REVIEW: DAEDULUS – RIGHTEOUS FISTS OF HARMONY

REVIEW: DAEDULUS – RIGHTEOUS FISTS OF HARMONY

Daedelus
Righteous Fists Of Harmony
Brainfeeder

Funky left-field electronic beat-smith Daedelus last surfaced in 2008, with his Love To Make Music To album.

Heavily influenced by the poppier end of break-beat driven rave scene of 91, Daedelus’ music showcased an originality of style that belied its mass-market influences. Fast forward to 2010, and Daedelus has re appeared on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder imprint, with Righteous Fists of Harmonyshowcasing a totally new introspective and brooding direction. With an artist as maverick as Daedelus , there is no shame in pushing the boundaries of your sound to create a new direction. Indeed the constant desire to innovate is what separates electronic and beat music from the worst of its plodding rock contemporaries.

However in this instance, it’s a shift in focus that is as confusing as it is different. Instead of looking to the heyday of outdoors raving, Daedalus has seemingly immersed himself in a psychedelic haze of stripped back ‘trip-hop’ and slow burning atmospherics. Similar to the introspective route mined by Massive attack over the last decade, the album delivers a slo-mo fusion sound that doesn’t quite work.

Not to say there aren’t some nice touches at work here, such as the dreamy Order Of The Golden Dawn, featuring the shimmering vocals of his wife Laura Darling, or the tense syncopation of Fin De Siècle that creates a tension sadly missing from the rest of the tracks on offer. In fact the majority of the album rolls very smoothly into one tripped out downbeat passage, teetering perilously close to the edge of mediocrity.

Whilst it’s great to see producers like Daedalus stretching their wings, in this instance its a case of too much atmosphere and not enough soul.

Toby Hemming

Original Pirate Style

Great stuff: History of UK pirate broadcasting:

Kool and the gang – This is you, this is me (Theo Parrish re-edit)

MAKE IT FUNKY.......

Kool and the gang – This is you, this is me (Theo Parrish re-edit)

Incoming:BONAFIDE Magazine

Of recent there has been a definite lack of cool places to find quality beatbased journalism, either on the web or in print. With the likes of Hip Hop Connection, Jockey Slut and even The FACE, going to the wall, all thats left are mainstream musical publications either boring themselves to death with 'Classic Rock' or revving up the trancepowered lightsticks.

Step up Bonafide, which not only hosts some of the best words around, as importantly it looks fantastic and doesnt take itself too seriously (oh yeah, and they published this)

Check out the website here, and then SPEND SOME MONEY TO BUY A COPY.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

So Michael Jackson is gone. I’ve seen plenty of comment about this, some positive some down right stupid. However whatever you say, Jackson changed the face of popular music beyond recognition. Quite aside from practically inventing the music video genre, breaking MTV and propping up Motown, Jackson alongside Quincy Jones moved black music into the heart of pop, creating a legacy that undermines all but the blandest, whitest of today’s music. Before Thriller, there was soul, funk, and disco and then there was every other type of music, including pop. By exhibiting a healthy disregard for genre, Jackson quite literally defined his music as what was to be known as pop, a decision that resonates with almost everything of any note since.
Easily as influential as the Beatles, Velvets or any other rock ‘n roll band, Jackson the man may have been a questionable proposition, but his music lives on….

Download:

Michael Jackson Tribute Mix by DJ Premier

Ze30: ZE Records 1979-2009

Disco, it seems is no longer the dirty word it was. Once the nemisis of the mass of mainstream punters hardwired by the hideous rewriting of the seventies that pushed the image of tacky suburban nightclubs and cheap polyester suits, to those who had evolved a groove, disco has always been another slightly truncated form of funk and soul. Indeed to the house music generation, in a way it embodies a more authentic view of four to the floor hedonism.

