from the LP NuYorican Soul, Talkin’ Loud Records, 1997
No discussion of American house music would be complete without focusing the microscope on NYC, and in particular, the masterminds known as Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzales & ‘Little’ Louie Vega, rulers of the ‘90s beats scene under many monikers (most notably as Masters At Work), including this eclectic side project which focused on live instrumentation as opposed to knob twiddling, dubbed NuYorican Soul. From the insistent piano atop those loose breaks, to the epically sweeping string section, to the chorus-of-angels vocal delivery care of renowned disco diva Jocelyn Brown and some bad-ass backup singers, this track absolutely showers the listener with a torrent of sunny uplifting energy, and it garnered an awful lot of attention upon it s release (not to mention, a slew of remixes in every conceivable genre of electronica); this was actually a cover of an old Rotary Connection number from the early ‘70s, far more psychedelic in tone than what we have here & well worth tracking down also.
from the LP Burn Berlin Burn, Grand Royal Records, released: 1997, recorded: 1995
Typically, when someone announces that they are an anarchist, it’s met with understandably doubtful expressions & exhausted sighs---even the Black Blockers I knew up in Minneapolis (deemed by some to really be “true” anarchists) were mostly just angsty, middle-class white kids acting out their pre-conceived notions of rebellion (i.e. “smell me, motherfucker…”). Thus, it was with a suspicious & cynical mind that I first laid ears on digital hardcore forbearers Atari Teenage Riot, although it was admittedly more enticing due to the press reports of them being banned in their own country following a spate of riots that had erupted after their performances; I don’t mean that I think riots are cool or anything vacuous like that, but when art causes people to lose it, I can’t help but take notice. The results, musically speaking, were a pretty mixed bag: much of the album (not an LP proper, but a collection of their previously released 7”s & EPs) was filled with jackhammer gabber-beats which proved to be near unlistenable to all but the most dedicated of hardcore fans (see: people high on glue), but a few of the tracks where they slowed things down have become a consistent part of my library over the years, including this song---the one which got their LP barred from stores in Germany. For us Americans, it’s like the Weather Underground going techno, radical slogans & brash tunes; frankly, somebody out there needs to sample Alec Empire (the band’s leader) when he says, “…we react very strongly to tranquilizers, you know…” Seriously though, given Angela Merkel’s declaration last month that multiculturalism in Germany is dead, and the rise of right-wing neo-fascism spreading across Western European politics like wildfire, maybe these guys weren’t just being paranoid or dramatic…
from the LP Lamb, Fontana Records, 1996
Having been locked up from February of ‘95 – May of ‘97 meant that I’d missed an inordinate amount of music releases, and I can still recall my many fervent footsteps throughout the mall to get to a Camelot music store (remember those…), more than ready to make up for some lost time. I actually corralled a sales associate and told them something like, “I’ve been away for a couple of years and need to get caught up”, after which I proceeded to list off a laundry-list of band’s I loved, both for updates & to garner suggestions of new musicians I might dig. This LP, by Manchester duo Lamb, got purchased in that first chunk of new tunes, suggested on the weight of my professed love for Portishead; the vocal stylings of Louise Rhodes are the main element that links the two crews up, but the beats in Lamb come across a lot tougher & closer to breakbeats than trip-hop. Good looking out music store dude!
from the LP Underground Vibes, Street Jazz Productions, 1995
Laurent ‘DJ Cam’ Daumail has often been called the DJ Shadow of France, and although that comparison is a bit misleading (Cam has always been far more interested in jazz records, where Shadow has leaned much heavier on the funk tip), it works well enough to give one an idea of just how massive Mr. Daumail’s skillset really is. His dexterous pairing of portly drum breaks with numerous snippets of ephemeral jazz décor has resulted in some of the dankest beats ever dropped, on either side of the ocean! Thinking about it, one would perhaps be more accurate to compare Cam’s work with the nuanced masterpieces of Japan’s DJ Krush, at least in his ability to show restraint without sacrificing the density of the cut. Cam is still dropping fresh, phatty beats to this very day, evolved somewhat from what you hear here, but remaining very closely related. This track isn’t just a smart title either---this is music for getting blunted to.
