I Don't Like Music

A tribute to Telex, the late '70s futuristic electro disco pop band from Belgium, from the likes of Carl Craig, Matthew Herbert, I:Cube, Ian O'Brien, Glenn Underground, Antony 'Shake' Shakir, etc. More or less a housey affair, contains some interesting covers and a few gems.


Telex - 1998 I Don't Like Music
Info here.

Thanks to Musicus, here's Vol.2 as well:

Telex - 1999 I (Still) Don't Like Music. Remixes Vol.2
Info here.

Thanx man.

P.S. First post 2010-04-21

Channel 1 & 2

The first two compilation of Trevor Jackson's Output label (*).

A peak at the tracklists should convince you; the obvious hits are there (LB, DFA, BlackStrobe), but I'm sure you'll find something new to care about anyway, probably from the less known artists and most of it listening stuff. A few tracks in there I don't like at all (i.e. the worst Robert Smith impersonation by The Rapture singer), but that's a matter of taste as always.

A must for anyone who hasn't experienced 'The Difference' yet.


VA - 2000 Channel 1.
A Compilation of Output Recordings

Info here and here.

VA - 2003 Channel 2.
A Compilation of Output Recordings
Info here and here.

More Lush Life Electronica

Besides bearing the name of J.Burger's masterpiece (posted here), this is a compilation of soft and deep electronics out through Quango, compiled by Optimo's Pete Herbert (I hadn't noticed that actually, just found out through discogs).

Chilled, sweet, a bit oldschoolish, in other words perfect for the comedown (or just for after a too-full-of-crap day), it came out in 2001, yet most of the tracks here are pure mid '90s synthetic bliss. All involved here are more or less well known artists, most of them posted elsewhere in this blog (dig a bit), while many tracks come from vital releases in famous labels. I'll just mention Move D, Pub vs. Arovane, Steve Barnes aka Process (of FatCat and Traum/MBF fame), John Beltran, A.P.E. and labels like R&S, A.R.T., Pacific, Likemind, etc.

VA - 2001 Lush Life Electronica
Info here.

Supermodified

Here's a breaks album by brasilian Amon Tobin for Ninja Tune; a dark, intricate epic of sampling experimentation, haunting melodies and crossover attitude. A maximal experience, enhanced even further by the deeply emotive character of the tracks, it established Tobin's sound as totally unique and redefined his career as a cinematic quality producer; while at the same time regenerating my faith in breaks music in general and NT in particular.

Amon Tobin - 2000 Supermodified
Info here.

Are You Really Satisfied Now?

Electro pop with vocals and punk elements from Dakar & Grinser. Unsurprisingly, a Disko B record.

If you only know Dakar from his (beautiful) Get Physical release, you'll recognize the voice but few things besides that. The pop element was there from the start, but this one is not another techhouse album; it's a dirty, drunken praise of depravity and self-abandonment, straight from the dark heart of Munich. First cut 'Take Me Naked' is a timeless heavy, slow-mo electro epic, giving us an idea of what's to follow; most tracks share this twisted edge, using funk and breaks as the basis for acid experimentation spiced with distorted vocals on top. Includes an appearance by Miss Kittin, as well as a cover of Stooges' 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' that sounds ok, until the vocals kick in. And then there's 'Stay With Me' that went rather big for a bit, I think; should have sky-rocketed, in my opinion, as it's a pure pop anthem, full of sweet melodies and optimistic lyrics (and with a decent production...).

Michael Kuhn aka Grinser also was a member of the (rather similar although softer, music-wise) Grom duo.

Dakar & Grinser - 1999 Are You Really Satisfied Now
Info here.


P.S.In the meanwhile I found the promo CD single, with remixes by Patrick Pulsinger (also as an extra in the album), Abe Duque, Tobi Neumann, etc. Here:

Dakar & Grinser - 2001 Stay With Me (The Remixes)
Info here.

Remember Today

Some of the sweetest Cologne techno pop you might ask for. One of Italic's greatest and most understated propositions.

Borneo & Sporenburg are Frank Wössner and Daniel Varga aka Toni Mono in F Comm and Soda in Italic, one third of Playhouse's lovely Rework.

Borneo & Sporenburg - 2002 Remember Today
Info here.

All Access

Compiled by Carl Craig (*), this is a great showcase/promo for the free festivals held in Hart Plaza in Detroit, most notably DEMF; take a moment and check the really interesting Wiki link for its full history and for a good laugh (see the 'co-founder' on the cover above).

Detroit music as you know it. Contains 'On and On' mentioned in the Aril Brihka post and a couple of unreleased tracks by Random Noise Generator and Anthony 'Shake' Shakir; plus a 'Good Life' retake, Stacey Pullen's dirty epic 'Sweat', Theorem vs Swayzak's 'Day From Hell' etc., etc.

VA - 2001 All Access to Detroit's Music Festivals
Info here.

Deeparture In Time

An early neo-Detroit classic, from swedish Aril Brikha in Transmat.

If by chance or accident you've missed 'Groove La Chord' so far, a) this is your chance, and b) you must be living in some parallel universe and read this through a hole in space/time, after all. The rest of the album is not so different, as all tracks are live takes and revolve around the same deep Detroit theme.

This is the second version of this CD; for some reason I don't know Transmat first released that one in 2000; a year later came this, with a different tracklist. As if only to confuse us, Transmat has also released an EP with the same name (with two out of the three tracks that aren't included here). Anyway, the track 'On And On' will be posted very soon (P.S. here).

Aril Brihka - 2001 Deeparture In Time
Info here.