another bit culled from the _syndrome_ special for the the first
idm digest. the sydrome will also soon have a home on the WWW with a
little pocket of disk space in the Netherland. keep it locked. -tp
------------------------------------
DOCTOR DUBS CULTURAL MEDICAL JOURNAL
Dr. Dubois Whickwickwach
Volume 2 Number 1
"Yea yea, yo, yo, Why don't you kick that def jam right about now."
Ad Rock
Leave it to Rephlex to set loose the nutter they call the m-ziq.
"Innovation in the dynamics of acid" they told us. HA fucking HA!
Nobody said ANYTHING about wrenching the wheel from our hands and jiving
us into uncharted waters, now did they! And still, as the Dubwise
know, I've never been happier. These are good times true.
Nothing can prepare you for the first time you get a taste of the m-ziq.
Then again, nothing will eclipse the memory of that very moment. I
bowed down on one knee to praise the sonic fox. All at once the
elements that I yearn for in a track came careening out of the speakers.
Overload. Hold tight! Finally! someone who can truly run the keys, man
the beatbox, and decorate the windows to heaven. IDMnnice!
It's no small wonder I've gone full on trainspot for this kid. Mike
Paradinas what have you done? Hog-tied techno sensibilities to the back
of a sixteenth wheeler trap drum track and pulled it off into the
sunset? Let the bass kick.
****
The word for this kid is FUSION. Careful examination of the three two
packs (tango/bluff/Vs) will provide insight into the principle of "the
fresh blend." Let's get dubby.
****
m-ziq tango n' vectif RePHleX CAT013
tango n' vectif
A perfect introduction to the m ziq sound. Hard dusted Breaky drums,
extra helpings of distortion and tweakyness. A melody as catchy as a
favorite theme song. Direction and departure. Introduction to a wickid
cool groove.
swan vesta
A skuttlebutting break intro mixes with some hard thumpers, A third
level of tweaky noisiness and in comes the break. Oh my, Hands in the
air experimental techno, ho ho ho! Yes! A melody so honest and
uncontrived. Put your hands in the air! Mike drops the breaks back in
and it all comes together once again, Deep strings and the shuffle track
from a FOONKIE ass planet hype! With the anthems blaring you cross the
finish line. Again hands in the air! Yeah, so good to feel that way
again :) This track rides like the commuter rail. Choo Choo!
burnt sienna
Instantly you know that this song is going to take its time growing.
Harpsichord strings pluck. Echoed rim shots and wood blocks offset in
time. We're heading into ambient territory. Bass rushes through your
head and old school future sounds wail in the background. A touch of
Magic tickles the spinal chord. Ooooooh, I'm getting goose bumps!
iesope
Dope ass deep drops from a Hammondesque vibe. Hits on the pipe (dusted
and I don't mean illegally, I mean tossed into the infinite loop called
digital delay) A high hat ticks off time. The soft jam continues with
hissy percussion. Organ vibe, bass and strings, sweetness.
m-ziq theme
A whirling spirits intro. This is explicitly another *theme* song.
Again all of the m-zig elements fairly represented. Aching string
breaks, bubblesonic midrange, and high rolling drumbeats. Bring the
traps kid!
auqeam
Run for cover kiddies! This track is what we in Dubland fondly refer to
as a BOMB. Dropping this mid-set will bring a quick end to the dance
floor cease fire. Sick ass phlanged out and distorted high speed traps.
Hold up, what is that is the background? Selected Ambientness?
Certainly as dark and beautiful as the twin. Dust buster filter sweeps,
This track is wickid. So damn tough!
vibes
Spanky bug house. Thick jazz xylophones. Fat trap breaks and free jazz
jams. Hey now! Mike works out a full on run of the phones. Yo, who's
getting the solo next. Ha ha, This is how I imagine progressive house
*should* sound. More classic m ziq breaks, Stabs and traps guiding us
out the back door. Bye!
ad misericordiam
Pow you're hit with the bass right up front. Boom boom boom. Ominous
deepness takes the head. *M* shows up some industrial thumper drums and
mixes in a bit of *Ziq* chirpyness. Throttle it and pick up some steam.
