DISCOREVIEWS QUICKIES
Ellum Edits
In Excess Ellum Edits 8.0 Three edits of electro, EBM and minimal wave get a limited-edition vinyl issue, since getting props on the floors of World Unknown, LFOS etc.
Jesse Gold/Raw Ayers Out Of Work (Ebony Cuts Rework)/Can’t You See Me (Ebony
Cuts Edit) Kojak Giant Sounds 7.0
Club-ready edits of two classic disco cuts by Jesse Gould and jazz- funk maestro, Roy Ayers.
The Juan Maclean
You Are My Destiny DFA 7.5
Glossy techno-pop from The Juan Maclean, complete with sassy vocal delivery from Nancy Whang. Saved Records head Nic Fanciulli weighs in a trackier remix.
Various 100% Gomma
(Sampler) Gomma 8.0 Jacques Renault plunders Gomma’s rich catalogue for an arresting mix of disco and house. This four-track sampler features essentials by Munk, Mercury, GBs and Headman.
JONATHAN BURNIP
jonathanburnip@gmail.com
classy, chiming DX-style keys, his mix settles into a comfy, mid- ’80s-inspired boogie, driven by shuffling, LinnDrum patterns. His production, alongside A*M*E’s vocal style, countermeasures any suggestion of just straight-up ‘revival’, lamenting music of the past; its catchiness is more than enough to keep today’s punters happy, whilst acknowledging its roots in a fun and non-indulgent way. Ace.
Joalz
Hello Darkness My Friend Many Scribes 8.5
Primal Scream 2013 (Andrew Weatherall
Remixes) Ignition
10 J.G.WILKES OPTIMO
01. SANDRA PLAYS ‘Her Needs’ Minimal Wave “Techno legend Karl O’Connor (Regis) as a teenager at the College of Food &
Domestic Arts, Birmingham, in 1988. Clearly expressing his youthful adoration for the likes of Cab Vol, TG, DAF...”
02. VARIOUS ‘Electric Voice 2’ Polyphasic Studios “A plethora of dark wave beauties gathered here. Personal favourite is Tropic of
Cancer, ‘Fall Apart’.”
03. PETER GORDON & FACTORY FLOOR ‘Beachcombing’ Optimo Music “To quote Twitch: ‘pure trance’.”
04. HEIROGLYPHIC BEING ‘Imaginary Soundscapes’ Mathematics “A collection of mostly beatless, deranged fantasies. Some noise-driven, others
more like Scott’s ‘Soothing Sounds For Baby’. Second disc contains some of the most psychedelic dance music I’ve heard of late.”
05. O.D.D ‘Drum Patter EP’ Dixon Avenue Basement Jams “Ruff cut house stuff reminiscent of later Dance Mania, Armando or similar.
‘P.O.L.’ is A2, but for me it’s the lead track, ‘Glasgow’s Miles Better’.”
06. BLURED ‘It’s Quite (Luv Jam Cross the Water Remix)’ Y.C.O. “There’s an element of stupidity to the vocal parts, giving it instant appeal. This,
coupled with a really trippy jack track, makes for a great combo.”
07. ROBERTO AUSER ‘Eclipse’ Pinkman Records Lead track ‘Never Say Never Again’ is an outer space disco affair, but it’s the B2
track ‘Eclipse’ which appeals — a powerful clanking tribal drum battle with a feeding-back guitar part.”
08. SPEICHER 74/WEICHHOLD & NAMITO‘Hickhack’ Kompakt Extra “Pumped kick drums and tuned percussion galore — lots of it on one, reminiscent
of some of the bleepier Relief Records releases, but expertly crafted into two full-length fully-functional monsters.”
09. NAUM GABO‘Embarco Barco (Daniel Maloso Remix)’ Correspondant “Superfunk style, super-tight disco guitar, happy brass with sick vocals from my
Frogfish compadre and Berlin dandy, ‘Capablanca’.”
