Everybody else has something to say about the president of another country getting sworn in, why not here as well....?
Friday, 9 January 2009
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Steinski - What Does It All Mean ?
Steinski
What Does it all Mean?
Illegal Art
Old School hip hop, three stripes, gold chains and big ass ghetto blasters eh?
That’s how it’s been written, and the guns and bling philosophy of modern rap, certainly has its feet carefully planted in reality, as hip hop remains the music of the streets. But the incubation of rapping over a beat came at fascinating time in the late seventies New York, where art was king and the idea of crossover was rampant.
So instead of the closed mentality of ‘keeping it real’ you saw boys from the Bronx rapping over uptown disco music (Rappers Delight) or icy Teutonic electro (Planet Rock). This melting pot of high end nightlife and bloc party grit also saw some unlikely individuals taking a prime role in creating what was to become an all conquering musical monolith.
One of these characters was Chris Stein, a self styled ‘nerdy white advertising geek’, who along with his partner in crime Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco) entered a Tommy Boy records competition to remix ‘Play that Beat Mr D’J by NY rappers Globe and Wiz kid. Instead of adding a new bassline or cutting up the vocal, the pair deconstructed the entire song meticulously splicing together clips of popular hits and sound bytes sourced from popular TV shows and adverts.
In today’s post –modern sampling world, it’s not that revolutionary to stick together your favourite bits of something else to create a new entity. But these were the fledgling days of sampling, and the agility and style with the duo approached the project created the now legendary Lessons One. Of course they won the competition and went on to create Lessons Two and Three, before Steinski chose to go alone, creating denser and more adventurous works as the decade progressed.
Of course the problem with nicking other peoples sounds is that they are unwilling to let you put it out under your own name. So for yours Steinski’s rocking dancefloor masterpieces existed only on white label bootlegs and dusty tapes recorded from the radio.
This release package goes some ways to restoring the legacy of those sessions, a beautifully complied Double CD and accompanying booklet, ‘What does it All Mean’ contains not only the original ‘Lessons’ series, but other seminal works such as the JFK assassination track’ The Motorcade Sped on’. Disk two brings things (almost) up to date with a full length mix recorded for Coldcuts legendary Solid Steel show.
Many works of art are deigned masterpieces, but in the canon of modern music, the tracks contained here certainly out punch their weight in terms of influence. Not merely abstract works of art, Steinski also had his finger on the groove, and its safe to say fathered a musical legacy from Public Enemy, through to DJ Shadow, The Chemical Brothers and most recently 2002’s mash-up craze. Pure gold dancefloor history- ignore at your peril.
What Does it all Mean?
Illegal Art
Old School hip hop, three stripes, gold chains and big ass ghetto blasters eh?
That’s how it’s been written, and the guns and bling philosophy of modern rap, certainly has its feet carefully planted in reality, as hip hop remains the music of the streets. But the incubation of rapping over a beat came at fascinating time in the late seventies New York, where art was king and the idea of crossover was rampant.
So instead of the closed mentality of ‘keeping it real’ you saw boys from the Bronx rapping over uptown disco music (Rappers Delight) or icy Teutonic electro (Planet Rock). This melting pot of high end nightlife and bloc party grit also saw some unlikely individuals taking a prime role in creating what was to become an all conquering musical monolith.
One of these characters was Chris Stein, a self styled ‘nerdy white advertising geek’, who along with his partner in crime Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco) entered a Tommy Boy records competition to remix ‘Play that Beat Mr D’J by NY rappers Globe and Wiz kid. Instead of adding a new bassline or cutting up the vocal, the pair deconstructed the entire song meticulously splicing together clips of popular hits and sound bytes sourced from popular TV shows and adverts.
In today’s post –modern sampling world, it’s not that revolutionary to stick together your favourite bits of something else to create a new entity. But these were the fledgling days of sampling, and the agility and style with the duo approached the project created the now legendary Lessons One. Of course they won the competition and went on to create Lessons Two and Three, before Steinski chose to go alone, creating denser and more adventurous works as the decade progressed.
Of course the problem with nicking other peoples sounds is that they are unwilling to let you put it out under your own name. So for yours Steinski’s rocking dancefloor masterpieces existed only on white label bootlegs and dusty tapes recorded from the radio.
