funky slapped bassline. The little electronic tom-tom hits in the breakdown really make it for me. A perfect example of that happy, well produced sound that Italo did so well.

Best of 2008 Round Up (part 2)

2008-12-23T19:46:00.003Z

My previous post covered the best albums but these were all very good too.

Quiet Village - Silent Movie

I was quick to dismiss this when it came out in the summer. I'd loved most of the tracks they had put out on 12" but on a first listen I found the album to be slow and dull. And so it sat in the overflowing 'UNSORTED' folder on my hard drive for months until I noticed a large number of people on the DJ History forums naming it as their album of the year. The beards over there aren't always right but I thought it was about time I checked out the album again with new ears. Turns out it was actually a really nice selection of downtempo grooves and psychedelic funk, albeit borrowed from somebody elses old record(s).

Stream selected tracks on the Quiet Village microsite

Q-Tip - The Renaissance

I've not had this long but it's clearly a great album. More time with it may have led to it being in the previous post of 2008's 'great' albums rather than this section of merely 'very good' ones. There are still a couple of tracks I've not fully warmed to yet but there is certainly no bad tracks to worry about. Q-Tip is sounding great as ever with that perfect combination of interesting, well delivered lyrics and funky, catchy beats. Looking forward to hearing it next summer already.

Stream the album on last.fm

Ezekiel Honig - Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band

This is some late night mood music, which for me works best at a low volume; heard only in the background. Everyday sounds are decontructed and reconstructed and mixed with organic and electronic instruments, overlaying the soft rhythmic patterns. Reminds me of Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records by Jan Jelinek and Le Fumeur de Ciel by Julien Neto; two of my favourite albums. Real minimal music, minus the techno.

Stream the album at Anticipate Recordings

Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia

Probably the second best electro/indie mix-up of the year after Cut Copy. It opens with the big trio of Ending of an Era, Into the Galaxy and Shadows and doesn't tail off too badly. It's a track too long for my liking (Nine Lives would be the one I'd drop) but you can't argue with the quality of the production or the variety in the songs.

Stream the album on last.fm

Twilight Moose - Embrace The Loneliness

More old school electro/ambient/soundtrack stuff from Legowelt on his own Strange Life Records. Feels more like a collection of tracks than a proper album (it possibly is) and so although most of them are good it does drag a little. Still, nobody else is really putting out this kind of stuff as far as I know and it's nice to support the guy's doing their own (deep and hypnotic) thing.

Stream album clips from the Strange Life Shop

Cosmic Gypsies

2008-12-16T19:39:00.003Z

I was put onto this track earlier this week - some inspired UK Hip-Hop from Taskforce, Braintax & Jehst. Smooth beats, good flows, interesting lyrics and added bonus points for all the spacey shit! The video helps I think, some cool imagery. Taken from the Voices of the Great Outdoors EP (Lowlife Records 2000).

Buy it on Play.com

Best of 2008 Round Up (part 1)

2008-12-15T18:01:00.002Z

I'm not dead! Although my computer was for a while. Plus I'm busy with the festive season and I also got an Xbox recently! Anyway, here is part one of my round up for 2008. I listened to (and enjoyed) far more old music than new but it was still a good year I think. These are my choices for the 'Best Albums of 2008'. There will be more to follow, plus might have beens, top singles and other random tunes....

Kelley Polar - I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling

I thought this was amazing, listened to it so many times and never got bored of it. I loved his first album and so I was equally excited/nervous about how the second one would turn out. Much more weird and wonderful that his debut but it still sounds unique and so obviously Kelley Polar. Love it from the opening vocoder of 'A Feeling of the All-Thing' to the closing strings of 'In Paradisum' with so many great tracks and little moments in between.

Stream the album on Last.fm

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

Another I love from start to finish. A great mix of guitars, drums, synths, vocals and effects with catchy hooks, great melodies and spine tingling moments a-plenty. Numerous tracks slap a massive grin on my face with every listen. Stand-out tracks include 'Out There On The Ice', 'So Haunted', 'Far Away' and the best sax solo of 2008 award winning 'Hearts on Fire'.

Stream the album on Last.fm

Morgan Geist - Double Night Time

More synth based songs from the studio perfectionist Morgan Geist (of Metro Area) featuring vocals from Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan. Beautiful sounds, wonderfully arranged. Hard to pick highlights when all 9 tracks are great. Try the synth pop of 'The Shore', the disco of 'Most Of All', the lazy groove of 'Ruthless City' and the cosmic instrumental 'Palace Life'.

Stream the album on Last.fm

Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too

Epic. Progressive. Cosmic. Synth! WYGIGT sounds like nothing anybody else has put out recently. It probably has more in common with the music of old to be honest - the early synth pioneers, krautrock and the more electronic end of the disco spectrum. But Lindstrom takes these ideas and rather than ripping them off or poorly imitating them, he expands them; weaving their influences into his own unique style of music. The mid section of 'The Long Way Home' is just pure bliss.

Stream 'The Long Way Home (Prins Thomas Edit) on RCRD LBL

Sebastien Tellier - Sexuality

Yet more excellently produced synth-pop stuff. Sexy and sleazy; and often cheesey. I dare you not to love the thick synth funk of 'Kilometer'. Other highlights include the slow grind of 'Pomme' and 'Une Heure' and the epic layers of arpeggio's on 'Sexual Sportswear' and the almost annoyingly catchy 'Manty'.

Jamie Lidell - Jim
I enjoyed about half of his previous album but felt that it was spoilt by the inclusion of some really weak tracks. 'Jim' rectifies this with a whole album of goodness. The guy's got a great voice and a soulful sound that I really dig. How about this for a feel good album opener: 'Another Day' - if that doesn't put you in a good mood you must be dead inside! My other two favourite tracks are 'Figured Me Out', which makes me wanna dance across the room every time I hear it - funky beat, great chord progressions, a swinging chorus and even a sweet little synth solo! Things are a bit smoother on 'Green Light' but again, lovely chords and little melody hooks and a great vocal delivery.

Alphonso Johnson - Moonshadows

2008-11-16T20:36:00.005Z

Philadelphia born Alphonso Johnson begun his career in the early Seventies as an upcoming electric bass player on the jazz scene. His first recordings were with artists working under Gamble and Huff, before moving to LA to work with the Woody Herman Orchestra. In 1974 he replaced founding member Miroslav Vitous in the group Weather Report and later went on to work with the likes of George Duke, Billy Cobham, Santana and even Phil Collins. Moonshadows was his debut solo album from 1976, released on Epic and featuring some great jazz funk fusion. Players on board included Patrice Rushen, Flora Purim, Airto Moriera, Lee Ritenour and Bennie Maupin among others. Alphonso's work on the bass is excellent throughout the album: sometimes funky, sometimes driving, other times more experimental. I also really like the drumming on this album, and as with all my favourite jazz albums - it features some good use of synthesizers.

The opener Stump is a nice mid-tempo funk workout with some sampladelic drumbreaks and a great false ending. Involuntary Bliss, with vocals from Flora Purim, starts out smooth and dreamy before the groove gets more urgent and noodle heavy in the mid section. Third track Cosmoba Place has a rockier vibe to it with heavy drums, some B-3 organ and a strong lead guitar. There are some mad bass effects to mess with your head too. Side 1 closes with the short and dreamy interlude Pandora's Box. Up From The Cellar starts side 2 off in fine funky style. Probably my favourite track from the LP featuring nice tight guitar licks, smooth keys and lush vocal sections. Amarteifio is a cool, mellow vocal number with some lovely chords and harmonies. On The Case rolls along nicely with its mix of rock/jazz psychedelia, again with a strong lead guitar from Lee Ritenour. The album ends with the euphoric Unto Thine Self Be True - great hooks, great synths, beautiful music. What more can I say?

T.C. Curtis & Bryan Loren

2008-11-08T12:22:00.002Z

A couple more 80s jams for your listening pleasure, both of these are on the Virgin label. First up is a nice little mid-tempo boogie/disco shuffler called You Should Have Known Better. There were 2 versions of it doing the rounds in 1985 - this one from T.C. Curtis and another from Skratch. They're not hugely different, Skratch had a tighter beat but I prefer the vocals on this one (backing vocals from Galaxy). It was written by William Alexander Smith and licenced from Hot Melt records.

T.C. Curtis - You Should Have Known Better.mp3

Next we have Bryan Loren who had a minor hit with Lollipop Luv in 1983. Easier Said Than Done was the follow up single from 1984, licenced from Philly World records. It's a little less poppy sounding and more funky. Doesn't look as if Bryan released anything else, although he has a number of production credits on Discogs including Bart Simpson's Do The Bartman - which to this day I never knew was written by Michael Jackson!

Bryan Loren - Easier Said Than Done.mp3

Morgan Geist - Double Night Time

2008-11-07T23:56:00.002Z

My review of the new Morgan Geist LP is online at www.dorq.co.uk, the new place online for Digital Opinions, Reviews and Questions. A friend of mine has just set it up and asked me to write something for the site. Below is a direct link to my review, any comments would be most appreciated as it took me forever to write and I still didn't really like it when I was finished!

http://dorq.co.uk/Music/Morgan-Geist-Double-Night-Time-album-review

Juicy - Sugar Free

2008-10-26T01:13:00.007+01:00

Juicy was brother and sister duo Jerry and Katreese Barnes, who released a few singles and two albums between 1982 and 1987. This was their biggest hit from 1985 and was produced by Eumir Deodato. I must admit that I didn't realise he did electronic music, I'm more familiar with his jazz-funk/disco stuff from the seventies, but it seems he did quite a bit of production through the eighties. It's very nice though, that slow Electro-Soul vibe reminiscent classics like Hangin' On A String or Dare To Dream. There are two versions on the 12" - the dance mix and the radio mix - no real difference apart from the length. There are also two bonus tracks taken from the first LP. Bad Boy is a more uptempo and pop sounding club track, Forever And Ever is somewhere between the two, not a club track but not as mellow as Sugar Free. All in all, a nice little package. Enjoy!