To some this was always the case, and to two New York immigrants, one the son of a wealthy British retail dynasty (Mothercare no less!) the other a transient French punk rocker, Disco was just another party of a party mix, part of a collage of sounds that sounded great at two o’clock in a steamy basement club. It was these two guys, Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban who in 1977 created ZE records, a seminal New York ‘No Wave’ label that mixed the stripped down experimental bassline disco being championed by the likes of Larry Levan at The Paradise Garage, with the spiky indigenous punk being created in the wake of the Ramones and New York Dolls.

More that just a record label, ZE came to embody the spirit of the anything as long as you can dance to it, musical policy of NY clubs like The Roxy where the ice cold minimalism of Kraftwerk, could be heard next to bad ass funk from James Brown mixed in with the jerky rock n roll of Talking Heads. And it was this mix and match attitude tied together with a funky bassline, that steered ZE to become the influential downtown label of the late 70’s early 80’s.

Soon the label boasted an impressive roster of the cream of the twisted underground signing up such new talent as James White and the Blacks, Was (Not Was), Kid Creole and the Coconuts, alongside more established performers including John Cale and Suicide.

ZE 30 is a timely release from reissue label par excellence Strut that collates some of the finer, funkier and frankly weirder moments from the labels history. The 14 track selection stretches from to good times dancefloor classic ‘Tell Me That I’m Dreaming’ from Was not Was, to Avant-garde industrial experimentation from Suicide with ‘Dream Baby Dream.’

It’s easy with these label perspectives, to be willfully obscure in order to gain some uber-hip upper hand, but Strut tread a fine line here of showcasing the astonishing breadth of material on the album with some genuine floor fillers. The aforementioned Paradise garage sound is represented by Larry Levan weighing with his stripped back druggy mix of Kid Creoles demolition of Caribbean politics, characterized by a rush of syncopated handclaps, whilst the more white boy punk sound can be heard in Alan Vegas willfully obscure techno rockabilly ‘Juke Box Baby’

The slickly marketed music industry of the last two decades has been quick to compartmentalize and pigeonholes sounds and scenes to create highly lucrative ‘units’ meanwhile missing the point of the soul of pop, a soul based on crossover and masterful accidents. Its only with the democratization of content bought about by the internet that things are starting to change,, and its into this musical palette that the far out low down sounds of ZE nestle nicely.

Slave to the Rhythm

Last night I went to the very brilliant Island 50 showcase gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Celebrating 50 years of Chris Blackwell's hugelly influentual label, the line up featured August Darnell aka Kid Creole, Sly and Robbie with The Compass Point All Stars and of course the original diva Grace Jones.

Sometimes these industry events tend to be full of back slapping smugness, but this was a real party with extra sub bass to match. Grace Jones is a faultless performer, unwilling to acknowledge the freak show nature of her image, instead relying on a truly electriying persona matched with titanic vocals.

Thanks to @allgigs for the tickets, follow them on twitter.

Greg Wilson: The Don

Hot off the press, brand new Greg Wilson mix from Feel Up

On a slo-mo, late night tip not too dissimilar to the recent Resident Advisor mix. No track listing, but you know that quality is never an issue..

Acres been written about GW, so you not going to retread old ground here; basically if you don’t know already you could look here, or here.

Classic Breaks

Found this great site called Embedr, which allows you to create bespoke video playlists. Messing about with it I came up with this totally non definitive list of classic breaks, and yes I know 'Take me to The Mardi Gras' isnt there, alongside a whole lot of others..... But its just an experiment OK ??
Watch this space as I amateurly try to match the breaks with classic hip hop 'joints'.....

Build your own custom video playlist at embedr.com

Soul II Soul vs Wild Bunch: Test Pressing

Head over to the excellent Test Pressing for a wicked live clash from NYE 1987 featuring heavyweight selectors Soul II Soul vs. The Wild Bunch (featuring the original line up of Massive Attack) Old School Soundlash Bristol/Camden style recorded live.

There was a Wild Bunch CD out a few years ago mixed by DJ Milo that was a pretty straighforward heavy weight disco, hip hop, reggae selection which is also the business.

FANIA REMIXED

Reviewed for 'Notion Magazine' should be out in July/Aug- Fantasic compilation of Barrio salsa, latin, disco and funk.Compliation released on June 30th, well worth searching out.....

