I've never posted anything here before but I thought I'd talk a bit about some
relatively new things that I find noteworthy and interesting.
Sven Vath- An Accident in Paradise (Remixes)
If this track rings a bell, it's the one on the album that stands out
because of its agressiveness on a pretty mellow album. I thought that the acid
lines were pretty repetitive, but after listening to it again it sounds pretty
good. There's a Spicelab remix on here that sounds more like Spicelab than Sven,n
Vaht (sorry), a mix by William Orbit and Spooky and also one by Lenny Dee and Joho
hn Selway. The Dee/Selway one wasn't as hard as I expected, but rather mediocre
and the stoundout ones are the Orbit/Spooky mix as well as the original. If you
liked the previous singles you might want to listen to this one first, as it is
vastly different, but still worth your attention.
Bjork- One Day
I don't know if this is real old or not but I just bought it. It's a 10"0
inch single made in France with two mixes (105 and 52.5 bpm) by the Sabres of
Paradise. I personally hate Bjork, but the Springs Eternal Mix (105 bpm) is
great! They cut her vocals to a minimum but they somehow sound better. The
Endorphin Mix has more vocals but sounds prety good. This single made me pretty
happy, if that matters.
Air- You
Pete Namlook knows no boundaries. He is the main cause of my poverty.
He said that fromk now on, FAX will release one CD per week. He said that You isi
s the ambience that he has always wanted to make. If you are not into it, then
the music may just slip by you, but if you pay attention, this album is
beautiful. Other reviews have said that it tells some story of two lovers, but
it is really whatever you want it to be. Since it's more readily available now
(on Rising High), it is well worth checking out. If you liked De (sorry) Dream
fish, then you'll like this. Coming soon on Rising High- look for another (!)
ambient compilation as well as Silence 2.
Drum Club- Sound System
This is available as two separate singles but get the DJ double pack
(it's purple) and save yourself some money. Most of the mixes are pretty standara
rd, and some go really far into house territory, but head sta straight for the
Underworld mix (sorry for the typos). I haven't seen it yet, but this mix and
also the Orbityal Lush 3.3 mix make me want to get the album "Dub No Bass With
My Head on Man". I don't know...
Vapour Space- Gravitational Arch of 10
This isn't that new, but anyone going to see Aphex Twin/Orbital/Moby
will want to listen to this first since they are going to be there. This 12"
has two other tracks (dating back to 1983!). This is all ground-breaking
ambience. All can be found on +8 Records.
Space Time Continuum/Terence McKenna- Alien Dreamtime
I like the 12" on Reflective Records better ( the fluorescence ep ), but
this full length live album is still great. There is a movement of people
trying to get Terence McKenna off all ambient records, and those people will
hate this one. Sometimes he almost sounds like Jello Biafra. If you're into
the stuff that he's talking about (Archaic Revival, etc.) you'll really get into
this (he even "speaks in tongues" but otherwise, you'll want to head for the
instrumental tracks. The ones withougt talking could really stand by themselves
and are IMHO better without words, but it's up to you. I just can't believe
this was all live. I wish I could've seen the Orb in SF so I could've seen and
heard Space Time Continuum.
Future Sound of London- Cascade
I saved the best for last. If you have little money ( or none at all),
get this record. There's been a lot of hype surrounding the release of this 12"
but it is well deserved. It's really hard to describe. It's not ambient, but
it's not always dancy either. At one time the beat sounded just like the beat
from Uptempo by Tronik House (Kevin Saunderson). The melody is just gorgeous
with what sounds like some sort of Indian flute or something. It comes in five
parts which blend into each other. I like the first two the best, but I haven't
had a chance to really listen to this one a lot. I'm sorry if I haven't lalked
about the music that much (in this and all the reviews but the only way to make
up your mind is to listen to it yourself). The one that I wholeheartedly
recommend is Cascade. This will be huge.
Also of interest (not as recent, but still great!):
Anything on Recycle or Die Records
V/A-Point of No Return CH. 1 (domestic!)
Sabres of Paradise- Sabresonic
Reload- Collection of Short Stories
Sad World- Sad World
2350 Broadway- 2350 Broadway
anything else on FAX (including the above 2)
if anyone cares about acid jazz:
UJO (sorry) UFO- Self titled on Talking Loud
All the latest Mo' Wax singles (great!)
Red House Painters- Red House Painters
(it's not acid jazz, but this album is what music is bout)