Of all the Carl Craig (*) related projects I know, this is the only one I truly have mixed feelings about. Still, it's not a Carl Craig record per se, so I'll put my doubts aside.
This album is the second one in a project that started with the Philadelphia Experiment'; attempting to "fuse the new and old musical elements of the motor city". So, basically it's full of soulful, jazzy funky trips with lots of brass and string, clashing with more 'contemporary music' forms (see: a few synths and drum machines plus rapping). The outcome favorites the live drumming and improvisational trumpet performances far more than its 'contemporary' elements - so it's okay if you're into that. On the other hand, others have managed to fuse such elements much more effectively, in my opinion as always; even Craig himself did better in his Innerzone Orchestra project.
Here it is anyway, draw your own conclusions. This was a request. Released through Ropeadope and Rycodisc for Europe; vinyl was released through Planet E. There were later released a couple of 12"s, as well as some interesting 'Think Twice' remixes through Juno Records, the most notable ones by Henric Schwarz.
The Detroit Experiment - 2003 selftitled
Info here and here.
The Detroit Experiment
Musique Legère
Trance Groove are a groovy band from Cologne's oldschool underground; band as in the old sense of the word (guitars, drums, etc). Here is a compilation of remixes by many well- and less-known artists from more or less the same scene like The Bionaut (*), Kreidler, M.Schaffhäuser (*), etc. Chilled daytime organic music.
Trance Groove - 1999 Musique Legère
Info here.
I remember to have an LP in mp3 form somewhere, with an excellent remake of Nico's 'Im Reich der Träume'; if anyone's interested let me know.
In Time
The last couple of years have thankfully brought me in touch with the vast amount of pure quality music coming from Japan, mostly through Mule Musiq and assorted labels' releases (and thanks to Kompakt's distribution); a vast field left unexplored to most of the rest of the world until recently. And what a shame that was, since it seems that over there we might trace all creativity that somehow seems to have become rare in the more traditionally active scenes of Europe, UK, etc. And I'm really happy that those guys have finally been recognized for their high quality productions, their deep knowledge of music history and excellent artistic sense. I only have to name Kuniyuki Takahashi, Tokyo Black Star or the mighty Force Of Nature as examples. And surely Kaoru Inoue, here as Chari Chari. He recently became very well-known through the Todd Terje disco remix of 'The Secret Field'; this is from 2002, but his discography goes much further back.
So few info I've found around the web on this one that it makes you wonder (it's not even mentioned in his personal site). But it's a wonderful, wonderful album, on occasion deep and tranquil / organic and beautiful / weird and mysterious. With excellent artwork I should add, a well-printed booklet and everything; such a pity all I found was this tiny pic.
Even though certain tracks would fit perfectly in such a set, it's not just another nu-disco record. It could be hastily classified as 'lounge music', but its multitude of influences referenced, the complex instrumentation and impeccability of performance and production set it far apart from the multitude of homogenized, ethno-sampling crappy 'music for restaurants' CDs that flooded the market at about the same time it came out (which might be a perfect reason why this rather excellent album went so unnoticed).
For similar stuff, I'd recommend the Mule showcases 'I'm Starting To Feel OK' and 'The Definitive Japanese Scene Vol.1', as well as Innervisions' 'Muting The Noise 01' compilation. Don't miss this one.
Kaoru Inoue presents Chari Chari - 2002 In Time
Info here.
P.S.1 Courtesy of jasl, Chari Chari's 'Spring To Summer' album here (MediaFire link). Thanx again man.
P.S.2 Original post 2010-03-05.
Gigantic Days
I'm sure I had 'Desert Scores' somewhere, can't seem to find it though. For the time being, here's Ian O'Brien's second album, once more through Peacefrog. Weirder than its (classic) debut, it's all about deep funk, jazz and soft but groovy beats, for all lovers of the organic sound.
If you liked Carl Craig's more free and fuzzy moments, you'll like this one too.
Ian O'Brien - 1999 Gigantic Days
Info here.
P.S. Our good friend Musicus supplied us with links for the aforementioned 'Desert Scores', which I cannot find and will search for no more. Until I find the time to do a decent post, check them out here.
We Are Part Of Us And So Are You
Interesting disco, house and post-jazz electronic funk amalgam in this Sublime album from Max Brennan. A bit far from the current disco revival, it's fast, weird, complicated and really well-programmed.
(So it must be IDM. Because it gives you something to think about while shaking booty...)
Difficult at first, yet surely recommended.
Max Brennan - 2000 We Are Part Of Us And So Are You
Info here.
Programmed
Some more of Carl Craig; this time his Innerzone Orchestra combo's album, giving us some live weird-funk jazzy electronic vibes to enjoy and think about. Also out in a 5x10" box, through soulful d'n'b infected legendary Talkin' Loud.
It prooved to be his greatest step at the time - he later revisited many times this post-jazz sound and weird dance tracks with live (and live-sounding) instrumentation eventually became his trademark. Contains retakes on earlier classics 'At Les' and 'Bug In The Bass Bin'.
Innerzone Orchestra - 1999 Programmed
Info here.
Cinemix
On the same ground with the previous post, this is a compilation of music from french movies of the '70s remixed by contemporary artists. Some info on the project can be found in the discogs info page.
I had no clue at who the composers were when I bought it (Morricone is one of them, actually) - and I haven't heard the original material. But I'd noticed remixes from many names I liked (Carl Craig and Swayzak on beat mode, Christian Morgenstern, Luke Vibert, etc) so I had to have it. Most remixers come from the freestyle scene, french or otherwise, so you get a lot of breaks, be it straight hip-hop, drum'n'bass or loungey funk. Special appearances by Berlin-based crazies Mocky and Kitty-Yo's Gonzales & Taylor Savvy must also be noted as the weirdest of the bunch - but we wouldn't expect less, right?
VA - 2003 Cinemix
Info here.
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.