Juicy - Sugar Free (Deo-Super Dance Remix).mp3

Canterbury Digs

2008-10-22T23:13:00.005+01:00

Here are my findings from Canterbury Rock (in Canterbury suprisingly!) and B-Side the C-Side in nearby Herne Bay.

Herbie Hancock - Death Wish Soundtrack LP
Libra - s/t LP
Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes - Expansions LP
Rhythm Heritage - Disco-fied LP
Climax Blues Band - Stamp Album LP
Steely Dan - Gaucho LP
The Limit - s/t LP
The Intergalactic Touring Band - s/t LP (for the artwork in the booklet)
Klaus Schulze - En=Trance LP
Klaus Schulze - Untitled double LP compilation
Omega 9 - Gammapolis LP (some weird Hungarian Prog-Rock)
Gabor Presser - Electromantic LP
Edgar Froese - Stuntman LP
Vangelis - The Dragon LP

Break Machine - Street Dance 12
Detroit Spinners - Love Is In Season (b/w Could It Be I'm Falling In Love) 12
Stacy Lattishaw - Jump To The Beat 12
Serious Intention - Serious 12
Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind 12
Juicy - Sugar Free 12
Wally Badarou - Chief Inspector 12
Keith & Darrell - Work That Body 12
Chantal Curtis - Get Another Love 2x12
Bryan Loren - Easier Said Than Done 12
T.C. Curtis - You Should Have Known Better 12

Wax Stag - Short Road

2008-10-16T16:28:00.005+01:00

This featured on a recent compilation cd I received from a friend. The video is some bizarre, probably drug related shenanigans, but the song is just joyous!

Evelyn Thomas & Eleanor Grant

2008-10-12T17:37:00.006+01:00

A couple of Electro-Soul gems from 1984 for you today...

Heartless on Vanguard records was written and produced by Ian Levine & Fiachra Trench, who supposedly started the High Energy trend with their production of Evelyn Thomas' other 1984 hit High Energy. Heartless is a much smoother and more soulful number though, the loose vocal & piano intro leading beautifully into a super funky groove with a nice little synth hook. It's a great song once it gets going, with a well delivered vocal about a lover who turns out to be married. Not sure the key change near the end was needed but top stuff otherwise.

Evelyn Thomas - Heartless.mp3

I picked up this track by Eleanor Grant thinking it would be a cover of the Michael Jackson classic. It's not though, they just share the same title. The 12" was released on Catawba/CBS Records and was produced by George Kerr. It's a good track with a classic chunky 80s beat and bassline sound. I can't find much info about Eleanor Grant; Discogs only has 3 releases listed and there is nothing on Youtube. Oh well, just enjoy the music!

Eleanor Grant - Don't Stop (Til You Get Enough).mp3

Easy Does It

2008-09-24T20:10:00.002+01:00

A little something I just can't get out of my head since hearing it last week.

Jay Thomas with the Cedar Walton Trio - Jacob's Ladder.

Any information on where I can get a copy on vinyl most appreciated!

Psyche-Out Unmixed (Part 4)

2008-09-21T20:18:00.006+01:00

I think I'll wrap this collection up with this post so we can move on to other things!

10. Space Art - Folkstone Hovercraft.mp3
//Space Art 3: Play Back 1980

More music I checked out due to the artist name and cover artwork. I grabbed their first two albums cheap in Seattle and found the third in Vancouver a week later. This was the most expensive of the three but certainly the best and most diverse. The first two were very electronic sounding but Play Back is a real mixture of sounds, it reminds me of Air in places. Lovely chords and floating synth lines, I love the drumming too.

11. Passport - Eternal Spiral.mp3
//Looking Thru 1974
A perfect example of 70's Jazz Fusion. This is the opening track from an album I got after Daniele Baldelli featured the second half of the title track in one of his Cosmic mix tapes. Mixing up jazz, funk and rock influences, Klaus Doldinger's Passport put out a whole bunch of albums during the 70's and 80's, this is certainly my favourite of the four I own. Awesome cover art too!

12. Nina Hagen Band - Unbeschreiblich.mp3
//Nina Hagen Band 1978

Another record first heard via a Baldelli mixtape. I get the feeling Nina Hagen was a crazy bitch! Her attitude and personality really shine through on this record though. The LP is a real mixed bag incorporating funk, disco, rock and pop - some good and some bad. I love the driving rhythm of this track and the guitar lead that opens the song and returns again in the second minute.

13. Focus - Hocus Pocus.mp3
//Moving Waves 1971

I had actually finished a version of the mix without this track in it. Then it popped into my head one day and I thought to myself "how can I leave this out of a collection of such weird and wonderful songs?" So a few tracks were reshuffled and I think perhaps a couple were removed to make room for this monster of a track. It's a cracking guitar riff, a driving beat, great drum breaks, totally out there vocals and some sweet organ too, what more could you want? How about an excellent guitar solo, a flute solo, some accordion and even a bit of whistling!

14. The Zodiac - Aries-The Fire Fighter.mp3
//Cosmic Sounds 1967

This is excellent. I was in two minds whether or not to buy this LP as I wasn't too keen on most of it; but I had to have this track. It has such energy and intensity. I love the break in the middle and the spoken section. I love the harpsichord(?) and the heavy bass and drums. Even the Sitar doesn't put me off and that's an instrument I truly hate! Proper psychedelic music to loose yourself in. Would love to hear this out on a big system and throw myself around to it!

September Purchases

2008-09-17T20:09:00.005+01:00

Been on a bit of a spending spree of late. I picked up the previously mentioned albums from Lindstrom and Steve Moore, and seeing as I hadn't got round to buying it yet - I also ordered Zombi's excellent Cosmos album from Relapse. I've also put in a pre-order for the forthcoming Morgan Geist album Double Night Time. Then today somebody posted up a bunch of old radio shows from Kirk De Giorgio, listening to which led me to buying his Offworld album and volumes 2 and 3 of The Soul Of Science compilations - all of which cost me about a fiver total from Amazon Marketplace.

Then there are the mp3's:

Duplex - Autosample - lush Techno Soul, with the track Vivid Array making good use of some samples from Derrick May's remix of Knights of the Jaguar.
DXR - All The Same - Dexter leaves the electro behind for his first release on Klakson with a beautiful melodic house track.
DXR - Darkrain - taken from the second DXR release on Klakson, this is the total opposite of All The Same. 10 minutes of deep dark throbbing hypnotic acid house to loose yourself in.
Rustie - Zig-Zag - A crazy dubstep/techno/electro hybrid that somehow works even with a shifting tempo. Recommended.
Tim Mabin - Jimmy Jam - hot new re-issue from 4lux. Boogie style 80s funk, complete with an extended instrumental.
Lee Douglas - Same Changes - classic modern disco which I've never managed to find on vinyl.
Morgan Geist - Most of All (instrumental) - in anticipation of the full album, for some reason I missed out on this single when it was originally released.
Ytre Rymden Dansskola - Afterski - a beautiful track which builds and builds before dropping back to nothing and doing it all over again. It's the strings and the piano that make this special.
2 AM/FM - Poison Dart - filthy jackin' acid house with a killer bassline.

I also bought a bunch of cheap vinyl in the charity shops but none of it was that good so I won't bore with a list. More music coming to Groovin' You soon, while you're waiting why not check out this nice little mix of French Electro (via Portugal) I posted over at 24:Hours recently: CLICK ME!

Psyche-Out Unmixed (part 3)

2008-09-14T14:00:00.005+01:00

7. White Noise - Love Without Sound.mp3
//An Electric Storm 1969

This is one of the earliest and most intricate Psychedelic LP’s available and helped pioneer many studio techniques commonly used in the years since. Made before the synthesizer boom, it was created using (abusing?) various studio gear, homemade effects boxes and reel to reel splicing. I can’t say I enjoy the album in its entirety, the more experimental side 2 is particularly hard work, but the shorter song based tracks on side 1 are very good indeed. This is an album I inherited from my father, dug out after Erol Alkan included the track “Your Hidden Dreams” on his excellent Bugged Out/In compilation.

8. Mystic Moods Orchestra - A Man And A Woman.mp3
//Misty Morning 1978

Another I picked up in New York for the excellent cover art. Pretty much the only good two minutes on the album, but what a delightful two minutes they are! I love the lush orchestration and the mixture of kitch, camp and good old cheesiness.

9. A.Vuolo & E.Grande - Drops In The Wind.mp3
//Desert 1979

This track is from the most expensive LP I’ve ever bought (an extortionate £26!!) but with tracks like this and the unlikeliness of finding a copy again, I just had to splash out the cash. The album was recorded and produced in 1979 but didn’t get a release until the Italian label Cardium issued a limited run in 2007. It's a great mixture of Cosmic Disco, Jazz-Funk and Downtempo grooves - highly recommended.

Psyche-Out Unmixed (part 2)

2008-09-08T16:28:00.003+01:00

4. Be Bop Deluxe - Shine (live).mp3
//Live! In The Air Age 1977

A nice slow groove here with plenty of ups and downs, with good lead guitar and some nice keyboard work too. I actually know nothing about Be Bop Deluxe and this is probably the only track I’ll really listen to from the LP (which I picked up due to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis imagery being on the cover). A quick search on Wikipedia tells me they were an English progressive rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s.

5. Stardrive with Robert Mason - Rushes.mp3
//Intergalactic Trot 1973

I love this, just full on wig out synthesized jazz-funk-fusion. You should see the size of the thing on the back of the LP. Extracts from the sleeve notes: “Using a few pre-constructed parts plus a lot of custom-designed gear and great ingenuity, Robert Mason has built the world’s first multi-voiced synthesizer that can be played like a real keyboard instrument with full chords and tonal clusters. Never before has man and machine come so close together with such intimate rapport.”

6. FM - Slaughter In Robot Village.mp3
//Black Noise 1978

I saw this album at a flea market in Toronto (where the band originate), I liked the cover but wasn't sure if it was going to be too 'Rock' for my tastes so I left it for a while. On my way back I picked it up because I couldn't leave a track called "Slaughter In Robot Village" unheard! Turns out the only guitars they do use are bass and that track was the best on this, the bands debut LP.