Saona (Peterson and Sinbad Remix) Nora Morales

O Elefante (SSH Remix By PhilipCohan (Gotan) and Haaksman) Ray Baretto

I Like It Like That

Fania Remixed

Mr Bongo

If the devil does indeed have all the best records ; it may be fair to say he spent a considerable amount of time hanging about the inner city barrios of New York City in the 60’s and 70’s .
And if Lucifer was getting’ down at this time, chances are it was to the soundtrack of Fania records, the legendary purveyors of the Latin sound that grew up in the steamy backstreets of the big apple.

Salsa and Latin music, like so many great movements before and since evolved as in a cultural and musical melting pot. In this case as immigrant musicians, from Latin America and The Caribbean, arriving in New York mixed their native styles with the nascent funk, rock and roll and soul scenes springing up in Harlem and Greenwich Village.

Fania is the legendary label that grew up from this spectacular street tough party sound and after years of neglect has been bought back to life with this comprehensive collection of original jams and contemporary remixes. Not to be confused with endless comps of chin stroking obscurity, or insipid acid jazz style noodling, this album is the real deal; a double pack of incendiary party starting funkiness with added conga lines.

The first CD takes the cream of Fania’s catalogue and throws it open to an eclectic bunch of remixers and re editors. Lifelong Latin obsessive Louis Vega turns in a sterling reworking of ‘Mi Gente’ by Hector Lavoe, a deep down and dirty bass and brass jam with a sweet as sugar vocal. 4 Hero turn in a gorgeous and unexpectedly down tempo version of I Didn’t Want to Have To Do It by Ralfi Pagan, worth the cover price for this alone, it’s a sublime slow burner maybe their best work since their mid nineties peak. Elsewhere Ashley Beadle does his familiar but exemplary disco house thang on ‘Feel like Making Love’ by Ricardo Marrerro, providing a dubbed out groover for the discerning dance floor.

However good these reworking are however, slip on disc 2 for the originals, and they feel a little unnecessary. What’s to be said about this collection of dirty, sexy party tunes? The original recording, here all remastered especially for this release ooze authenticity and class whilst never dropping the groove. This is genuine good time music, played and sang with more emotion and exuberance than most so of the endless flow of beat music that gets churned out today.

Tracks like ‘Happy Soul with a Hook’ (the title says it all) by Dave Cortez could surely make even the most degenerate and sour faced Coldplay fan get up and shake their arse. Standout highlights include the good time call and response opener ‘I Like it Like That’ by Peter Rodriguez (everyone’s favourite summer time jam they haven’t heard yet); and the thundering percussion driven groove of Tito Puente’s ‘Watru Wasuri’
So if the devil does have the best tunes like these, I’m throwing away my bible and crossing over to the dark side. This is not only a great feel good album to soundtrack your summer, it’s a fantastic insight into a sadly overlooked genre of music boasting highlights as persuasive and addictive as most of the so called classics.

Chess Moves- Remixed by Keith Le Blanc

Originaly published in Notion Magazine - March 08

VARIOUS ARTISTS
CHESS MOVES
CHESS/UNIVERSAL
BLUES


There are plenty of examples of the old adage ‘If it aint broke- don’t fix it’, but maybe none more self evident than the shameless remixing of a labels back catalogue to flog ‘product’.

Enter then, Keith Le Blanc mainstay of thstone cold classic blues of all time.

Why then mix the two? In a never more obvious case of, ‘if it aint broke’ Le Blanc and Chess Records founder Marshall Chess have joined forces to rework the labels impeccable back catalogue.

The artist nurtured under Chess patronage in the 1950’s such as Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Memphis Slim; provided the backbone of blues that launched the careers of Elvis, The Beatles and The Stones and in turn provided a catalyst for the sixties and the cultural explosion that followed.

In their original versions, songs such as Howlin’ Wolfs Moanin at Midnight or Little Walters ‘Out Go The lights’ crackle with heartfelt blues and bad ass rhythmic power.

