Uh, hi everybody. It's been a while since I foamed at the mouth about some
good tunes, so here I am. No full-on reviews today, although some are
brewing (actually, quite a lot are brewing, some new, some old).
The Advent: Elements of Life 2xCD / 4x12" (Internal)
Anybody that doesn't have this double CD yet is really missing out (well,
unless you live in SF and go to MaD, in which case you've already heard it
like a BILLION times). They cover all the bases on this album -- straight-up
dark electro, boomy techno, Detroity housy techno, it's all good. Great
value for the money, too, though I swear, if they were going to put it on
four pieces of vinyl they could have at LEAST included all of the songs on
the double CD. But now I have both, so I don't care.
Riccardo Rocchi: It's Just a Melting Pot of Emotions CD (ACV)
In the "nuttier than a king-sized Babe Ruth bar" department, everybody with
an ear for truly wacked-out 70's prog-rock-style experimentation should
check out Riccardo Rocchi's _It's Just a Melting Pot of Emotions_. Bizarrely
mixed, moody in places, and very personal-sounding acidy ambientish
techno. If any of you heard the Freddy K double-pack last year (also on ACV)
and could get into its weird and wacky sounds, you'll really like this. I
have grown to love ACV despite my increasing disenchantment with Robert
Armani (does anybody here think that _Blow It Out_ is any better than last
year's _Madman Stand_? I was so put off by _Madman Stand_ that I won't get a
copy of the new one unless I get positive feedback otherwise). They put out
the weirdest industrial-influenced acid I've _ever_ heard, and their records
always get lots of repeat plays in my CD player. They're so out there I have
difficulty figuring out how to mix with them, and that's a compliment. The
cover art is _wonderful_, too. I've had about five or six of my officemates
comment on its gaudiness so far. I like tacky cover art.
The Higher Intelligence Agency: Freefloater CD (ACV)
OK, you ambient dub freaks, you're falling down on the job! HIA kicks the
snot out of that lame _Last Train to Lhasa_ and Loop Guru crap and you know
it, but still you fail to fess up. What's up with that? Here's one of the
finest things to _ever_ come out of the Beyond stables and I see nary a
mention of it (_one_ mention of this album in the four months that it's been
out, and that was in passing!). Sure, it's only got one CD's worth of
material, but it radiates quality and refinement where BdG's weak latest
album had a _ton_ of recycling and dicking around going on.
Like all the best ambient dub, this music is almost preternaturally smooth,
with patiently developing acid lines floating over relaxed, tricked-out
beats. In most ways, this is just an extension and refinement of HIA's
sound, but it sounds so lush and warm. Great music for the end of a long,
sketchy day. I give it a big thumbs up.
T Power: The Self-Evident Truth of an Intuitive Mind CD (SOUR)
I don't normally do this, but everybody else has done the sophisticated
review thing, so:
Just buy this CD now. I thought 4 Hero's _Parallel Universe_ was a
brilliant, deep, soulful, trippy jungle album. It took a genre I normally
hated (happy jungle) and made something brilliant and fun out of it. T Power
is like that, only better. It's great stuff. This CD will be the benchmark
that "intelligent jungle" is judged against for years to come. I can hear
the inevitable bandwagon-jumping even now. Which leads me to:
V/A: Desert Storm Presents Intelligent & Innovative Drum & Bass v1 CD
(Desert Storm)
I like this comp, but it doesn't really live up to the name. The Photek
tracks are wonderful, and everything is all warm and intricate-sounding, but
it all has a slightly derivative, second-generation feeling to it. Much of
this music is following in the trail the 4Hero blazed, but without 4Hero's
somewhat demented edge. These tracks are almost _too_ smooth for their own
good. OTOH, this is an amazingly good jungle compilation, which is a rare
thing. With all of the incredible jungle that's coming out right now, it's a
shame that so many of the compilations suck so badly.
OK, time to get back to work. Y'all take care now, you hear? I hope that not
everybody delivered this message when they saw the subject line, so that
this message has had the time it needed to completely erase your hard
drive. :)
yrz,
ozy
ozymandias G desiderata ogd@organic.com Ravers Suck Our Sound
(415)284-6888
http://www.organic.com/Staff/ogd/ ::AOAIOXXYSZ::