Psyche-Out Unmixed (part 1)

2008-09-02T10:36:00.003+01:00

1. Billy Cobham - Quadrant 4.mp3
//Spectrum 1973

Sit down and strap in, as I’m pulling no punches with the opener! Cobham beats the hell out of those drums and the bassline rolls along at a frantic pace too. After the opening lick from Tommy Bolin on the guitar, it’s straight into an extended solo before returning to the same lick to close the track. There’s even a bit of moog in there from Jan Hammer, classic stuff.

2. Lighthouse - Mountain Man.mp3
//Lighthouse 1969

I picked this self-titled LP up in New York as I loved the psychedelic shiny silver and black cover (which looks awful in the image above but it was the best one I could find). The opener from the Toronto group’s debut album has all the ingredients for a great rock track: a good hook, a funky bassline, great organ work, nice sounding guitars and good horn and reed sections. Check out the funky drumming and that break too, sweet.

3. George Duke - Floop De Loop.mp3
//The Aura Will Prevail 1975

Keeping the tempo up but bringing down the mood a little bit with this one, taken from George’s 1975 album “The Aura Will Prevail”. Much like Quadrant 4, it opens with the hook before rolling along in solo territory for the bulk of the track. I like the way the groove drops back midway through the track to give the guitar solo more room.

Psyche-Out!

2008-09-01T20:03:00.007+01:00

A discussion with a mate the other week about what sort of music was covered by the term 'Psychedelic' was the inspiration for this loosely mixed compilation. We both agreed that it could be anything from 60's/70's rock, jazz, funk, a bit of prog, kitch/camp grooves and even a bit of disco. I picked out a bunch of LP's I considered to be 'psychedelic' and recorded my favourite tracks from them. The last couple of weeks have been spent getting the track selection right, doing the odd edit and getting the whole thing sequenced nicely. This is the end result, any feedback greatly appreciated. Keep an eye on the blog as I'll be posting up the tracks from the mix in unmixed format, along with some details for each.

acidbearboy - Psyche-Out.mp3

Tracklisting:

1. Billy Cobham - Quadrant 4
2. Lighthouse - Mountain Man
3. George Duke - Floop De Loop
4. Be Bop Deluxe - Shine (live)
5. Stardrive with Robert Mason – Rushes
6. FM - Slaughter In Robot Village
7. White Noise - Love Without Sound
8. Mystic Moods Orchestra - A Man And A Woman
9. A.Vuolo & E.Grande - Drops In The Wind
10. Space Art - Folkstone Hovercraft
11. Passport - Eternal Spiral
12. Nina Hagen Band – Unbeschreiblich
13. Focus – Hocus Pocus
14. The Zodiac – Aries-The Fire Fighter

Back cover with tracklist.

"Psychedelic Twilight" image from:
http://chewupablotter.deviantart.com/

Hot New LP's

2008-08-25T13:29:00.005+01:00

Lindstrom has a new album out, very nice it is too. There are only three tracks but with the shortest of the bunch clocking in at over eight minutes, you know this is going to be a 'cosmic journey' etc. Full of beautiful chords and excellent production - ignore what pigeon hole people are trying to stick it in and just enjoy it for what it is - great new music. FACT Magazine did a good interview with him recently, read it here. Dutch website 3voor12 have a stream of the whole LP so you can go take a listen before ordering the cd.

STREAM: Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too

Also sounding great is the new solo album from Steve Moore, better known as half of synth-rock band Zombi. I love the Zombi sound and this is an extension of that, though a little lighter. Drenched in atmosphere, full of lush textures and ethereal sounds, and of course with those heavy rhythms. Order it on vinyl or cd direct from the Relapse store.

STREAM: Steve Moore - The Henge

I've been listening to some of Legowelt's ambient stuff lately and so decided to visit his website and see what's happening. It still looks like 1998 there but there is plenty of new content, including a full free download of the new Franz Falckenhaus album "The Lost Border". Also check out this amazing piece of deep hypnotic techno from Dark Days 2, forthcoming on Strange Life records.

Legowelt - HAM Star Flowers.mp3

More samples and information at www.legowelt.com

Rhythm Heritage - Last Night On Earth

2008-08-24T12:16:00.009+01:00

Somebody commented on my New York Digging post recently, requesting Rhythm Heritage - Last Night On Earth. It was an album I'd not really listened to much yet so I sat down with it this morning and gave it some time. It's a nice mix of funk and disco, a little cheesey in places but I have no problems with that. It's very grand sounding, like a lot of the seventies orchestrated disco stuff, and well produced. It opens with the Theme From Rocky (Gonna Fly Now) which is a good track but I have a nicer version by Richard 'Groove' Holmes that I might post another time. There is also another version of Steely Dan's Do It Again on there in a medly with Cisco Kid. Highlights for me are Angry World - part 1 of the Last Night On Earth suite - which has a solid, uplifting groove to it and some nice electric guitar work. And the upbeat disco cheese of Dance The Night Away, enjoy!

Rhythm Heritage - Angry World.mp3

Rhythm Heritage - Dance The Night Away.mp3

There was also an older request for the dub of Class Action's version of Weekend. No introduction should be needed for this classic track, and possibly the funkiest synth hooks of all time! Be sure to check out the more organic funk of the Phreek original too.

Class Action - Weekend (dub).mp3

Well, I hope you Anonymous readers are happy and come back to show your appreciation!

As you can see, the site has had a visual overhaul. It's been something I've wanted to do for some time now but haven't had the time or patience for. Well yesterday I did and I'm pleased with the results, hopefully you like it too - I'd be interested to hear your opinions. The aim was to make the blog look a bit more sexy and stylish without distracting from the music, which of course is the most important aspect. On a related note, I've had a couple of emails recently from companies offering advertising for music blogs but I personally think adverts are inappropriate on a site like this. The site is a hobby that costs me nothing to run, so why should I make money by sharing other peoples music? Not to mention the fact that the web is a far nicer place to browse without the intrusion of adverts.

acidbearboy 20.08/2008

2008-08-21T09:19:00.002+01:00

Here is a nice little 45 minute mix of mellow soul and funk I recorded last night.

Tracklist:

Rosko recites Desiderata
Montana – Warp Factor II
Diesel & Jarvis - Blue Operator
Walter Murphy – Gentle Explosion
Bohannon – I’ll Be Here For You
Donald Byrd – Onward ‘Til Morning
Marvin Gaye – A Funky Space Reincarnation (inst.)
Tempest Trio – Starlight
Jimmy Spicer – Bubble Bunch (inst.)
Kinkina – Jungle Fever
Kamaal – Feelin’ (inst.)

acidbearboy - downtempo grooves 20-08-2008.mp3

Trashy Synthesizer Disco!

2008-08-13T13:38:00.002+01:00

Gique, electro producer and a message board acquaintance of mine from rllmuk recently uploaded this mix of euro/italo synthesizer disco and synthpop in an effort to educate his friends that might be unaware of his musical references. Good mixing and great tunes, what more could you ask for? He describes the mix as "100% electronic, 100% 80's, little po faced, sometimes cheesy, but all good shit." Can't argue with that, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

Fockewulf 190 - Gitano
Klapto - Queen Of The Night
Casco - Cybernetic Love
Hardcorps - Je Suis Presse
Gino Soccio - Victim Of Change
Den Harrow - Broken Radio
Hugh Bullen - Alisand
Faxe - Time For Changes
Peter Richard - Walking In The Neon
Azoto - Exalt Exalt
Immortals - Ultimate Warlord
Tapps - My Forbidden Lover
M&G - When I Let You Down

Gique - Eurotrash 198X.mp3

New Professor Genius

2008-08-07T15:17:00.004+01:00

I was tempted to say it's been a long time coming but there has actually been a fairly steady stream of releases since the debut cd-r was released last year. 'La Grotta' and 'Pegaso' both had 12" releases as well appearing on the 'After Dark' compilation from Italians Do It Better that just won't go away (recently released on vinyl). Then earlier this year there was new material with part 1 of the EP 'A Jean Giraud' on thisisnotanexit records. While we wait patiently for the second part of that, there are some exciting new tracks previewed on the Professor's Myspace page from the upcoming digital only EP entitled 'Down There'. Go check them out, Perspex Girl is sounding as sexy as the title suggests!

Black Sun

2008-08-04T12:52:00.000+01:00

I picked this one up in Zulu Records, Vancouver. Although the label says Rockland, it looks like it was distributed by the Quebec branch of Polydor. Composed by Phil Walter and recorded at producer Wally Hamilton's place in New Jersey during March of 1978, the self titled Black Sun LP on contains two extended disco workouts, complete with one of the best sleeves I've seen for a long time. There is even some cosmic photography inside! Although I don't recognise any of the players, the band are pretty tight. As well as Phil and Wally who both play keyboards, there is the standard disco line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitar, synths, strings, brass and vocals.

http://www.discogs.com/release/1267760

Black Sun on side one is a real chugger, with plenty of disco stomp and a driving bassline. The female vocal sings of how the Black Sun broke her heart, stolen her love etc. It's not a big vocal number though, with the main hook coming off the synth and strings (it sounds kinda familiar, not sure if this has been edited or if it's just a rip-off of Gino Soccio's "Dancer"). The brass section gives the track a very ‘big’ feel and I always enjoy a guitar solo with my funk and disco.

Black Sun - Black Sun.mp3

Big Money on the flip is a higher tempo affair, too fast in my opinion, I prefer to slow it right down to -6. The groove is a more loose and funky for this one and there is a stronger emphasis on the vocal from Lenny Garcia. I really like the piano work on this track, great brass and string arrangements and a couple of nice percussive breakdowns too. My only criticism with the tracks is that after 15 minutes of funk, they both just fade out - lazy!

