Some new reviews...
. Substance: Session Elements cd (Chain Reaction)
More fabulous bc-inspired techno and experimenting from the
Chain Reaction label. This cd compiles the two Substance 12"s
on Chain Reaction plus four great new tracks & four interludes.
For those unfamiliar with Substance, filtered gritty minimal
techno is his style. Fans of Basic Channel, Porter Ricks,Various
Artists, Profan and Monolake will love this one. Essential. 9/10
. Dan Curtin: New World 2x12" (Sublime-UK)
Seven tracks of beautiful detroit-inspired techno and tech-house
including four new tracks and several remixes two of which are
by Orlando Voorn & Dave Angel. The four new tracks are similar
in style to Dan's Deception album released last year with lots of
tempo and style changes within each track. There is also a lovely
new housey Latin Odyssey remix of I'll Take You There. All tracks
are choice but my favorite is the Orlando Voorn's remix of Page Me
which features a booming pseudo-breakbeat over smooth chords.
Fans of the output on Ferox, Elypsia, Music Man or Sublime will
like this one. 8/10
. John Tejada: Disruption 12" (A13)
The busy Mr Tejada reappears this week with his first release
on the UK A13 label since 96 and his fourth release in 98. This
one features one track of lush tech-house on the a1 and one track
of melodic bass-heavy techno both similar to his palette and
generations material. But the b1 is a banging abstract techno cut
that has a nice mark broom sound to it. One of Tejada's best 12"s
to date. 9/10
. Markant #6 comp 12" (Markant)
A fine album of skam-like and v/vm-esque electronica and d&b
from this mysterious German label. Six tracks on this one ranging
in style from jega-like dark rumbling slow breakbeats tracks to crisp
melodic gescom-esque electronica to smooth yet chaotic breakbeaty
stuff ala v/vm. There are no artists attributed to his release but it
sounds so strikingly similar to the aforementioned labels, i would
bet my nosehair collection that they're involved. Regardless, it's a
striking record but supposedly limited to 200 so get them while you
can. 9/10
. Sasse: Jersey 12" (Mood Music)
I've always heard good things about the Finnish Mood Music
label and after listening to this release i now know why. Three
tracks of melodic deep house & tech-house. The a-side is a
warm deep deep house cut that gives me goosebumbs every time
i hear it. The b1 is a decent funky tech-houser with standard 4/4
percussion with a little shuffle beat underneath. The 12" finishes
with the b2, which is a remix by fellow Fin artist Morris Brown.
This track features an unique combination of a muted breakbeat
over lush synths which works quite well. All three tracks are
good but the a-side is my pick. How are the other Mood Music
records? 8/10
. B12: 3 ep cd/12" (Warp)
I'll admit that b12 are some of my all-time favorite producers so
i was really excited to get the first new material in almost two
years. I could never seem to get enough of their smooth detroit-
esque atmospheric techno. Unfortunately that style is not the one
employed on this new ep. Instead b12 try their hand at three tracks
of jazzy breakbeats and d&b with some faint synthy atmospheric
backdrops. For jazzy breakbeats/d&b, this release is decent but
it's definitely not what i buy b12 releases for. Disappointing. 4/10
. Circulation: Green 12" (CMP)
Balance and Heard label artist Joshua, aka Circulation, with the
first release on his new CMP label. This record features two
tracks. The a-side is lush stringy techno builder that has a nice
Belgian techno feel ala Sterac or 2000 & One. The b-side has
more of a funky tech-house feel with heavy filters similar to
DJ Q, Thomas Bengalter or maybe Daft Punk. An excellent start
for the CMP label. 8/10
. Interzone: Polyamore cd (Weird Dream)
Another release for Daniel Pakula's Interzone guise on the
Belgian Weird Dream label features eleven tracks that range
from new skool electro to old school to electroish idm &
ambient. Each track makes it's influence obvious. These tracks
are reminiscent of material by I-f, Kraftwerk, Bochum Welt and
Ectomorph but all with a flavor of their own. Another nice release
for the Weird Dream label but, from what i understand, this cd is
somewhat limited so start searching now. 7/10
BTW: Don't forget our Inaudible netcast every Wednesday
from 9-11 pm Eastern Standard Time. Hear John C (Bent Crayon)
and I spin two hours of the music we speak so highly of...
The show will be accessible by visiting
http://www.wcsb.org
every Wednesday from 9-11 pm EST. The show will be broad-
cast in the AudioActive format (which is actually much
better than RealAudio). You can download the Audio Active
plugin for free at
http://www.audioactive.com/player/
During the Inaudible show we will be giving away promo 12"s
and cds so yet another reason to tune in.
-->-Lance---
p.o. box 450715
westlake, ohio 44145
united states