Elegia is Laurent Collat, part of the F Comm family until 2003.
Both records were released there, fitting the label's sound perfectly. The EP is a phat deep house gem, smooth and sensual, more US- than French-house influenced. The album sounds more mature, presenting a variety of genres and styles, from tech-ish house tracks with vocals to electro, smooth drum'n'bass and downtempo interludes. A definite turn towards more complex drum programming is apparent, without of course reaching the extremes of contemporary 'IDM' and always combined with lush synths, vocals and other 'elegant' elements. His ability as an engineer and producer is undeniable, giving his tracks this extra touch that could satisfy a club and a snobby lounge cafe alike, while at the same time making them perfect for home listening.
Elegia - 1997 From Nowhere With Love EP
Here.
Info here.
Elegia - 1999 Sounds Within
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Elegia
Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves
The first album of PWOG, out in 1992. I had promised ages ago to post it but found it only now, so..
Tracks are merged in suites, as the LP in a way is; there are no deeper grooves between the faintly blended intros / outros - the album is obviously intended to be heard as a whole, not as a compilation of tracks. CD extras like 'Anathema ov Jean-Jack Derrillard' and 'New Edge Mantra', two darkish ambient themes, make a contrast with the rest of the material (more uptempo) that reinforces the atmosphere of the album and accents its mystical side. Finally, this 1993 (US) CD version also contains 'Exit 23' in a remix I don't recall from the 12'' I briefly had in the early '90s.
If you're into oldschool techno, proto-trance, tribal, deep electronics or just curious ('magickal') stuff, don't miss it.
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - 1993,
Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves:
A Document Ov New Edge Folk Classics
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Durations per suite:
1. [23.25]
00.01 -> the challenge (part one)
07.57 -> linkage
16.39 -> the tides (they turn)
2. [06.50] obsidian
3. [24.41]
00.01 -> anathema ov jean jacques derrillard
07.16 -> the challenge (part two)
14.17 -> the key (version)
20.35 -> new edge mantra
4. [10.47] exit 23 (remix)
Broken Boys
So, these are the two EPs of Broken Boys.
Two brothers hailing from Sweden, Olof and Oskar, kindly shared them for us all and I suggest you give it a try because there's great potential here. Musically they lean mostly towards IDM, dub and sample-laden '80s heavy electronics (a la Sandoz), though many underground currents of the last decades can be detected at times (Detroit, indie pop, oldschool trip hop, acid house, etc), combined with DIY aesthetics which I really dig. I guess they could be easily swept upwards in the contemporary dubstep current, although their music is more introvert and personal. Despite a few occasional imbalances production-wise (or because of them) the outcome is solid and with personality, something really rare nowdays.
Broken Boys - 2007 selftiled EP
Here.
Broken Boys - 2008 The Kill-Off EP
Here.
Vapaa Muurari
Uusitalo is once more Sasu Ripatti.
Out through Force Inc., this is a live recording in four parts. It's part experiment, part dub, part groovy nord techno. And most of all it's timeless.
Uusitalo - 2000 Vapaa Muurari live
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
In Synch #2
So, Synch festival is over. Over all, a rather poor experience compared to the previous years' ones.
I caught Moritz von Oswald on the decks, playing some roots dub for about an hour and then launching into some crazy electro Bullwackies oddities, space crazy. These Hardwax guys are incredible, I always go to listen to them with the highest expectations and they surpass them every time. Later followed Pinch in a really good dubstep set with a lot of dub techno cuts, still it sounded artificial after the previously blasted dub experiments. The next day the Von Oswald Trio (with Vladislav Delay and Max Loderbauer) improv performance didn't impress me that much, still I was anxious to play and I couldn't sit still so maybe that was it... Juan Atkins canceled. And I missed I-F. BIG shame.
Despite not much promotion, the heat and the obvious fatigue on all faces (it was the last day) the set went rather great. People kept dancing and liked more the oldschool stuff so I played like the hardest I've ever done in years and we all nearly passed out from the heat. Sweat on the walls, for sure. Hope I find some pics to post. I can still hear people howling over Juergen Paape's 'Take This'. Yeah, I had a great time.