Black Sun - Big Money.mp3

Disco Galactica

2008-07-27T16:06:00.002+01:00

A couple of Battlestar Galactica related goodies for you today. I picked up the 12" Disco remix of the Main Title a couple of years ago, mostly as I loved the sleeve art. The opening always reminds me of the legendary (and now sadly defunct CBS Top 100). It's a fairly generic disco remix of the theme, certainly not something to play out but an interesting record to own.

Stu Phillips - Theme From Battlestar Galactica (short).mp3

The other track is taken from the original soundtrack LP that I picked up in New York. All the other tracks on the album are the standard orchestral music from the film but this disco cut from the Casino on Carillon scene is a lovely little track that you could certainly play to non BSG lovers!

The Space Angels - It's Love, Love, Love.mp3

Here are the great covers for the LP, the back of which is where the single sleeve originates.
Front | Back

The Universal Order Of Things

2008-07-25T16:10:00.002+01:00

"On July 4th, 1976, the Viking probe - a man made vessel - will send back pictures to Earth to let man see if life is on Mars. For what reason? Man has not mastered his existence on Earth. He cannot live in harmony with his natural environment yet. Out of all the things in the universe such as the sun, moon, stars, planets, the liquid, solid, gas, the hot, wet, dry, cold; Man is the only creation that is out of order with The Universal Order Of Things".

-Kenny Gamble

So I finally found a copy of Dexter Wansel's brilliant 1976 debut LP "Life on Mars". After failing to find it on my recent trip across North America, it turned up in Cross The Tracks on a trip to Brighton this week - nice condition and price too. It's definitely become one of my favourite albums since being turned onto it a couple of years ago. I can't think of a bad moment on the entire album but the penultimate track "Theme From The Planets" is about as close to perfection as you can get.

Dexter Wansel - Theme From The Planets.mp3

T.S. Monk

2008-07-17T15:44:00.004+01:00

Today's track comes from the son of Jazz legend Thelonious Monk, who also played drums as well as doing arrangements on this project. I picked up this 12" promo whilst in New York, it's one of those strange records with the same version on both sides. Taken from the LP 'More of the Good Life', the track was co-written and produced by Sandy Linzer, who had previously worked with Odyssey. It has a lovely smooth disco-soul sound, with a great vocal delivery from an uncredited singer as well as great backing vocal and string arrangements. There is also a nice little sax solo leading up to the break just before the 3 minute mark. Lay back and enjoy this smooth groove.

T.S.Monk - Too Much Too Soon.mp3

Discogs: T.S.Monk - Too Much Too Soon (12" Promo, Mirage Records 1981)

Jungle City

2008-06-30T14:36:00.009+01:00

More edit sources today. I first heard 'Jungle City' by Lexx in Stockholm back in January and was instantly hooked on the shuffling rhythms and sweet melodies. Some time between then and the 12" release for Bear Funk, I found the original track on the Joey Negro & Sean P compilation 'The Soul of Disco'. Laura Green's vocal suits the mood of the music perfectly and it's a nice alternative to the largely instrumental edit from Lexx (which you can hear on his Myspace page). Not a lot of info on the original I'm afraid, only that it was a b-side to the 1979 single 'Let Me Blow Your Whistle'. I also highly recommend the mix Lexx did for Beats in Space earlier this year, an excellent selection of deep funk, house and techno. Get the mix and tracklisting here.

Laura Greene - Manhatten.mp3

Classic Balearic

2008-06-26T17:38:00.001+01:00

I managed to do a little record shopping whilst in Barcelona for Sonar last week (more info on that coming soon). I picked up a variety of italo, electro-pop and balearic bits at my favourite store 'Discos Edisons' after the festival, here is the full list:

Central Line - Walking Into Sunshine (Larry Levan Mix)
Kano - I'm Ready
Ivan - Baila
William Pitt - City Lights
Cashmere - Do It Anyway You Wanna
Siedah Garrett - Do You Want It Right Now (Jellybean Mix)
Gary Low - Forever, Tonight And All My Life
Digital Emotion - Steppin' Out
Spargo - Go

Never mind the so called 'Nu-Balearic' scene, you can't go wrong with classics like this!

William Pitt - City Lights.mp3

Staying with the summery theme, there is a lovely cut on the Spargo album called 'One Night Affair'. It leans towards the poppy/cheesy side of disco but I love the melody and chord progression, plus I'm a sucker for anything with a piano solo in.

Spargo - One Night Affair.mp3

Spargo - Go.mp3

The title track from the LP was annoyingly familiar sounding when I previewed the record in the shop but it wasn't until I got back home and browsed through my edits folder that I realised what it was. Lovefingers reworked it for his 'Bermuda' track, featured on the excellent RVNG of the NRDS Vol.4 EP from last year - check it out if you haven't already, 'Zoysia' on there is killer stuff.

Buy the EP from igetrvng.com

Aube records deliver again.

2008-06-26T17:15:00.004+01:00

Just a little extra post to let you know this is now available from all good record stores. As ever from Aube, it's top quality stuff - get in there quick for the limited edition with handmade artwork from Kraftwerk's Emil Schmult!

aube005: Roland Sebastian Faber - Wettkampf der Moleküle

a - side: Molecular
aa- side: Eisengard

Molecular — a battle of particles... racing melodies fighting for dominance. An electronic pop tune with baroque influences somewhere between Johan Sebastian Bach and Jean Michel Jarre. Catchy, haunting, energetic and competitive. Let the games start! Eisengard is a story about a mellow ashra temple affair, a soundscape mixed with David Gillmore 'esque guitars and 808 beats.

Support from Aeroplane (Eskimo), Matt Edwards (Rekids/Quiet Village/Radio Slave) and I-F (CBS, Viewlexx). Stream both tracks in full at the new Aube website:

http://www.aube-prod.com

Afro-Cosmic roots

2008-06-22T19:02:00.005+01:00

DJ History have a really interesting interview with Gianni Zuffa, owner of the Disco Piu record store in that supplied Baldelli, Mozart and the other local Italian DJ´s of the 70s and 80s the obscure music that they craved. That particular scene always seems so shrouded in mystery, so it´s nice to read such an honest and in depth article from somebody who was actually there. Highly recommended reading.

Gianni Zuffa interview

The Brand New Disco Sound

2008-06-12T14:55:00.003+01:00

I'll take the chance to post something brand new today. Gomma were kind enough to send me the promo for the new Munk single 'Live Fast Die Old' featuring Asia Argento. There is a clubbed up mix from The Juan Maclean but it's the slow piano stomp of the original that's really doing it for me. Sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a warm summers day. Keep an eye out for the 12" which is out soon.

Munk - Live Fast Die Old.mp3

Dunn Pearson Jr

2008-06-09T12:43:00.005+01:00

http://www.discogs.com/release/16904

One of my favourite disco finds was actually on a compilation cd by Ian O'Brien and Kirk Degiorgio. "The Soul of Science" album is an excellent collection of Jazz and Downtempo moods, Soul and Funk grooves and a couple of Disco tracks thrown in for good measure. The rare Dunn Pearson Jr track included is a real belter. Lovely big sounding drums, a funky bassline and the tight guitar licks combine with a great string and horn section with the piano rounding off the classic disco sound. The vocal hook of the chorus is joyous and the synth solo to fade is the icing on the cake.

Dun Pearson Jr. - Groove On Down.mp3

Seattle & Vancouver

2008-06-05T23:02:00.004+01:00

This will be the last dull list of music I've bought, seeing as I am back home in the UK now. It's certainly nice to finally play all the records and not just carry them around!

Seattle

Romanelli - Connecting Flight LP
Passport – Infinity Machine LP
Weather Report – Heavy Weather LP
Passport – Sky Blue LP
Spyra Gyra – Carnival LP
Tomita – Snowflakes Are Dancing LP
Dc La Rue – Cathedrals 12
Ian O’brien – A History Of Things To Come LP
Starguard – Wear It Out 12
The Parallax Corporation Ep (Viewlexx)
Nu Colours – Desire 12
Gwen Guthrie – Peanut Butter (Larry Levan Mixes)
The JB’s – Groove Machine LP
ALPhonso Johnson – Moonshadows LP
Lonnie Liston Smith – Live! LP
Jerry Knight – Overnight Sensation 12
Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance 12
Electronic – Get The Message 12
Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby 12
Ozone – Jump On It LP
Sylvester – Dance (Disco Heat) 1988 Ultimix 12
Vincent Capretta – Starlove 12
Shirley Lites – Slip Away 12
Evelyn Thomas – Heartless 12
Chilly – For Your Love LP
Space Art – S/T LP
Space Art – Trip In The Centre Head LP
Wally Badarou – Echoes LP
Deodato – Knights Of Fantasy LP
Tropea – Short Trip Into Space LP
Stardrive – Intergalactic Trot LP
Paul Speer – Collection 983: Spectral Voyages LP
Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes – Movie Themes LP

Chateau Flight – Body Language 5 cd
Zombie – Surface To Air cd

Vancouver

Trouble Funk – Good To Go 12
Black Sun – S/T LP
Jambo & Co – Close Encounters 12
Dan Hartman – Countdown/This Is It 12
Paul Horn – Jupiter 8 LP
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence 12
George Duke – The Aura Will Prevail LP
Space Art – Play Back LP
Love Committee – Law & Order 12
Dexter Wansell – I’ll Never Forget (My Favourite Disco) 12
Loveride – Iko Iko / San Francisco Serenade 12
Jeanne Shy – Night Dancer / That Old Black Magic 12
Gino Soccio – Turn It Around 12
K.I.D. – Don’t Stop 12
Space – Deliverance LP
Dobie Gray – You Can Do It 12
The Tee Cee’s – Disco Love Bite LP
Convertion – Let’s Do It 12
Tropique – The Runner 12
Sphinx – Judas Iscariot, Simon Peter LP
Real Thing – Can You Feel The Force 12
Arthur Prysock – When Love Is New 12
Poussez – You’re All I Have / Boogie With Me 12
George Duke – Brazilian Love Affair LP
The Doors – L.A. Woman LP
New Musik – Warp LP

