leftfield REVIEWS
FOUND SOUNDS, PO Box 20437, London, SW16 2YJ
QUICKIES Visti & Meyland
Caitlin Rose
Leave Your Worries
Shanghai Cigarettes
7.0 Absolutely love the live strings on this slice of neo disco from Bear Funk, although with many great records from the era that this is trying to emulate, it’s zero points for the naff lyrics.
6.0 Like the kind of distinctly average, MOR country-pop you’d expect to hear on mid-morning Wogan, this single is thankfully saved by a beautiful, stripped-down acoustic version. Phew!
Marina
Black Dot White Spider EP
Bear Funk
Zombie Zombie
Sleepy Sun
Plays John Carpenter Versatile
ATP Recordings
9.0 As much a reverential homage to the seminal brilliance of composer John Carpenter as it is a blatant indulgence of their love of Can, Neu! and the purposeful, motorik joy of krautrock, the latest offering from this Parisian duo is something special. Taking the blueprints to a selection of Carpenter’s finest moments (including ‘Escape From LA’, ‘Assault On Precinct 13’, ‘Halloween’ and ‘The Thing’), they re-work the originals around an inventive, synth-laden kraut-disco framework to make something entirely new and entirely fresh.
Soil & Pimp 6.0
OK, so you can appreciate what’s happening here; the well-worn quest to remix a niche artist to a wider, more dance-based audience. Sometimes it works, sometimes it crashes and burns like the Hindenburg. On this occasion it’s a split vote, with a rather insipid re-work from Doc Daneeka and a bullyboy beats version from WAFA. Personally I’d say leave the poor little blighter alone. Don’t try to sanitise the crazy.
Little Dragon Slugabed 7.0
Falling somewhere between the rudiments of dubstep and the melodies of synth-led electronica, Slugabed construct a ridiculous ball-busting, flanging bottom-end affair that should test even the most balanced systems. Escaping the mulsh of bass for bass’ sake wannabes though, Slugabed manage to top the filth with a danceable rhythm and melody that should see this cross various scenes.
The Gaslamp Killer 8.0
Having long been an admirer of Mr Killer’s resplendent choice of facial hair, not to mention his mixtapes, beats and record collection, it’s good to know that the hairy beat-freak is now out and about spreading the good word through Flying Lotus’ concern Brainfeeder. Full of the usual electronic weirdness, heavy drumwork and general psyche-led, wigged out innovation, standout here is the brilliant Mulatu Astatke-inspired ‘When I’m In Awe’ (feat Gonjasufi). Nuts!
82
7.0
With an unlikely assortment of rappers, DJs and producers singing their praises (including Dr Dre, P. Diddy and Damon Albarn), it looks as though this Swedish duo have surreptitiously made that transition from niche to mainstream. And with singles like this propping up their arsenal, you can see why. They seem to have that balance just right. The real gold here, though, is SBTRKT’s pounding 4/4 remix of ‘Never Never’.
7.5 Recorded at the same time as last year’s ‘Junior’, ‘Senior’ has been described by Röyksopp as “the introverted, darker sibling who lives in the attic”. As descriptions go, that should give you some indication of where the three tracks on this sampler are coming from. Those of you looking for that instant, hooky, three-minute dance track need to move on, this is all about the duo’s love of a more graceful, considered, atmospheric kind of sound.
Justine & The Victorian Punks 7.0
Sounds like this should have come direct from the Ze stable in their heyday. Performance artist collaboration with producer equals a sassy spoken-word sojourn over a super-slick production. The result? Well, it’s definitely got a subtle production value about it, although for a little more meat on the bones try ‘Still You’ on the flip for a more drawn-out sax-led groove.
Ahu
A fine remix effort from the underrated Dimlite, who manages to add the necessary sparkle, glitch and jazz sheen to the Paul White-produced original. The arrangement is the biggest change with a minute-and-a-half Clav intro that immediately brightens the mix before dropping into rolling drums and lucid fx to transpose this into a more than worthy re-mould on the original. As ever with Dimlite, it’s an outside the box affair.
Possibly one of the hardest tracks to cover, especially as it comes from the pen of Sir Quincy of the Jones, is ably re-booted and suited from a certain TM Juke here. Military drums, the more than capable vocal of Basement Jaxx vocalist Sharlene Hector and tough Afro horn stabs definitely make this a standout cover version. And if that wasn’t enough, a hard-as-nails electro version of ‘9th Wonder’ also gets the Jack & Juke treatment. Large.
8.0
8.0
Röyksopp www.djmag.ae
7.0 A majestic follow-up to their last single (and a welcome peek into their latest album ‘Fever’), the psychedelic blues folk of ‘Sleepy Sun’ finds this Californian troupe in suitably fine fettle.
Names
Seeland
LOAF Recordings
7.5 With a genuinely varied set of mixes on offer, it’s actually mystery Swiss producer Ghostape who serves up the goods with his freaky interpretation.
KRUDER & DORFMEISTER G-STONE RECORDINGS 01. STEFAN GOLDMANN ‘The Maze’ Macro
“A bouncing beat and the swansong of a dying synth. One of the craziest records that still works on the floor this year.”
02. CHRISTIAN PROMMER DRUMLESSON ‘Oxygene (Alex Barck Remix)’ K7 “Doing justice to a classic and taking it to the next level.”
03. dOP ‘L’Hôpital, La Rue, La Prison’ Circus Company
“Those wicked Frenchmen made one of the best albums this year so far and this is one of the highlights. Deep, different and very musical.”
04. ÂME ‘Rrose Sélavy’ Innervisions
“This duo are constantly stretching the perception on what is possible on a dancefloor, and do so again with this gem.”
05. AXEL BOMAN ‘Purple Drank’ Pampa Records
“From one of our favourite labels of the moment. Entertaining, sexy and forwardthinking — a winning combination.”
06. MAURICE AYMARD ‘Put Some For Jules (Gui Boratto Mix)’ Galaktika “Like the deep dub-vibe of this track.”
07. MARTIN BUTTRICH ‘Tripping In the 16th’ Desolat
“Nice guy, excellent producer. This is from his recent album — reduced and sexy at the same time.”
08. NELSKI ‘Body Pop (Radio Slave Remix)’ Rising Music
“Very well produced dance tune with a little feel of jazz due to the repetitive piano sample. Radio Slave in effect again.”
09. LTJ EXPERIENCE ‘Love Is On My Mind’ Sleazy Beats
“The Italians are going more and more back to their cosmic roots. Lovely bastard track.”
10. SEAN BROSNAN ‘Sat Jam (Eddie C Remix)’ NeedWant
“Has something fresh, a very good track to start the set. Has just the right groove to make you move.“