It's Thinking! (Prime Records)

Prime Records of Holland are turning out some of the most arty European house and techno music. Their latest bunch of releases are as varied as they are interesting. Parallel 9's 'Gnosis/Helix' sounds like a tranced-up instrumental version of Inner City. Trance Induction's 'Capita Selecta' is high on melody on tracks like 'Robogroove 4' and the upliftingly joyous 'Extra Terrestrial Welcome Song 2'. Trance Induction is Tjeerd Verbeek who also records for the Sabrettes label. Hyperion is another of Sensurreal's pseudonyms and their 'It's Thinking' 12" has much of their trademark string sound but with more of a club vibe. Wicked. 'Predator', Primes newest release by Children Of A New Generation is a zinging, knocking techno track that moves into more jazzy circles on the 11 minute b-side 'Prey'. Prime is a very prolific label and one to watch. So get down to your import store or - better still - get over to Holland and check them out!


This review also published in: On magazine

William Orbit - Strange Cargo Hinterland (N-Gram)

The fourth in Orbit's journey that has straddled the house boom and taken its own style off into new directions. Like some of System 7's happier moments and with funky bass and aireated vocal not a million miles away from Jah Wobble, this will be an instant crowd-pleaser for the laid back masses. Head music with house beats more suited to the beach than the post-club drive home. Save it for the summer!


This review also published in: On magazine

Various - Ascension Collection (Ascension)

One half of the Art of Noise takes time off from her self-confessed hack actibities of TV soundtracks and session string arrangements for this beautiful orchestral soundscape. New arrangements and compositions rub shoulders with traditional classical pieces. Overall Dudley avoids any musical references to AoN (which is where her egyptian opus with Jaz Coleman fell down for me). This has a pure and captivating edge that will keep you listening for the duration.


This review also published in: On magazine

Various - Totally Wired 12 (Acid Jazz)

Already up to volume 12, Acid Jazz have no sign of dying yet (depsite rumours on the internet). They're diversifying away from the genre they helped create with contributions from a new rock act Planet. Also in evidence are some off-the-wall tracks by Primal Scream with Goerge Clinton and a tribute to Art Blakey by Square Window and Stickman. The standard Brand New Heavies tracks and offshoots are here too as are happening new tracks by Dub War and OOKY.


This review also published in: On magazine

Dominatrix - Possession Remixes (Ascension Plus)

A camp high-speed hi-NRG track set apart from most with it's analogue feel on Baby Doc's Mix. Bypass the Blu Peter Vs Trigger Mix for the freaky Original Mix.


This review also published in: On magazine

Human Beings - Ice Age (Deviate)

The first release in a year from Deviate records of Utrecht, The Netherworld, their last being on Trance Europe Express 2. 'Ice Age' is a sort of sonic snow-drift whereas 'Rising Sun' is a lighter funkier affair. All have an slight ethnic acoustic edge to their ambient house.


This review also published in: On magazine

M-Age - Under A Cubic Sky (Rising High)

Full of polish and with some rounded sounds, this album also has some vocals in places which is a refreshing change for current ambient music. Other influences include slightly oriental and indie samples which later transcend into more funky and percussive sections, while always retaining direction. It's a bit of a menagerie this one, which keeps you listing as there's always something new round the corner.


This review also published in: On magazine

Mindscape - Mindscape (Prime)

Recently trailed in Trance Europe Express (as was Sensurreal), this is an agitating infestation of synthesised beats and textures. An analogue steambath. Comprising largely of quite high BPMs made with soft textures there are also parts reminiscent of fellow Scandinavian Biosphere in it's more thoughtful sections and of fsol's Lifeforms in it's more uplifting parts. Tracks include 'Computer Flesh' and 'Fields Of Joy', which are also out on 12".


This review also published in: On magazine

Sensurreal - Never To Tell A Soul (Beam Me Up!)

Looking like a gothic album but sounding more like the middle-aged European electronic new age music of the mid 1980s, but with a post-house twist. Sensurreal offer free-floating atmospherics that are more headphone-listening than head-trip. The album keeps going despite some false starts, tracks like 'Scyra Officinalis' sound good but then quickly fizzle out. If the CD sounds a bit ambient, then the LP won't. It's got almost a completely different track listing as the band wanted Never To Tell A Soul to be both accessible to the dance floor and the chill-out room. And it works, the vinyl has a much harder sound than the CD with some different rhythms and textures. A concept!