Yow! This man loves to pull the bottom out from under your feet, and
slip the carpet right back in on time and kicking fat. Tidy!
beatnik 2
Hmmm, here we have the start of trouble. This is only for the kids
still buying cure records. Like a demented snakepit, complete with
snake charming recorder. Ahhh, I'm not a big fan of this trap loop.
This quasi funk is one aspect of the ziq that I may have trouble getting
through. Hold that thought.
die zweite heimat
Uh oh, another something that I'm not quite grooving to. Mike should
steer clear of the straight four thumpers. And the frantic foreign film
soundtrack looming in the back. And the tired trap drum pattern. Aye,
this song is just not for Dub.
the sonic fox
RIGHT BACK ON TRACK thank you Michael! Acidic pings that are a DJ'S
best friend intro before the distorted bass fire up those bass bins
right on time. Hold tight! Holy nightmare! Full on boom bap trap
attack. A little riding ride cymbal action and oh my goodness gracious
be. Majestic m ziq melody as gorgeous as our good friend Xtal. My
spirit soars when the melody lets loose. Corny as the Iowa plains, but
more uplifting then Willie Wonka's super elevator. Nice!
caesium
This track instantly reminds me of parts of mike oldfields "five miles
out." Layered bells, twinkles, and squiggly noises. Hey wait a minute,
is that a sample of centipede I hear? Fans of the *full* sound of the
black dog will enjoy this busy little hand-woven percussion number.
phi-1700 [u/v]
The instant favorite, R&S made the good move. Phlanged out rolling traps
and a little rephlective distorted syncopation and crazy percolating
trance tops. In comes a my bloody double bass valentine and then of
course the live vibes. Cool as fuck, Mike P lights up the anthemic rush
factor. If you curse the fade out edit, reach for the single.
4 time egg
Another side order favorite. Classic m ziq pitch bend loops. More rim
shots and wood block rhythm track, back with the skuttlebutt butt
drumbeat. Solid funky LFO. Real time organ runs in the break down zone,
Now THIS is music! A la carte brunch time set closer. So cool.
phragmal synthesis part 1
Mmm, I call this old school future sounds. Uplifting bass melody.
Psychedelic swirls up and down. An easy beat up into the mix. Sweet
uplifting melody. Yes, one of those tracks that gives you self
confidence. Music I can identify with. beautiful, inspirational and
unique.
phragmal synthesis part 2
If I had two copies I'd just run this song right into part one. The
bass break here is righteous, boom it. Again this is the proper take on
the concept of progressive house. Nice swingy fours supplemented with
traps and hand claps. "clap your hands." (MC Lyte) Chop hop along with
ziqish antacid (non 303) and quirky m ziq melody. Gentle trancy chimes,
On the outtro, the beat loosens way up and into a break. At last we go
skipping and hopping to the end with a wonderful bass melody reprise.
So nice!
phragmal synthesis part 3
Shades of orbitalesque melody. Part three is a bit more freewheeling
(read uptempo). My mind is drawn to the classy ON remix. Dancy, but
not quite for the floor. A nice closure track for this album.
m-zig BLUFF LIMBO RePHleX CAT018
A1
After a simple flute intro, we are back with hard rhymer. Hard hard
hard rolling hip hop beats dusted to the maximum by the distorto-sweep
king. Another great album introduction hinting to the contents within.
Part hard styling, part beautiful tops. Like the fraternal twin of
auqeam. Again the synth work is fully up front and very old school.
The looks on peoples faces when this goes down. :)
A2
"I give her all my love" this one could be a Beatles remix. Deep delayed
groove laden cyclical drums and warm fuzzy bass hits. Sweet singing
keys. This is the m-ziq in relaxed mode. One of my favorite
"personalities".
A3
Big Ben sound chimes in and we get a slice of experimental funky techno
house stomp. Not one of my favorite flavors as it reads a bit high on
the cliche-o-meter. Christ, it's only a 4/4 stomper and I'm calling it
cliche. But when you're dealing in the trade of EXP-techno, those are
the rules. Classic house chords done in the twisted mziq clanky
metallic method. (centipede house?) What pulled me into Mike is
certainly not his knack for house tracks. It's a nice choon but never
ends up on one of my tapes.