Jeff Mills – Blue Potential cd/dvd

Boston & San Francisco purchases

2008-05-07T17:26:00.002+01:00

BOSTON:
Dexter Wansell - Time is Slipping Away LP
Klaus Schulze - Body Love LP
Lonnie Liston Smith - Exotic Mysteries LP
Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotto - Munich Machine LP
CocoDaSilva - Coisa Noisa 12
The Mike Theodore Orchestra - Cosmic Winds LP
Players Association - Turn the Music up 12
Sumeria - Golden Tears LP
Pointer Sisters - I Need You 12
52nd Street - Children of the Night LP
Mighty Fire - No Time For Masquerading LP
Toney Lee - Teaser 12
Passport - Lookin' Thru LP
Orange Lemon - Dreams of Santa Anna 12
Gaz - Sing Sing / Good, Bad & Ugly 12
Tony Deshawn - Real Lover LP
Unlimited Touch - s/t LP
Slave - Stone Jam LP

SAN FRANCISCO:
Midnight Rhythm - s/t LP
Bionic Boogie - s/t LP
Walter Murphy - Phantom of the Opera LP
Chocolate Milk - Milky Way LP
Clifford Nyren - Keep Running Away 12
Tasha Thomas - Shoot Me (With Your Love) 12
Casiopea - Make Up City LP
BB&Q Band - On The Shelf/Dreamer 12
Loose Ends - Hanging on a String (boot mix/orig) 12
Margarat Reynolds & KC - Take Me To The Moon 12
Jeanie Tracey - Time Bomb 12
Mystery - Hold On To The Moment 12
Dimitri From Paris - Cocktail Disco part 2 LP
Breakwater - Splashdown LP
King Street remixes of music from Sega's Burning Rangers 12!!
The Walter Murphy Band - Fifth of Beethoven LP
Eleanor Grant - Don't Stop (til you get enough) 12
Meco - Music from Star Trek / The Black Hole LP
Tomita - Grand Canyon LP
Tomita - Bolero LP
Klaus Schulze - Timewind LP
The Zodiac - Cosmic Sounds LP
King Britt & Ursula Rucker - Circe 12
COW2 & COW4 disco re-edits 12's
808 State - Pacific 12
Community Service #1 12
Syncom Data - Beyond the Stars (remixes) 12

Also picked up some CD's inthe ridiculously huge Amoeba Records:
FSOL - Cascade & Lifeforms EP's
As One - Out of the Darkness
Data 80 - s/t
VA - Dirty Space Disco compiled by Dirty Sound System
Robert Rodriguez - Planet Terror OST
Daniele Baldelli - Cosmic-The Original & Baia Degli Angeli

It cost me a small fortune to send a box of vinyl home as neither USPS, FedEx or UPS do shipping anymore, only airmail. Oh well, there is a little room left in my bag so I can manage a few more shops once I get to Seattle and Vancouver I think :)

Canadian Digs

2008-05-05T07:23:00.002+01:00

So from New York I headed up to Toronto and then on to Montreal. I picked up some good stuff in both cities, here is a round up:

Marvin Gaye - A Funky Space Reincarnation 12
Jellybean - The Mexican 12
Mass Production - Cosmic Lust 12
McLane Explosion - Pulstar LP
George Benson - Breezin' LP
Passport - Ocean Liner LP
Gato Barbieri - Caliente LP
Vangelis - Heaven & Hell LP
Herb Alpert - Rise LP
Sylvester - Trouble in Paradise 12
Lee Tong - Poor Brother of Pete LP
Terje Rypdal - Descendre LP
Quazar - s/t LP
FM - Black Noise LP

E.B.E. - Square 2 EP
Ken Ishii - Misprogrammed Day Remixes 12
Next Evidence - The Body Theme 12
El Coco - Let's Get It Together 12
Wood, Brass & Steel - s/t LP
Macho - I'm a Man LP
The Ritchie Family - Brazil LP
Bohannon - Too Hot To Hold LP
Clubhouse - Do It Again / Billie Jean medley 12
Kumano - s/t LP
Musique - Keep On Jumpin' LP
Michael Zager Band - Let's All Chant 12
The Mixmaster - Grand Piano 12
Constellation Orchestra - Perfect Love Affair LP
Apollo - Astro Disco 12
Babe Ruth - First Base LP
Kinkina - Jungle Fever 12
Kamaal the Abstract LP sampler 12
Gladys Knight & The Pips - About Time LP
Chappell Recorded Music Libray (AV Series) - Four Suites LP

There have since been further purchases in Boston and San Francisco but I shall save them for another post. Tomorrow will see if they are still bargains after I post a box full back to England, as the record bag I bought in NYC has long been full! Hopefully it won't cost me a fortune.

Also, I saw Woolfy play live at Elbo Room here in San Francisco on Friday night. It was pretty decent so if he is playing anywhere near you then check him out. It's a 5 piece set up with the man himself on guitar and vocals, plus a drummer, percussion, bass and keys. They were pretty tight and funky. Nice place too.

http://www.myspace.com/woolfys
http://www.myspace.com/theelboroom

New York Digging

2008-04-16T02:23:00.004+01:00

Here is the complete list of what I bought in New York, now I've left. I really enjoyed my time there and there was a nice mix of places selling records to visit, from well kept stores like 'Good Records' to bargain basement places like 'Normans' and even just stalls on the streets and in the flea markets. I think I spent about $260 on this lot:

NORMANS:
Cerrone - Cerrone IV LP
Quicny Jones - The Dude LP
Foxy - Get Off LP
DeBarge - You Wear It Well 12
El Coco - Dancing In Paradise LP
The System - Now I Am Electric 12
Tony Orlando & Dawn - To Be With You LP
Groover Washington - Baddest EP
Rosko - Rosko Recites Desiderata 12
Nina Hagen - Smack Jack / Cosma Shiva 12
Salsoul Orchestra - Magic Journey LP
Tolga - Loving Fool 12
Xposed - Dub of No Return 12
Rhythm Heritage - Last Night on Earth LP
Billy Paul - War of the Gods LP
The Jets - Crush on You 12
Blue Pearl - Naked in the Rain 12
El Coco - Cocomotion LP

GENERATION RECORDS:
Donna Summer - s/t
Todd Rundgren - Initiation

KIMS MUSIC & VIDEO:
Jimmy Spicer - The Bubble Bunch 12
Mystic Moods Orchestra - Misty Morning LP
Lighthouse - s/t LP
Battlestar Galactica OST
Wonderland Disco Band - Wonder Woman Disco 12
Voyage - s/t LP
Be Bop Deluxe - Live! In the Air Age LP
Bombers - s/t LP

GOOD RECORDS:
Class Action - Weekend 12
BB&Q Band - All Night Long LP
Let's Disco (a disco dancing lesson on record!)
Nick Straker Band - Straight Ahead 12
Montana - I Love Music LP
The Buggles - Age of Plastic 12
Goldie Alexander - Show You My Love 12
T.S.Monk - Too Much Too Soon 12
Dee Dee Bridgewater - Bad For Me 12

BLEEKER ST. RECORDS:
Wish & Fonda Rae - Touch Me 12
Tata Vega - Give It Up For Love 12
Meco - Encounter of Every Kind LP
Sandee - Notice Me 12
Tongue N Cheek - Tomorrow 12
Ray Martinez - Lady of the Night 12

VIRGIN:
LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 LP
Chromatics - In the City 12
Hercules & Love Affair - Classique #2 / Roar 12

OTHERS:
Deodato - Deodato 2 LP
Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band LP
Tomita - The PLanets LP
South Shore Comittee - Freeman 12
Flash & The Pan - Midnight Man 12
Ferrara - Wuthering Heights 12
Indeep - Last Night a DJ... 12
Aquarian Dream - Fantasy LP
Yusef Lateef - Autophysiopsychic LP

I also had to buy a record bag to bring them all home with! If anybody knows anywhere in Toronto, Montreal or Boston to shop, drop me a comment. Cheers

A-Z

2008-03-27T11:33:00.003Z

So I failed miserably in my mission to blog one track per day during the month of March, covering the hidden gems of my vinyl collection from A-Z. Having packed all my records away ready for going abroad next week, I did one last mix using Serato last night before packing away the decks themselves. Enjoy the A-Z mix from the dregs of my random mp3 folder - there are some great tracks in there!

acidbearboy's A-Z Mix.mp3

alexander robotnick - les grands voyages de l'amour
b52's - song for a future generation
captain rapp - bad times (i can't stand it)
data - aerius light (breakbot's rework)
electronic - free will
flowmasters - let it take control (pumped piano mix)
gus gus - don't hide what you feel
h-foundation - tonight (king britt's sexy mix)
isoul8 - speak your word
jamie lidell - when i come back around (freeform reform)
kylie minogue - slow (extended instrumental)
lee douglas - same changes
m & g - boogie tonight
nomadic - metro-mover
octave one - nicolette
transformer 2 - pacific symphony too
queen samantha - take a chance
recloose - cardiology (isolee remix)
serge gainsbourg - bonnie & clyde (herbert mix)
t-coy - carino
unknown dj - 808 beats
valerie dore - get closer (extended)
wham - everything she wants
x district feat. jimmy edgar - color correction
young holt unlimited - soulful strut
zombi - end credits

Amp Fiddler Remix Competition

2008-03-26T23:31:00.003Z

Finland's finest Willy Baxter is a finalist in the recent Amp Fiddler remix competition, run on the excellent DJ History website. His remix of the track "Hope" is now on Amp Fiddler's myspace page for all to hear. It's a great remix so go take a listen and leave some comments to show your support.

http://www.myspace.com/ampfiddler

Willy also has some new material on his page so be sure to check that too, or visit his new last.fm profile for even more streaming tracks. Best of luck!

