The Way Eye See

Late '90s techhouse, somewhere between Svek's minimalistic house excursions and the various US hybrids of house and techno, from Alexi Delano - who has of old built his reputation in creating soulful and deep tracks with dancefloor appeal and still releases quality stuff under various monikers, in collaborations and through various labels. This is an one-off project
through Germany's Plastic City, full of lush chords and groovy elements over tight and phat beats for house lovers with open ears.

A.D.N.Y. presents Leiva - 1999 The Way Eye See
Info here.

Share Vari

The song that started it all gets remixed.

A 2x12'' Puzzlebox release, trying to reinterpret an axiomatically absolute classic. You'll be the judge of whether it's successful or not, although it's sure you'll check it out.

A Number Of Names - 2001 Shari Vari Remixes
Info here.

Found around the net somewhere, sometime.

Pink Eyed Pony

Wonderfully titled, this is the only album by Crane A.K., a project known for its releases in ForceTracks (*) and a couple more 12''s in Poker Flat and Audiomatique. Teutonic techhouse that still sounds fresh, fat and groovy.

Crane A.K. - 2001 Pink Eyed Pony
Info here.

Tempovision

We've met Etienne De Crécy before in the Motorbass posts (*,*). Here's his last solo project, an album of great craftsmanship and undeniable beauty; I'll only say that it's kept me company for all these years without losing even a drop of its appeal.

Where 'Pansoul' was a nocturnal urban affair, this one is full of sunlight and melodies - expect slo-mo filter disco, electronic funk and breaks, plus lots of twisted synths and sensual voices. Its commercial success was rather easy to predict; it rightly deserved all the attention it got. I also posted the remix compilation released a couple of years later, mostly top notch french house at its weirdest, along with three included videos.

Although Zdar continues releasing stuff as Cassius, I've lost de Crecy's tracks. An early retirement, possibly?


Etienne de Crécy - 2000 Tempovision
Info here.


Etienne de Crécy - 2002 Tempovision Remixes
Info here.


Etienne de Crécy - 2002 Tempovision Videos

More from him later on.

The Music Hall

Spencer Kincey's last album as Gemini. See previous posts here for info and more.

After this one he disappeared, I don't know what happened to him. Sincerely, I had overlooked this one for years; then last week I played it in my car and it stayed there all these days on repeat mode.

Gemini - 1999 The Music Hall
Info here.

Adventures In Techno Soul

From Russ Gabriel's label, here are the two compilations that along with the '[313] Soundtrack' should be enough to establish Ferox in our minds as a forward thinking label to respect and cherish. With tracks and remixes by the likes of Carl Craig, Derrick Carter, Bjørn Torske, Aubrey, Mark Broom, etc., etc., these are a must for all lovers of the '90s sound, be it techno, house or whatever.

The first one is in 192kbps, found around the net; the 2nd one is a typical 320kbps CD rip.


VA - 1996 Adventures In Techno Soul
Info here.


VA - 1998 Further Adventures In Techno Soul
Info here.

P.S. New 'Further' link added. I think it's OK this time; although I noticed that ripping took some extra time, so it's probably a typical damaged CD case. First posted 2010-10-24.

The Beat Diaries

This is Luke Solomon & Justin Harris' debut album as the Freaks, through their own label named, eh, Music For Freaks.

Groovy house with electronic funk elements and attitude, raw and minimal technoid tools, occasionally aided by the quirky vocals of Stella Attar, it still sounds as if it was released yesterday - it's really weird that they don't even sell it through their shop. Anyway, it was a great start and a clear sign of the greatness to come.

Freaks - 2000 The Beat Diaries
Info here.

Unfiltered Sky

Here's the CD by David Alvarado & Kenneth Graham's project Sunkiss, appropriately released through Plastic City.

No time to write much. Check earlier post here for descriptions, though this one sounds more like typical Plastic City late '90s techhouse.

Lovely artwork, by the way.

Sunkiss - 1998 Unfiltered Sky
Info here.

Raw Elements Vol.1

A Superstition compilation of funky techno and house tracks with acid flavor, compiled by Steve Bug, showcasing early material, his and his friends - most notably Hans-Georg Schmidt of label mates Humate and old rave dog Fred Giannelli.

VA - 1995 Raw Elements Vol.1
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.

Lakeside

Estelle Montenegro is Kenneth Graham's alias for Electrolux, this one being his debut there.

I only have a couple of his 12" and the Sunkiss album; besides that I know very little about him; some info on HisSpace. The keyword here is techhouse; repetitive arrangements of traditional house sounds and themes, deep dubby treatments and (as far as I can understand) mostly hardware made. Closer to the mid/late '80s sound than to the over-produced '90s typical house stuff. Also some chilled electronic stuff in here, being an Electrolux record; but over all it's an uptempo album.

Estelle Montenegro - 2000 Lakeside
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.

Für Dich

You know my love for the Cologne scene. Well, here's the CD that established Kompakt in my mind as a fixation to love and cherish and Tobias Thomas (*) as a DJ to watch (eventually I had the chance to open for him during a beautiful night in Athens, but that's another story).

I had bought it without knowing anything about it or himself. I recognized only a few of the artists involved, I remember it was really expensive and I had no way of listening to it beforehand, but I took my chance - turned out to be a turning point for me, an epiphany and an example to look up to. From post-pop to hard club techno, from abstract synthetic tool tracks to jazzy vocal house, Tobias builds a rollercoaster of emotions, trippy ideas and bold proposals that stands the test of time, beyond hypes and cliches. For you.

