Dream Injections

Well... I was planning a big post of the Dream Injection epic; a crossover series of Sub-Terranean, showcasing Europe's darkest electronic tendencies of the second half of the '90s, Spanning in six volumes (typically of 2CDs, while Vol.5 is a 3CD release), the series focused more on IDM-ish electronics, yet also included everything from dark ambient to trance. Most (if not all) of the stars of that time were included there in their various pseudonyms, so it's difficult not to find at least some of the tracklists attractive.

While searching around for similar posts around the web (a habit I have to get back to, as it seems), I noticed that there are all of them posted at Deep-And-Beat, so go there and down them all and enjoy. Heartily recommended.

Now I have to think of something else. Hmm..

Datcha Studio

Two compilations full of artists from eastern and central Europe, compiled by Jean-Marie K., for Le Maquis.

Including works from the finalists of Radio France International's contests 'Prix RFI Musiques Electroniques', with Ludovic Navarre and Laurent Garnier in the chief jury positions respectively, it's a honest attempt to capture the multi-faceted 'sound' of ... half-a-continent or so. The project brings in mind certain french releases, with their glossy productions and eclectic, semi-intellectual approach to 'ethnic' sounds; which in this case means a lot of strings and unidentified vocals. On the other hand, it brings forward several direly neglected heroes of european electronics like Random Logic and Octex (see here for more), while post-breaks, loungey downtempo sounds have the biggest representation with shining stars like Yonderboi or Alexandroid (also mentioned here).


VA - 2002 Datcha Studio
Info here.


VA - 2003 Datcha Studio Vol.2
Info here.

Utopia. The Big Chill

This is a mixed compilation by Miss Elke K. and Henny V., an obscure DJ duo also going by the name of Dutch Ambient Federation; out through Guardian Angel, a trancey sub of Basic Beat.
With a cover pointing to just another mediocre compilation of easy listening 'balearic' music and an equally unexplainable title, the CD contains two mixes, one from each of the DJs.

The first mix by Elke K. partly borrows from the british tradition of chill-out DJing, yet without resorting to sloppy fem-vox stuff or anything like that, keeping the tones down and (like most successful female DJs) aiming for the heart with sentimental tunes and rich melodies. With tracks from the likes of Dr.Atmo & P. Namlock, Dub Tractor (*), Neotropic and A Reminiscent Drive, it's great for coming down, which probably was the purpose after all.
The second part on the other hand is a rather darkish, more abstract and experimental excursion, including some obscure tracks and highlights from Chain Reaction's one-off Ridis, Experimental Audio Research vs. Thomas Köner, Wolfram Spyra, etc. I could have actually named this post "What were they thinking?" judging from that 2nd part; if this is Utopia, what would Dystopia sound like I wouldn't know. Besides the more unconventional tracklist, this one doesn't flow that well as a mix but most of you will probably like it anyway.

VA - 1997 Utopia. The Big Chill
mixed by Elke K. & Henny V.
Info here.

Digital Disco

This is ForceTracks' (*) disco vision; german techno and minihouse icons combine the original dance archetype with their repetitive rhythms, trying to build what they obviously hoped to be the new hyped resurrection. History proved that their bet was misplaced, still some efforts were genuine and still sound interesting. Others did worse; also, some tracks in here have little to do with disco (like that Swayzak exclusive). Interestingly, many of the relatively unknown artists contributing in Vol.2 later became really well known in the electro house circles. Anyway, I think that as compilations go they're good; and also tacky, cheesy, or kitsch - call them what you want.

There was also a later 3rd part, mixed by Unai, but I never did persuade myself to buy it.
.

VA - Digital Disco (2002)
Info here.


VA - Digital Disco 2 (2003)
Info here.

Microfunk Klickhouse

While on that trip, here's a 2CD compilation by techno devoted distributor Neuton, presenting a multitude of artists from their labels cluster to define the (2003) cutting edge sound of ... (insert fanfare) ... Microfunk. Or Clickhouse. Microhouse, maybe. Noticed the initials? Anyway. I was going to post Akufen's track (that appeared as an extra in the 2nd print of his 'My Way' album, as noted here), then decided to post the whole compilation anyway.

