Nearest Hits & Greatest Misses

A compilation of Derrick Carter remixes (also *,* and *). Genuinely weird and bumpy, rough yet classy reworks of originals by hit artists like The Human League, Tortoise, The Beloved, Modjo, Blair, etc. etc. A lot of them mixes were unreleased until then (see bootlegs) and most of them are vocal tracks. You'll love it or you'll hate it. Another Classic.

Derrick Carter - 2003 Nearest Hits & Greatest Misses
Info here.

Drop Out

So, I'll be away for a week or two. From time to time I might have limited net access but for sure no way of posting stuff, so check back after the 17th.

For those on holidays, I hope you have a great time and relax and everything. For those left behind, stay strong - you're holding the fortress, possibly. And for those far south, well, it's winter there so... stay warm.

Cheers.

When No One Is Watching, We Are Invisible...

An existential declaration like the one so blatantly stated in the title cannot hide the fact that this album contains a most emotional 'house' number with some of the best lyrics I've ever heard ('The Moment'), plus a bunch of other hits and good tracks of course. The third album from Jori Hulkkonen (*) manages to equal the 'Spirits' one in quality and atmosphere while reaching out for a broader audience at the same time.

Jori Hulkkonen - 2000
When No One Is Watching, We Are Invisible...
Info here.

Hamburgeins

A Ladomat 2000 (*,*) compilation presenting the early Dial Records sound (*).

VA - 2001 Hamburgeins
Info here.

Sadly in low bitrate, found somewhere around the net. A request, but also a compilation I'd like very much to have in its 3x12'' form.

The Spirits from Selkäsaari

More music from the beautiful north. Finn housemaster Jori Hulkkonen's first two albums, out through F Comm.

The debut balances between Chicago-like harsh beats and starry synths and deepness. 'Spirits' is just incredible, future house for the soul. Listen and learn.


Jori Hulkkonen - 1996 Selkäsaari Tracks
Info here.


Jori Hulkkonen - 1998 The Spirits Inside Me
Info here.

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.

Lido Hotel

And since we are more or less on the ForceTrack (...cheesy wordplay but I had to get it out...), an early collection of tracks by Ware owner Mathias Schaffhäuser, the first album both for him and the FT label.

Sentimental mini-techno, Cologne style, occasionally with vocals, plus a few downtempo tracks - including the majestic '6 Uhr Morgens', first published on Blaou (*). More varied than Schaffhäuser's minimal and club-focused later releases, it brings in mind early Kompakt records of the time.

Mathias Schaffhäuser - 1999 Lido Hotel
Info here.

P.S. I've always wondered about the 'original' Lido Hotel and how its name became so famous, as I've seen one in every country I've ever been. By googling it I realized there are so much more around the globe, especially in countries with latin-based languages. My first guess was from some old movie or something, then I came across this article.