Skinny – Weekend (Cheeky)

The thought of the return of the concept album is certainly scary and brings to mind Pink Floyd, seventies prog-rock and sixty minute guitar solos. But what if the concept was the weekend - with all it's hang-ups, get-downs, highs and lows - and the album was on Rollo's Cheeky label? Bit of a different proposition? The weekend, probably the most important regular occurrence in any reader of this magazine's life, is explored in all it's complexities by Skinny in the most important debut album so far this year. From Friday night to the wind-down zone to the perils of nights out in the big bad city, this is one album that doesn't need track titles of its own, because all the emotions you know and love are dramatically and explicitly explored within. If you need documentary evidence - just take a spin of 'Failure', Skinny's promo sampler from the tail end of '97 that is still ripping it up as the summer of 98 burns in.

Weekend certainly skims a whole raft of styles, but every aspect packs the same production punch. 'Friday Part 1' is the natural follow-on from 'Failure', using a similar double bass groove. More laid back tracks come in the form of 'The Bus Song' and the ambient epic 'London Tonight' (complete with samples from your favourite news show). In fact the only problem with Weekend is nothing new to seventies-style concept albums and that's the unevenness of vocals and vocal styles across the set. But with that as the only complaint, Weekend is a pretty essential album. You had to be there. 9/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine

Various - Discompose, mixed by DJ Linus (Compose)

As bedroom DJs go, they don't come much better than DJ Linus, mixing some of the best tracks so far from the German house label, Compose live in his bedroom. This LP is a record of just such an event. And the music isn't at all what you'd expect from a faceless German dance label, this jazzy, garage mix is the logical antidote to Compose's darker industrial sister label Compost. The album is very much a platform for DJ Linus' own work, not least the brilliant 'Otranoje', but there are a host of other Germanic disco people in the mix. Like Moon Machine (a new name for the guys behind Beanfield) whose Compost LP of last year is well worth seeking out. As Moon Machine they present the souped-up garage theme 'Superglued', which revolves around a funky rhythm guitar twang. Pufo also stands out, she/he/it is a progressive house DJ, producer and soundtrack artist for Space Night, a German TV show of real-life space footage set to dance music! As such, 'Pufo's Bar-B-Q Late Night Reprise' sounds exactly as you might expect. Other highlights in the mix include a track from Strictly Rhythm artists Future Funk and 'Real Cool' from Kristo (part time muso, part time designer for BMW). Yep, all the artists here are as obscure as you like but together are well worth tracking down. Awful sleeve though. 7/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine

Caspar Pound - House (Ascension)

For its third release, this track has been given the once over from Italian DJ Francesco Farfa. Farfa turns in an epic acid mix that is more like Star Wars on the dancefloor than anything from the Jedi Knights or Tuskan Raiders. Check out also the jittering, bouncy Baby Doc mix and the soaring world-flavoured Insomnia at Drum Club mix.

Future Sound of London – Cascade (Virgin)

‘Cascade’ certainly represents a turning point in the career of Brian Dougans & Gary Cobain. In the years leading up to this 35-minute single they had experimented in numerous styles under a variety of pseudonyms. One of these, ‘Papua New Guinea’ released as Future Sound of London caught not only the imagination of the clubbing populous but also that of Virgin Records. So it was with some anticipation that ‘Cascade’ was released in 1993. Anticipation that is, mixed with a sizeable dose of bewilderment as other FSOL projects that year included remixes ranging from Inner City and the Shamen to the more extreme Bryan Ferry and Prefab Sprout.

When it finally appeared, ‘Cascade’ (parts 1-5) sounded nothing like what you might expect from a major-label follow-up to ‘Papua New Guinea’. The trancey backbeat, atmospheric ecstatic vocals and dub-thumpy basslines were pushed aside for Dougans and Cobain to present their most idiosyncratic, memorable and direction-defining work to date. All this and a tune you could hum! Heralding the arrival of the Lifeforms LP, five versions of the track made an album-length single (complete with longform video) that combined catchy, upbeat techno stabs with FSOL's trademark organic rumbling soundscapes. Listen to ‘Cascade’ to hear everything you need to know about Future Sound of London.

Ui - Lifelike (Southern)

This is far too loose and far too damn funky to be called fusion. But Ui do present a melting pot of real instruments, electronica vibes in a mixdown of phat beat-driven sound-lumps. Fresh from a collaboration with Stereoloab (the appropriately titled Uilab) and an essential re-release of their early EPs ('The Two Sided Sharpie'), Lifelike contains studio versions of new and live tracks going back over several years.

Ever wondered where the bass in drum & bass is? Most of it is lurking here - Ui are a trio, two of whom play bass. And that's the live, four string variety. Yes, despite bashing real drum skins and plucking four string doghouses, the production on Lifelike is so tight (claustrophobic even, in places), compressed and full of club sensibilities that many tracks could be mixed into a leftfield DJ set. 'Drive Until He Sleeps' and 'Blood In The Air' are prime examples. On the other hand, 'Undersided', 'Spilling' and 'The Fortunate One Knows No Anxiety' are garage of a more Beavis & Butthead rather than house nature.

But back to the good parts. Imagine the Red Hot Chillis demoing a track with Luke Vibert, or the Beastie Boys playing around with Fridge and you're half way there. Ui certainly prove that guitars and bass have a place in the warped outer reaches of 90s DJ culture. 6/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine

Various - Retrospective box set (Harthouse)

At last, a truly comprehensive guide to the influential German techno/trance label, Harthouse, as founded by one Sven Vath. With four double CDs each in excess of 75 minutes, this mammoth round-up of their early history is certainly exhaustive.

Speedy J and Hardfloor are the big name artists on offer here, with production coming from the equally seminal Luarent Garnier, David Holmes and of course Sven Vath. But what of the 35-or-so other tracks? These include the fat-and-frantic bass burblings of Arpegiators ('Freedom of Expression' and 'Discover Your Innerself' both stand out), the serene 'Plusation' by Trancepulsation (which turns out to be a secret guest-spot from European ambient guru Pete Namlook) and a seemingly infinite number of other magical moments, beats and breaks. In terms of new, less well-known names from the Harthouse vaults, check out Resistence D., Spicelab, Eternal Basment and Carl Lekebusch's mental Braincell project for some truly throbbing German techno and psychedelic trance.

All that from just Disc 1, so what of Disc 2? More of the same, which is either good news or bad depending on how into Harthaouse's hard house you are. But at the end of the day, this sound has always been more evolutionary than samey. Highlights on Discs 3 and 4 are Julika's brilliant hands-in-the-air epic 'MikeroBenics', Progressive Attack's 'Hypnoticharmony' and the dark soundtrack potential of 'Casablanca' by The Ambush. Retrospective is a rich, highly polished collection of the best of Europe's techno roots and is in many ways an essential archive release for your own personal vaults. 7/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine