Artist
: SMITH
& MIGHTY
Title : LIFE IS
Label
: K7
Format
: CD
After a busy 2 years
of studio works, dj sets and live sessions Smith & Mighty return with this
there first full length offering since 'Big World, Small World'. This time
it's less down tempo with a variety of soulful and roots infused drum & bass
styled steppers riddims.
For
my DJ habits it's not much of a play out album with the possible exception
of 'B-line Fi Blow' and '1,2 mike check'. For myself it's more of a home or
car listening thang and in that environment it's great. Highlights include
'1,2 Mike Check' a skanking futuristic reggae texture meets hip hop flavouring
& featuring M.c Kelz 'pon the mike. Other highlights include 'Try' the albums
sole instrumental. An atmospheric affair driven by a very upfront 'Mini Pops'
style drum machine beat and a deep sub b-line. Also the jump up delights of
'B-Line Fi Blow'. A true dread sound buoy tale of flopping the opposing sound
in the clash.
The featured vocalists
here come in two forms. The ladies provide the sweet, soulful and more commercial
vibe on tunes such as 'Life Has A Way' and 'Flash Of Joy'. While the guys
step forward on the more dread and jump up styled tunes like 'B-line Fi Blow'
& 'Run Come'. All this makes for a nicely rounded album. A great balance of
light & Shade. Smith & Mighty never over cook the mix, always allowing the
singers to create their own light. A fine album and a welcome return to the
Bristol massive.
Bimble
Next
up, we don't usually cover corporate stuff,but as these next two are such
exceptional releases, we felt we had to mention them.
Artist
: APHRODITE
Title : ALL OVER ME
Label
: V2
Format
: 12" / CD SINGLE
Aphrodite
: All Over Me After ripping up the underground dance floors on white label
'All Over Me' finally gets it's full release on V2. I've long been a fan of
Aphrodite's brand of Jump Up 2 Step and have had many a boom time running
his Urban Takeover material.
'All Over Me' is a
wicked retake on the dancehall smash 'Under Me Sensi' and features Barrington
Levy, it's original vocalist, voicing the tune. Side 1 has Aphrodite's original
mix ( which also features on the new Aphrodite album ). After a teasing intro
Aphrodite's signature rollin' b-lines & skiptastical two-step riddims kick
in massive style. There's plenty of the original Barrington vocal in the breaks,
which tends to focus more on the "Babylon all over me" than the "Under Me
Sensi" lines. The breaks just keep coming, building up, breaking down only
to build up again even harder than before. This for myself is the mainline
mix.
On the flip you get two further mixes provided by Jimmy T and Freq Nasty respectively.
For my money Freq Nasty does the most to change the thing with his seven &
a half minute dirty break beat fest. Which builds and builds until you have
very little of the original tune left. Eventually the whole thing breaks down
and starts over. Now with extra loops added the tune really starts to lift
the roof.
All in all a great
reinvention of a classic tune that takes the original idea and just lets it
run and run. Essential.
Bimble
Artist
:
SEX PISTOLS
Title : GOD
SAVE THE QUEEN (REMIX)
Label
:
VIRGIN
Format
: 12" / 7" / CD SINGLE
Having been a fan
of the Pistols since an early age I decided to buy this remix mainly out of
curiosity but also to see if we could make it chart in Jubilee week ( Which
it did, but only in the lower reaches. Could it once again have been a fix?
Surely not in this day and age of spin fixated society ) and also because
the reproduced original artwork looked nice on the 12" sleeve.
On first hearing ( at home ) I decided that the remix was a bit of a turgid
affair containing none of the originals incendiary feel. Then I went and did
a very silly thing indeed. Playing out on a massive club system ( built for
our usual mix of roots, dub and two step jungle), I closed my next set with
it ( in jubilee week). Neil Barnes' main remix simply lifted the roof off
the place sending the audience into a frenzied mob.
So I hear you say,
"what does the thing sound like?" Well you get 3 mixes, the original band
version, the short 7" mix and the glorious 8 minute 12" mix which opens with
low pulsing mid tones and heavily filtered loops of the original guitars.