P.S. I managed to find a very short and rather crappy video in YouTube from the Moritz set, here. Plus the last track from the Rhythm & Sound gig in Synch 2007, a rather better performance than the Scion vs Tikiman one of 2004. We're talking Mark Ernestus as 'selector', beaten by the heat, staring at his screen still as a stoned mannequin, feeding everything into delay boxes, and, of course, the great Tikiman: infinitely gifted, unstoppable and even thinner than the last time.
This track was a stab of pure joy in my heart, a track I instantly fell in love with and later searched for. I found it in other concerts as well, but I still don't know its name. Here.
Art Is A Division Of Pain
Psi Performer is an ambient project of Anthony Rother. The original work out on Kanzleramt (all track titles are years) was quickly followed by two more compilations of remixes by more or less everyone, both out in k2O sublabel. Check the info links for artists listings.
My favor goes to 'Remixed 1' CD, still it's interesting to listen to these three as a trilogy of sorts. I wanted to post these for a long time but I didn't have and couldn't find 'Remixed 2', until some weeks ago thanks to the Magesy guys.
Incredible cover art, by the way.
Psi Performer - 2001 Art Is A Division Of Pain
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Psi Performer - 2001 Art Is A Division Of Pain - Remixed 1
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Psi Performer - 2001 Art Is A Division Of Pain - Remixed 2
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Goodlife Compilation Vol.1
A compilation from the golden age of french electro techno, also mentioned with some extra info here, summarizing Grenoble's top label Goodlife.
All the usual suspects are here: Kiko, Oxia, The Hacker, Vitalic as Dima, Naughty, Len Faki(*), plus less known but equally gifted artists like Arno Riva & DJ Speep (top 12''), Eric Borgo, Anthony and Evil C & (Dave) The Hustler. A bonus treat comes in the form of a Heinrich Mueller remix on a track from The Hacker.
VA - 2002 GoodLife Vol.1
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
There was also a 12'' with the unreleased tracks.
In Synch
So, through the S.A.E. sponsorship we managed to sneak into Synch Festival, undoubtedly the most valid electronic music gathering in Greece, held this year in an old gas factory's premises in downtown Athens (hence the name, Gazi). For info on Plasteline here and here.
The only thing worrying me is that probably I'll play at the same time as Juan Atkins, which is an honor and a pity at the same time (he's the last of Detroit legends I've not yet seen a gig of).
Performing on Friday are old friends: long time co-conspirator Dura and label owner Funkslut, while Thodoris Triantafillou aka one half of Novox and me will play on Sunday, as a closure.
For Athens residents or visitors, we'll be there. Fear & Loathing in Gazi.
The Newest Funky Brutalizm
Some blah-blah coming on, feel free to skip the rambling and scroll down to the beat.
I had the fortune to spend 3-4 months during 1998 in Barcelona, by then the focal spot for urban travelers (and students) in Europe, a petite metropolis without a lot of problems usually associated with such. Supported by their rich heritage, a strong economy and a weird anarcho- nationalistic concept, Catalans lived their life rather easily and in full. 'Downtown' there were lots of bars and clubs where every rising star of the European scene to the last punk was about to visit, supporting a strong and variable local scene as well (especially regarding city's size). Of course, in direct contrast to Berlin's tanz monocultural tendencies, the key word was 'crossover' and bands and DJs alike preffered to mix stuff, each for their own ends (punk + folk, disco + techno, coke + hash, etc.)
Regarding electronic dance music their main influences were the US and France, though by that time Germany had established a strong foothold and the Barcelona-Berlin axis was working overtime (Tresor ruled). As to dance joints I remember Dot and Moog, where everybody passed by from time to time. Musically, Spain thrived on hip hop, house, funk, '80s pop and disco, while electro and techno beats were revered by a specialized Barcelona crowd. Most of the here presented DJs and producers come from this background, so it's no weird thing the way they mix all those elements you'll hear. The city's hedonistic lifestyle combined to their cut & blend aesthetics produced rough diamonds that maybe didn't have the state-of-the-art productions of the northeners or the French, still they had the one thing important to have fun: the Funk.