from the LP No Más, Luaka Bop Records, 2010
Yessssssss… This is the kind of musical pastiche that gives one hope for the future, full of brawny breaks & swirling organ, fuzzy flanged-out guitars playing alongside one determined-ass bassline, everything rolling together flawlessly like those old school green-leaf blunts. Yes, you are listening to samples and loops galore, but not clipped from other sources like duo Javelin become famous for after dropping their minty fresh Jamz & Jemz mixtape--- nope, on this LP they played all the music you hear being sampled themselves, which has a rather twisted ironic beauty to it, don’t you think? Any reviewer that doesn’t catch the heady soulful fusion that’s happening here should find themselves a new job; it’s telling that David Byrne’s label Luaka Bop snatched them up quickly. The perfect soundtrack for a hazy late summers day, look out for the mind-melting guitar solo that snarls to life around 1:40 into the track, it may just push you one toke over the line, so to speak (don’t say I didn’t warn ya)…
from the LP The Richest Man in Babylon, 18th St. Lounge Music Records, 2002
This “holiday” always leaves me with mixed feelings: sure, I am very thankful for having grown up in America, as it’s among a small handful on countries on Earth where I could have had the opportunities that living here has afforded me---but, I can’t help wondering what Native Americans must think of this weekend’s festivities, particularly considering that when America defeated the Brits in the Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783), indigenous people still comprised the majority population & held the overwhelming majority of land rites in what we today call the United States. I believe strongly in the opportunity such a diverse nation presents to its populous, but it’s vital to consider the whole picture when celebrating our existence, which includes success at the expense of many human beings---a pattern which is still flourishing to this day I’m afraid, “…the people live in misery, govemment a work, but govemment them is a mockery; respect to the youths, whether in front and all dem back a me, why don't you treat them the way you should… broadcasting lies on the television screen, trying to get us hooked on your American dream, we up on your games if you know what me mean…” If I had one national wish granted to me on this day, it would be for every boy & girl in the United States to have a college education that’s provided to them at no charge; freedom ain’t free, arm your minds, happy July 4th…
from the LP Party Your Body, BCM Records, 1988
The farmer’s market in this area is already in full swing, and we walked out of there yesterday with a veritable feast of goodies---we’ve learned that you have to get there early if you want some farm-fresh eggs, as they are the first to go, and for good reason! If you like eggs, there is really no going back once you’ve tasted the thick, school-bus orange orb of awesomeness that is the over-easy yolk of one of those farm-fresh eggs. The majority of the produce on sale just came out of the ground the day before and is organic, so it’s as unsullied & tasty as it gets, but there is so much more on offer when you dig around: figgy olive tapenade, fresh honeyed yoghurt, local mead, apple cider, homemade soaps, baked breads, banana empanadas, even all-natural rib-eyes from a nearby ranch of Scottish Highlanders that are some of the tastiest steaks I’ve ever had outside of restaurants. Spring time is fantastic for walking around outside in the mornings, the warm sun kept firmly in check by a persistent cool breeze, the aroma of lilacs and irises teasing your nose, and dreadlocks everywhere… well, in this area anyways. Stevie B was basically unopposed as king of the freestyle beats, considering the whole genre was dominated by, um, women; frankly, it was a wise move on his part (the Jheri-curl mullet he’s rocking on the cover notwithstanding), and he had a string of dance hits in the late ‘80s as the scene was winding down. No matter how far away life takes me from Florida, I will never loose my love for that Miami bass sound. Word.
from the LP Exit Planet Dust, Astralwerks Records, 1995
Getting dusted is not an activity for the rookie drug user---indeed, smoking wet (a.k.a. sherm, stix, illy, angel dust, PCP) ranks among the more peculiar buzzes I indulged in way back when, like gravity giving you a swift kick to the dome-piece; quite frankly, the sensational news stories about users high on dust doing all manner of outlandish things weren’t far from the truth, albeit a tad bit overblown, as most of us enjoyed the weird underwater vibe of smoking wet without breaking things (i.e. walls, windshields, and by proxy, one’s own bones…) or tearing all our clothes off while screaming at the top of our lungs---that being said, I seen some people do some funny shit while under the influence. The claims of people having smoked supposedly “dusted” weed back in the day were also largely exaggerated, as anyone who’s smoked wet can tell you that the chemical smell of it, no matter what substance it winds up on, stands out; more likely, many people who thought they smoked tainted pot just wound up with a relatively strong bag of herb, had panic attacks, and attributed their reaction instead to one of the most demonized drugs in our modern history. On the whole, I really dug dissociating substances quite a bit during my Dionysian days, but they aren’t for everyone.
from the LP 99%, Play It Again Sam Records, 1990
Jack Dangers (aka ‘Meat Beat Manifesto’) always seemed to be equally interested in both dark and light, crafting loops which managed to be sinister & facetious at once, wry smiles behind hypervigilant eyes. The influences are broad (me like-y) and seemingly divergent: Chrome, Nitzer Ebb, Gristle, Detroit techno, golden era hip-hop, even some flourishes of psych rock can be heard across his discography. This was the first album of his I owned, on CD no less, so maybe that’s why I still love it so much---admittedly, it’s a pretty bare-bones affair, but it still rocks my fucking world. It’s like tripping inside of some twisted carnival ride, a haunted house or something, “…those innocent fun games of the hallucination generation…”; that sample of some chick attempting to talk, presumably taking a stab at explaining her chemically altered state, and just collapsing into a knowing psychedelic giggle absolutely slays me every time. Not to mention, one of the cheekiest band names to ever cum around, hands down (puns fully intended)!