The original Blues were a direct and authentic link to the plight of the African people, so why chose to litter them seemingly randomly with meandering wah-wah guitar and the non legendary sound of studio trickery?

Le Blanc has proved himself as a virtuoso musician with his enviable legacy of work; however he does little here apart from add random doodling and compression effects to render these mythical tracks irrelevant.

TH

Classic Albums New Order Techique

This review originally published in 'One Week To Live' Magazine in April 2007


Classic Albums
New Order- Technique
Factory 1989


The rise of acid house and Balearic culture caught New Order at a difficult time, having shrugged off their indie roots as Joy Division in the aftermath of Ian Curtis’ suicide; they had taken their beat back to the street whilst rewriting the future of electronic music.

However by 87 the climate was changing and the rise of ‘new pop’ acts they had influenced, led New Order to strike out in a more chart friendly vein. Poaching Stephen Hague, the producer who led the Pet Shop Boys to massive success, they produced the classic ‘True Faith’ bringing their sound to a far wider audience, but ultimately leaving them lacking direction. Meanwhile however the world had been listening to New Orders early synth led sequenced tracks, and the huge impact of Acid house in 1997/8 left New Order lagging behind the very music they were instrumental in creating.

Having struggled through problematic personal problems, the band decamped to Ibiza at the beginning of 88 to immerse themselves in the new Balearic sound that was emerging from the White Island. Here clubs such as Space were mixing house, hip hop, pop and rock in a revolutionary fashion that mirrored the bands own musical journey over the past decade.

Renting a villa in the hills New Order threw themselves wholeheartedly into the hedonistic party lifestyle of the island and began work on a new album. Inspirited by the enthusiasm and energy of the scene they were the spiritual predecessors of, the band created what is believed by many to be their finest album ‘Technique’

Surprising critics and fans alike, the opener ‘Fine Time’ took the classic New Order blueprint, united it with the driving rhythms of house and created a bass led pulsating monster of a track; ultimately their greatest dancefloor statement since Blue Monday.

Released in Nov 88 two months ahead of the album, Fine Time signalled the return of the band to the clubs whilst scoring them a chart hit. Featuring a bleating sheep and Barney Sumner’s sleazy Barry White-esque drawl, the single clearly saw the band rightfully reclaiming their techno crown.

Whilst the album retains a rare uniform quality throughout, Standout tracks include the energetic “Round and Round”, a tense and minimal number that sees Sumner’s soul laid bare over a relentless precision bass groove, and Run, the jewel in the albums crown.

In many eyes Run remains New Orders finest moment; more melodic and guitar-led than many of the tracks on the album, Run is a sublime paean to love lost, underpinned by startlingly beautiful melodic interplay, that captures the wedding of acid house and traditional British pop in its purest form. Extraordinarily the single release was subsequently pulled from the shelves due to a lawsuit by MOR rocker John Denver who claimed a theft of his hit ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’, the similarity is hard to distinguish, however the resulting settlement left the release a collectors item.

Technique is not all Ibiza rave madness however as there are sufficient ‘classic’ New Order moments (Guilty Partner and the atmospheric Loveless) to retain a bridge to their earlier, more introspective compositions. This eclecticism means the strength of this album lies not in a collection of DJ fodder tracks, but its ability to stand up solely on the quality of its songs. Lead singer Sumner had recently come through an acrimonious divorce and the combination of his melancholic vocals, and the sunshine and party vibe of Ibiza give this record its masterpiece status

Technique came at a time for New Order when they needed it most, and performed the task of ensuring them a reliantly seamless transition across the decades. To come was the football terrace brilliance of ‘World in Motion’ (probably the last straw for Joy division fans’), and a domination of the house sound.

Indie Dance was a term bandied around without abandon at the beginning of the 1990’s, the fusion of house music with rock heralded as the new punk. In hindsight it was only New Order who really got it right, whilst the other bands grappled to meld funky drummer beats to their traditional rock staples, New Order the band that started it all, effortlessly pulled off the only real marriage of disco and punk, and in the process created the first great album of the nineties.

Tobold Hemming




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