It's Sunday afternoon so here are a few (longish) reviews of :-
"Finleys Rainbow" A Guy Called Gerald (Juice Box)
"The Time Has Come" U.N.K.L.E. (Mo' Wax)
"Like A Motorway" St.Etienne (Heavenly)
"Germ" Germ
"Frequenseize" Kosmik Kommando (Rephlex)
"Weirs" Vibert/Simmonds (Rephlex)
"Parallel Universe" 4_Hero (Reinforced)
"Finleys Rainbow" A Guy Called Gerald (Juice Box)
So you want to keep the politics out of Techno? Well you couldn't
even if you wanted to.
This is an ace record, this is an ace Techno record, this is also a
Jungle record, and as such will never achieve the success that it deserves.
Why? Because it comes from an underground culture whose philosophy is one
of evolution, of change, of the celebration of youth and vitality, and above
all of enjoying yourself. These are all traits that are frowned upon and
threatened by the establishment, simply due to the very nature of the
establishment.
To go on a bit of a side issue for a moment, in Nazi Germany,
Jazz music was banned by the state because it was seen as a threat. Its
freeform style the very antithesis of the Nazi ideal. It was music to
enjoy listening to, music to make people dance, music which would enable
people to realise that there was more to life than the propaganda. To listen
to Jazz in Nazi Germany was illegal, so to listen to Jazz was making a
political statement even though the music didn't have an explicit political
agenda of its own.
O.K. so I don't live in the past in Nazi Germany, but I do live in
Conservative England, where dance music has been discriminated against by
the criminal justice bill and the acceptable face of popular music is
certainly not Jungle or Techno.
Buy this record, it's ace, just realise that you are also making
a political statement, second only to voting in its importance (probably).
"The Time Has Come" U.N.K.L.E. (Mo' Wax)
August 1991, a few lines in i-D read :-
Played:'Mbuki Mvuki EP' (Black Dog), Trippy Underground
ambient album. Contains funky downtempo tracks and also
some really manic tracks.
Not a very auspicious review for the newcomers Black Dog, but for
some reason I became interested and wanted to find out more. I never
found this album but I did find a very similar one by Plaid. I was so
taken by the music it started me on a record buying spree which cost me
nearly 4000ukpounds and still isn't over, and I am still buying records
by Plaid. Not a bad thing either because their remixes here are superb.
Maybe some of the creativity and origionality of the early Plaid work
is lacking, but the daftness and cheekiness is still there. Once again,
this record is superb, what's more Portishead are here too.
As for an objective description of what the music actually sounds
like, it's on Mo' Wax, you don't really need more of a description, do
you?
"Like A Motorway - Remixes" St. Etienne (Heavenly)
Quite old this record, but I thought I'd mention it because it
is rather special. The Dust Brothers Supply one of the mixes, and manage
to sound, well, just like the Dust Brothers really. They only have one style
and that is full on, mind buckling brilliance. I wish my synths would sound
like theirs, I wish my beats would sound like theirs, but they don't so I
will just have to listen to theirs.
Rick Smith turns in a mix suprisingly un-Underworld sounding, in
fact it isn't really Techno, or IDM, or Ambient or some such so I shouldn't
have mentioned it here, sorry, I don't know what I was thinking of, don't
crucify me, aaaaargh the flames, the flames...
David Holmes arrives on the B-side with a build it up, knock it down,
build it up again from the ruins acid type thing, which basically translates
as being long, drawn out, with a 303 thrown in to make it sound like 231
other records, all made in Berlin by out of work Dr Who Cybermen having sex
with worn out clutches. O.K. if you like that kind of thing. (meant to
be read in a pompous, patronising manner).
The real gem here is Autechre's mix ("Skin up, You're already dead").
Opening with a laid back and looped vocal snatch (the "Ski.." from "Skin up")
with typical metallic Autechre percussion, the track develops with a melody
hinting at the greatness of "Flutter". When the break arrives a tranquil sea of
synth simplicity (what?) seduces you to never before reached heights of
slumber (eh?). After about a week the vocal snatch returns, the beat rebuilds
itself and the melody ties the whole together, then comes a fade out. A
simple track, aren't they always the best?
"Germ" Germ (Resource)
Even older this one (1993). Whacky, quirky, strangely bizarre and
brilliant. If you had to guess who had a physics degree, you'd guess
Germ, and you'd be right.
"Frequenseize" Kosmik Kommando (Rephlex)
"Weirs" Vibert/Simmonds (Rephlex)
What are my three favourite albums of all time. The answer depends
upon my mood but today they are "Bluff Limbo", "Tango 'n Vectif" and
"Selected Ambient Works 85-92". All the above have an intimate connection
with Rephlex. It is a cruel irony then, that makes the above two records
probably the worst records I own. I hate them.
The Kosmik Kommando only manages three tracks of interest out
of the sixteen recorded here, the others are just plain boring. This is
a perfect illustration that you need to have more than just the ability
to sound like a lot of other records, to be as good as those other records.
"Weirs" on the other hand isn't boring, it has variety, movement
and inventiveness. I feel guilty about not liking this record, it
appears to have all the right ingredients. But wait, I see the problem now,
it contains absolutely no moments of passion, nothing which can allow you to
connect with the composers, it contains nothing but stark, clinical essays
in sequencer programming. Ho Hum.
"Parallel Universe" 4-Hero (Reinforced)
Typical of a lot of Techno albums, this isn't really an album,
more a collection of tracks presented together simply because they are
all by the same person. But who cares, if the tracks are all of standalone
excellence. It's worked for Depth Charge, Black Dog ("Bytes"), Beaumont
Hannant etc, why not for 4-Hero? Well, it does. This isn't the best record
of all time, it certainly didn't deserve the title of NME's Vibes album
of 1994, but it is wonderfull. Each track typifies what is good about
Jungle, and what was lacking in "Weirs", passion, good ol' fashioned
passion, and enthusiasm for what you are doing. Admittedly passion isn't
all you need, but combine it with ability and you get "Parallel Universe".
By this record and start up a pirate radio station.
Guy Francis (Manchester).
OnLast: "Finleys Rainbow"
All the above opinions are the truth, distilled from the wealth of race
conciousness, I wouldn't be stupid and actually express my own opinions
now would I?