This release package goes some ways to restoring the legacy of those sessions, a beautifully complied Double CD and accompanying booklet, ‘What does it All Mean’ contains not only the original ‘Lessons’ series, but other seminal works such as the JFK assassination track’ The Motorcade Sped on’. Disk two brings things (almost) up to date with a full length mix recorded for Coldcuts legendary Solid Steel show.
Many works of art are deigned masterpieces, but in the canon of modern music, the tracks contained here certainly out punch their weight in terms of influence. Not merely abstract works of art, Steinski also had his finger on the groove, and its safe to say fathered a musical legacy from Public Enemy, through to DJ Shadow, The Chemical Brothers and most recently 2002’s mash-up craze. Pure gold dancefloor history- ignore at your peril.
Monday, 6 October 2008
KIDKANEVIL
Back Off Man Im a Scientist
First World Records
Nor often a record of this nature takes you by surprise. From the (admittedly artful) eastern inspired cover, to the press release bigging up a ‘Sonic visionary,’ sometimes you think you know what to expect. In this case, derivative UK hip hop with a ‘nice’ bunch of guest contributors and the lifespan of a suicidal fruit fly.
The shock of the reality however told a different story. Many producers try to create a fusion sound, seen as somehow more worthy than taking one idea and banging away at it until you get it right, the idea of ‘fusion’ has thrown up some less than tasteful delights such as techno folk, or rap metal.
This taste for mixing it up has seen Kidkanevil is billed as the DJ shadow of Yorkshire. But in reality he’s more than that. Where Shadow beatmines dusty grooves to create never ending authenticity, Kidkanevil does what so many producer strive for- sonically name checking his favourite sounds to create something that creates more than the sum of its parts.
The album kicks off with tasteful but raw, funk-soul anthem ‘Stomp’, featuring the dulcet tones of Justin Perceval, before seamlessly moving to unexpected take on YMO’s B-Boy anthem ‘Computer Games’, as cut up by the original block party DJ’s.
The rest of the album struts along in exemplary style; ‘Yuki's Hometown Hi-fi’ adds a downtown reggae skank to the proceedings; whilst the unlikely appearance of Germany’s number one MC (a highly contested battle!) on ‘Black Bug’ adds the icing to the cake.
Killer here though, is closer ‘Ketto Revisited’, produced in association with Ninja Tunes stalwart Bonobo. Remaining enough integrity and soul within its measured beats and soundscapes to convince, even for a minute, that the world needs another addition to that most unfashionable of genres ‘chill out’
Even if ‘Back Off’ manages to slip under the radar of most of the record buying public, Kidkanevil should be proud. When UK popular music wallows in its own mess, its artists such as this that provide a fleeting snapshot of the reality of 21st century Britain.
Back Off Man Im a Scientist
First World Records
Nor often a record of this nature takes you by surprise. From the (admittedly artful) eastern inspired cover, to the press release bigging up a ‘Sonic visionary,’ sometimes you think you know what to expect. In this case, derivative UK hip hop with a ‘nice’ bunch of guest contributors and the lifespan of a suicidal fruit fly.
The shock of the reality however told a different story. Many producers try to create a fusion sound, seen as somehow more worthy than taking one idea and banging away at it until you get it right, the idea of ‘fusion’ has thrown up some less than tasteful delights such as techno folk, or rap metal.
This taste for mixing it up has seen Kidkanevil is billed as the DJ shadow of Yorkshire. But in reality he’s more than that. Where Shadow beatmines dusty grooves to create never ending authenticity, Kidkanevil does what so many producer strive for- sonically name checking his favourite sounds to create something that creates more than the sum of its parts.
The album kicks off with tasteful but raw, funk-soul anthem ‘Stomp’, featuring the dulcet tones of Justin Perceval, before seamlessly moving to unexpected take on YMO’s B-Boy anthem ‘Computer Games’, as cut up by the original block party DJ’s.
The rest of the album struts along in exemplary style; ‘Yuki's Hometown Hi-fi’ adds a downtown reggae skank to the proceedings; whilst the unlikely appearance of Germany’s number one MC (a highly contested battle!) on ‘Black Bug’ adds the icing to the cake.
