X-Press 2 - Raise Your Hands: The Greatest Hits

Another commission for Three Bar Fire

The idea of a real dance music long player, rather than a concept album or an exploration of influences (some tiresome jazz noodling or ethno hip hop for example) has always been a bit of an anomaly. Surely the whole point of a sweaty rave anthem is in its impact on the dance floor, not at home on the family stereo? X-press 2 clearly think its time to unleash the greatest bits of their back catalogue on the world, and it’s the tracks that sound like accidents in music making rather than dance floor ‘bombs’ that really make the grade.

A classic collaboration, once known as a ‘collective’ between longstanding Balearic scenster DJ’s Rock, Diesel and outstanding black music nerd, Ashley Beedle, Xpress 2 first made a splash in the early nineties. Clubland then was in the midst of a post rave adolescence, and the vogue was for tribal New York inspired club tracks such as ‘London Xpress’, ‘Smoke Machine’ and ‘Muzik Xpress’… which are all included here. Much as these particular tunes are competent examples of big room tribal house groovers, they are not great. As Stevie said, “Just because a records got a groove, doesn’t mean it’s in the groove” and the test of time hasn’t treated the thumping beats and derivative drum rolls particularly favourably.

X-press 2 however resurfaced around about the turn of the millennium, and having dropped the badges of house credibility that plagued their earlier efforts (and possibly laid off the accompanying recreational accompaniments), they took a new direction recruiting a selection of guest vocalists and returning to their Balearic roots.It’s these tunes that really make the album, from the David Byrne collaboration ‘Lazy’, (prob the best slackers anthem since Happy Mondays sung about Lazyitis); through to ‘Kill 100’, (featuring Rob Harvey from The Music), a downbeat electronic-Goth monster referencing classic Underworld tech rock stomp.

The highlight of this whole record however is ‘Give It’ a classic atmospheric slow burning piano groove voiced by Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner; a real highlight that points to what could have been with the talent on offer here.‘Raise Your Hands’ is a good album. Though not a great one… and its certainly nowhere near the dance floor legacy it hopes to be. This Greatest Hits collection exists as less than a sum of its parts; ideal if you’re reliving your misspent youth, but otherwise its a disco strut that just falls a bit flat...

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.

Sound of The Summertime -Herb Alpert Rotation/Rise

The sun is shining in England- it doesnt happen often so lets take this opportunity to get down.

I'm particularly loving the bad wedding dancing at about 4.30 minutes, Ill let them off because of the bongo solo though....

Daedelus - Love To Make Music To

Reviewed this for Three Bar Fire again. Take a look and have a listen, its the business.

Daedelus- Love To Make Music To (Ninja Tune)

Daedelus aka Alfred Darlington has been dropping hip-hop flavoured electronic bombs seemingly from the dawn of time, boasting nine albums and a score of EPs to his name. Released on Ninja Tune, this latest offering is billed as a imaginary story which begins during the 1894 Chicago World’s Fair and concludes a hundred years later.

There’s a danger of classing every Ninja release as significant; more often than not however their intrepid brand of fearless experimentation throws up obscurity rather than a stone cold classic. ‘Love To Make Music To’ (clever eh?) is a real revelation though; a melting pot of soul, funk, break beat , electro and dirty rave music assembled with the skill of any classic hip hop cut ‘n’ paste merchant.

Darlington himself cuts an interesting character too, a mid American versed in the culture of underground hip hop production (who rocks Edwardian garms at every opportunity) who apparently encountered a ‘Road to Damascus’ type conversion to the burgeoning UK breakbeat rave sound of the early nineties, on a family trip to London. It takes a true outsider perspective to create a tribute album of sorts such as this. Unlike someone like Burial whose rave homage is bleak and liquid in keeping with his south London location Daedelus taps into the uplifting, euphoric side of the rave experience managing to keep it upbeat without sauntering into mainstream cheese.

Whilst there are rave elements to these songs, the sampled intro from Lennie De Ice’s proto jungle anthem ‘We Are I.E’, for instance, crops up deep in the mix at one point, proving that this is not a by the book rave pastiche. It’s a potent mix, referencing at times influences as diverse as The Avalanches, early Moving Shadow, the sonic terrorism of the Bomb Squad and the experimental electro found on Warp in the mid nineties.

The album opens on a Balearic summer soaked high point, with the sixties-fuelled ‘Fair Weather Friend’, released as an EP last year, with its driven beat and naive female vocal cutting a definitive opening. From here on in the album flits from the dark brooding techno of ‘Hrs:Mins:Secs’ to the smoother R&B influenced cut of ‘My Beau’ and back again. It’s a strange brew that Daedelus throws up here, and in hindsight its all the better for it, with the only down point being an wilful eclecticism that makes ‘Love To..’ a little too hard to pin down

YO GABBA GABBA

One of the benefits of having kids is the ability to watch fantasticly bonlers programmes like this.

As a tribute to Plex the robot of 'many wonders and magical powers' heres some robot music:

Paradise Garage

I found this on YouTube- short clip of The legendary New York nightspot The Paradise Garage. Larry Levan spinning Eddy Grants 1982 proto house/disco/electro groover Time Warp.

Download it here...

Eddy Grant (Coach House Rhythm Section) Time Warp

...and another Garage floorfiller from 79

Dinosaur (Arthur Russell) Kiss Me Again

And a modern day re-edit to keep you dancin....

Chaz Jankel - Glad To Know You (Todd Terje Edit)

Beardy Brit Hop

I had this in the post this week from www.3barfire.com, a very fine musical website- go check it out!

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobilus Pip – Angles

Sunday Best

The crazily titled Dan Le Sac and Scroobilus Pip first popped up on the radar last year with their Radio 1 championed “Thou Shalt Not Kill” a new age indie baiting take on Baz Lurhmans “ Everybody’s free To wear sunscreen”. Chuckled at by the people it aimed to offend, ‘Thou Shalt’ offered us such wisdoms as “Thou shalt not read NME.” And “Thou shalt not stop liking a band just because they’ve become popular”

As novelty singles go, it was slightly more bearable than Road to Amarillo, and the pair were picked up by Rod Da Banks Leftfield Sunday Best label to record an album. On the face of it, this should be a bad idea. A bearded ‘spoken word’ poet and a scruffy home studio beat maker, releasing a long player as a follow up to their version of a moronic novelty single.

Given time to flex their creative muscles and work out some of their angst however this is actually pretty good. Dan le Sac the beatmaker here has carefully assimilated a range of influences from golden age hip hop to ninja-ish scuffed beats via crackly electro. This of course is a well trodden path but Le Sac pulls it off by keeping the groove tight and pairing the drums with melody. As far as the rest goes this is definitely a song driven release, and Pip steps up with aplomb, ditching the catchy soundbites for a genuinely rewarding intelligent dissection of all things philosophical to the delights of old school comic Tommy Cooper.

Whilst others mining this vein have been happy to ‘keep it real’ and in the process produce dull and lifeless plod hop, Angles manages to keep it upbeat with a healthy sprinkling of melody and fun. Stand out track and new Single Look for The Girl, adds a lilting pop hook to the beats and ends up a cracking summertime ditty.

This is surprisingly good stuff that manages to be quintessentially British without crossing the Kate/Lilly Mockney naffness divide. Keeping it real in its truest sense, Le sac and Pip add a surprising shed of integrity to the pop canon, and in the process create something a little more substantial that the current crop of street popsters.

Tobold Hemming