The thing is, gathered here are artists from the rosters of Force Inc., Perlon, Boxer, SubStatic, etc., etc.; most of them have been presented through this blog before, so just check the tracklist. CD1 focuces more on techhouse a la Forcetracks, while CD2 delves more into mini-techno and occasionally experimental territory. In all, a representative comp of the tendencies of the time; once more, it's easy to recognize here the blueprint of what shortly became mainstream everywhere.

It was really weird to see Neuton crash (as was with EFA earlier); its labels did at that time really well; most of them still do, after all.

VA - 2003 Microfunk Clickhouse
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

Four times I wrote and erased the above text, took me more than an hour; which probably reveals more for the state of my mind during these last weeks (I'm working two office jobs overtime...) than a genuine oh-so-blogger-like gut spilling would do. Sorry for any delays in requests, keep annoying me for what I promised; assume I've forgotten everything.

Blue Skied An' Clear

Another quality Morr Music compilation; check that post first for more info.

It's actually a tribute compilation to Slowdive; in CD1 Morr artists do covers of their tracks, in CD2 there are original tracks inspired by them. Purists might not like it, no many wall-of-sound guitar sounds in here; most of the tracks are simplistic and transparent sound-wise and retro-electropop stylistically. But the dreamy/smokey spirit is still there, bittersweet vocals dominate and Slowdive's influence on this scene becomes apparent, more notably in the second 'originals' disk.

VA - 2002 Blue Skied An' Clear
CD1 - CD2
Info here and here.

This was a request, yet I was planning on posting it at some time anyway. Enjoy.

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

Eurobeat Club Classics

And for the post #400 another 3CD box, this time from british Kickin Records, bringing together the 'Eurobeat 2000 Club Classics' compilations. That is, just Vol. 1, 3 and 4 (don't ask me why Vol.2 was left out...). And this is open air music in my opinion, but anyway.

The hideous covers of the originals at first repelled me; and the title was totally misleading as far as I am concerned, as here in Greece we used the 'Eurobeat' tag for those cheesy, post Italo-house or eurotrance tracks that popped up in the commercial charts during the early and mid '90s. But no, this is a collection of hard acid anthems, techno, hardcore, and jacking house from all over the world; the sound that dominated many many dancefloors, warehouses and fields across Europe (hence the title, I guess) and that Kickin was apparently trying to summarize/introduce to british ears.

(see P.S.2010/04/26)

Once again, this is a compilation for those that were not 100% into this kind of 'club' music. Most of the hits are so obvious, some of the rest sound really dated (especially from CD1) and there are no rarities in here. But it works well as a reminder of those times and was really convenient for CDJing; so many classics to choose from, in a neat pack. I'll just point out the Dave Clarke's Red tracks, Mike Ink's 'Paroles', the Mike Dearborn classics and that timeless Heckmann 'Amphetamine' epic.

VA - 1994 Eurobeat 2000 Club Classics Vol.1
Info here.

VA - 1996 Eurobeat 2000 Club Classics Vol.3
Info here.

VA - 1997 Eurobeat 2000 Club Classics Vol.4
Info here.

Box info here.

P.S. 2010/04/27: Thanx to MB, here's Vol.2 as well.

VA - 1995 Eurobeat 2000 Club Classics Vol.2
Info here.


P.S. 2010/04/26: Forget (most of) the above. Thanks to shadow's comment and after some digging, I realized that Eurobeat 2000 was a club night run by Frankie D, hosted in various venues in London during the '90s. Also functioned as a short-lived label (check the Greenhaus track, #9 in Vol.3). Makes more sense that way; but I still think it's an unfortunate name.
Concerning active links, I found only a Facebook account and a site concerning his recent more-Goth-than-techno club activities through Flag Promotions. On the other hand, Eurobeat 2000 gets mentioned a lot in many artists' appearances lists.

Met@music

Force Inc. 200 (and its later CD version presented here) was a compilation showcasing the Force Inc.'s minimal techno tendencies of the time, probably as an introduction with the US market in mind.

I jumped on the Force Inc. train rather late; probably through Heckmann and the acid trail. Even though I knew some of the other artists from the early days, the multitude of pseudonyms had its effect on me. Anyway, there were no discogs back then and without the 12'' press releases, a full magazines' library and/or an encyclopedic record collection you just couldn't identify anything. I guess that even local record shops' owners didn't knew what they ordered half of the time (and that's another reason why distributors were so powerful those days). Eventually I started recognizing the sound of each of the artists behind the alias, unconsciously most of the time, then to grab everything that had the Force Inc. logo on it; especially through the late '90s deep and tech phase.