Contains rare Gamat3000 original gem 'Feeling Love', Various Artists' Autechre remix (*), some early Kompakt classics ('Puma', 'Nachschub', etc.), subtle paean 'Check Your Buddah' from Ford/Melchior (*), Lali Puna's heavenly 'Superlotado', an uncredited intro, etc. etc. etc. And of course Vladislav Delay's monumental 'Huone', mixed so subtly that it took me a couple of years to understand how he did it.

It won't stay up for long, for the reasons stated here. Makes a good couple with this Mayer mix, yet this one is far more effective. And I hate cliches, but occasionally I have to use them: I cannot recommend it strong enough.

VA - 1999 Tobias Thomas _ Für Dich
Info here.

P.S. Link removed; you had your time. Go to any shop and buy it, it's worth 100%.

Circulation. Abstract Funk Theory

From Obsessive's Abstract Funk Theory series, this is the one compiled by Circulation (*); it's unmixed and, along with Carl Craig's, my personal favorite of the lot.

Tech, house and electro sweetness by artists already presented in this blog, like Carl Craig (*), Carl Finlow (*) and themselves; plus from The Timewriter, Atjazz, Touche!'s Jamez vs. H.P.Vince and an early Bushwacka!. Despite the compilation's global representation and chronological variety, it sounds tight and stylish without losing its clubbish character, allowing us a glimpse of the late '90s UK techhouse/ techfunk/ whatever sound.

Sounds good in the summer heat too; hadn't noticed that before.

VA - 2001 Circulation. Abstract Funk Theory
Info here.

Tec House Living

A groovy mixed compilation, the first of Jesse Rose back from 1998, through Subversive Records (also see the Liquid California compilation).

Showcasing what was commonly thought as the UK tech house sound, contains tracks by local heavyweights like Jamie Anderson, Dave Angel, Charles Webster, Cevin Fisher and a newbie called Vince Watson, plus a couple of highly influential guests like John Tejada, Maurice Fulton, Steve Rachmad and Orlando Voorn (with early classic 'Flash').

In all, a great track list and a lively mix, full of emotional and energetic house anthems with that extra techfunk touch. I remember playing in sets that Plastic Avengers/C.Fisher mix a lot, possibly the only time I did something similar (I had neither the tracks themselves nor a way to edit them yet). Freaks came out.

VA - 1998 The Deeper Sound Of Bristol presents
Tec House Living
Info here.

The Vault

He used to call himself Prince of Techno.

Well, I don't know about that. But the first time I heard 'When We Used To Play' I almost cried. I like his DJ style, hard and fast yet accessible and definitely sexy for the ladies. He played his part in the whole Detroit-Berlin thing, with his Tresor collaboration - I think he was the first one to go there to live and work and DJ. And his vocal contributions, his trademark and an example to many (the recent ones no less) are always interesting, either mood-fueled stoned whispers and deepnight mumblings, or mating calls and aggressive declarations. As a musician he's not the greatest you've listened to, but his tracks' power drive and his expressive persona are reasons enough to get you moving.

This is a Disko Bomb.
It's a house record; with its raw, percussive tracks spiced with disco samples and vocal snippets, the whole album points directly to Chicago. Still, he's an artist from Detroit releasing in a label from Munich, so things get complicated - he's quirky, rough and all-out house at the same time. Speed these tracks up and they fit in any techno set, can even be used as tools and blended together with little effort. House for bangers, fit for DJ Hell's sets. The 'techno' label underneath is there just to give you a hint of this.

When I first heard it, I honestly didn't like it much. As time passes, while its age is showing, I feel I get it better now in a way. It's not rare, but I don't remember to have seen it anywhere, especially around the share net.

Blake Baxter - 1995 The Vault
Info here.

P.S. I was informed that the rip had accidentally been a 128kbps one, so I re-uploaded it in 320. First posted 2009-06-18.
P.S.#2 Link updated

Defender

Some more from Svek (*), a compilation by owner (I guess...) Stephan Grieder - see Air Frog, Birdy.

You should know what to expect by now; kicks in with breaks-based and deep tracks, later goes housey. Satisfaction guaranteed, and all that.

VA - 2002 Svek. Defender
Info here.

Hoodlum

A vinyl only '90s Hood album, out through his own Drama label. Similar to his Nighttime World LP (*), it combines house sounds with jazz elements and his trademark minimal interpretation of techno, with excellent results as expected.

A 256kbps rip from vinyl, ripper unknown.

Robert Hood - 1988 Hoodlum
Info here.

Soundclash

If you liked the 'Echoman' album posted here, here's a mix of some of their tracks and remixes that Chicken Lips did for Kingsize and the DJ mag. Typical early CL stuff, includes timeless epic 'He Not In'; sadly in shitty one-track-per-mix format.

As for the Switchcraft part... I never managed to listen to in full. Someone might like it though.

VA - 2001 DJ & Kingsize Records present
Chicken Lips / Switchkraft Soundclash
Info here.

Nighttime Worlds

A couple of masterpieces from the man himself; some his more out-of-the-box moments (and rather hard to find in decent prices), drawing from Detroit techno-funk as well as from purer forms of funk, soul and jazz. In my mind, these albums are his tribute to the pre- and post-WWII nightclubs, evoking the spirit of those places where black music tradition was cultivated. Vol.1 is raw and beat-oriented, trying certain things yet retaining its techno-house character; Vol.2 is more multi-faceted and sophisticated, possibly Hood's best work music-wise, a work of beauty and power.

I was been playing Vol.2 for some time in my HPs when I saw that 'Internal Empire' (*) was reprinted; I decided to remove the posted link and to post these instead. So, enjoy.
.

Robert Hood - 1995 Nighttime World Vol.1
Info here. (LP rip)


Robert Hood - 2000 Nighttime World Vol.2
Info here. (CD rip)