Killer here though, is closer ‘Ketto Revisited’, produced in association with Ninja Tunes stalwart Bonobo. Remaining enough integrity and soul within its measured beats and soundscapes to convince, even for a minute, that the world needs another addition to that most unfashionable of genres ‘chill out’
Even if ‘Back Off’ manages to slip under the radar of most of the record buying public, Kidkanevil should be proud. When UK popular music wallows in its own mess, its artists such as this that provide a fleeting snapshot of the reality of 21st century Britain.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Rex the Dog. The Rex the Dog Show
Here we go pop pickers, another 3 Bar Fire review.....
Rex the Dog
Rex the Dog Show
Hundehaus Records
Electro Pop
Pop and rave, are two musical genres that have managed to be stretched so far from their roots by commercialisation that they now stand together as inbred parodies of their former glories. Pop music has moved a million miles from its classical sense of ‘popular’ acquiring a manufactured vacuous tarnish en route, whilst rave remains relevant only to pubescent youth in market towns.
Despite these obvious handicaps, Rex the Dog has managed to create a simmering mix of these maligned genres to create perhaps the best pop rave album of the decade.
Rex the Dog, is rumoured to be an alias for many things, some say an uber cool lowlands techno showman, others claim the dog is actually none other than ‘JX’ of less cool nineties chart bothering ‘Son of a Gun’ fame.
It’s a difficult (and unfashionable) feat in dance music to add fun and emotion to the beat, but thankfully the demise of dull, pitch perfect progressive beat mixing has seen a real return to partying and occasional sightings of the mysterious ‘acid house vibe’; alongside actual smiles on the dancefloor.
The Rex the Dog show takes no prisoners it its unrelenting techno ambitions, this is certainly not cartoon pop showmanship. Instead tracks such as ‘Bubbilicious’ hit exactly the right note as a bumping bass trades blows with a insistent synthetic melody that favours both feet and head. Club banger ‘Circulate’ uses similar tricks to create a genuine groover filled with warmth and passion, fired along by the power of analogue keyboards and clicking percussion.
Its not all banging beats however as the inclusion of a remix of the Knives ‘Heartbeats’ (think Sony Bravia), offers melancholic excursion into techno folk adding more melody for your money to the bouncing beats.
Despite his potentially dubious background Rex the Dog has unleashed a real treat here. Lovers of quirky electronic pop and sweaty basement clubbers alike can unite to fight the acid house wars together for the first time since the halcyon days of the KLF
Rex the Dog Show
Hundehaus Records
Electro Pop
Pop and rave, are two musical genres that have managed to be stretched so far from their roots by commercialisation that they now stand together as inbred parodies of their former glories. Pop music has moved a million miles from its classical sense of ‘popular’ acquiring a manufactured vacuous tarnish en route, whilst rave remains relevant only to pubescent youth in market towns.
Despite these obvious handicaps, Rex the Dog has managed to create a simmering mix of these maligned genres to create perhaps the best pop rave album of the decade.
Rex the Dog, is rumoured to be an alias for many things, some say an uber cool lowlands techno showman, others claim the dog is actually none other than ‘JX’ of less cool nineties chart bothering ‘Son of a Gun’ fame.
It’s a difficult (and unfashionable) feat in dance music to add fun and emotion to the beat, but thankfully the demise of dull, pitch perfect progressive beat mixing has seen a real return to partying and occasional sightings of the mysterious ‘acid house vibe’; alongside actual smiles on the dancefloor.
The Rex the Dog show takes no prisoners it its unrelenting techno ambitions, this is certainly not cartoon pop showmanship. Instead tracks such as ‘Bubbilicious’ hit exactly the right note as a bumping bass trades blows with a insistent synthetic melody that favours both feet and head. Club banger ‘Circulate’ uses similar tricks to create a genuine groover filled with warmth and passion, fired along by the power of analogue keyboards and clicking percussion.
Its not all banging beats however as the inclusion of a remix of the Knives ‘Heartbeats’ (think Sony Bravia), offers melancholic excursion into techno folk adding more melody for your money to the bouncing beats.
Despite his potentially dubious background Rex the Dog has unleashed a real treat here. Lovers of quirky electronic pop and sweaty basement clubbers alike can unite to fight the acid house wars together for the first time since the halcyon days of the KLF
Rex the Dog Mash Up Goldfrapp
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
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...
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
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.
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