Most of the oldschool is here: Heckmann, the Voigt bros., Babicz, Elhers, Gez Varley. But emphasis is given to the then-still-rising mini techno US scene, with artists like Kit Clayton, Sutech, Stewart Walker, Tomas Jirku, Twerk, Jake Mandell and Cytrax label chief Jasper (for those who follow the current 'minimal' trends, his Silent Servant guise should ring a bell). Also included is Vladislav Delay's most dry track ever and a sweet click lullaby by Donnacha Costello.

Personal favorites are R.Voigt's oldschool deep rider, Heckmanns' manic tool and this bleeping, entrancing cut-up epic by Jasper and Kit Clayton. At the time I considered it to be a weird compilation, a collection of cold tool tracks; it was rather too minimal for me. I was into strong synth melodies at the time, too much electro for the clubs and dub techno for chillout. Yet I grew accustomed to it eventually and even played a couple of the aforementioned tracks now and then (if I'd got it on vinyl, I'd play definitely more).

VA - 2001 Met@music
Info here.

Considering the course of nowdays techno, this compilation was a bit prophetic. I always felt that the sound of contemporary minimal techno lies closer to early '00s US/Canada efforts like the above or, say, Akufen, than in those so-hyped Hawtin's earlier works; and Force Inc. was the medium that brought them into Europe's attention and established them commercially (as Tresor had done for the earlier Detroit pioneers). I may be wrong, of course.

True Spirit

Three CDs are barely enough to cover the label's repertoire; consider it as an extensive 'best of..'. The track list is a fan's dream and accurately representative of the label's course through history. As for the booklet, it's more than informative if rather self-praising (yet we'd expect that); works as a much needed companion for those who haven't dug into the Tresor vaults yet. For the rest, most of the tracks you'll have or already know; there are some unreleased mixes and out of print stuff anyway.

I had to buy my copy used (it sold out quite fast, I guess) and only much later did I realized that there were things missing from inside (sticker, booklet, etc.). Bastards...

VA - 2001 Tresor Berlin. True Spirit.
CD1 - CD2 - CD3 - booklet
Info here.

10% File Under Burroughs

A tribute to William S. Burroughs, the most famous junkie ever. Or one of the most influencing contemporary artists, who incidentally left his mark on almost every aspect of expression concerning art in the second half of the 20th century; take you pick.

Unsurprisingly, a Sub Rosa release (also see the 'Hashisheen' post). CD1, named 'Beats', focuses on electronic works influenced by his work; heavy and dubby experimentations, mostly illbient-like stuff. CD2 ('Beat') captures the sound he and his buddies enjoyed, created and/or promoted; expect a lot of archival material, ancient chants, poetry reading and similar stuff.

VA - 1996 10% File Under Burroughs
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

I found out that a WSB documentary is on its way...

Flux Trax

A very handy compilation of late '80s and early '90s tracks I used to always carry with me wherever I played. No rare tracks in here; still it had proved to be so helpful that even though I eventually bought some of the original 12"s (for a lot of money, concerning their shape and condition...), a couple of years ago I tracked down and bought the 4LP version as well, just for the convenience of having so many classics in a pack.

VA - 1995 Flux Trax
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

There was a Vol. 2 released later I once encountered but passed by; sounded too trancey for me at the time.

Maschinelle Strategeme

Extremely abstract clicky and drony electronics compilation from Ritornell, Force Inc.' s weirder than weird sub. For fans of Mille Plateaux and Raster-Noton, all the usual suspects are here doing their stuff.

Not for everyone, I should point out.

VA - 2000 Maschinelle Strategeme
Info here.

Intuition. Remixes

The project of Jürgen Kühn and Antye Greie-Fuchs or AGF, here in a compilation of remixes where various respectable members of the electronic community (see Pole, Coldcut, Rechenzentrum, M.Schaffhauser, Phoneheads, Gonzales) contribute their interpretations of the experimental, post-pop sound of Laub and Kitty-Yo.

Not so arty as AGF's later solo attempts, I'd say.

Laub - 1999 Intuition. Remixes
Info here.

Interference. Live at Love Parade '94

Compiled by Dr.Motte and with an impressive tracklist, this compilation of live recorded tracks contains mostly experimental ambient excursions with the compulsory acid twists of the time.

