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.
True Spirit
Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café
I had this one in some crappy mp3 form or another to listen to; until very recently, when I found a physical copy buried in a back shelf... So, it's a James Stinson production for Warp, leaning towards rather romantic directions; possibly his poppier stuff, without of course moving away from the electro norms that made Drexciya (*) so famous.
The Other People Place - 2001 Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café
Info here.
TRACK. Funk Electric
Quality electro funk compilation from the much respected Hydrogen Dukebox label, full of robo beats and oldschool electro UK-style.
Specials included are a Dopplereffekt-in-disguise remix for Scan X (*) , an Aux 88 (*) vs. Laurent Garnier 'Crispy Bacon', as well as a Mekon vs. Les Rythmes Digitales rework.
Label's own include Drum Club's Lol (see Girl Eats Boy), alongside A1 People (*), Metamatics, Omnivore, etc.
VA - 1998 TRACK: Funk Electric
Info here.
Kombination Phunk
I decided to post this low-bitrate rip I had buried in the comment's box long ago. It's the unmixed 4x12" version of an excellent compilation by The Advent (*,*,*), with a lot of crucial electro and techno tracks in exclusive edits by Ferreira.
A must for electro fans, as it contains two Dopplereffekt extended edits.
VA - 1997 Kombination Phunk 4x12''
Info here..
Better rips and/or the mix itself are of course more than welcome.
Goodlife Compilation Vol.1
A compilation from the golden age of french electro techno, also mentioned with some extra info here, summarizing Grenoble's top label Goodlife.
All the usual suspects are here: Kiko, Oxia, The Hacker, Vitalic as Dima, Naughty, Len Faki(*), plus less known but equally gifted artists like Arno Riva & DJ Speep (top 12''), Eric Borgo, Anthony and Evil C & (Dave) The Hustler. A bonus treat comes in the form of a Heinrich Mueller remix on a track from The Hacker.
VA - 2002 GoodLife Vol.1
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
There was also a 12'' with the unreleased tracks.
Moments of Joy
It's been some time since I REALLY wanted to go to a gig.
In a few days Dopplereffekt and Stingray are playing in my town.
I can't really believe it. I can't wait.
It's the simple things in life that make you the most happy.
Correction
It turns out that what I wrote in that post was crap and a vinyl version of 'Hypothetical Situations' does exist, available for sale here. I think for Drexciya fans it's a must-have release so if you missed it go there and get one, I just ordered mine. By the way, when someone detects an error like this one it wouldn't hurt to point it out, right?
The Drexciya Research Lab is doing a wonderful job on tracking the whereabouts of the Drexciyans and has been doing so for a long time, providing us in the meanwhile tones of geeky info and serious thoughts on each project. Surely a great way to spend some time reading while listening to the actual albums.
Magic Tracks
Compilation of timeless Detroit tracks by Juan Atkins, out in Pow Wow (NYC label that sometimes promoted the Detroit-Berlin axis). It's also noted here and here as the (lost) Tresor24CD, later four tracks were released here.
Tracks by Scan 7, Keith Tucker, Drexciya, Gerald Donald solo, Ron Cook of Audiotech, Eddie Fowlkes and Juan himself. Highest quality archetypal Detroit sound, you won't regret it. Personal favorites are the deepest techno soul ever 'Deepcover' track of Flashin' Fowlkes, the tech-trance-dub '21st Century' epic of Scan 7 and Infiniti's club classic 'Flash Flood'.
Despite the inexplicable cover and the problems with disc mastering (apparently no one did any, Fowlkes' track is non-existent) it's a classic. I recently noticed it's on sale for 30 euros, so it must be out of print. It's a pity.
VA - 1993 Magic Tracks compiled by Juan Atkins
Deep Detroit Volume Two
Info here.
Elektroworld
I noticed that most popular record in this blog has been Abstract Thought's CD. I knew it wasn't common, but didn't know how much. Guess I was lucky to find it then, and actually it was much later I heard it was a Drexciyan record. Since Stinson died, demand on records of related projects has grown to stellar heights. Which I really like, since they're really worth the attention. Still I think it'd be better if the labels start re-printing old numbers than us having to pay 200 euros just to be able to hear a 12'' from 1995 or something.
