Songbook is a tale sung in the native tongue of Moondonia. The mushroom people of this purple land live in lakes of rainbow glass. They pluck silver grapes from translucent octopi arms and whistle all the while. Nobukazu Takemura and his vocal sidekick Aki Tsuyoko bring Earth its first taste of the Moondonian dialect. It comes in soft, circular fragments, like the lullabies of baby pearls. Melodic lyrics float on soft cushions of analog synthesis and kaleidoscopic vibraphone sputters. Syncopated drum grooves bounce electric raindrops off glowing gopher heads. They get slightly wet until the floating fungi Samaritan offers an umbrella of layered trumpets. Please don’t confuse Moondonian music with the cooing of 3-D cuckoo-clock chickens. They are cousins, but the former is much more beautiful.
Mouse on Mars Glam
It’s understandable why Josh Evans rejected the Mouse on Mars soundtrack for his film, Glam. Imagine audiences flinching from the sounds of mechanical dragonflies zig-zagging on a pond to flee from a blaring boombox nearby…while they try to seriously watch Tony Danza(!) slug a transvestite. This 1997 movie with such brilliant scenes fell straight into the video mausoleum. MoM then released their project in a scant, vinyl-only supply on their Sonig label. Thrill Jockey now reissues Glam, leaving more of us with the mice men’s most accomplished work. The group’s trademark ectoplasmic funk gymnastics and amniotic tone-scapes are in peak form here. Tracks range from drizzling electro-funk to meditative pieces that drug the imagination with Peter Max-caliber tours. An excavated gem of ’90s electronica.
Peanut Butter Wolf Badmeangood Vol. 3
Imagine a loft party where yuppie Reaganites nervously shuffle along to The Human League and Joe Jackson on a cardboard-covered dancefloor that’s hogged by b-boys who slam into oily-haired swingers trying to hook up over the fondue pot. Such imagery comes to mind when turntablist legend Peanut Butter Wolf presents a slide-show of what hip-hop means to him in the Badmeaningood DJ-roots series. Unfortunately, his broad aesthetic is often vague and uneven here. Wolf begins with classic breaks from Grandmaster Flash and Lord Alibaski, and then overindulges in “easy-listening urban FM” fodder, before dub poet Prince Far I and the Jungle Brothers finally show up and save the night with fresh kegs. Unsettling.
Mr. Dibbs The 30th Song
Mr. Dibbs’s The 30th Song was originally supposed to be released by 4 Ways to Rock in 2000, but that never materialized. And it’s a damn shame. If this record fell into the hip-hop consciousness during turntablism’s peak years, the “Dick-nosed Platypus” would be the one that crate-digging symphonists would have to measure up to. On this expanded reissue, Dibbs’s earthy beats are deftly heightened by swamp-rat guitar riffs, smeared violas, strutting basslines and the odd children’s record or two. He gives a sharp relief from the bourgeois-hop of the bling-bling motorcades that currently parade the airwaves. The centerpiece is the 15-minute epic, “Porntablist,” where Dibbs’s mates sample orgasms with one-handed scratching over and over and over and over.
Various Artists Mind, Body & Soul: Phase 3
From Calibre’s smooth and hypnotic “Brother” to Kaleb’s hard-edged soul-fusion on “Count on Me,” Defunked has obviously saved the best for last in its high-powered Mind, Body & Soul series. Carlito contributes to the cause with the epic, Rhodes-driven “Turn It Up” before Funk ‘n’ Flex brings “Walk By Faith,” with a top-notch production centered on the sublime vocals of David Holness and Ed Funk on drums. Definitely coming to a dancefloor near you-look out!
London Elektricity Billion Dollar Gravy
The long-overdue follow-up to 1999’s seminal Pull the Plug, Billion Dollar Gravy takes the leftfield aesthetic of the London Elektricity sound and fine-tunes it into an inspiring fusion of soul, funk, jazz and drum & bass. With an eye firmly on the dancefloor, Tony Colman (sans former L.E. partner, Chris Goss) cooks up an album that’s heavy on the groove and all about the intricate textures that swim delicately in the background. Complemented by the silky vocals of Chicago’s own Robert Owens and the spine-tingling Liane Carrol, Colman delivers the best drum & bass has to offer while still dipping into downtempo crossover mode with highly polished bits like “Main Ingredient,” “My Dreams” and “To Be Me.” Centered on oh-so-sweet basslines, crisp beats, strings and horns, it’s easy to see why everyone from Fabio to Mr. Scruff are lining up for a piece of the action.
Bulletproof Gun Runner
The seventh release from New Zealand’s Cyanide imprint finds things just getting better. “Gun Runner” is a subtle stepper built on dark textures, a pumping beat and a spiraling bassline. The equally hypnotizing flip, “Seduction,” moves at a lightning-quick pace, as Bulletproof takes the techno-funk sound to a much deeper level, producing an exquisite thriller.
Quad 2 Ep
Part two of the Quad double-pack series represents with a surprisingly diverse array of sounds. Digital and newcomer NJC groove out with the Latin-tinged “Open Up” before Digital cracks skulls on the ragga-ish “Creation.” Concord Dawn lay down the law with yet another breathtaking anthem, “Tonite,” then Amit sets the speakers on fire with the aptly-titled “Dub Soldier.” Huge bizness from the Function camp-one to snatch on sight!
Jori Hulkkonen Different
Like an amalgam of Derrick May and Marc Almond, Finland’s Jori Hulkkonen proves that you can have fun and face the future all at once. Different finds the Finnish technoist indulging his guilty pop pleasures, as he enlists the help of electro maven Tiga on the almost too-silly “Blue & White.” While Hulkkonen works up a bubbly tech-house lather, the mullet-sporting Montrealer sings a paean to Finland’s finest hockey heroes. Different? Indeed.
Badd Inc. Luxury Excess Extravagance
Being “camp” isn’t nearly as easy as it looks, a lesson that electroclash don Larry Tee has seemingly yet to learn. On this hastily compiled disc, Tee and his merry band of Brooklynites plant the final nail in the coffin of nu-wave, a movement dead from an overdose of irony. While some in the scene have teased brilliance out of their chintzy synths and rigid grooveboxes, the Badd Inc. artists (including girl-group W.I.T.) can’t muster a single memorable hook between them. This isn’t funny anymore. It’s just plain sad.