Disco Demands

2008-03-10T20:32:00.002Z

I checked out the three Disco Demands compilations a week or two ago after looking into the fantastic Million Dollar Orchestra project (which I'm sure I'll post about shortly) and they're almost consistently great. Collections of rare cuts, re-edits and just general classic tunes; rather than featuring the usual disco staples you can almost guarantee that there'll be unheard material for you - I'd only ever heard one of the tracks before out of all 3 compilations.

As a sample of what you can expect, this Firebolts cut is superb. Slap bass, sunshine guitar, joyful stuff.

The Firebolts - Everybody Party (Get Down) (Re-Edit) (MP3):YSI

Another sample, check "How Can I Tell Her" by Curtis which is from the first compilation. If you ever need a song to remind you why you love music, this is it:

You can buy Volumes 2 and 3 on CD for the insanely low price of £3.50 each from their online shop or all 3 collections in MP3 format here Bear in mind that the official store MP3s are 320kps, I transcoded this sample down so as not to annoy anyone!

Francois Kevorkian

2008-03-05T09:36:00.003Z

A classic deep house EP that has stood the test of time brilliantly. It was the remix EP on Open records that I initially bought, as I couldn't find the original 12". It was a pretty heavyweight package including remixes from Todd Terry, Danny Tenaglia, Angel Moraes and Deep Zone (Mike Delgado & Matthias Heilbronn) covering most of the different flavours of house at the time. I'm going with the Mike & Matty Show mix from Deep Zone. They took Hypnodelic, my favourite track from the original EP, and transformed it from a deep and spaced out groove into a seriously funky slice of New York house complete with heavy percussion and sexy mute trumpet. The blog is really living up to its name with this track today!

Francois K - Hypnodelic (Mike & Matty Show).mp3

David Holmes

2008-03-04T09:43:00.006Z

I'm not sure where I first heard David Holmes - Don't Die Just Yet, possibly on Radio 1 but I can remember the shop I bought it from (now long gone, like all the rest in Portsmouth) so maybe it was an instore recommendation. Regardless, it's a lovely track and one I only recently managed to find a digital copy of. My vinyl recording was a bit rough sounding so it's nice to have a cd rip. This is a remix by Arab Strap, who annoyingly renamed the track they remixed! I love the vocal, the beat, the piano loop and eventually those strings that just spiral out of control.

David Holmes - The Holiday Girl (Don't Die Just Yet).mp3

Vangelis - Soil Festivities

2008-02-22T18:55:00.002Z

I grabbed this in a charity shop last year but I've only recently given it some time. I'm glad I have though, as it's a beautiful album. Released in 1984, the album is split into five Movements. It all begins with the sound of thunder and rainfall. Synthesized strings keep a steady pulse, accompanied by some dreamy keys and trills from what sounds like a recorder. Following this are lots of synth washes and lovely chord progressions, then some nice Blade Runner-esque lead. There are also occasional flourishes of oriental percussion. The mood is sombre and conjours up icey scenes in my head (I am reminded of the 'ice area' music from classic videogames like Final Fantasy VII and Secret of Mana). I did write some more about the other movements, but it sounded like a pompous Pitchfork review. Just take a listen to the long extract from Movement 1 and track down the full LP if you like what you hear. There is a nice review on the Vangelis Movements website if you do want to read more about it.

Vangelis - Soil Festivities Extract: Zshare | YSI

Lite Me Up!

2008-02-19T17:25:00.004Z

I know we had some Herbie Hancock here recently, but I don't think you can have too much. I put Motor Mouth on by chance last week and can't stop listening to it. I love the way that from the first bar - just four beats - you know it's going to be an awesome track. The effortless shuffle that starts after the opening drum roll, the bassline made of pure funk, the little synth lines, those great disco string stabs and the wonderfully loose guitar hooks; it all fits together perfectly. The lyrics are quite nice too, with Herbie bemoaning some gossip queen or another in the verse. He is joined in the chorus by some female vocals and the vocoder is wheeled out again in the bridge. As the track progresses, flute flourishes compliment the groove, brass stabs join the strings and there is a short synth solo.

Herbie Hancock - Motor Mouth Zshare | YSI

Released on CBS in 1982, Lite Me Up is a very solid LP of smooth disco-funk. Gettin' To The Good Part is particularly notable, with its sweet chord progressions and sexy mood. Also look out for the big and bold Can't Hide Your Love. With the exception of 2 tracks, it was produced by Herbie himself. A large part of the song-writing (including Motor Mouth) was done by Rod Temperton, probably most famous for his contributions to the early Michael Jackson albums. So if you like the style of Off The Wall then you could do far worse than grabbing a copy of this. Should be cheap too!

Compost

2008-02-13T22:28:00.006Z

Post-Christmas I afforded myself some time to catch-up on music I left behind in 2007. Top of the list was to buy a bunch of compilations from some of my favourite labels. The Black Label series is a showcase for Compost to release songs for the dance floor and thus Compost Black Label Series Vol. 2 brings together a bunch of 12" released within the last year.

So given what I've heard from Compost in the past, I expected something prehaps minimal with a jazzier edge - I didn't really expect it to be full of groovy techno joints, deep NY-disco vibes and just damn funky, house!

‘The Clap’ opens with the cheesy, tongue-in-cheek cries of “Everybody got the clap!” setting the scene for a bunch of similarly knowing tracks. 'Chicago' carries on the retro feeling with squelchly bassline and funky guitar coda:

Shahrokh Sound of K - Chicago (Alt. Link)

The track that really caught my imagination is Phreek Plus One's 'Lazer Rock' – snythy distorted basslines propelled along by a chugging rhythm, resulting in a deep and foreboding techno tip:

Phreek Plus One - Lazer Rock (Alt. Link)

Elsewhere there are a couple of corking Zwicker tracks that keep the minimal, but light, techno vibe going, 'Lazise' which wouldn't sound of place on a Wipeout soundtrack, 'A&R' brings a little hip-hop mixed with Justice-esq. grandiose, and 'Your Rolling Hills' which brings that little bit of jazz I expected.

Highly recommended. Now to go and purchase the first volume...

Buy at Amazon or Juno.
Buy individual tracks at Juno Download or Bleep.

The Blandford Superfly

2008-02-08T16:31:00.002Z

There is some debate over at Innersounds (who recently featured a nice little piece about us, thanks Jez) as to which version of The Blandford Superfly by House of 909 is best. The choices are simple, on the A-side is DJ Q's Smoke-Filled Room Dub and on the flip is Trevor Loveys' original. They really couldn't be more different; the original being a jazz-funk monster, whilst DJ Q does his trippy tech-house thing. Now as much as I like the dub and its relentless deep pulsating bassline and dreamy key loops, it just doesn't stand out enough from a lot of other house tracks from the time. The original though, is in a world of its own. For starters, there's those lovely crisp beats. There's also some nice live bass and guitar work featured. Add to that an abundance of rhodes and synth noodling over the funky groove and we're well on our way. It really doesn't sound like much else I've heard, certainly not in recent years. Check it out, then head over to Innersounds to listen to the dub and decide for yourself.

House of 909 - The Blandford Superfly.mp3

The Sound Of Light

2008-02-03T20:32:00.001Z

The Field's debut album "From Here We Go To Sublime" managed to appeal to a variety of listeners from the electronic music world and beyond. Some felt is was too simple, too repetitive; others found these things to be the very reason it was so good. Axel Willner's use of tiny looped samples and multiple layers of rhythmic and melodic sounds has defined his style and although the new EP doesn't stray far from his previous work, it still feels like a development. Currently an iTunes exclusive EP, "The Sound of Light"contains an hour of new material spread over 4 tracks. Morning feels instantly familar with its melodic piano and vocal hooks tweaked in a typical way. Day has an almost Italo Disco bounce to it at first, although it builds to become almost Progressive House (done in The Field style of course). Evening is probably the best track on the EP, with plenty going on throughout (listen on Myspace). It's warm and melodic, working its way up from a micro-house beat to swirling peak-time track. The samples are annoyingly familiar to me so if anybody can put me out of my misery, please do! Final track Night has no real beat to it at all. Instead it relies on the pulsating Trance like chord sequences to push the track forward. You keep expecting it to evolve into a monster, but subtlety manages to hold out and the tracks beauty and euphoric melody are a great way to close the EP.

Extract from The Field - Night: Zshare | YSI

Buy "The Sound of Light EP" from iTunes
Buy "From Here We Go To Sublime" from Amazon
The Field on Myspace

2008-01-14T21:13:00.000Z

Not sure how long I will keep this up for, but I thought I'd try keeping a note of my recent purchases because a) it will help me keep track of how much music I am buying, and b) be an easy recommendation type post to write for the blog! Let me know if you think it's a shit idea!

Phalangius - The Cambridge Library Murders //Strange Life CDR
This is another alias of Legowelt, whose Strange Life label put out a bunch of good albums last year - mostly synthesizer heavy, dark/ambient soundtrack type material. The samples from this album sound fantasic (check Snowman Theorem in particular) so I'm looking forward to hearing the whole LP when it arrives.

The Whitest Boy Alive - Burning/24K //Modular 7"
Bought this one for the b-side, a cover of Morgan Geist's 24K from his solo EP "Super". Nice lazy sounding live disco.

Bob Sinclar - Live at the Playboy Mansion (part 2) //Defected 2x12"
I didn't really like the mix album as much as I'd hoped I would considering the tracklisting (anybody wanna buy the cd off me - good price guaranteed!). I picked this up on a whim the other day as it features quite a few of the stand out tracks unmixed.

Gladio - Hadrian's Wall EP //Mighty Robot MP3
The new EP from Legowelt (again) is fucking immense. It's 5 tracks of raw techno/electro mayhem, really dark and intense stuff. "Fighting In The North" pumps out some proper deep bass stabs and thumping beats. "Centurion" sounds like Blade Runner on acid, turn it up loud and wait for random parts of your body start to twitching; trips me right out. Even the tribute track to "Time Team" rocks hard.