I realize now I might had a rather skewed image on what the infamous Love Parade meant in the past. I've mostly considered it to be all about dreadful euro-trance and commercial hyped stuff. The depiction of the small freaked bunch of early '90s ravers in 'We Call It Techno' didn't changed much my opinion - I bet it wasn't like that later on. But this one always troubled me; if it really mirrors the old Love Parades' spirit, then all Berliners were lucky and I'm really sorry I missed those days.

VA - 1995 Interference. Live at Love Parade '94
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

Miscellaneous

Downtempo breaks and dubby ambient electronics in a showcase compilation of Language material - a Crammed Discs sub.
Dopey and relaxed trip hop at first, occasionally ethnic-tinted; then some more kinetic tracks, then some more abstract trips; mostly british stuff, as you might have already guessed. Includes contributions by Ian Pooley (the reason I bought it in the first place), David Toop, Endemic Void, Circadian Rhythms and a host of (even...) less known producers. Sounds a bit aged, still it has its good moments.

VA - 1995 Miscellaneous
Info here.

fax collaborations & remixes

I was reading some Ultra-red writings, while listening to some of their free stuff - both audio and text highly recommended (start with this one). And I remembered this album.

Tijuana's Static Discos are mostly known for their incredible Murcof releases. This one here though is a compilation of tracks by Ruben Alonso Tamayo aka Fax, another key label artist and owner of (now inactive) digi-label Cyan Recs.

Tracks are mostly remixes, by guys like Jonas Bering, Mike Shannon, Portable, Bern/Molair, Milimetrik and of course his the aforementioned compatriots; plus collaborations with Alex Ayuli (!!!), Karras and label-mates Pepito. Lots of spaced-out experiments, side by side with post-Cologne french and canadian mini techno; dubby melancholy and hi-tech trickery in a weird blend, moods shifting towards the isolated and surfacing back again. It's not an easy album over all, without being too abstract on the other hand.

It won't stay up for long; it's relatively new, the label's small and needs all the support we can give them; after all, they seem really cool guys. Listen to it, then go buy their stuff.

fax - 2005 Collaborations & Remixes
Info here.

The Great Gigolo Swindle

For Gigolo's 50th release anniversary, they issued a small book designed by Abuse Industries, accompanied by a mix by Carlos Souffront and narrated by Brendan M. Gillen of Ectomorph, radio-style ('...on WCBN FM'). 'Crush Collision' show includes full interview with the CEO of Gigolo (...) praising his label and its 50 year history (.?.?.), answering to listeners' phone calls, etc.

Besides (or despite) the voice-overs, expect nothing more than one of the best Gigolo-related mixes, totally in the spirit of the time and with respect to all aspects of the label's sound. As for the book, grab it where you find it, it's excellent work; but take very good care of it. Unfortunately it was very poorly constructed; it fell apart very soon after I bought it (and without much handling...) and the same thing happened to all other copies I've seen.

VA - The Great Gigolo Swindle mix (2000)
Info here.

The mix is split in four parts. For the track-list check the re-release here.

Cashier Escape Route

The compilation that got me into Berlin's labels like Morr Music, Lux Nigra (and of course CCO), specializing in early-Autechre-like and post-pop electronics.

Just check the discogs' tracklist. Irresistible artists, classic tracks, excellent artwork... what more can one ask? Totally recommended.

VA - 2000 Cashier Escape Route
A City Centre Offices compilation
of supermarket music
Info here.

Related stuff already posted here: *,*,*,*,*,*

Electro Breakdance

Oh well... They've been playing in my headphones for some days now, so...

All late '70s-early '80s classics packed together in four CDs - a blend of hip hop, disco, electronic funk, in short what we were soon to call 'electro' (now it's just 'oldschool'). You'll possibly know most of them; if you don't, you have to listen to these. To tell the truth all sound a bit old, some even a bit kitsch, but don't be fooled; many are simply unsurpassed. For me it works as a snapshot of this era, a study in those 'primitive' (yet so effective) techniques and a recognition nod to its influence on dance music.

These are our roots, after all.

(And they make me feel like a twelve years old again...)


VA - Electro Breakdance 1 (2002)
The Real Old School Revival
CD1 - CD2
Info here.


VA - Electro Breakdance 2 (2002)
The Essential Old School Revival
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

Vol.2 CD 1 track #13 just wouldn't rip.