At about a minute and half the heavy beat kicks in and your surprised by it's
ferocity, at 3mins the vocal drops in complete and riding this upstart-dark-dance
riddim perfectly. The thing carries on building until the very last bar and
will get your audiences into almost as much of a frenzy as the original did
25 years ago. Simply a must have record.
Bimble
Artist
: PRODIGAL
SUN
Title : TWISTED HARMONICS
Label
: AFTERBURN RECORDS
Format
: CD SINGLE
Debut
album here from West Country chaps Prodigal Sun, on their own label Afterburn
Records. What we have is nine tracks of fizzy, fuzzy, blippy, zippy psychedelic
trance, with big big bass lines (check out the relentless 'Boundaries of Perception')
fat, chunky production and some gloriously twisted sounds. There's also a
few highly entertaining samples thrown in to add to your enjoyment too.
Ed Snugg ( Rebel Bass
/ Legions Of Dub )
Artist
:
WEIRDO 
Title : NORMALIZATION
Label
:
TINRIB RECORDS
Format
: CD
Oh
my God!!! Here it is, finally! The new Weirdo album - rejoice! The first one
from a few years back immediately became, in my mind, one of the best albums
of all time and made just about all other dance music seem lifeless, dull
and stale in comparison, and this one is even more so. Everything you could
possibly want in a dance music album is here in shed loads - awesome energy,
power, melody and atmosphere, possibly a little cheesy for some, but whereas
most NRG/hard house style producers stick to predictable melodies, breaks
and changes, Weirdo constantly pulls surprise after surprise out of his hat.
Nobody comes close to these energy levels, and while the mixing is ever-so-slightly
dubious here and there, it ensures that as soon as you've pressed play, you
can't stop until the album is over, especially when 'Devil's Plaything' is
lurking at track number 12. Absolutely blinding - everybody needs this album.
Ed
Snugg ( Rebel Bass / Legions Of Dub )
Artist
: VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Title : SAME RECIPE
Label
: ACIDANCE RECORDS
Format
: CD
Cor,
this lot really know what they're up to. A Greek label with a hefty dose of
nutty Russian oddness, but with the keenest ear around (along with our home-grown
Alchemy Records) for truly mental, twisted, ripping trance. They've recently
released albums by Psyside, Neuromotor and Parasence too, if that gives you
a clue to where they're coming from.
The
Neuromotor track here, 'AFX Mechanik remix' is a right cheeky li'l number
that I remember Tristan dropping recently to devastating effect (my foot still
hurts sometimes…), building and building without you being fully aware of
it, then before you know it you're away and stomping like you never knew you
could. Speaking of stomping, 'Alex's Tooth' by the mighty Skazi is worth the
asking price alone - the most infectious, groovy and downright havin' it psy-trance
tune I've heard in a long time and one that I can't stop playing. Other standout
tracks include Nothing Special's 'Headless Horseman', with its incessant rumble,
crazy little changes and proper twisted sounds and samples, 'Train' by Parasence,
'Pagan Poetry' by Earthling and Bounce & Drops- actually, they're all wicked,
except Fungus Funk's offering, which is just a little tooooo oddball for my
tastes.
Really
hatstand, them Russians. Ten tracks in all, mind - bargain! This is what psy-trance
is all about in 2002 - you need this. Ed
Snugg ( Rebel Bass / Legions Of Dub )
Artist
:
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Title : CATCHER
Label
:
AURINKO RECORDS
Format
: CD
Yes, let's all go
to the dark side. Tim Schuldt and his cohorts back with more hard, nasty,
menacing psy-trance like you know you want! A rather patchy opener by Faithealers
kicks things off before Spies come along and chugg some atmosphere into the
proceedings. Careful now, though, as unprepared souls will have a hard time
coping with the onslaught of 'Quantum Glow' by D.Fundation (aka Detlef Funder
- one half of Four Carry Nuts) up next. Blimey! What a stormer! Before you
know it, this monster is hammering into your brain and won't stop until it's
left in little bits on the floor. Unfortunately for the shandies amongst us,
it just gets darker, with 3.Turn, Dark Soho and Tim Schuldt providing some
fine moody numbers full o' guitars n' stuff, while Dodgy Connection and Four
Carry Nuts round things off with a pair of very eerie and frightening tunes,
even by German standards.
