some stuff i grabbed lately:
u.r. -actuator 7" (ur7-058)
ohhhh yeah!! 'actuator' is just mad mike doing his best electro, great dark
catchy bassline, synth bees hovering around, and this synth that sounds like
some drexciyans talking underwater, so alien and just dope...a really nice
solo too, and i'm not always digging mad mike's solos..this one is more
catchy and not just virtuosic...just great electro coming off sort of like a
blend of the older u.r. electro like 'electronic warfare' and the newer
hitech funk stuff..the b-side is by "the mechanic", titled 'solenoid'...it's
strange. it's a bit to the rave-y side, with this dry enveloped pulsewave
sound (kinda classic rave sound), jackin claps, but also some nice
drexciya-ish sawtooth-y notes..overall it's a little too strange and
loopy/bangin for my taste, and that ravey sound gets on my nerves, but it's
still sort of an interesting song..
red planet -tobacco ties 7" (rp7-12)
'tobacco ties' is built around a deep but somewhat trancey chord riff, very
simple and repetitive...but then the stabbing strings and bassline are
quickly added, is all very repetitive and simple, but very soulful
progressions ala los hermanos / jaguar / aguila...some nice subtle touches,
some wigged-out little synth undertones, against my wishes (i really think
it's too trancey..) i get this song caught in my head already. i'm liking it
more and more. BUT the b-side kills it! this 7" is definitely essential for
'space walker' ohh yeah!! just a slammin beat with beautiful bellish tones
bouncing and squeaking around...it actually reminds me a lot of something
convextion has done...great sound design, very minimala nd spacey, and way
deep and funky and detroit...
aztec mystic -aguila 12" (ur-059)
dope! definitely a good follow-up to jaguar, not as catchy maybe, but like
someone said, is "massive". i love the simple bassline (sounds like a tango
or something), and the super smooth loose-tight filtery bits...the strings
are pretty over the top but hard to resist, like jaguar. not a whole lot to
say, it's a hit for sure i'd say..a little bit more of a house sound, and a
latin sound, than jaguar..orlando does 'the fix mix' on the b-side, and
ohhhh man it is just beautiful. he adds a more techno touch to it with the
addition of some subtle sounds, re-arranges the strings and makes them less
"massive", adds some lovely horn samples..even the birdy sound from sueno
latino whoo haha, and takes about 4 minutes before dropping the beat..throws
some reverse edits in, builds up, takes it back down and then back up...and
those horns...ahhh! orlando tears it up!...this record is definitely two
a-sides!
aquanauts -spawn 12" (ur-060)
runout has a message from tyree stinson!..james' bro definitely has the aqua
gene..'spawn (genetic continuation mix)' sounds sorta like wavejumper era
drexciya, and sorta like 'electronic warfare' (esp that sinister
bassline..), and comes complete with submarine pings and some sliding
"alert" (i dunno) tones...pretty simple but very analog and very
drex...excellent!! afterwards there's some bonus beats which are real nice
too. 'relentless (expect no mercy mix)' is a jam, with an angry thick
bassline grinding along, and some jazzy chords stabbing out a nice catchy
rhythm...some wigged out lead synth solo is added which at first is maybe
too wiggedout and sounding like somebody playing a monosynth with the
guitar-grip attached if y'know what i mean (van halen!), but then it turns
into a nice bouncy twisted little melody, very mad mike, and some big thick
strings are added...really nice, maybe more mad mike than drexciyan, but
really dope jam..aside from that solo going overboard for a moment
aquanauts -relentless (expect no mercy mix) 7" (ur7-060)
nice! the 7" mix of 'relentless' removes that over-the-top bit of solo, and
plays around with the twisted melody a bit more..on the flip is "bubble
beats", which is a simple electro beat with some bubbling noises. a few
echo-ing screechy/horny notes are added and a couple more sounds to the
beat..it doesn't really go anywhere, and is nothing amazing, is just some
nice bubble beats! not as dope as the old drexciyan beat tracks, but nice
all the same...