A4
Any flaws in the last track are certainly done away with here. This is
slow and very deep "ambient" mziq. Magical old school synth flavor.
This is the successful mode of the kid. No beats banging down, just the
ticking of time. Moments like this are more frequent on the Bluff
Limbo. He's either maxin' you brain with distortion or lulling you into
a state of bliss with the pensive ambient movements. Delightful.
repetitive in the right places, expansive everywhere.
A5
A short but amazingly sweet outtro that I have dubbed "amen"
Need I say more?
B1
Boom bap body rocking distorto porto sweep beats. Super syncopation yet
leaning heavily on that "shake your butt" Pixies drum loop. Slap happy
breakdowns and squeaky percussion stuff. Like stepping on your cats
tail. Ooh, I should pop that in the sampler. Concentration here is on
the alternating of phlange/distortion and really there are no tops in
sight. You know I love the traps and it's a huge break from the
overwhelming amount of 4/4's but here I find myself wishing he'd spend
some cash on a new beat box.
B2
This is a cut that could have been right on the tango tip. Sweet
stringy intro and plinky supplemental sounds. This is a builder for
sure. More centipedesque samples churn and a skippy cymbal lines up the
set of fours. This time around everything checks in just the right
proportions. Amazing melody with a full on bouncy kick. Crazy funk
keys, at times this style wanders too far into cheese land. To borrow
the bass ball/music analogy yet again....I'd put a track list this on my
"fireman" list. Coming in the final innings of a ball game and assuring
the win. Too bad it sounds like an edit (just when things are heating
up) I know there's more.
B3
Bug house funk. I'm noncommittal on this track. It's clearly not the
style that gets the most praise from this ziq head, but it's not painful
in any respect. Way wild pitch bending runs on the keys, damn this kid
plays more on this one track then most "dance music" makers do in a life
time...so I guess in that respect this track kicks ass. What was I
saying about non committal??
B4
Ahhh, more deep organ melody. This one comes in like a lamb and drops
science like a mad lion. Sneaky beats, maximum track break and hard
wild trap loops. Another dark cut along the lines of ad-ad
misercordian, but what is this? Slide trombone in a techno track?
Wickid! Only from the mind of the mziq. This track works as a nice set
up for the Sonic Fox in that many of the percussive sounds heard there,
are alive and well here.
C1
Another slowly evolving monster. Industrial in nature, beautiful in
texture. Quirky Mike P. rhythm. Strings in full effect, this one is
ripe for the soundtrack to life. Add a mid track set up for more of
those trap based break loops and big budget surging bass hits. Mmmm,
nice reprise here, Strong song structure. My only wish is for a more
varied use of the traps. (Here I go again!) Kicks do supplement nicely
and again I find myself wondering why I complain so much about sounds
that are so refreshingly and comprehensively represented.
C2
Owwww. This is a corker. Acid stew intro and dark riding beats.
Submarine sonar percussion, run silent run deep! Watch out for the
break down here it's grade A hard rider. More pounds per ounce. Boom
ding dong boom... wow. I could listen to a whole side of stuff like
this. Squirm wormy acid stew brew. Syncopated to the hilt. Pop and
lock sci fi salad. a full course meal. My compliments to the chef. May
I have seconds?
C3
Twang. this is a guitar number. I just don't find myself engaged at
all here. It sounds a bit noodly, like a mike p Spiritualized remix
complete with vocals. ok, on with it, I've stopped buying rock albums
... cuts into my techno budget.
C4
Right back at you with the "ambient" deepness. Ahhhh, muchas gracias
senor. Tack this along with a scene of departing lovers and you've got
yourself a real tear jerker. Simple and beautiful, achingly perfect.
Mike knows music. I can't keep stressing that fact. This is a musician
through and through. While others nip and sample and loop up their
goods Mike hangs it out real time. Miles above the faceless noodle
crew, Years from now people will digress as well.
