In the short time that I've been on idm, I've noticed that
the focus seems to be on the "intelligent" side of the
equation and not on the "dance" side of the equation. Maybe
this has to do with the ratio of DJs to non-DJs. I thought
I'd change the balance a little by posting some mini-reviews
of tracks I consider intelligent AND danceable.
Scoring: +3: buy this
+2: probably worth buying
+1: maybe worth buying, but listen to it first.
0: completely neutral. no regrets, but not excited
-1: maybe not worth buying, but listen to it first.
-2: probably not worth buying
-3: don't buy this
Edge #11 -- Varispeed EP (+2.5)
An excellent five tracker with (as the name implies)
tracks at a variety of speeds (roughly 125bpm to 170bpm).
Styles range from trance to tribal to floor stomping
hardcore. All tracks are well constructed, useful to mix
with, and crowd pleasers to boot! Probably my favorite Edge
release to date.
Mike Ink -- Paradise City (dj ungle fever) (+2)
Three tracks of experimental acid. The main track is a
slowly varying acid storm with chopped up noise coming in
every 16th note (a la jeff mills), making for a fast feel at
moderate bpm. The dense sound comes from layer upon layer
of sound, starting with the 16th note fill mentioned above
and ending with twirling melody lines that spin on top of
the mix.
The b-sides are more stripped down affairs, with a kick
on the bottom and a distorted 303 on top. They share the
same hook, but one clocks in at around 140 while the other
hits around 170.
The Collective EP (Utensil 001) (+2)
A four tracker of patient well-constructed techno from
detroit. Most tracks clock in at around 125, with one
clocking in at 131. My copy is prone to skip,
unfortunately, so I haven't had a chance to use any of the
tracks except for the terrence dixon track, which
(fortunately) doesn't skip. The sound lies somewhere
between dbx and UR.
Gilgamesh -- Trescore (fragile/transmat) (+1.5)
A beautiful seven minute trancer which starts off with an
electronic whine and slowly builds to a crecendo of rhythmic
synths. Useful for boosting the energy in a trance set.
The b-side is pure ambient, i.e., no beats whatsoever. Nice
to have around, but you may as well just pull out your old
brian eno albums.