10. VOIGT & VOIGT ‘Triptychon Nummer 7’ Kompakt “The way these brothers arrange and combine moods in this particular track is
something to behold. From clanging industrial to alpine oompah disco, meets TG. Braw.”
Preceding an album slated for later in the year, Primal Scream mark a return with this bold single choice, ‘2013’; calling, once again, upon the production nous of Andrew Weatherall to contribute a brace of remixes. Vocal and dub versions employ a robust, analogue motorik similar to the recent rhythm section in Weatherall/Fairplay’s brilliant debut as The Asphodells, propelling bass arpeggios and modulated effects beneath Gillespie’s familiar drawl.
Arbeid Adelt!/Bene Gesserit
FM BXL EP Walhalla 10
An EP of highly sought-after minimal/coldwave gems is set to get a timely release for this year’s Record Store Day festivities. From the more eccentric beginnings of Benelux’s pre-MIDI, minimal- wave sound, both bands have been eking out some of the most brilliantly skewed, primitive electronic music. The best of it (focusing on the early years) is compiled in this essential, soon to be very collectable, 7-inch.
DC Salas
24 EP Relish 7.5
Robbie Headman’s Relish label serves up a mid-tempo, noir-ish disco fix from young Brussels- based producer DC Salas. With
060
www.djmag.ca
references to Belgium’s new beat sound of the mid-’80s, ‘24 EP’ satiates the appetite of all the minimal-wave-hungry cool kids, with sleazy numbers such as the lead track ‘Never Enough’, and also in its brilliantly monikered ‘Abstraxion Peruvian Shaman Remix’ form.
Disco Doubles Demons (Darshan Jesrani
Mixes) Permanent Vacation 8.0
Gilberto Caleffi and Erio Simonini, as Disco Doubles, realise their exotic disco fantasy on the ever- reliable Permanent Vacation label. The perky, uptempo ‘Demons’ embraces the classic, ‘recycled’ Italo-disco style; using an arsenal of sought-after synths and covetable drum machines. Metro Area affiliate (and no stranger to the dynamics of European disco) Darshan Jesrani adds an authentic nuance to his charmingly-titled ‘Spit Roast’ mix/dub.
Duke Dumont Need U (100%) feat A*M*E
(Skream Remix) Blase Boys Club/MOS 8.5
Puzzling to find Duke Dumont and Skream both together in the disco section? Maybe, but Skream’s remix is a surprise dalliance within the disco and boogie spheres, and definitely validates a mention. Opening with
Adding an interesting twist to this EP of new wave/minimal synth music is a vocal appearance from Mary Tsoni, who starred in the recent erotic horror masterpiece, Dogtooth. She provides an eerie, theatrical suggestion to these four tracks, which have already garnered praise from the likes of Andrew Weatherall and Anika. An unusual alliance which works very well, especially in the raw, fuzzed- out cover version of ‘Alligator Wine’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
Justin Velor Back To the Source/Galliano
Rocks Brutal Music 9.0
Dom Thomas, cabalistic crate- digger affiliated with Andy Votel’s Finders Keepers, takes a break from curating wildly esoteric funk, rock and primitive electronic compilations for another outing under his Justin Velor guise. Finding a more commercial style, Thomas/Velor drafts in a surprising performance from Imagination’s Leee John, whose dreamy falsetto accompanies the silky, electronic disco rhythm of ‘Back To the Source’ perfectly. Jez Williams, from seminal indie band Doves, lays down a vocal for the much dirtier, grimier electro-funk of ‘Galliano Rocks’.
The Sonic Aesthetic
Tales From the Nocturne International Feel 9.0
Eccentric modular synth work over a mid-tempo disco beat — here comes the latest release from Balearic music fanatics, International Feel, and what appears to be the debut from the mysterious Sonic Aesthetic. One of my favourite releases on the label so far, ‘Tales From the Nocturne’ has all the charm of DJ Harvey taking the reigns at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. Strange, compelling, outsider- disco music.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88