from the LP Deadringer, Definitive Jux Records, 2002
Florida is truly the inverted armpit of our nation (a quick perusal of our country’s more disturbing news stories will give you some indication, and watching the movie Bully will give you even more); I spent my whole youth growing up there, in a few different locales, and I can most assuredly attest to that fact---hell, I was joyfully a part of the problem previous to my departures. The scum of this entire fucking country eventually washes up down in Florida, as if there is some gigantic magnet for arrest warrants & bullshit under the ground that literally lures the hustlers, addicts, fools, & evil motherfuckers down south. That’s why the little vocal sample at the beginning of this track is so friggin’ appropriate, and one can scarcely imagine how many similar conversations and trains of thought wind up at that same conclusion every day. Sadly, it’s the same reason a lot of individuals wind up getting themselves killed down there. RJ ‘D2’ Krohn came up DJing in Columbus, Ohio and I saw him spin at a few parties around there in the ‘90s when I was living in Cleveland, long before he signed with Def Jux---I don’t think many ravers, including myself, had any clue what was in the works for this cat’s career. The comparisons to Shadow & Cam are fair, but RJ has his own vibe, more soul than funk maybe, like the Otis Redding to their Jimmy Castor Bunch, dig? Watch for the smooth switch-up around two minutes in, categorically seamless!
from the 12” single, FFRR records, 1991
MAN, this track was so huge in Florida when it dropped, along with virtually anything else that dealt in the hardcore breaks; what’s excellent, subjectively anyways, is that the message of this single has continued to be an integral part of my character through all these years, “…different strokes, for different folks, whatever makes you happy…” It’s one of the reasons why I truly take pleasure in living way out west here, because the axiom “live & let live” continues to thrive---well, excepting for a blotch on the map about 2 hours south of here that, well, we just won’t speak of it. Chris ‘Isotonik’ Paul has gone on to have an illustrious career being a high-paid DJ to the stars, but back in 1991 he was just a raggedy kid who was lucky enough to get in on the ground floor of what would soon become the jungle scene, alongside such mainstays as Fabio (not the blonde d-bag, do your homework people…) & Grooverider. Big ups to the breakbeat massive!!
from the LP Donuts, Stones Throw Records, 2006
Human beings are the only creatures on earth who live life in the shadow of their own foreseen future death, cognitively understanding at an early age that what we experience & understand as “life” will one day cease to exist, whatever that might mean afterwards; even as much as I am convinced, at times, that dogs are both intelligent and psychic, I wouldn’t dream of arguing that a dog (or a chimp or a whale, etc…) contemplates their own eventual passing, because that is nonsense. Indeed, there are sociologists and other members of the social science community that would argue passionately about virtually anything you see in front of you (i.e. buildings, cars, highways, education, religion, traditions, etc…) ultimately being an expression of fear, clamoring to stay busy and informed enough about the here-and-now so as not to dwell too much about that one daunting inevitability; for the record, I’m not quite that fatalistic, but I undoubtedly agree that death drives us all to varying degrees, perhaps emphatically so amongst those who are terminally ill. Legendary beats master J Dilla was in and out of the hospital throughout the recording of this album, on what would sadly prove to be his death bed (from complications of the rare blood disorder TTP and Lupus), and there are hints sprinkled all over the place that he may have known the end was nigh; for one example, try not getting goosebumps (and, frankly, becoming kinda misty) hearing that Dionne Warwick sample in “Stop”, “…hmm, you’re gonna want me back, in your arms; you’re gonna need me, one day, mmm, you’re gonna want me back, in your arms…” From the heavy vibe there, to the reeling mood on “Time”, and even on the hands-in-the-air party track “Gobstopper”, Dilla’s raw passion for life & music are easy to see, weighty to absorb. This album dropped on his 32nd birthday, he died only three days later; R.I.P.
from the LP Since I Left You, Modular Recordings, 2000
Composed entirely of song collages that were created from over 3,500 different samples, Since I Left You, the debut album by Aussie electronic collective The Avalanches, took DJ Shadow’s concept for …Endtroducing to a level never before seen; I don’t envy the poor chap who was put in charge of legally clearing all those samples! This track is one of the best on the album, a panoply of brass, strings, synths & percussion weaving themselves into an ever-morphing tapestry that moves through several different sections before sliding into an extended coda that plays us out in tribal fashion. The amount of obsessive attention that must be paid to a song like this one is almost unimaginable, much less an entire album’s worth, as mashing that many samples together could easily sound like a dissonant & horrible mess. Everyone’s been waiting patiently for their next album to drop for damn near close to a decade now, and I’ll bet you can guess what the hold-up is---sample clearance.