E.R.P. - Alsoran EP //Frantic Flowers MP3
E.R.P. - Untitled EP //Downlow MP3
E.R.P. - Vox Automation EP //Frustrated Funk MP3
E.R.P. was an artist that featured heavily in the 2007 CBS Top 100. AKA Gerard Hanson/Convexion, there are 2 more releases I've not yet heard under the E.R.P. alias, but I was happy to snap these 3 up from Boomkat for a few quid. Really deep and lush Electro, recommended.

Dexter - I Don't Care //Clone MP3
Shirley Lites - Heat You Up (Melt You Down) Gerd 4Lux Edit //Clone MP3
The Other People Place - Sorrow & A Cup Of Joe //Clone MP3
A few other random Electro/Italo tracks taken from Clone compilation albums.

Barbara Tucker - Stay Together (Original Vocal Mix) //Strictly Rhythm MP3
Just some old 90's House track that I've always liked in MAW/DJ Camacho mixes, but never owned.

Herbie Hancock

2007-12-31T15:05:00.000Z

I treated myself to a USB turntable with some money I got for Christmas so I've been going through the bargain bins and charity shops trying to find some hidden vinyl gems then ripping to MP3.

I picked this Herbie Hancock 12" up earlier today for a couple of quid, mainly as the A-Side "You Bet Your Love" is one of my favourite disco tracks ever - this being a slightly extended disco version different to the ones I've heard before. I was interested by the flip too which I wasn't familiar and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Think Sly Stone's Thank You For The Music covered by Parliament for an idea of the sound:

Herbie Hancock - Ready or Not (Disco Version) : YouSendIt

I've just bought the original album from Ebay too, I'll be skint before the new year starts at this rate :)

Clouds Across The Moon

2007-12-22T14:29:00.002Z

Here are a couple of 80's records I've picked up lately. Both are fairly cheesey, but that doesn't stop either of them being great. Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon has a beautiful chord progression and of course, I dig that whole space vibe! Produced by Richard A. Hewson, with vocals from his wife Liz; it became a top 10 hit back in 1985. I was initially attracted to the dub style Super Nova Mix but I'm starting to prefer the full vocal now. Great sleeve art too!

Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon.mp3
Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon (Super Nova Mix).mp3

Mr Telephone Man was released in 1984 by male vocal group New Edition, featuring a young Bobby Brown. Produced by Ray Parker Jr and and featuring some nice synth work, it's a straight up pop track about a girl ignoring a guys phone calls. Check out the cringe-worthy video. On the flip side is Delicious, a smooth slice of electro-soul with great chords and some nice vocal harmonies which are used to end the track accapella style.

New Edition - Delicious.mp3

Possible Worlds

2007-12-15T15:52:00.001Z

I've been after this remix EP from The Shamen for years. I couldn't even find an mp3 of Possible Worlds - Stick, which I'm pleased to say still sounds fantastic at least 5 years since I last heard it and over 15 years since its release. Trippy, acid soaked early tech-house with lush synth pads, a nice rolling bassline and excellently programmed beats.

The Shamen - Possible Worlds (Stick).mp3

As a bonus, there are two decent mixes of Make It Mine on the second 12" from Moby. The Deep Mix is lovely floaty stuff but I think I'd prefer it without the vocals. The Dub Mix drops most of the vocals, but loses the deep and floaty feeling due to the more energetic beat, as used in Outlander - Vamp.

The Shamen - Make It Mine (Moby's Deep Mix).mp3
The Shamen - Make It Mine (Moby's Dub Mix).mp3

Metro Area 7

2007-11-25T14:37:00.002Z

Metro Area 7 is finally with us and what a treat it is! Lead track Read My Mind features vocals from Philip Owusu (of Owusu & Hannibal fame) and strings from Kelley Polar. Taking inspiration from the 80's electronic disco style, the track is an upbeat and punchy song, sounding exactly like the sum of its parts. As you would expect from Morgan & Darshan, the production is immaculate. The beats are tight, the bass bounces beautifully, Polar's string arrangements are lush and Owusu's vocal works brilliantly over the synthetic groove. Available in vocal and instrumental flavours, as well as the RMM Special Dub - it's bound to please fans both old and new.

On the flip side, Metro Area go cosmic with the track Erodyne. The synthesisers really get a good workout here, with plenty of arpeggio's flying around, warm chord progressions and a couple of spaced out solo's. It's another exquisite slice of electronic disco and a natural progressions of the Metro Area sound. Available on 12" and mp3 (the Read My Mind instrumental is an exclusive digital track) from all good stores right now. Buy it, listen to it, love it; and hope another album isn't too many years down the line! You can stream the 4 original tracks in full at Boomkat. Below you will find a cheeky little re-edit I did this afternoon, taking sections from the vocal and the dub. Enjoy!

Metro Area - Read My Mind (acidbearboy supercombo edit) - Removed by request.

Happy Daymare

2007-11-23T15:12:00.000Z

I'm not sure if I have mentioned rllmukfm yet, but it's a new internet radio station that a friend of mine has set up. It's not a 24 hour service, but you will find a selection of DJ's playing a variety of music most evenings throughout the week. Ben, Paul and myself all have regular shows, the details of which are on the website.

Probably my favourite show on the station is Friday's VGM (videogame music) session with Sabreman. I've always been a big fan of videogames and their soundtracks and he picks a fine selection of old chip-tunes, VGM remixes, plus some more recent stuff. His love of obscure Japanese remix/arrangement albums brought up this slice of jazz-funk goodness. A remix of the stage 6 music from the 1991 Konami shoot 'em up Xexex - yes, I'd never heard of it either! It's a mighty fine sax groove, with lovely chords and some excellent keyboard work - taken from the Perfect Selection album by Konami Kukeiha Club (check that sexy front cover!). I love finding great tracks like this in such unlikely places. Take a listen, suprise yourself!

Konami Kukeiha Club - Happy Daymare.mp3

Do it again, and again, and again......

2007-11-09T17:35:00.000Z

This great track was recently brought to my attention by the consistently good Another Night On Earth blog, where it's Asso incarnation was posted as the b-side to the classic Don't Stop track. The tune was familiar of course, but I'd not heard the Steely Dan original for years so I hunted it down to make a comparison. The arrangements are suprisingly similar, the original having more of a bossa-nova shuffle to it than the disco groove of Asso's remake. Otherwise, the main difference is in the solo's - and this is where my preference is decided. The original opens the solo-section with a sitar, one instrument I'm really not keen on the sound of. Following this is some nice organ noodling, which I'm all for. However, Asso replace the sitar with what sounds like an electric guitar and we get a spaced out synth lead instead of the organ. This, coupled with the disco beat really hits the spot for me, making a good song great (although still not worth the $350 the Asso 12" goes for!).

Steely Dan - Do It Again.mp3

Asso - Do It Again.mp3 (ANOE)

Whilst searching for the original, I came across a couple of other versions, the first of which is from Smash Mouth. It has some nice swinging drums and a cool organ solo but I can't say I'm keen on the guys voice, which kinda ruins it really. The other version is a medley with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean from Italian producers Clubhouse. It doesn't do anything too flashy but ends up working suprisingly well.

Smash Mouth - Do It Again.mp3

Clubhouse - Do It Again / Billie Jean.mp3

The Loft

2007-11-08T16:35:00.000Z

No, not The Loft, but my loft. I found some old records up there last week (not mine), most of which were bad - Phil Collins, Pointer Sisters, Miami Sound Machine etc. But this track by Eurythmics really caught my ear. It's the b-side to their Sexcrime single, taken from their soundtrack to Michael Radford's film of the George Orwell novel 1984. The beat is nice and slow and the combination of live and synthesized bass works really well, whilst still leaving plenty of room for you to find the groove between beats. The use of Annie's voice without her actually singing any lyrics is also well done. It's over all too quickly for my liking though and there is no sign of an extended mix as far as I can tell from searching Discogs.

Eurythmics - I Did It Just The Same.mp3

You can order the album from Amazon. It's dirt cheap and supposedly a very good album, I shall investigate.

Spend Some Time

2007-11-05T19:51:00.000Z

Once again I've suprised myself by picking out a real gem of a track from the charity shop racks with nothing but a bit of raw instinct. I'm certainly getting better at this digging game! The local British Heart Foundation shop has been good to me in the last couple of weeks. I've spent about £15 in there on old vinyl and nearly all of them have been really good. This track from Alton Edwards is probably my favourite. I love the chunky synth bassline, the crisp shuffling drums and the lovely chords. Even the cheesey little synthesized brass section makes me smile. It was released back in 1981 on Morgan Khan's Streetwave label. According to Discogs, Alton Edwards hasn't done much else, which is a shame as I'd definately like to hear more tracks like "I Just Wanna". I can't decide if I like the vocal or the instrumental best so here's both for you to enjoy.

Alton Edwards - I Just Wanna (Spend Some Time With You).mp3

Alton Edwards - I Just Wanna (Instrumental).mp3

Fileden links: Vocal | Instrumental

Attention Music Lovers

2007-11-01T22:58:00.000Z

The recent closure of the music sharing website Oink has whipped up a storm of commotion from the music industry as well as music lovers from across the world. One of the most well written pieces on the subject was recently posted by Rob over at Demonbaby.

The article features a lot of things I agree with (record companies need to change their current business model, a legal archive style website like Oink needs to be created) and some things I don’t (all music should be free). But it is an insightful read which has provoked much thought from me today.

Also, this 2003 paper was linked from one of the comments on the above. It too is a very interesting read, highlighting some of the problems within the record industry and their reluctance and/or failiure to adapt to the changes in technology threatening their business model.

The big labels are only interested in your money, not the music. This is wrong. I urge everybody to support the music they love directly - give your money to the artists who make it and the independant labels that put it out there. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day; the love of music.

Overpowered

2007-10-24T19:30:00.000+01:00

So, solo album number two from Roisin Murphy has arrived, with a much different outlook than her first. Where Ruby Blue was positioned as a lavish collection of music and art, Overpowered is brash, bold and very much pop. Like all pop albums theres a multitude of producers (Seiji, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Andy Cato, Richard X) and thus a diverse selection of styles. The disco-diva approach fits best and is well represented, but the toe-tipping into broken beat with 'Footprints', the Timbaland-esq bow-bow-digga 'Checkin' On Me' and the electro of 'Cry Baby' hint at potential future directions.