D1
Another anthemic number along the lines of the m-ziq Theme, or Swan
Vesta. Characterized by a building bassy intro and a set of 4/4's with
cymbal "shishes" Again, I find myself longing for a different variation
on the trap loop. But there's plenty here in the drum track to keep you
busy. Or, simply log into the tops and take a walk in the clouds. I can
deal.
D2
Tuff Bluff Breaks! Clonky chunks of funk in a big way. This one never
fails to light up the faces of the ruff jungle types. If I were to pull
a single from this album, this would certainly be THE one. Laid out
easy to mix and comes complete with devastating break down potential.
Send the kids home happy with a taste of the IDM up tempo flavor.
boooom! Imagine the zanyness of a good road runner episode, complete
with "beep beeps" and zooming sounds (and this is just the drum
track!!!) Coming in sweet are some Ishiesqe (read eastern) melody. My
bluff limbo favorite and perhaps my favorite Mike P (to date)...but
wait, there's the Auteurs remixes. Hold my ballot.
D3
Nothing puts a big smile on my face then correct track position. This
one comes in with steam blasts and ultra pensive melody. I love the
m-ziq. Another "ambient" track with a light tambourine keeping time
and superb movement on the synthetic ivory. This man is a master at
work. Mike knows closure in a big way. I don't want this one to ever
end. As melancholy as the best Cure riffs, but thankfully devoid of a
vocal, leaving your thoughts to wander into the imagination of a better
world, where people stop to say hello and look out for one another. A
world where cruelty is a chapter in a fiction piece and kindness rules
with an iron fist. When I'm feeling the weight of the world I reach for
the D3 . A catalyst toward preservation of sanity in a world careening
carelessly into the insane. Right.
The Auteurs Vs m-zig - Hut (HUTMLP20)
A1
Guitar power cords and the crazy distorted funky dub drummer. Big bossy
drumbeats and guitar acid? u-ziq dynamic tops. violin. sweet melody.
Friends longing for that conflict collaboration (read: the AFX
principle) can stop searching and grab some of this. Not since the
xylem tube has the blend of beauty and the beast been so successful.
WARNING: This is not one for the gentle minded. Remix the world mike.
As the Thing would say..."IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"
B1
Bugging syncopated drum track, more violins like a Peter Murphy remix
complete with jangling guitar. Again the drum track is buggin crazy mad
stuff!!!! Riding cymbal and wood block, hard caustic noises and rock
instrumentation. Avant garde fusion. Dub's heart sings with such a
clonky bonk track. Score one for the freaks. My God this could be
dangerous to your sanity. Hand me that straight jacket.
B2
Gunshot country music with an 808 all up in your face. Hand clap gift
wrap, supped up by a poltering acid track (hey mike! get some new
equipment lately??) Ha ha this shit rides out like the Lone Ranger.
WARNING: the good doctor advises people who take their music a bit too
seriously to steer well clear. There are full on moments of cheese whiz
orama. If you can handle it, follow the bouncing ball melody. Wasn't
this a country track? aint it funky, you know.....
C1
Reprise of the power chords with some rustling bag of chips (poker)
pendulum percussion. More violin tops. deep echo and m ziq melody.
The key to success here is flexibility and a looseness, that purveyors
of dub will appreciate. We expect to hear wild changes in pitch, tape
drops and sloppy analog soup, right. (Dub note: fans of the AFX St.
Etienne remixes will enjoy this thoroughly) in fact, it sounds so damn
AFXy that I'll wonder when the collaboration comes through. (Mike and
Rich are planning a project together) or IF it's already here. (Tracks
like this make me think all crazy like that.) Could Mike and Rich have
pulled off a mad caper? Setting up this phony Auteurs remix project and
duping the whole biz? I mean who are the Auteurs after all?? I sure as
hell don't know.
D1
This is not the m-ziq I know. Nope. Sorry... wrong beat.
D2
Boom boom bap. Back with the Peter Murphy strings (read: art rock
fusion.) This time we get cello hits as well?? And some seriously old
school synth. Bust ass acid booty, Only a sucker punk could resist the
pull of this track. Shake your butt! Damn! This is great. Beat
match this mother fucker! (Now let the breaks DJs take a step to the
forefront and get some props) Respect.
--------------------
drivel me timbres i'm feeling <sik>