This review also published in: On magazine

Defence - Travelling EP and Baruka - The Lost Funk EP (Night Vision)

There's a little area of Detroit in Scandinavia known as the Night Vision label. In the first of two new releases, Juan Atkins-collaborator Defence offers a tripped-out sci-fi garage track in 'Travelling At The Speed Of Music' which calms down only slightly for the 'Pulse' and 'Flow' extensions. Definitely some Moby influence in this one. Baruka's follow up to 'Play It Loud' includes 'Raver Of The Lost Funk' which builds up over 8 minutes into trickling tickly nouveau acide. Tracks 'Anti Political Behaviour' and 'Circles' have more of a point with their supreme peri-glacial ambience.


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Baby Doc - Eurotic (Ascension)

A Euro-erotic throbbing and pulsating slab of disco, that is more '70s than '90s in feel. Some nice shimmering interludes, but overall a full-on hi-NRG assault that leaves little to the imagination.


This review also published in: On magazine

Timothy Leary - Chaos And Cyber Culture (Ronin)

Timothy Leary, the 72-year old ex-Harvard professor who taught a generation to "turn on, tune in and drop out" now recognises the PC as the LSD of the 1990's and explains all in his new book. The book collects articles and lectures that Leary has given over the past few years in publications as diverse as underground zines and Sunday supplements and at events from rave parties to the Whole Life Expo.

Across almost 300 pages he travels through such subjects as Chaos Engineering, Counter Cultures, Info-Chemicals and De-Animation/Re-Animation. Just delving into the latter I learnt that Andy Warhol was cryogenically frozen on dying and will be re-animated when M.I.T.'s nanotechnology department has mastered the process so he can meet his idol Walt Disney, who also took the cryonic hibernation/re-animation option.

As if it needed it, the book is coloured in along the way with some hi-tech/hand made computer art and interviews with William Gibson, David Byrne, William S. Burroughs and Winona Ryder. Yes, *that* Winona Ryder. She's Leary's goddaughter, you see. Winona and Timothy chat about everything from The Mission soundtrack to the information age and it all makes for pretty interesting reading. This is an essential handbook for the unfolding decade. Just Say Know.


This review also published in: On magazine

Various - The Secret Life Of Trance 4 (Rising High)

Someone asked me the other day, 'where did rave go?'. Not that they wanted it to come back or anything, but they had a point. One moment it was there, coming at you big, fat and fluorescent from all angles via endless compilations and novelty singles like 'Poing', the next minute it's gone. Don't panic, rave isn't back but there's some of it's positive energy and BPMs in a lot of the tracks on this new quadruple LP, minus the any of the tacky hooks and chants, of course.

Sitting somewhere between ambient and jungle and with a touch of that rave energy are tracks from a host of atmospheric house artists like Neutron 9000, Air Liquide (who also remix M-Age), Influx, Basic Gravity, Phax and Caspar Pound, who also co-compiled the set. Quite a few German artists are featured but there's more softness and sense of melody than you might expect from a compilation that features bands with names like Tanzmuzik. Excellent sleeve too, courtesy of Jon Black, the label's "in-house artist".


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Project 1 featuring Mad Cooli - Cheeba 95 (I Like To Smoke Marijuana) (Rising High)

The one hundredth single on Rising High and the first essential jungle tune of 1995. Marc Williams takes the track out to an abrasive extreme with a beat that agitates and rolls through 3 new mixes. 'Cally Mix' is a rough work-out with ragga and dubby influences, only slight marred by the soon-to-be jungle cliche of screeching sirens and obligatory Vocoder screams. But this record gets better and better so by the time you've whizzed through the 'Sensi Mix' (more beat and a more fluid female vocal) and 'Bonus Beats Remix' you're there at the Original Cheeba from 1992 which - three years on (imagine!) - is still pretty out there. Out January 23.


