This is, without a doubt, totally five-story-staffed-with-restroom-attendants megaclub house music; semester-in-Europe house music; halter-topped, quick-strobed, smoke-machine hands-in-the-air house music. Which is to say, big dumb fun, slightly ritzy and totally common. It reminds me of the black velvet couches those places always have-nice because velvet rocks, but nasty because everyone and their drunk ass has passed out on ’em at some point. If blandly cheery mega-music is your thing, you’ll get it in mega-spades here. I’d rather go sulk in a dark corner and pine for weirdness laced with a little complexity and a lot of grime.
Frausdots Couture, Couture, Couture
Draw that eyeliner on good and thick, kids-Frausdots’ debut wails with a sexy, kohl-rimmed confidence. Couture surges open right away into grandiose Echo and the Bunnymen lushness with “Dead Wrong,” just begging for a sing-along. Frausdots hits it right with midtempo numbers like “Current Bedding,” filled to bursting with a dreamy guitar line, and “Fashion Death Trends,” which is so damn catchy, especially when Brent Rademaker pulls out his snarky falsetto over a kicking beat and coos, “Looks soooo cute on you!” Bitchy, pouty and yet darkly sweet, Couture‘ll rot your teeth like c-c-c-cola.
Mochipet Uzumaki
Mochipet’s high-tech kinetics are on full display here, with simple bare-bones melodies heavily peppered by stuttering, double-dutch robotic barks and growls. “Labha” has drill & bass jabbering relentlessly over haunting violin strains, while pretty “Moha” gets all bombastic Aphex. “Dosa”‘s heavy percussion eventually subsides into a sweet little piano motif and some plucked strings, jumpy and at times intriguingly pentatonic. Meanwhile, “Polka Electronic Death Country” is a freaking fantastic concept-Mochipet’s rendition puts the emphasis on the “death” part, all hellfire roars and pure unrest.
Tony Allen NEPA (Never Expect Power Always)
Known as lead drummer and musical director for the legendary Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 band, and also session drummer for many greats including Roy Ayers and Manu Dibango, Tony Allen is a legend in his own right. Polyrhythmic and multilayered, “NEPA” is a classic vibraphone-tinged track recorded in 1984 and is in a similar vein to the Roy Ayers collaborations (i.e. “Africa Centre of The World”).
Zion I Act Right
I respect artists who forge their own path and make music on their own terms. With two full-length LPs under their belt and another in the works, Zion I has returned with another solid 12″ (due out fall 2004). On “Act Right,” Zion, Miss Marianna and Encore all come through with conviction over a soulful soundscape that producer Amp Live has become known for.
LTG Exchange Corazon
I was originally put up on LTG Exchange through a record trade. Back in ’95 I told a friend that I needed a record called Malatu of Ethiopia; he found it and hooked me up. A couple of years later he calls and says Remember that Malatu record I gave you? Well, I’m looking for this 12″ called “Corazon” by LTG Exchange.” Recorded in 1974, the record is a Latin disco version of the Carol King song with a six and a half minute extended version that has three breaks and breakdowns throughout-not available on the full-length (the LP version is three minutes).
Whomadewho Happy Girl
Hellbent on world domination, Munich’s Gomma gang expands its ranks with two new signings this autumn. Copenhagen’s WhoMadeWho brings a brazen live sound to the fold with the ecstatic punk-funk of “Happy Girl.” Charged guitars battle it out with a rolling rhythm section, and the only winner here’s the dancefloor. Tomboy, meanwhile, mans the post-acid house front on the first outing of his numbered, eponymous series.
Alex Smoke Chicca Wappa EP
An exciting new act from the Soma fold, Mr. Smoke sounds like he’s been spending more time in Berlin than Braehead [a part of Glasgow-Geography Ed.]. Intricate funky techno that doesn’t forget that moving arses is its prime objective.”
Roman Rugel Geht’s Noch?
Tucked away on the multi-volume compilation heralding the launch of Sven Vâth’s Frankfurt ?ber-club (or grand folly-the jury’s out…) The Cocoon, this is an annoyingly catchy piece of bumpy electronic bogle house from one half of Alter Ego. Quite daft, but once the riff squirrels its way into your brain there is no escape.
Martini Bràs She’s Heavy Metal (DJ Naughty Rmx)
Filipo Moscatello remixes one of the standout tracks from the Martini BrŸs album in a galloping Italo style with a large dose of acid thrown in for good measure. A sure-fire crowd pleaser with a great vocal.