I stayed until June for the Sonar Festival and got rewarded by seeing for the first time Kraftwerk (well, 2 out of 4), Hell at 7.00AM, Coldcut, Fr. Kevorkian, Aux 88, Jimi Tenor and a lot lot more and I danced my ass off and had a wonderful time in this successful gathering. Which naturally got so big so quickly that a few years later when I visited it again even I was frustrated (though happy in a way that it grew) just from the sheer mass of it, while the locals were keeping away and organized anti-Sonar parties, etc.
Few souvenirs I brought from there back then, I was seriously broke. Some Mills stuff, first Speichers and a few CDs from local labels as So Dens (that released the Sonar compilations), Cosmos and Minifunk. Never regretted the money I spent for these, I played so much some of that stuff for the next years my CDs went off and I had to buy them again. Cosmos Records goes to a housey direction, while Minifunk tries some harder paths.
This one came out a year later and gives a good overview of the Barcelona style of dance music, late '90s era. Foreigners that released in Minifunk (most of them participating here) are Gemini, Tim Baker, Pacou, 20:20 Vision, Mark Ambrose, Steve Bug & Vincenzo as The Discocowboys and my personal favorites Glory B (I have to post their album...). Local stars included are An Der Beat, Loe, Angel Molina, Alex Martin, Groof and a lot more. Check and pick your favorite. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
VA - 1999 The Newest Funky Brutalizm
CD1: Part 1 - Part 2
CD2: Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Haven't been to BCN since 2002, I just know it got more and more expensive to live in. By then these labels were rather off, some dropped off, some moved to Berlin and the market focused there.
Fucking Consumer
Erinnerungen eines Psychonauten
Something strictly for the german-speaking, a document by the Man himself, prof. Albert Hofmann, recently deceased (age 102).
Read some stuff for him here and here.
This autobiographical book can be found in English here.
This CD was released in Cologne's Supposé in 2003, a label specialized in spoken word CDs by highly influential personalities and experimental music (a lot of Brinkmann). Here is the label site. Not my rip, but once more I don't remember from where I've got it.
Albert Hofmann - Erinnerungen eines Psychonauten
Von der Entdeckung entheogener Drogen
Here.
Info (in german) here.
Albert Hofmann has been the equivalent of a cultural grandfather for entire generations of people in the west world, whether they know it or not. Rest in peace and thank you for all, Herr Professor, you did a great job.
Elements Of Life
A techno landmark, the first LP from the original line-up of The Advent, that is Cisco Ferreira and Colin McBean aka Mr.G.
Dark and fast and robotic, Detroit- and speed- influenced techno and cold stellar electro dominate musically this release, although subtle dub and funk influences are traceable throughout the whole thing. It influenced deeply the evolution of hard, funky techno during the '90s with blueprint cuts like 'Mad Dog' or 'Bad Boy', still almost every track has a proposition to suggest, from the self explanatory 'It One Jah' to the futuristic 'City Limits'.
Later they released a second LP which was buried by their then label (Internal) and then they splitted. Mr.G moved towards a more soulful house direction, while Ferreira retained the name and founded Kombination Research through which he releases much of his stuff and others as well (*), working for a long time towards an even darker and heavier version of their paradigm when it comes to techno. The level of his productions is always top and he's rightly considered an icon in european techno, leading many festivals, etc., on the other hand I occasionally feel he is repeating himself a little. Of course his Gigolo experiments were interesting, I prefer though his cold dark electro cuts in the occasional Kombination 12''. Lately I sense he's trying to redefine himself, which is always an interesting thing to watch.
It's sad that in none of their personal sites Ferreira and McBean don't link each other, as if they have a grudge or something.
This is an old rip from the 4x12" vinyl version. There is also a remix project for this one (which I haven't managed to find). If anyone is interested in more from The Advent let me know, I have some of the albums.
The Advent - 1995, Elements Of Life 4x12''
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