Current single 'Let Me Know' is pure 80's disco groove and borrows heavily from 1981's 'Sure Shot' by Tracy Weber.

Tracy Weber - Sure Shot (Alt.Link)

The fall-out of projects such as this, is the number of tracks that didn't make the album. The unreleased Calvin Harris track 'Off and On' seems to be quite an omission. As is Mark De Clive-Lowe produced 'Unlovable', which is relegated to a b-side on a maxi-cd single (and who buys cd singles?!)

Róisín Murphy -Unlovable (Alt.Link)

Popjustice has the whole album available for streaming, so go have a listen, and vote with your wallet. Available to buy everywhere. Amazon, Play... even Woolworths.

The Alan Parsons Project

2007-10-21T13:48:00.000+01:00

Alan Parsons started work in an EMI tape duplication facility in the 60s and later become a recording engineer, working with artists such as The Beatles, The Hollies and Cockney Rebel. His engineering work on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" earned him a Grammy nomination in 1973. The Alan Parsons Project was a partnership between himself and songwriter Eric Woolfson, with each album using a variety of additional musicians and studio men.

Pyramid is probably the best album I've ever bought on a whim without knowing anything about it. Released back in 1978, it was the bands third album and was influenced by the then current fad of Pyramidology. The album itself is excellently produced (by Alan) and including a variety of musical styles and instruments. Also worth noting is the way the album works so well as a cohesive whole, with tracks linking nicely into and out of each other.

The opening pairing of "Voyager" and "What Goes Up..." (elements of both were used for the Quiet Village track "Pillow Talk") start the album wonderfully, flowing seamlessly as one. The remainder of the A side contains 3 nice pop/rock tracks; reminiscent of the Steely Dan sound of the period, but more edgy. The B side begins with the grandiose instrumental "In The Lap Of The Gods" - an epic (in style rather than length) and moody track with its choral and orchestral accompaniment. The production quality is really shown off here with the excellent balance of the many different parts playing at once. Hyper-Gamma-Spaces is another instrumental, this time very upbeat, with some excellent synthesizer and electric piano work taking a strong lead. The LP closes with the beautiful ballad "Shadow Of A Lonely Man", again featuring some wonderful orchestration. Although I find the vocalist to be a little weak in places, it really is an excellent song and a great way to close the album.

The Alan Parsons Project - In The Lap Of The Gods.mp3 (Zshare)

The Alan Parsons Project - Hyper-Gamma-Spaces.mp3 (Zshare)

Fileden alternative links:
In The Lap Of The Gods | Hyper-Gamma-Spaces

Who's Zoomin' Who?

2007-10-15T12:06:00.000+01:00

I picked up this 1985 Aretha Franklin 12" from the Notting Hill Soul & Dance Exchange bargain basement by chance on a recent trip to London. Each time I've listened to it I've grown to like it more and more; it's a classic example of that electronic soul sound that was so popular during the 80's. Certain sections of the vocal track were used in an old Rave track and for days it was bugging me that I couldn't quite place it. Eventually, I discovered that it was Shock the Beats by Electric Choc - a piano led, breakbeat fuelled Italian house record from 1991. The music from this era is one of my favourites for Dance music. Although I was far too young to be out there dancing to any of it, it seemed to be devoid of any genres and bastard sub-genres, with DJ's like Slipmatt playing any music they could find to just make you feel good and dance. If these two tracks don't put a smile on your face, you're probably dead inside.

Aretha - Who's Zoomin' Who? (Dance Mix).mp3

Electric Choc - Shock the Beats (Piano Mix).mp3

Yourfilehost alternative links: Zoom | Shock

Ugly Edits

2007-10-08T19:25:00.000+01:00

I've been picking a couple of these Theo Parrish Ugly Edits up from various places recently and it's all good stuff. Released as a series of 10 in ridiculously small quantities a few years back (good luck finding an original, hand-sprayed vinyl!), these are Theo's re-edits of disco, soul and house tracks.

This re-edit from Volume 4 extends and repeats beyond all reasonable thinking, but as it's such a unstoppable monster of a groove, works so well. The 11 minutes fly by.

The Dells - Get On Down (Theo Parrish Re-Edit).mp3 (Alt. Link)

Hear more stuff like this as well as soul, funk, disco, hiphop and whatever else tickles my fancy, on my weekly shows on internet radio station RllmukFM, tune in (by clicking the link) 9.30 to 11pm UK Time [/plug]. All my fellow posters here have regular slots too, but I'll let them pimp those themselves ;)

Slight Return

2007-10-03T17:44:00.001+01:00

Wow, it's been rather quiet around here lately. Sorry for the lack of updates to anybody who reads regularly. Six weeks though(!), time flies and all that. Anyway, I've been busy with work (dull), trying my hand on a new online radio station, as well as working with some great artists over at 24:Hours to promote their new music. I hope you've been keeping up with the latest stuff from Smith n Hack, Ultracity, Roland Sebastian Faber and Komarken. If not, head on over there and catch up.

As well as discovering the new, I've also been researching the old. A few trips here and there and a little extra disposable income have meant my record collection has expanded quicker than usual and I really should start posting some of the better stuff up here. I'll start with this little gem from prog rock come popsters Barclay James Harvest. Taken from their 1979 LP "Eyes of the Universe", I bought it based purely on the bands rather pretentious sounding name and the cool cover art (plus it was only 50p). Not a particularly good album for the most part, but the opening track below has a nice little groove to it. A mixture of pop melodies, guitar chords and some good synthesizer work. The arpeggios and steady 4/4 beat mean that one of those cheeky re-edit's will probably pop up at some point in the not too distant future. Get there first!

Barclay James Harvest - Love On The Line.mp3

Stars

2007-08-14T11:42:00.000+01:00

I've had the oppurtunity to do a some digging in a few records shops over the last couple of weeks. I've picked up a lot of great bargains; mostly 70s and 80s funk, soul and disco stuff, but also a few other nice bits. I'd only read about this particular record the day before one of my shopping trips, so to find it in one of the dusty old boxes was a pleasant suprise.

I'd noticed a friend had been listening to a new version of the classic "Miura" by Metro Area, and so quickly headed to Google and searched for the Maelstrom re-edit (you can find it a lot easier by just heading over to 24:Hours blog). As well as finding the mp3, I also found a little more information about the original; that they had sampled the beat from an old 12" by Stars on 45. The beat features on both the ABBA Megamix(!) on the A-side as well as the Disco track "Stars Get Ready" on the B-Side.

Nearly 12 minutes of continuous ABBA covers over a disco beat was a bit much for me to take, but the "Stars Get Ready" track is actually quite nice - if a little cheesey. Although Morgan and Darshan can only have taken a very small section from it, it's quite easy to hear the similarity. I'm sure I don't need to post the original version of Miura, but if for some reason you don't already own a copy then you really should get round to buying the Metro Area LP or Metro Area 4 EP that it features on.

Stars on 45 - Stars Get Ready.mp3 (Zshare)

Stars on 45 - Stars Get Ready.mp3 (Yourfilehost)

Elektrons

2007-07-27T19:32:00.000+01:00

I had an email this week about the Elektrons new single 'Get Up', featuring Soup from Jurassic 5 and vocalist Pete Simpson. I missed their last single ‘Dirty Basement’ (listen on Myspace) but the new one is hot. If we ever get a summer, it will be a great soundtrack to it! The video is a mixture of live shots and animation, including breakdancing, tentacles and robots! I've added the crappy quality YouTube version for convenience but there is also a high quality stream available, I highly recommend you watch that instead! Get the single from August 6th on Wall of Sound. The forthcoming album 'Red Light Don't Stop' is out August 28th. Check out their website for more goodies: http://www.Elektrons.net

This Is Not A Jazz Mix

2007-07-26T14:33:00.001+01:00

A bunch of (mostly) late 70s and early 80s funk stuff I strung together last night. It's a little rough around the edges but then I don't work with vinyl a lot anymore. There are some cracking tunes to make up for it, a couple of which have been featured here previously. Running time is approximately 52 minutes. Tracklist:

Cadillac - Arturo
Kano - Dance School
The Chaplin Band - Angelina
General Caine - L.R.J. Pop (Remix Version)
Donald Byrd - Dance Band
Olympic Runners - Solar Heat
Hamilton Bohannon - Let's Start II Dance Again (Party Version)
House of 909 - The Blandford Superfly
Mandre - Solar Flight (Opus I)

acidbearboy - this is not a jazz mix.mp3

Rev. Louis Overstreet

2007-07-15T21:02:00.000+01:00

It being the day of rest and all, I thought it was high time to share a couple of tracks from one of the more interesting albums in my collection - Live at the Powerhouse Church of God by Reverend Louis Overstreet. A live recording from 1960 of a raw and intense gospel sermon from the Rev. Overstreet, unlike virtually anything else I've heard before. His voice comes over like a great bluesman, deep and soulful constantly singing praise (listen to "Getting Richer" for a taste) whilst his raucous blues guitar playing is on the verge of turning into rock'n'roll at any point. It's the pure rhythm in the songs that always amazes me, as well as drums every track (no matter the pace) has the congregation clapping along creating a hazy, trancelike feel that you get completely lost in where it just builds and builds (Listen to "In the Morning (Holiness Dance)" for a perfect example).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - I'm Working on a Building (MP3).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - Getting Richer (MP3).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - In the Morning (Holiness Dance)(MP3).

It's not a varied album by any means, but that's not really the point; no matter your religious persuasion (and I'm as non-religious as they come), it's hard not to get completely swept up in the passion and energy on display.
There's a little piece about it at Emusic where it's described as the "probably the greatest gospel recording ever", high praise but richly deserved. Who said the devil had all the best tunes?

Buy Rev. Louis Overstreet - Live at the Powerhouse Church of God from Emusic

Buy from Amazon.com