Reviewed:
The Black Dog : Parallel (General Production Recordings)
Robert Hood : Nighttime World Volume 1 (Cheap)
Model 500 : Starlight (Metroplex)
Silent Phase : Psychotic Funk (Transmat/R&S)
Coopers : - (Dum)
The Black Dog : Parallel (General Production Recordings)
GPR were a bit naughty in issuing this retrospective LP of the previous
Black Dog GPR 12"s - the packaging and advertising all pointed toward
what looked like the new Dog LP, when in fact these tracks are pre
_Bytes_ material. _Parallel_ doesn't
really work as a sit-down and listen LP but stick your CD player on
shuffle and you'll hear that Black Dog magic preserved in each track.
This LP might be slightly short of those _Bytes_-esq quirks and surprises
but each separate track is to die for. From the opening chords and
shuffling break on _Parallel_ (the track) to the airy spaciobatics of
_Hub_, the wonderous purity of _Vanttool_ to the techno stomp of
_Virtual Hmmmm..._ each track will remind you (as if you needed
reminding) of how unique, how damn perfect that Black Dog sound is. It
seems to encompass pretty much everything that matters in music, yet
still
surprises you with its occasional abrasive drum sound or a distant muted
vocal. And so maybe this album isn't as complete as _Temple_; maybe its
not as varied or as opulent as _Spanners_ - treat each track
individually and it rewards amply. More timeless Dog output for the
long-term record rack.
Robert Hood : Nighttime World Volume 1 (Cheap)
A real surprise - if you were expecting the hard, crystalline
minimalism from _Internal Empire_ or the robotic futurism of _Waveforms
2_, get ready for a different side of Rob Hood. For most of the eight
tracks, Rob drops the harshness and opts for some lighter, melodious
moods - the beats are inevitably funky and are all shackled to that
Hood ability to drop a four-four exactly where you expect it but in a
way that still makes you jump. Highlights are the rhythmically
syncopated, piano led _The Color of Skin_, the two thundering bass
monster grooves of _Nighttime World_ and the happy oriental timbres of
_Episode No.19_. For the Hood purists there are also two focused
thumpers - the _Waveforms_ like _Electric Nigger Part 1_ and the cut-up
synthbass funk of the untitled track. This is a top, varied album - Rob
Hood oozes competence and the unexpected lightness of this LP shows that
he's just at home tinkering with jazzy grooves as he is kicking out the
analogue thumpers.
Model 500 : Starlight (Metroplex)
A two-track white vinyl release of one of the standout tracks from _Deep
Space_. The original is the same as the _Deep Space_ version - minimal
yet expansive, deep and warm and quite possibly one of my favourite
tracks ever from Juan Atkins. The flip is a Moritz (engineer of the
original) remix which involves piping the original into a reverb unit.
It sounds boring but it adds that strangely compelling Basic Channel
edge to the originals filtered moods. Two tracks at import price is kind
of expensive but if you don't have the original and you're either deaf
or dead, you have no real reason not to buy this - amazing.
Silent Phase : Psychotic Funk (Transmat/R&S)
Stacey Pullen kicks off the new stack of Transmat/R&S licenses ready to
come our way with this 12" taster from the forthcoming album. The title
track is a slow, tribal, bass bending mood trip through warm chords and
subtle rhythms. Both _Waterdance_ and _Spirit of Sankofa_ on the flip
pick up the tempo with mis-tuned clanging on _Waterdance_ (probably the
best track on the 12") and with _Spirit..._ containing lengthy but
epic trance constructs that make it the most accessable. Mindblowing
techno innovation isn't on display here but all three tracks are very
good indeed.
Coopers : - (Dum)
Stripped down analogue minimalism from the icey wastelands of Finland.
Coopers specialise in bending, mis-timed filter tweaking coupled with
some warm, slow beats. It's quietly enjoyable if a little unenduring but
all is saved thanks to the two Monojunk remixes on the flip. The
dripping acid on the first remix is a scorcher - the nasty distortion
at the end drags any melodious sensibilities you might have kicking and
screaming through an aural cheese grater.
|| [CiM]
|| s.walley@uea.ac.uk
||
http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~u9323899/