Soca Gold 2004 is full of rapid-fire beats that aren’t for the faint of heart (or limb). Soca, which came out of calypso, is about island carnival dancing, and that’s what kind of inspiration you’ll get after listening to this double album set (one disc’s mixed, the other not). Even alone, you can almost hear people shouting along to Maximus Dan’s “Soca Train” and, despite its softer male vocals, even Blazer’s “Stages” eventually surrenders to insistent, syncopated percussion. The swiftly moving mix CD uses the same tracks as the unmixed disc, but its too-long intro and use of sirens is simply annoying. Soca Gold 2004 is raucous, less intended for quiet nights at home than to get you out the door and on your way to the club.
Robag Wruhme Wuzzelbud “KK”
The mysterious German producer Gabor Schablitzhi (a.k.a. Robag Wruhme) reassures us that sleek, minimal tech-house is alive and well with this gorgeous new album. Schablitzhi’s tracks pulse with lush doses of melody and rhythm, and he shows a natural hand for shaping lo-fi minimalism amidst funky, jacking techno (not the easiest skill). Check the deeply sexy, bare basslines of “Mensur,” caressed with the warm touch of ambient melody, and the strange, blues-infused downtempo cut “K.T.B.” A vinyl must-have for even the pickiest DJs.
Smash TV Bits For Breakfast
Berlin-based duo Holger Zilske and Michael Schmidt make the kind of glitchy, effects-processed noisy drum machine mish-mash that conjures up images of robots line dancing. A sharp, disjointed funk flows through the best of these tracks, like the machine-made splice and dice of “TV Is Talking” and “Luv 4 Luv.” Other cuts aren’t quite as compelling, due to a grating overuse of sappy elements (the cheesy vocal effects on “Sad” and “Everyone’s A Star” are a bit much). Assuming the album title means anything, it will be interesting to see what’s for lunch.
Various Artists Kompakt 100
One hundred releases after its inception, German techno powerhouse Kompakt can still be relied upon to deliver smooth, driving techno music of an exceptionally well-produced caliber. Their latest CD offers remixes of the Kompakt catalog by the current techno gang (including Thomas Mayer, DJ Koze and The Orb), demonstrating the same kind of smooth, melodic trademark that has earned the label unwavering respect from the techno and tech-house community. Here’s to Kompakt’s next 100 fine techno moments.
Build An Ark Peace With Every Step
Slow down, now stop: what does this world need most of all? The answer is peace, and Los Angeles collective Build An Ark, formed in response to the xenophobic hysteria following 9/11, take a step in the right direction with this collection of brief but warm jazz jams. For those on a steady diet of electronics, this organic, largely acoustic session (led by producer Carlos Nino and vocalist Dwight Trible) takes a bit of adjusting to, but it’s well worth the effort, particularly on the stately “Vibes From the Tribe,” which features legendary trombonist Phil Ranelin. With a deep nod to Sun Ra, Build an Ark’s voices reason with the wilderness.
DJ Rels Theme for a Broken Soul
More dusty funk business from Stones Throw, but here they stretch out into broken territory. Yet another Madlib alter ego (this one sharing a spliff with Afronaught, perhaps?), DJ Rels is more about grooves than songs, about moods and beats over choruses and melodies. The result plays like a studio session outtake rather than an album, and I’m left wishing for an objective editor. Nevertheless, the humping, subterranean bass of “Sao Paulo” and spastic inchworm pitch-bends of “Diggin in Brownswood” keep this exploration somewhat engaging.
Various Artists Lounge Story 2
I’d certainly support a ban on compilations with “lounge” in the title, but this one redeems itself by virtue of several excellent selections and quirky programming. Rather than a homogenous selection of glossy chill-out also-rans, Lounge Story 2 keeps it interesting with swank cocktail jazz by Mannix and a vaguely campy Carol Ventura song. Things really kick off with France’s Patchwork’s swinging take on “Summertime” and Kyoto Jazz Massive veteran Hajime Yoshizawa’s alternately choppy and smooth broken beat/bossa nova on “I Am With You.” This compilation isn’t exactly essential, but the inclusion of Povo’s “Shihab’s Habit” and John Beltran’s “Heaven & Earth” make it well worth your while.
Quant Quant
More Gonkyburg goodness! It’s getting hard to keep up with all the goodies coming out of Gothenburg, Sweden, but young Jonas Quant is definitely one to keep tabs on. Hot on the heels of his smash collaboration with Ernesto, “Tryin’,” comes this smooth album of round basslines, crisp broken beats and sweet vocals. Sometimes Getting Out gets a little too slick, like on the overly lounging “Come And Go,” but on most tracks, like the squelched and choppy “Chills & Thrills,” bilingual vocals, Quant’s strong drum programming, and deft song structures make for an engaging new chapter in the Swedish story.
KRS-One Keep Right
With crustier beats and crankier rhymes, Keep Right kicks the teeth out of last year’s Krystle. Evidently, KRS-One has been stewing since the summer of 2003, watching the rise of ever-phonier politicians and ever-schlockier commercial rappers; he uses that anger most productively on “You Gon Go?” Although the emcee’s raison d’’tre hasn’t changed since the ’80s-when “real hip-hop” bravado had more bite than it does today-he addresses current international politics with the appropriate degree of urgency. Even if KRS isn’t contributing anything new to hip-hop, he still retains his position as one of the genre’s standard-bearers with Keep Right.
Various Artists Samba Sunset
Listening to the beginning tracks on DJ Ray Velasquez’s Samba Sunset, you’d think that only one type of chord (major seventh) and one type of beat (straight-ahead samba) were available to lounge musicians. Like the best elevator music, Calm’s “Sitting on the Beach” and Fantastic Plastic Machine’s “Whistle Song” are seductively linear, and the feelings they elicit are akin to watching porn with beautiful actors and no edge: delightful boredom. Fortunately, Soulstance’s paean to Antonio Carlos and Louie Vega’s “Mozalounge” stretch the genre by incorporating piano cadenzas and organ licks that are worth committing to memory.
