First of all I'd like to wish a HAPPY NEW YEAR to every soul out there. Be happy and healthy and try for the best and take care of one another.
I sincerely cannot believe that a full decade has passed since the millennium turn. A date I was surprised to reach anyway... Well, 21th century is on its way for good. We've reached the Odyssey Two year. The future is here. Watch out for the real Big Brother.
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA.
ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE.
Chilling...
We're staying inside tonight, we're too close to due time for me to start dragging my lady around in dark dens of sin and depravity all night. So, I wish you lot to enjoy the occasion to the full and have a really great time. I had planned a (really) big post for tonight but during the last week my connection's coming and going all the time and nothing is uploading, so I'll give it a rest and spend the night quietly in the real world.
Blessed be.
2010. The Year We Make Contact
Volksworld
Second Steve Bug album, the last one in his own Raw Elements label. Techhouse with a lot of oldschool elements and spartan track structures; it's still house music though, deep, smooth and at times funky as hell. I really posted this one for the 'Big Cheese From Wisconsin' and the 'Rhodes Flash' tracks.
He's a good DJ for sure; not exactly my favorite producer, yet much respected and effective in club terms - I really liked some of his releases up to the 'Loverboy' era. Since then, he turned too much towards this (post-cocaine) variation of techhouse that was named 'minimal' (and really gets on my nerves, as you have established by now). The last 'Collaborative' concept sounds a bit better, still I'm not 100% convinced...
The thing I find more interesting, now that I listen to this one again after all these years, is how little his sound has changed through time. He's still playing the same stuff over and over again. He could have disguised this one as a new release, a 'going back to the roots' project, and very few people would have known. I consider it more a sign of creative stagnation, rather than a 'sticking to his sound' mentality. Still, many others of the deep house scene have followed his example and made careers out of it... Draw your own conclusions.
More Bug tracks here.
Steve Bug - 1997 Volksworld
Info here.
Music For Babies
Howie B.'s debut, jazzy trip-hop and ambient in a nice pack.
A lot of records have been promoted as 'music for babies'. Very few pass the test, actually; to be fair, this is not one of them. But it's a nice one to smoke and listen to.
Howie B. - 1996 Music For Babies
Info here.
Vibon
tbtmo is a Philadephia,PA.-based label, active for a decade or so, providing us a wide range of melodic electronics with pop references and an experimental edge (and a few sweet beat deviations). Not far from the sound of certain SF labels, actually; without the ear-bleeding elements though.
Once again, I know very little of them; their connections with Darla / Fuzzy Box might have been the only factor that made it possible for me to get to know them through a couple of CDs that slipped this way at about 8-9 years ago, when there was still a hype around here in the 'weird pop' department. Anyway, we're talking about artists like Sean O'Neal (that made an impact recently through his 'minimal'-tinted releases as Someone Else) and his Flowchart project; the brothers Mall, and Transient. Also, guest appearing in this one is Dntel as James Figurine.
I think I have a Flowchart and a Mall CD somewhere, if someone's interested let me know.
VA - 2001 Vibon CD comp
Info here.
Modulations - High Tech Soul
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For a long time I was searching for 'Modulations', Iara Lee's 1998 documentary on electronic music, in digital form (more info here). As far as I get it there was no DVD re-issue and I couldn't find a rip around the net, until now. For everyone with a decent connection, in this (new) site itechno.tv you can stream and watch it, instead of its drawbacks (focus on US stuff, absence of certain artists-catalysts, loads of drug-fueled egos, etc.) in the end it's worth the time spent. My favorite part is the whole FSOL interview.
There's also a rip from the AudioBforum guys around, though it's temporarily off. I'll try to get back to it later on.
Modulations (1998)
Stream: here on itechno.tv
P.S. The itechno site is off. I'll try to find another copy...cover.jpg)
Also posted on itechno.tv is a much more recent (and easily available to buy) docu on Motown techno, 'High Tech Soul'. Due to its more focused subject it delivers better overall, with a lot of interviews (and bitching) by famous Detroit artists and info on the city's history. A must for techno fans.
High Tech Soul (2006)
Stream: Part 1 - Part 2 on itechno.tv
Download either here (from BetterSoundsBelieving blog - zshare),
here (from TribalElectroDance blog),
or from here (RS links).
Original post: 2008-06-26.
Transporter
This is Christoph Reimann aka Transporter's first album in Source Records (*), lazy grooves and organic electronics in a jazzy trip.
Another example of this wonderful label's quality and diversity in material released, its post-jazz character might prove for some to be a bit hard to catch at first - just take your time with it. At other times it might feel like 'easy-listening' music; yet it never succumbs to easy solutions and commercial tricks, twisting where you wouldn't expect it.
If I could try a comparison, it also brings to mind the more recent Mule Musiq releases with the disco elements understated.
Transporter - 1999 st
Info here and here.