If
you like it dark and evil (in more of a pounding sense than yer usual twisted
weirdness) get this. It's marvellous.
Ed
Snugg ( Rebel Bass / Legions Of Dub )
Artist
: THE
MIGHTY QUARK
Title : SILVERDALE
Label
: PLAY
Format
: CD
On
nu-house label Play is a journey through house inspired dub to dub inspired
house. This expedition travels around the globe, evoking thoughts of everywhere
from Jamaica, to Africa, to Latin America to Asia. Consistent throughout is
an ingenious use of percussion, which is correlative to heady digitally produced
rhythms, retro melodies and an ever-present strong synthesized bass. Using
the common characteristic elements of leftfield genres in order to produce
an AM PM crossover album is formulaic, and is often an admirable idea that
results poorly. Here these techniques create an exotic and vivid blend of
unique tracks. It is perhaps because of the fine use of delay and tension
that ethnic rhythms and even sound pads become a fresh destination.
On this adventure the
most successful tunes are the ones that use the most familiar sounds. Skanking
bass lines are the team's métier. Yet their engineering talents are best experienced
on the tracks with languid soulful vocals and jazzy solo instrumentals. At
times this album is slow to develop, but once the mountain has been climbed
the view is certainly beautiful. An inspiring and reviving collection of world
influenced pumping dub. Suitable for rocking in any time zone!
Claire
Bastin.x.
Artist
:
DJ SPOOKY
Title : MODERN
MANTRA
Label
: SHADOW MIX
Format
: CD
Eight years after
the initial release of his first album 'Songs Of A Dead Dreamer'. And following
his last 'Under The Influence' album. Is the Subliminal kids latest offering
'Modern Mantra'
Mantra
sees Spooky aka Paul Miller digging deeply into his crater sized record collection
and coming up with a mix album that is both contemporary and challenging at
the same time. Spooky's approach to his live performance and D.J'ing is reflected
here as the mixture of well known artists such as DJ Krush and DJ Camm and
Moby, touch bass with leading luminaries of the New York music scene, a relationship
that takes a vocalist such as Susan Deyhim and mixes her with Russell Mills
and the Sharpshooters.
The challenging aspect
is Spooky's decks and effects approach that veers away from the traditional
break beat and beating matching approaches of most current mix compilations
as Spooky uses a variety of techniques and studio /software ideas to great
sonic effect. This enables him to take you on a musical travelogue that encompasses
all his influences from hip-hop to reggae to ambience to dirty drum and bass
work outs and of course, jazz.
Smart Monkey
Artist
: VIBRA
Title : REVEREND FUNK
/ DOWN & OUT
Label
: 7 HILLS
Format
: 7"
This
is the first release on 7Hills by Vibra, otherwise known as Ian Cracknell,
who is currently producing an album on Catskills. This 7" contains two sides
of more traditional funk. Without wanting to compare, if you like Quantic
or Mr Scruff you should like this. Side a rolls in with a loose slung guitar
with horns taking over for the breakdowns. The more upbeat AA side continues
in the same flavour with more of a 70s street groove. Both ride along on percussion
and guitars while vocal samples dip in and out. Perfect summer music.
UD
Artist
:
DJ SHADOW
Title : THE
PRIVETE PRESS
Label
: NINJA TUNE
Format
: CD / LP
Another album, another
step from Mr Davis on his unique musical journey, 'The Private Press' mixes
up moods, beats and melodies with all the skill, energy and passion we've
come to expect from the man and his musical collaborators. Hip-hop, funk,
ambient, psychedelia, all the trademark styles and atmospheres are here, with
a newly explicit willingness to rock out, especially on the single 'You Can't
Go Home Again' with its driving riffs and 'Fixed Income' which piles up layers
of guitars over a juicy one-note bass line and swaying drum groove. There's
both calmer and weirder stuff here too. Only time will tell if this will match
the enduring classic status of 'Endtroducing..'
but it will certainly do to be getting on with. OM
Title : NEW TESTAMENT
