off to Japan...

off to Japan tomorrow. as exciting as ever.
here's a little (but long) follow-up to the 'proper old school house' edits posted a little while back.

once again, sorry for the rubbish sound but my copy has suffered and getting a new one is pretty expensive (but worth every penny) these days. I'm realizing these days that there are a lot more unsung classics in the early Chicago stuff than I thought...

both instrumental and vocal versions used to send shivers down my spine. I tried to get the best of both worlds...

TWIST AND TURNS (ISE8 VOCAL DUB)

come come come

a variation on a very dear theme

Most of you what happened when Marc Grouls, up north and back nearly three decades, decided to play Split Second's Flesh at the wrong speed (45rpm to 33rpm): "One Nation Under a (Slowed Down) Groove"... Those who don't know should read the 1991 eponymous article by Richard Norris (hat off to him actually).

The story goes that it was 33rpm/+8, it's hard to find that handles the pure switch. In a way, this one does. just... It may be rough and unplayable but Grouls and the others were just spinning rough and unplayable records. so take it as an homage on a style that shaped a lot of what I am today.

HOMAGE TO THE GROULS ROUTINE (ISE8 VARIANT)

ps: let's see if anybody recognizes the original....

for the remaining summer days

This is one of these edits that I'd always said i would do... Such a perfect summer track but 2'30 is a bit short, especially when it shines like gold. Despite its original title, I haven't turned it into a moody burner. This is sugary pop funk at its best, probably one of the best of that rare breed I had heard in years.
and the best and worse about it ? the (major) label who commisionned it did not give it a full release. As scandalous as the non-release of Pilooski's remix of Jarvis Cocker's 'Angela'. We may come back on this one but in the meantime:

BLACHOLIMONIE (ISE8 EDIT)

the real deal?

I am pretty sure that professional DJs and music lovers will agree, as useful as they are Beatport charts are pretty annoying: too much plugging (even if you kind of have to), obligation to chart tracks available on the platform, massive influence of a handful of DJs etc... And I do not subscribe to Resident Advisor. for a long time, I was reluctant to put 'real' charts out there ,after all, my 'reputation' has always been based on the singularity of my record box more than anything else... But I am getting older (sure) and wiser (may be). I can't think of any good reason to hide the tunes I love anymore... You'll find below a bit of everything: demos, promos, unreleased, vinyls, tracks bought elsewhere than Beatport (I'll come back on the matter soon). I am not saying that none of these can be find there but the point was surely to give an alternative to the chart I sent yesterday to the big B.

In no particular order, these really rock my world right now:

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM-I CAN CHANGE (TIGA RX)-DFA
HARMONY FUNK-CAN'T LET YOU GO (MB RX)-CLONE
CARIBOU-BOWLS (JAMES HOLDEN RX)-CITY SLANG
DAN GHENACIA-GLOBES-FNC
GONZALES-CAN'T STOP (EROL ALKAN RX)-PHANTASY
MONOBLOC-DIRTY (ISE8 RX)-REMAIN
HIGAMOS HOGAMOS-DEUCED-HH
DEXTER-1992 (VOCAL)-CLONE
CHLOE-ONE IN ANOTHER (ALEX SMOKE RX)-KTDJ
RMVN-AMEN ADORNO (THE EYES IN THE HEAT RX)-KTDJ
SHONKY-MIZ MIZ-???
RILEY RHEINOLD-ASHPHALT HEROES-MBF LTD
MEGAPHONO-DON'T COUGH-BARKING DOGS
AL USHER-LULLABY FOR ROBERT-INTERNASJONAL
ROTARYDISCO76-B1-???
HOUSEMEISTER-HYPERACTIVE-BOYSNOIZE

you'll be able to find some of these. others will not come out for months. sorry but there's no middle line here.

.

up north and personal

A very quick word on one of Chloe's favorite sub-genre (Chloe being my girlfriend but not being 'DJ Chloe'- we'll leave that pairing to the wanking fantasies of a committed trainspotter or trainspotteuse...):'twee synthabilly'? 'lo-fi beatbox twist', 'retro swing wave'????
She, nor I, would not want to pin it down but in our heads, it's quite a defined genre. When one of us bump into a track that fits that strange box, I suppose he is instantly reminded of the other.
Yes, We'd rather die than celebrate Valentine's day but we are proudly romantic. I'll add for my part that having a girlfriend that is into (good) music is one of the best things that ever and could happen to me...

oh, sorry, you'd rather have examples of the style than feel a bit quaint from that sudden exposure of feelings ? hmmm... Klik Klak's 1919 is the ultimate one, Adn Ckrystall's Do Zeu Twist, Los Alamos by J & J Hudson in a way, but going up to Fairmont's Bikini Atoll or Mark Kammins' incredible rx of J Dynell's Jam Hot...

May only make sense to us two but you got that it's enough. Selfish as it may be, you may enjoy this little extension of a lesser known track by one of the main bands from this imaginary school.

NIKOLA'S DEATH TWIST-ISE8 SIMPLE EXTENSION

As sorry as you seemed to be...

A few words of explanation about Andrew Weatherall's and myself set at T in the Park, Glasgow on Sunday.

I think the ones who were there kind of got what happened (I even took the mike to apologize) but I'll make it clear. Basically, Tricky was playing after us and his band went for a bit more than the usual 'line check'. the bass/guitar/synth was a bit annoying, but 30 minutes of drumming (so loud that the first few rows could actually hear it) made mixing impossible. The final straw being their sound engineer's instructions being suddenly heard by everybody and ending, after an hour of hell, by 'well, shall we do a line check then ?'...
Andrew and I got so furious (we were playing in front of 7000 people) that it became kind of funny/surreal. The crowd was getting so pissed off that extra-security had to be brought in resulting in the incident being 'logged in' and the stage manager getting a slap on the hands. To his credit (if you take things the right way), it is the first time in my career that a festival stage manager actually apologized to (a very very angry) me and agreed that he had no excuse for what happened (those in the trade will agree that you do not see this every Sunday). Credit also to Tricky's drummer (and the rest of his band) who came up to us afterward truly sorry for what had happened. Headphones on his head, focused on his click, he had no clue of the whole mess.

