Three cuts on clear vinyl showcase several mixes of “Ramon’s Visit”-the original, one by Rude Awakening and one by Helsinki’s Peaky Pounder. Pounder’s is my pick due to its hot edits and sick kick drum, but everything in the array is awesome and heavy peak-time techno.
Tim Xavier An Extension of Who I Am
From Portland to Houston to Chicago to New York, Tim Xavier has had loads of releases. Here he clocks in with an exceptional showing on his own label. The B-side is more of the produced, funky fare he’s known for, but I like the darker A-side, which pounds harder than we’re used to hearing-real solid, mean stuff.
Whitey Leave Them All Behind
It’s all here…the stuff that makes a stir in my trousers: live-sounding drums, arpeggiator, catchy vocal hooks, distorto bass and a cool band name; like the Fat Truckers were. This has a militant backbeat with no swing to it-it’s fairly retarded and simple, just the way I like it.
Black Leotard Front Casual Friday
Delia and Gavin’s 12″ on DFA Records may be the most enduring thing the label has released to date. Utterly tasteful Germanic synth explorations that manage to sound contemporary while harkening back to when Kraftwerk was just two guys. That they’ve released a track evoking the golden age of Italo-disco-I know, there was no golden age of Italo-disco, but you watch…pretty soon there will be!-without sounding kitschy or ironic gives them a perfect track record, for those keeping score. And the live show features nude dancing, I hear.
Hot Chip Down With Prince
Do the Hot Chip guys know this sounds like early Devo? Probably not. But the absurdist vocals, robo-funky rhythm section, and two-note synth lines remind me of when I used to go to school with a lampshade on my head. This is another song with the word “motherfucker” in it, which is a word I don’t think white people should use.
Boredoms Sea Drum
You know why this is called “Sea Drum”? Because they recorded it on the beach with the drums underwater, you idiot, and it sounds fucking amazing. Jesus H. Christ, these guys have been making records since you stopped listening to Journey, so to bust out a track like this is a superhuman feat. I would close every DJ set with this.
Money Mark Demo? Or Demolition?
Money Mark has been an interesting study in artistic evolution. Going from the Beastie Boys’ carpenter of choice to outshining all of their collective musicianship to releasing his instrumental indulgences on Mo’ Wax seems a pretty solid trajectory. As time has gone on, he’s had increasingly frequent flirtations with the mic; on his Chocolate Industries debut he goes into full-on songwriter mode. It’s a good look. The songs on Mark’s latest are by far his most developed and fall somewhere between Sea Change-era Beck’s torn love notes and the quirky, shadowy pop of Gorillaz.
Ammoncontact One In An Infinity Of Ways
The whole left-of-center instrumental hip-hop game is more overcrowded than the left-of-center music magazine game, so when you find something good, you might choke on a bite of burrito or pee in your pants a little. Thatís the case (I mean, not with me, but you knowÖ) with Ammoncontactsí debut long-player. Chopped beats give way to flowing instrumental freak-outs yet the albumís incredibly consistent pace and sparing use of MCs separates it from the rest of the pack. Itís refreshing to hear producers who arenít trying to be too clever, yet still maintain the raw funkiness of their vinyl-only influences.
Stanton Warriors KeEP Hope Alive
This is a CD-R the Stantons gave me, and it’s dope-steppy breaks and a punchy bassline with a Jesse Jackson speech over the top. I played this in the US when I was out there, and the politics behind Jesse’s speech took it to a new level for me.
Nick Thayer & Bass Kleph Mr. Anderson
These guys are my favorite Australian breaks producers, and this track is the bomb! It’s got an awesome groove, riding the line between breaks and house nicely, with a cut-up vocal over the top that keeps twisting over the beat, driving the track along. Awesome!
