Is this stuff out yet? Maybe Gramaphone is slow on the draw. I try to support my local Chicago record shop, but it seems crazy that records from Detroit should show up in the UK before they show up in Chicago!!!
-----Original Message----- From: J. T. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 29, 2003 4:57 PM To: [email protected] Subject: (313) new and newish chit 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 _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8: Get 6 months for $9.95/month. http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup
