From Russ Gabriel's label, here are the two compilations that along with the '[313] Soundtrack' should be enough to establish Ferox in our minds as a forward thinking label to respect and cherish. With tracks and remixes by the likes of Carl Craig, Derrick Carter, Bjørn Torske, Aubrey, Mark Broom, etc., etc., these are a must for all lovers of the '90s sound, be it techno, house or whatever.
The first one is in 192kbps, found around the net; the 2nd one is a typical 320kbps CD rip.
VA - 1996 Adventures In Techno Soul
Info here.
VA - 1998 Further Adventures In Techno Soul
Info here.
P.S. New 'Further' link added. I think it's OK this time; although I noticed that ripping took some extra time, so it's probably a typical damaged CD case. First posted 2010-10-24.
Adventures In Techno Soul
Pro Bono Publico
Another Vertical Form record (*), this one's a showcase compilation sold half-price, if I remember correctly.
Lots of abstract pop and post-rock goodies here, four great groups get three tracks each: Pan American (*), Hausmusik's ISO68, Corker/Conboy aka A.P.E. (I have that first album somewhere...) and Kim Hiorthøy of Smalltown Supersound. Serious, introvert and emotional music, organic and chilled - occasionally depressive, but that never hurt anyone, did it? (... It did, after all?)
Recommended for headphones.
VA - 2002 Pro Bono Publico
Info here.
N*A*O*M*B
Disco from Norway, out through british label Discfunction. There was also a 12" from this album, which I used to spin a lot some years ago, back-to-back with the LP version (I didn't really had that much discoid 12"s then).
Of the two partners in crime I know nothing, yet they seem to be off for quite some time now. Pity, as this is a funky, moving affair that manages on one hand to show the appropriate respect to the '70s without sounding retro at all (due to the ultra-crisp production), and on the other hand to slip in joyous feelings and party sounds without becoming cheesy. And btw, N*A*O*M*B means Nugatti All Ova Me Butty. How can you not love these guys?
Also check 'Fluffy The Vampire', a retake on a famous track for some curiously shaped clouds and stuff by ... The Bubble was it... The Ball... something round...
Olav Brekke Mathisen & Sideshow Jøgge - 2003 N*A*O*M*B
Info here.
Similar records to be posted soon.
(See, Musicus, I knew I had another one somewhere)
FBU: Recollections In Rare Altitude
I had sincerely forgotten this one. It was a no-cover used copy from the start, further abused by my 'gentle' touch back then - it skips by track#7 (I'm surprised it still plays , actually). I had a hand-written track list somewhere which I lost about two weeks after I bought it; so I knew nothing on either the label(s) or the artists involved anyway, except that it had a Stacey Pullen remix that draw me to it (track#7 once again).
I just liked the music in there a lot. I was deep into Detroit techno then, but still it touched me. House music from Norway... Repetitive, heavy, hedonistic music with organic feeling and psychedelic references - music for dancing and drinking and smoking shit and having fun (and how often do we encounter these qualities today?). And levels are set really high, production- and music-wise.
Thank the gods for discogs, I was happily surprised to found out who they were. That many of them are now widely recognized for their skills seems natural; we're talking about Rune Lindbæk (see Those Norwegians) and Bjørn Torske for example, while label owner Per Martinsen is Mental Overdrive of R&S fame. This album was a co-production of the HS recordshop and Per's (still active) Love OD Records. Who apparently had some connections with the Tellé guys and the Smalltown Supersound label and all the rest of Norway's underground stardom we possibly don't know about - a scene that eventually presented to us world famous artists like Royksopp and Lindstroem, or less famous ones like Skatebård. And which, due to its quality level, will continue to give us bunches of new faces we haven't discovered yet for a long long time, if I'm allowed a guess. So, I guess this is their old school presented here.
Similar stuff of the time that comes to mind? I'd name their neighbors Svek, for the weird disco tendencies and the crossover attitude. And Minifunk (*), for the repetitive funk fixations and the fun factor.
VA -1998 FBU: Recollections In Rare Altitude
Info here.
If anyone has more stuff like the above, let us know. It'll really be appreciated.