Anyway, I noticed that this 1995 project Elecktroids (releasing on Warp) also isn't too common on the share-net and it's been a loooong time since I've seen it on vinyl, so here it is.
Elecktroids - 1995 Elektroworld
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Biometrics
In the same vein with the previous post, Heinrich Mueller as Der Zyklus in 2004 releases this one in Clone's electronic (as opposed to electro...) sublabel D.U.B. Abstract dark ambient tracks flow thickly over a really interesting concept, yet still it feels that it's a solo effort, a little single-minded and simple. Of course only compared to previous and later efforts of the same people, full of the crossbreed of styles and ideas that characterize them. Still, it's a Drexciya Nation record.
Der Zyklus - 2004 Biometry
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
Linear Acceleration
Gigolo 99 vinyl release in 2003 presented two tracks of rare beauty by Dopplereffekt. The CD version that followed was a weird long play including these and four more.
Instead of the typical Drexciyan electro or the '80s retro sound of earlier releases, a more experimental approach was attempted. Two repetitive fully FXed dark & noisy abstract tracks of 21' and 14' duration each for a start, followed by a 15' ambient excursion into really deep space. Then the 12" tracks fall from the sky, full of analog synth beauty and melodies and weirdness. Borrowing heavily from the Berlin School of Kraut electronics, it's like they're out of a '70s soundtrack for a sci-fi film or a thriller, such as the ones Tangerine Dream members produced in plenty (check some of them here). The closing act is the more typical Drexciya one, sweet pads and soft arpeggios over a chopped, no bass drum electro beat. Overall it's a difficult album, with it's three quarters of being too weird for the average Gigolo fan and no beat at all.
A smart move of Mr.Hell, this one. Although experimentation was always a part of Gigolo mentality, it was only the second time a listening album was issued (after the Tuxedomoon one which didn't go well I think). Only Dopplereffekt could made this effort more accessible to the critics and interesting to the listeners at the same time.
After this one Gigolo tried to make a drastic turn towards more 'difficult', non dancefloor music, away from the '80s electro and oldschool techno norms (although there was always an appropriate remix available). The infamous NYC associated Gigolo Rock phase came along with the Fisherspooner releases and kept me away from Gigolo for some time (I liked the older ones more, no other reason). It's interesting though that after four years rock influenced electro still rules the market. Hell was making a leap forward then and soon others followed (he took no credit for that).
Still, this for me is the last release of the first era of Gigolo, even if it's an atypical one. And it's a Detroit affair. Check the vinyl if you find it.
Dopplereffekt - 2003 Linear Accelerator CD
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.
P.S. In Drexciya Research Lab, a different opinion is stated here on the reason of this album's inaccessibility.
Abstract Thoughts
Not much to say about this. Abstract Thought is another moniker of Drexciya, an one-off project released in Kombination Records (home of The Advent) in 2002.
Interestingly, it's a mostly 4/4 techno beat driven album, fully compatible with other releases of the Kombination label (though slower). Drexciyan electro funk is also included of course, all the custom fat sounds are here with an extra melodic, almost pop touch.
Yet it was not released in vinyl. I never understood that. Because of that it didn't got the support or recognition it deserved. (P.S. Correction here.)
Corresponding to each track a number of Hypothetical Situations are noted in the booklet. I'll transfer them here, along with the playlist. Consider this:
1. Bermuda Triangle
(What if the triangle pivoted over the island of Jamaica, what would become of the population?)
2. Synchronized Dimensions
(What if we existed within three planes of reality simultaneously?)
3. Me Want Woman's Punani
(What if for one week, male sex organs became petrified, how much punani could the average man consume?)
4. Consequences Of Cloning
(What if they cloned a perfect human specimen, but did they clone the perfect god given spirit for this specimen?)
5. Solar Pulse
(What if a solar flare ten thousands time larger than the average flare were emitted, how would this electromagnetic wave effect electrical and communication systems on earth?)
6. Galactic Rotation
(What if the galaxy were thrown off its normal cycle due to dark energy emissions from black holes?)
Abstract Thought - 2002 Hypothetical Situations
Info here.