fix -diligent (ingnitor 001)
dayyyummm orlando is feeling it...'diligent' is just bad-mf-ass techno, very
melodic, delicate, but deep and catchy...dusty snares gently urging things
along, chunky bass notes, lovely melody/refrain, deep but unobtrusive
resonant strings, all very attentively arranged, and changing/evolving
throughout the song...definitely some of the very best stuff i have heard
from orlando..just has that feeling, really detroit, sounding a bit like
juan maybe..whew! the b-side, 'target untraceable' is produced alongside
m.i.a. from ur. it starts simply, with some soulful nocturnal sounding
organny stabs (reminds a bit of suburban knight..), after a minute or two
drops a nice opened-up electro beat with some flanging percussion and some
nice melodic bits that swim and echo around in the mix...very deep, more
abstract..actually reminds a bit of nwaq's 'the magnificent', hmm i can
already imagine mixing the two!..anyways...out of all these new submerge
records i picked up, i think this is the best...just a great, great record!
chateau flight -cosmic race (versatile)
nice giraffe cover. not what i expected from c.f. -- this is real deep
delicate techno drenched in reverb, with a great always-changing portamento
melody, very deep soft airy pads, and some nice repetitive bass and
melodic-percussive parts chugging away underneath the rest. very classy...
duplex -overdue (klakson)
real nice deep stuff from duplex as always, tho not grabbing me as much as
other times. there's a new mix of 'entropia', which is real nice but it
doesn't improve on the original, and it's fairly similar. 'quaoar LM60' is
faster, all lush delayed synth, over a nice low sliding bassline and a beat
that has some nice extra touches...it reminds me a bit of ur/red planet, but
not as good...i like it but it comes off a bit derivative and not fully
developed...maybe because it's mostly 4/4 parts with not much 8/4 etc.
'subconscious' is house tempo, built around a nice metallic fm riff, adds a
big and great square wave bassline, deep strings, quietly twinkling
high-pitched synth melodies, simple congas, simple and catchy repeating
bits..all covered in nice reverb and sounding very spacious and open...is a
winner, definitely one of my favorite duplex' songs.
as one -so far (so good) (ubiquity)
not much new here but realllly nice to have some of my favorite tracks from
the a.r.t. comps (and that virtual sex track), and lotsa the best songs from
the albums, which i only had on cd before. it's really a great collection
and impresses me more overall than his last couple albums did, less jazzy
noodling more down-to-business! and pretty nicely priced as a domestic 3LP
new world aquarium -heavy metal (peacefrog)
the a-side (title track) is pretty boring imo, maybe i haven't had the
patience to listen to it properly yet. the b-side will put this record on my
top ten list at the end of the year, just f*ucking beautiful, deep, very
detroity, but very unique. 'the magnificent' has a very basic channel-y
plodding electro beat with just beautiful noodling detroity synth work
bubbling along low in the mix...so dope.
andres -salvador de bahia (mahogani 004)
title track has my favorite hook/melody of the year, just so fun and
uplifting
and soulful...reminds of the catchiness of cymande, or old african
disco/pop..two versions of the song, very similar just different arrangement
(one builds more), but such a great song i am happy to have both versions.
the b-side is great too. 'last call for alcohol' is pretty lowkey, with a
great slinky pfunk bassline, and some nice sample, overall reminds me of
andres' first two records on kdj...'express' sounds like it's going to be a
clubby thing at first, with that catchy little vocal snippet and
string-hits, but the keys and congas and flutes and creeping bassline really
make this a very classy song...really good for clubs too.
theo parrish -natural aspirations (sound signature 018)
'friendly children' sounded like it would be a great track..sample some
children singing and throw it into some nice theo beats etc, sure. i'm kinda
let down by the result tho...some of the singing kids aren't so in-key and
they sound a bit obnoxious, it gets grating, to me. i really love the boogie
piano chords theo throws over them, but...and then, imo, the song goes past
the point of no return when some VERY new age-y "adult contemporary"
sounding piano is layered over everything midway thru the song. also the
kicks are extremely large and thuddy, even for theo, a bit too much for me.
the b-side 'timeislafinacharunninout' is hot sh!t tho! very low bpms, great
beats full of clangs and sticks and even hi-q, some real tense/electrifying
horn sample blowing away...speeds up halfway thru, more great sample
playing...classic theo, the first s.sig i've really dug in a long time, for
this track.
jt
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