If you‘re going to drop $11.99 on slab of wax these days you might as well spend it on a record that you‘re gonna hammer for months to come. With remixes by Booka Shade, Tuning Spork‘s Samim & Michael, and a new guise by Tiga and Jesper Dahlback you know you‘re getting quality shit. Nothing but hotness here; super chunky beats, mental bass and a bad-ass vocal comin‘ off like Presence‘s “Better Day.”
Various Artists Autonomous Addicts
This new LA-based label emerges with a comp boasting a robust lineup of veteran and neophyte Intelligent Dance Music (that amorphous term for intricate ambient techno) talent. In 2005, that prospect may not set many pulses racing, but Autonomous Addicts refutes the notion that the genre is slumping, even if its practitioners aren‘t making quantum leaps anymore. That being said, exclusive tracks from Eight Frozen Modules, Twerk, Devine, L‘usine, and seven others approach the peaks of ‘90s IDM giants. However, one wonders if IDM has become an echo chamber where its artists bounce increasingly arcane, complex ideas off one another while the masses blithely ignore them.
Jason Forrest Shamelessly Exciting
Subtlety isn‘t in Jason Forrest‘s vocabulary. Like Yello, he‘s gotta say yes to another (absurd) excess. Last year‘s The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash flaunted Forrest‘s diabolical plunderphonic flow, as he transmuted snippets from wack arena rockers, sacred/putrid classic-rock cows and faceless disco groups into spazzy sampladelic gold. Shamelessly Exciting further refines Forrest‘s brazen copyright-flouting and deft daftness. This time he‘s merging stadium prog, punk, New Wave, ‘60s psychedelia and smooth jazz with hyper jungle beats and rampant DSP abuse. Dude offers at least 30 thrills a minute, making Shamelessly Exciting truth in titling, not hubris.
Five Corners Quintet Cornerstones
The Five Corners Quintet is at the forefront of a burgeoning postmodern jazz scene in Scandinavia. The aptly titled “Straight Up” pays it forward with zeal and attitude. The vocals of Mark Murphy compliment the samba “Before We Say Goodbye,” and the ballad “Blue Circles” with French chanteuse Okou‘s smoky vocals ends it all far too soon.
Alex Attias Presents Mustang 10,000 Leagues Deeper
Belgian duo Trickski‘s seductive and epic Weather Report mix is like a hot tease holding back just enough to make you want more, with Bembe Segue cooing over percolating beats. F-Com honcho Laurent Garnier goes peaktime with a house mix hard and naughty enough to induce some serious marks…on the floor, that is.
Tate The Great Time For Hip-Hop
Tate‘s rugged, no-nonsense working class lyrics reflect the Chicago streets he originates from. Hot production from DJ JFX, Babu (Dilated Peoples), and LA‘s Discrete Merchants mostly suits Tate‘s rapid-fire rants. In particular, “Fast Food Rap” typifies this MC‘s distaste for commercial rap: “Jump up get down pump up the sound/Say fuck mainstream it‘s the underground.” With strong ties to both Common and LA‘s Beat Junkies, Tate will make his mark soon.
Repeat Repeat Bounce Your Body To The Box
While Soma‘s recent output has been too club-oriented for some listeners, this new EP should reinvigorate interest in the label‘s diverse A&R policies. Dave Congreve and Mark Rutherford‘s Repeat Repeat treads in minimal acid territory, the no-man‘s land between Orac‘s tweaky, panned and cut-up minimalism and Perlon‘s guttural bounce. “I Dream of Riots” slices ‘80s videogame noises with a laser scalpel, exposing a core of tic-tac drum skips and stereo digital sound design. “Intense” is the most apt description I have for this.
Kobol Broken Ebony
I thought Mathew Herbert had the patent on dissected jazz cut-ups, but Kobol proves me wrong. The Nortec Collective duo‘s debut arrives on Static Discos, Mexico‘s most important techno label, which is fast becoming a trendsetter in modern electronic music. Kobol does for jazz what fellow countryman Murcof does for symphonic classical music-marrying instrumental fragments with intricate, stop/start grooves. And similar to the noir jazz slither of ~scape label‘s Andrew Pekler, or Burnt Friedman‘s tension-filled jazz concoctions, Kobol‘s microscopic beats inhabit the shadows in the wee small hours. A very comfortable place indeed.
Trust Only You Feat. Audio Angel
Trust is fast becoming America‘s DJ Hype-a scratching, rap-focused producer and DJ whose sampled tracks translate hip-hop‘s attitude and head-nod dynamics into dancefloor-friendly d&b. “Big Trouble” is a constantly shifting slice of True Playaz-style jungle with wildstyle drums and stabbing bass galore. “NY Crunk N Bass” from Class of ‘98 (Pish Posh and Willie Ross) delivers exactly that, alternating between thug rap snippets and ragga mixtape blasts. Trust shows his melodic side on “Only You,” which opens with Audio Angel‘s heartfelt soul vocals before exploding into a wall of distorted bass. Equal parts sweet and nasty.
Various Artists Midnight Soul
If veteran San Francicso DJ Tom Thump‘s intention on Midnight Soul was to bring some tasteful tracks to the Buddha Bar lounge crowd, he‘s succeeded in spades. While only a few cuts (Kaskade‘s “Let You Go” and the Peter Malick/Norah Jones joint) scream fashion stilettos and fruity martinis, the rest of two discs reads like a who‘s who from Groove or Goya Distribution‘s new releases list. Exclusives like Alison Crockett‘s “UR” remixed by Yam Who? sit snugly next to bangers by Platinum Pied Pipers, Mark de Clive-Lowe, and Lizz Fields. This is exactly what I want to be hearing ‘round midnight.
