EXQUISITE CORPSE レコード& CD

Review: Robbert Heynen aka Exquisite Corpse served up one of last year's finest EPs with his Integration 12". Now though he has opened up his superb archives and invited the one and only Greek maestro Anatolian Weapons to set to work reworking it for this fresh new four-track EP on Transmigration. It's a deep and dubby affair to start with on 'Honeymoon' (Definitive mix) while 'Calling The Quarters' (Beauty Below mix) is awash with trippy electronic lines and shimmering pads. 'Outlandis' (Deep Anatolian mix) is a heavy, percolating bit of elongated electronic dub with 'Chalice' (Secret Acid mix) closing down the EP with another slow and captivating rhythm made from jumbled parts and tribal drums.

Review: Dutch electronic legends Exquisite Corpse return with a new release for Berlin's Transmigration. The Integration EP features two tracks from their archive that Robbert Heijnen allowed the label to press on vinyl for the first time. Both tracks were produced with the late Debbie Jones; there's their typically cerebral tribal trance on "Adelaar", while the experimental "Possibility IV" is a more minimalist journey under Heijnen's Enkidada alias. On side B, the title track receives a remix by Anatolian Weapons (aka Dream Weapons/Fantastikoi Hxoi) which goes into serious mental overdrive.

Review: Platform 23's celebration of Exquisite Corpse wraps up with this fourth installment of visionary proto trance bubblers from the dream team of Robbert Henyen, Debbie Jones and Tim Freeman. As with the previous installments, they've picked choice tracks from across the spectrum of the PWOG-affiliated project's output, kicking off with a transmission from the debut release, "Honeymoon". Throughout the mood is loose and wigged-out, with a pleasant stew of New Beat, acid, house, trance and dub among the core ingredients flavouring this thoroughly early 90s dish. This is psychedelic dance music crafted before the genre boundaries were established to ruin everyone's fun - savour the vibe as we return to more freewheeling times once more.

Review: Platform 23 continue to explore the illustrious, intriguing archives of Exquisite Corpse with a third installment of early 90s gold. There's a pronounced trance edge to Robbert Heynen's productions here, all captured in that heady period between 1992 and 1994 when the tag stood for some of the trippiest dance music you could hope to get lost in. "Point Zero" is a forthright stomper laden with lysergic tones that morph and modulate over the driving rhythm section. "B K S" sports a jazzier tone that aligns it more with deep house than trance, but it's still geared towards maximum immersion. "Traditional Ties With Dreaming" is a more angular piece that emphasises interlocking percussive rhythms with a tribal techno bent, and "Elevator" rounds things off with a swooning slice of impeccable ambient techno.

Review: Following the excellent first installment of archival material from former Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia's Robbert Heijnen, Platform 23 return with another four stunning digs from the vaults that further flesh out the mysterious allure of this singular artist and his peak early 90s era. "Shadow Play" manages to be many things at once - bumping late 80s deep house, dubby rhythm study, spine-tingling proto trance, and much more besides. "What A Life" has a more techno-minded tint to its programming and sequencing, but it's still definitely on the eyes-closed trip-out trajectory as it snakes its way through thick plumes of pad. "Sacrifice" puts rattling percussion at the front of the mix to create an exotic, outernational feel, and "Tepu" takes things heavier with a submerged tribal beat underpinning a murky low end throb and dubby processing.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: It's been a while since we saw a decent reissue of material relating to Psychick Warriors Of Gaia, and no doubt there's plenty of great material to mine out there. Thankfully Platform 23 are on hand and turning their attention to Robbert Heynen's work as Exquisite Corpse, which peaked in the early to mid-'90s. Drawing on a range of EPs from that time, Between Rhythms I is loaded with heady, psychedelic fare hovering in a liminal zone between primal techno, proto trance and something more mystical altogether. "Inner Rhythm (Higher World Mix)" is a prime candidate for wigged-out dance moves and eyes-closed reveries, while "Kupuri" takes things slower and deeper. "X-Out" is a minimalist, rugged, acid-flecked beast, and "Sitting In A Tree (Time Flies)" presents the kind of off-kilter techno you might expect to hear from Terrence Dixon.

Review: After the expansive run of eXquisite CORpsE EPs on Platform 23 last year, Robbert Heijnen and Debbie Jones' project gets another fresh airing under the XqST guise. The seductive rhythmic incantations gathered on this release were largely recorded in 2003 in Vancouver, once the couple's children were in bed. Quite what the junior XqSTers would have made of the transcendental drum loops emanating from their parents' studio is anyone's guess, but the quality is remarkable. Dense and foggy in atmosphere, but with a sharply defined percussive angle at every cycle of every loop, this is another wonderful document of the often overlooked work of this singular pair of drum obsessives.