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808 State - State To State (feedback.com)

808 State's new album - "State To State" - has been recorded and released exclusively for members of their fan club. In a move conceived and prepared over a two year period, the band have been working in Sheffield's FON Studios recording tracks and ploughing through old master tapes for this, their 8th album.

This album is to be given away free to anyone that joins their fan base, and tracks for next years second "State To State" release are already being written! The three members of the group, Darren Partington, Andy Barker and Graham Massey (who has continued his on-going collaboration with Bjork on her recent "Vessel" video) decided that they wanted the album to be released on CD only, to support the many people that have complained to them about the over-pricing of compact discs.

But its the rare and unreleased material on "State To State" that will attract record collectors. As Graham Massey told RC, "We record about 50 tracks for every album we release, which obviously can't all be used. So State To State will give us the chance to put out some of the more off-the-wall and wacky versions of tracks that we have recorded." On joining the fan club, members will also receive a quarterly magazine - written by the band - with news on all their projects and merchandise.

The album starts of with a unique DJ mix of "106" (it's first appearance on CD) from their sought-after pre-ZTT "Quadrastate" album blended in to the "State To State" theme. This moves in to a live version of 808's Top 10 hit "Cubik" from the "Ex:el" album which is the first live track they have ever released. Next up is "Yakuza" which, along with "Diana" and "Jackson Fraction" were recorded especially for the album. Also included are never-before-heard remixes such as the "Rhythm Device Mix" of "Lemon" from their Japan-only "Forecast" CD, "20:20" (the "Sax Mix" of "Stormin Norman" from "Gorgeous"), "Reaper Repo" live at Wembley and "Control" an early mix of the Joy Division-sampling "Contrique". Add to that the bands three favourite unreleased tracks from their vaults and you have quite a CD.

The packaging for the "State To State" CD was specially-commissioned by the band to Designers Republic who are best known for their sleeve art for Warp records (Aphex Twin, Back Dog etc.), and Pop Will Eat Itself. The CD sleeve looks like a cross between the break-in packaging of Madonna's "Sex" and a computer floppy disk. As this is a mail-order-only release the design even incorporates space for the fans address and postage stamps!

The trio launched the concept live of MTV's "The Party Zone" last summer, the first time the show had ever been co-hosted. Since then they have released their "Bombadin" single, which was premiered at a New York fashion show featuring Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. They returned the favour to Naomi by recording an awesome new remix of her "I Want To Live" track. In fact the band have been continuing their successful remixing career lately, something that began with collaborations with David Bowie, Electronic, Yes and Siouxsie And The Banshees. Recently they have completed remixes of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and "One To One Religion" - Bomb The Bass' next single. And fans are still snapping up - when they can - the 10" promo on red (and extremely rare blue) vinyl of an unreleased mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Two Tribes"!

For the complete history of 808 State, check out Issue 101 of RC, as read by the band when they found it in a newsagents in Canada while on tour with New Order and The The. Apparently they loved the feature but - as the band told us - they were a bit worried about what their tax man would think about the incredibly lengthy discography!


This review also published in: Record Collector

Janet Jackson - janet. (PMI)

This video stretches the five promos for the "janet." album singles into a 74 minute compilation including rehearsal footage and alternate takes. The documentary side is a complete antidote to films such as "In Bed With Madonna". Here the "behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen home movies" consist of Janet working hard for weeks on dance routines, giggling with her girlfriends, water pistol fights and getting rather squeamish for filming the risque scenes for the promos. Quite a contrast to Madonna's version of 'control' on and off stage.

Two versions of each promo are presented and the cover shot was previously used on the front of Rolling Stone. The bonus cuts (including the one-take edit of "That's The Way Love Goes", a re-edited "Any time, Any Place" set to the "R. Kelly Mix" and the colourised "You Want This") are just as entertaining as the standard releases, but with an added rarity factor.

Janet Jackson either has a skill of being able to keep her public image up with the times or is just developing as a person, depending on how cynical you are! From the power dressing of her mid eighties breakthrough, "Control", taken to the logical - almost military - conclusion for "Rhythm Nation 1814", her current image is unique and diverse - being herself.


This review also published in: Record Collector