All in all, a very strange afternoon, but Glaswegians being the nicest people on the planet, anywhere else, it would have really turned sour.
This whole thing of course deflated in smiles, Crookers (booked by Dave 'Soma' clarke for his teenage daughter) started their set and real hell broke loose. Time to go. That's what we did.

may be watch...

As I said last night there was 'loads of good music around at the moment and that many names came to my mind', someone instantly asked about these names. He or she forgot that gems need hard digging and that I'm a strong advocate of individual taste but... Here are a few things that have 'rocked my world' recently. I should say 'electronic world' as I'll stick to electronic music for this first list...

These are from the top of my head and should not be taken too seriously. Same, this list is not exhaustive. More lists will come... One last thing: the obvious flaw from that type of thing is 'plugging'.I've tried to avoid that as much as possible.

10 CONTEMPORARY ELECTRONIC THINGS WORTH CHECKING OUT ?
(IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)


THE NEW 'TURBO/TIGA'...

I did musically part ways with my dearest friend at some point but the 'headbanging' phase seems nearly/truly over. Tiga played a great 125 bpm deep acid set at Stereo before myself a couple of weeks ago, his new remixes of both Jamie Lidell (funk funk funk!) and LCD (amazing slow burning acid song!) blew my head off, the label is getting better and better (or I like it more and more)... Not to forget Thomas Von Party's DJing that deserve an independent recognition from its brother's. You never went away guys, but nice to have you back.

ANTHONY ROTHER's REMIX OF AUX 88's 'VOICE MODULATION' (ECHOISM REC)

This was going to be an obvious hit for me. But I was quite surprised by the amazing reaction from the crowds. The return of....

MARGOT

Now part of the Border Community stable (one of the very few constant 'quality tag' I know), the next generation of dancefloor electronica. Them being from...yes... Rimini only makes the whole thing stronger.

NIEDERFLUR

I agree with Richie Hawtin here... True minimalism, meaning with large ideas and a massive sense of funk. An electronic antidote to bongos and all...

THE NEW 'E-FUNK'?

Generic name (also a mix by Soul Clap but totally different subject) but great music. Following the steps of Wolf & Lamb/Soul Clap, there is a lot of great late night funky house (yes, funky house) around at the moment. Check Whim-ee/Lullabad, Hot Natured, Dyed Soundorom's 'late call' rx of Frank Roger, Earl and Sam... A good alternative to the dull side of (not so) nu-disco.

NAKION

Talking of 'nu-disco', this is the top of the shelf, the real deal. fave ? 'Arcadia" on Dischi Bellichi and his 12" on Supersoul (great remix from Xav). Nakion is a young lady From Korea making me wonder about the scene over there.

DOCTOR VINYL

One of the best record shop in Europe (in Brussels-Where did you think Geoffroy was getting all these gems?), now a label, Metaphone Records. Proper wonky music, the true spirit of Boccaccio revived... Fave? hmmmm... Probably DC Sala's 'Peru'.

MISS FITZ's FORTHCOMING STUFF?

Awaiting to hear the material for her forthcoming Freak n' Chic album but Dyed Soundorom played last week a track that made my night. Slow trippy techno. Also check Dan Ghenacia's new track on Crosstown Rebels, for me, his best from far.

BEACHCOMA RECORDINGS

Always been a Pan/Tone (been playing 'Tomorrow never knew' again) and Metope fan so... the first release, 'From Druida' probably was my track of 2009. Three very strong release for now. We need more labels like this one.

TIM PARIS ' RECENT SET AT ROBERT JOHNSON...

... And what followed...I said something about 'plugging' earlier but this has nothing to do with it. I obviously play with the guy a lot but he is like a new him. He dropped Traktor, is confident and played one of the best set I've heard in ages. Tunes that have been big for me recently (like Jamie Principle's 'The call' or these Fly-o-Tek and Shytone records), well, guess where they're coming from... Now you promoters around, need to understand that, in this present case, YOU DO NOT NEED ME!!!!!

living in the present

Sorry for the silence but I've been touring quite a lot. Work but also a fair amount of partying. Ibiza was quite enjoyable, the 'in-and-out' thing it has become, suits me. 2 Many DJs at We Love was like having your brain washed (not 'brainwashed'), a clean slate for the new year, The rest I heard I kind of didn't (is that being 'brainwashed'). Ok, we got pretty hammered but I've always said that the higher you get, the better the music should be. This time, it was almost the other way round, the blandness stopped me from getting locked in the groove and I spent proper time with friends I had not partied with for years. Hail Hail to boring music then?
Errrrr... No. Full on hedonism lasts what it lasts but you should still live in the present when comes the day after. There are loads of great music out there at the moment... Many names come to my mind but one that has constantly (but, him too, going 'higher and higher') is Glaswegian Alex Smoke . His label, recent album and remixes are constantly pushing the limits. He has just delivered Kill The DJ two incredible remixes of Chloe (who today tells you 'I don't know which one to choose so I'll do both)...Some may find these corners of the dancefloor too dark, and his stuff definitely is edgy. But as the other one said: 'if you're not living on the edge, you're taking too much space'.

I did this edit in order to be able to play this magic Smoke remix as often as possible. Hope it will convince some of you to check the rest of his stuff...

AXEL FUMES-MA/SL IS DJ EDIT