Review: Bushwacka deserves any plaudits that come his way. He was there at the birth of acid house and went on to foment his own take on tech house. He held a legendary residency at the End in London and of course dropped countless seminal tunes alongside Layo, not least their epic 'Love Story' mash-up. Now the acclaimed but still relevant UK veteran dives back into his roots to serve up the sounds that came before tech house with highlights that would have been heard at the time at parties like Heart & Soul, Release, The Drop, Vapour Space, and at venues like Heaven and The End. Skippy, dubbed garage and driving house all feature in a fine collection.
Single Cell Orchestra - "Transmit Liberation" (9:39)
DJ Prince Ice - "Freestyle" (5:22)
Trip Ta Funk - "Ruby's Flute" (Fresh Mex mix) (7:36)
Triple M - "Prisoner Of Passion" (Funky dub mix) (4:33)
MC 900 - "Killer Inside Me (Meat Beat Manifestation #2)" (feat Jesus) (4:05)
Unkown Artist - "B1" (8:25)
DJ Emma - "Based" (Not So Free mix) (8:00)
Seven - "Ease" (Seven 1 mix) (5:20)
ETI & Graeme - "Blue Dreamers" (edit) (5:11)
Spins Inc - "The New Frontier" (club mix) (5:18)
Review: Given that he cut his teeth as a DJ and producer in San Francisco during the early 90s, DJ Spun is in a perfect position to educate us on the city's breakbeat-driven 'rave' sound - a hybrid and hyper-local affair that blended the Bay Area's psychedelic sounds and loved-up ethos with elements of acid, hip-hop, hip-house, deep house and British breakbeat hardcore. The Beat By DJ Spun Volume 1 does a great job of highlighting largely lesser-known, breakbeat-powered cuts produced in the city between 1988 and '94. For proof, check out the dreamy, mid-tempo wonder of Single Cell Orchestra's 'Transmit Liberation', the funk-fuelled hedonism of Triple M's 'Prisoner of Passion (Funky Dub Mix)', the deep and dubby breaks of 'Based (Not So Free Mix)' by DJ Emma, and the sparse-and-squelchy post hip-house shuffle of Spins Inc's 'The New Frontier'.
Bass Kittens - "Get A Grip" (Mission St mix) (6:37)
Housebound - "Electro Rhythms" (9:33)
Hawke - "3 Moods In A Purple Garden" (Robbie Hardkiss mix) (6:59)
Trailmix - "Tequilla Sunset" (6:43)
Studio X - "Los Kings Del Mambo" (6:17)
Deep2 - "Sphere" (live dub) (8:00)
Review: New York maestro and Loose Control Band member DJ Spun has served up a superb compilation for Above Board here. It is his third such collection and one that focusses on the specific subject of West Coast breaks, rave and electro funk from the late eighties to mid-cities. It was a fertile scene by this account and one that still sounds current today, right from the blistering open eats and trance-like synths of Tasti Box's 'San Francisco' to Deep2's old school house jacker 'Sphere' which closes out the double pack. In between are plenty of gems, not least the deep and dreamy sounds of Hawke's '3 Moods In A Purple Garden' (Robbie Hardkiss mix).
Review: Laggy Panteli and Zeno Messis (aka Megalon) were cult techno artists back in the mid-nineties. They released seminal albums like 1994's Pandora's Box and mixed up ambient, Detroit techno, electro, European electronics and their own experiences of London's acid house scene. The good folks at Above Board have been digging in the duo's vaults and put together this collection of all of their best EPs across four crucial sides of vinyl. This is deep, atmospheric techno for the small hours with the likes of skittish rhythmic workout 'Sorcerer' (Funky Magus mix) sitting next to the widescreen acid styles of 'Semblance' (Dim B) and the shimmering leads of future tribal cut 'Transition'.
Ultramarine - "Happy Land" (feat Robert Wyat) (7:08)
Thunderhead The Word By Eden - "True Romance" (11:28)
Xeper - "Carceres Ex Novum" (6:45)
Herbert - "Housewife" (5:59)
Liquid Son - "Big Decision" (4:38)
Syzgzy - "Meditation" (6:03)
Review: Ed Cartwright's first compilation, which is landing in two parts (this is the first), celebrates the period between 1992 and '96, when electronic music in Britain was going in a multitude of different directions, and the (ultimately unfulfilled) 'brave new dawn' offered by Blair's New Labour government was still some way off. Cartwright's selections thus flit between gorgeous UK techno (Syzygy's 1992 gem 'Meditation'), sub-heavy post-bleep brilliance (Cabaret Voltaire), classic IDM (the Black Dog's Ken Downie as Xeper), mind-mangling slow acid (Thunderhead's excellent 'True Romance'), anti-Criminal Justice Bill material (Ultramarine's 'Happy Land') and some early Matthew Herbert brilliance ('Housewife'). Throw in extensive liner notes from dance music historian Matt Anniss, and you have a fantastic package.
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