from the 12” single, Jumpin & Pumpin Records, 1991
Often times the mark of a truly memorable and/or breathtaking song is its ability to defy categorization, and after all these years, I still don’t know exactly what to label this debut track from British electronic veterans Future Sound of London (FSoL): maybe you could call it ‘progressive breaks’, or ‘proto trance’ perhaps? One thing is for certain however, and that’s the fact that this single took the rave world by storm when it was released, and it has never really gone away since; FSoL chose two rather different sources for sampling inspiration on this track, pairing Meat Beat Manifesto’s raggafied “Radio Babylon” with the ethereal sounds of “Dawn of the Iconclast”, care of the avant-classical duo Dead Can Dance. Everything else falls into place perfectly, creating this interplanetary aura which transports the listener into the song’s geographic title, only, as experienced from Mars.
from the LP Dummy, Go! Beat Records, 1994
This album came out of nowhere, as if someone had just taken a huge bonghit in Bristol and exhaled this smoky mix of jazz inspired hip-hop beats, carried aloft by the dulcet tones of singer Beth Gibbons; seriously folks, when this first dropped it literally affected my monthly marijuana budget, so many nights spent in candle-lit living rooms and bedrooms, blunted out of my mind, blasting Portishead. This particular track never fails to get my head bobbing, the hazy mid-tempo pace lulling me into a dazed state; the inclusion of that interlude at the beginning, with only Ms. Gibbons singing backed by an acoustic guitar, provides a dizzyingly blissful contrast to the fuzzed-out psychedelic beats that DJ and producer Geoff Barrow crafted here. The phrase “trip-hop” quickly came to be loathed by all those who had become thus dubbed, but I have to admit, it sort of described the vibes better than anything else we’ve come up with since…
from the LP …The Utopian Experience, Gee Street Records, 1991
Lacing rhymes in a near-whisper to beats that sample soft rock hits, and all done while wearing lavender clothing; these are things that will create a sense of indignation within the maschismo-laden world of rap music, so huge props to P.M. Dawn (brothers Attrell & Jarrett Cordes, aka Prince B and DJ Minute Mix) for flying directly in the face of hip-hop’s prevailing vibe, meanwhile giving us some of catchiest and trippiest beats this side of Tribe! This album was dropped at a time when all kinds of electronic music were still making their way into the hip-hop realm, & these guys were happy to experiment with them, from less successful attempts (I never dug ‘hip-house’) to the burner we have here; the breaks are super phatty, the off-kilter piano stabs satisfy and that bass drop is just deep enough to hypnotize, as are the psychedelic samples care of Melvin Bliss’ “Syntehtic Substitution”.
from the LP The Power of Suggestion, 18th St. Lounge Records, 2003
Anchored by the metronomic clacking of wooden blocks and one hell of a funky bassline, this little number by London duo Karminsky Experience (James Munns & Martin Dingle) has so many layers to it that the listener becomes deeply immersed in their psychedelic stew without trying. These cats already had huge cred when they dropped this album, having spun several parties at the Playboy Mansion and mixing numerous “chill-out” compilations for Polygram records---this was their shot at a full artistic release. Although the album wobbles in spots, this track is an illustrious display of their potential; the meshing of Indian instrumentation, live & programmed drumming, and those wacky vocal samples combine to fashion a hypnotizing ether that leaves you wanting more every time.
from the 12” single, Circa Records, 1988
Fearlessly straddling several beats-based genres at one time, Neneh Cherry enjoyed well-deserved acclaim from critics and the underground alike upon the release of this stellar mash-up of breaks, synth pop and hip-hop; I had this song on one of those single cassettes, played that fucker until the tape got so warped that Ms. Cherry sounded like she was hitting on a nitrous tank! Neneh had already been in the musical underground for some time, having been a member of the post-punk crew Rip Rig & Panic since the early ‘80s, enjoying a brief tenure with the Slits and even getting to record with Nico once at the BBC; she also DJ’d for a pirate radio station while still in her teens, spinning electro and early hip-hop singles, showing a love for variety in music from the very beginning. Her tom-girl attitude here is both fierce and irresistible, “…the girls on the block with the nasty curls, wearing padded bras, sucking beers through straws, dropping down their drawers, where did you get yours?” My favorite line comes right as the sax-led breakdown begins, “…smokin’, not cokin’…” Word.
from the LP NuYorican Soul, Talkin’ Loud Records, 1997
