Kitchen Heat - Cutting records with a knife & fork.

Spike! the Punch!

2011-07-25T08:32:00.005-03:00

Some trippy disco for those hazy summer daze.

Spike! the Punch! by Chef Napalm

Tracklist:

Stephane Malca - Revolution
Caribou – Leave House (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix)
Solomun – Daddy’s Jam
Martin Dawson & Glimpse – No One Belongs Here More Than You (Ewan Pearson’s Balearos Maximos Remix)
Max Essa – Midnight & Dub Direction (Dub)
Art Bleek – Hold It (A Little Longer)
WebQueawry - Searching
M/A/R/R/S – Pump Up The Volume
Deadboy – Wish U Were Here
One Off One – People of Earth
Glamour Inc. – Nasty Disco
Klatsch! – Disco Dancer
Amii Stewart – Knock On Wood
Art Bleek – Red Light (Shining On Me)
Tom Trago – Shutters (Dub)
The Bionics – I Care
Frankie Knuckles feat. Nicki Richards – Keep On Movin’
Olav Basoski – Keep On Dancin’
Junior Jack – Happiness

New Track: Heart & Soul

2011-05-11T13:49:00.000-03:00

It started as a re-edit of the 80s classic by T'Pau. After a shit-ton of tedious chopping and re-arranging I realized that I only really liked the vocal, so I salvaged what I could and moved on. At about the same time I was given a sample CD that included recordings of a heartbeat and an ultrasound. The heartbeat forms both the thump of the kick and the sub-bass while the ultrasound provides a bit of backing percussion.

Heart & Soul by Chef Napalm

New Track: First Time in Chicago

2011-04-13T11:15:00.003-03:00

I first saw God
In Chicago
I was walkin' down the street
On the Southside
I first saw God
In Chicago
And it moved me
It moved me good.

First Time in Chicago by Chef Napalm

New Mix: L.E.D-licious

2011-02-17T11:24:00.004-04:00

~75 minutes of records I've been feeling lately. Even a little classic hardcore and a touch of dubstep towards the end.

L.E.D-licious by Chef Napalm

The Oliverwho Factory - Night Lights
Tim Toh - No Trace
Goldwill - Sun Francisco
Oliver Koletzki - This Is So Fuckin' Oldschool
Argy & The Martinez Brothers - Who Made Who (Vinyl Version)
Nebraska - This Is The Way
Nacho Marco & Raoul Lambert - Cinnamon Dreams
Kanadacid - Love The Acid --------------- LOCAL ACID! MONCTON VINYL!
Johannes Heil & Heiko M/S/O - You Should Know
Martin Landsky - Bloodhound
Russ Yallop - Rock Me
Yelle - La Musique (Lorenz Rhode Remix)
Timo Maas Feat. MC Chickaboo - Shifter
Snap! - The Power (E=mc2 mix)
Electroset - How Does it Feel?
Tom Trago - Lost In The Streets Of NYC (FS Green Mix)

Plastikman Remix

2010-12-24T12:28:00.003-04:00

In lots of ways, the combined forces of soundcloud and facebook have killed the producer/DJ/musician blog, as evidenced below. One post a month since I joined soundcloud is shameful, especially considering how much I used to enjoy the writing. On the other hand, I'm spending a lot more time making tracks than writing about them.

Anyway, Burn Studios are hosting a remix contest for Plastikman's "Ask Yourself". I'm not a fan of the original, but the parts sparked something and I set to work. Lots of delays, gates, and reverb and it was done. Well, not quite as simple as that; I spent the better part of three weeks arranging it. In the end, I'm pleased with what I came up with, even if the people I played it for didn't care for it.

Here's my version. If you like it, wait until I don't win and then it'll be up for download.

PLASTIKMAN - Ask Yourself ( Chef Napalm's Binary Dub @burnstudios) by Chef Napalm

Nasty!

2010-11-11T11:10:00.002-04:00

Let me tell it!

Nasty by Chef Napalm

Back of the Rack - Volume 2

2010-10-22T13:13:00.005-03:00

Apparently, I have neglected to post the latest (relatively) Back of the Rack mix here.

Back of the Rack - Volume 2 by Chef Napalm

Ebony Chick (Oshun Flow's Abyss Mix) - Oshun Flow
Penguins - Sonny Fodera
I'm Gonna Make It Funky 4 U - The Phat Black Pussycat Project
Harvest Moon - Onionz, Tony & Dano
Mannequins (Need Love Too) (Robodub) - Hatiras
Looser - Martin Venetjoki
Vibin' - Knee Deep
Can You See Him (Sonny Fodera Dub) - Lisa Shaw
U Don't Know Me - Armand Van Helden
Sex On The Steets (Pizzaman Club Mix) - Pizzaman
Money In The Bag (Sharam Jey Remix) - Kraak & Smaak
Koochy - Armand Van Helden
Drop The Hate (Remixed By Rev. H. Lidbo And The Progressive Baptist Choir Of Stockholm) - Fatboy Slim

There's a new one in the works, so watch for that soon(ish). Also, more tracks in developement. It's sort of a shame that I'd rather make music than write about it anymore, but I'm finding it so satisfying. Hopefully they'll be some more words to go with the tunes next time.

Leftfield - Phat Plant (Chef Napalm Remix)

2010-08-30T14:29:00.003-03:00

Seems I'm on more of a production than DJing kick lately. As such, here is my version of the Leftfield classic Phat Planet. I's never be able to license it, so it's free for download. If anybody is interested in a highere quality version, blast me off an email at the address in the sidebar.

Leftfield - Phat Planet (Chef Napalm Remix) by Chef Napalm

NEW TRACK - Ghost in the Machine

2010-08-06T09:21:00.004-03:00

Something new and long overdue.

Ghost in the Machine (Main Mix) by Chef Napalm

Back of the Rack - Volume 1

2010-06-12T12:13:00.005-03:00

I must admit, my focus has been on production for the last little while. Nothing I can post yet, but soon. So, after months of programming, arranging and mixing, I've set it all aside to practice for a monthly night my Buster Brothers project will be starting this summer. I've gotten into the habit of recording my practice sessions and after a particularly good set the other night, I decided to post a few. I'm calling the series Back of the Rack and Volume 1 is now available for download below.

Back of the Rack - Volume 1

Be sure to watch this space for more sets coming in the future.

Buster Brothers

2010-04-22T08:59:00.006-03:00

Fred "Nexus6ix" Bissnette and I have been jamming together for a while. You know, just getting together and playing some records. We've done some things together like the Terrence Parker show and the Relief for Haiti show. After the Haiti show, we started talking about the lack of alternatives to the electro sound in our fair city. If you're off to a club in Saint John, chances are you'll hear hip hop and/or electro and little else. We've had this discussion many times in the past, but this time the frustration level was at maximum. The only gigs either of us were getting was at Element (THE gay bar) and that closed at about the same time as the Relief show. Out of that discussion came a decision to do our own thing. Since then we've been looking for a space (found!), developing a sound (bumpin'!) and building a sound system (3000W!). Now it would appear we've scored a residency. More on that later. For now, satisfy yourself with some music.

We are Chuck and Jack Buster; the Buster Brothers!

Buster Brothers - Promotional Mix by Buster Brothers

Main Street

2010-04-08T11:04:00.004-03:00

It's been quiet. Too quiet. Here's something new and thumping.

Chef Napalm – Main Street by Chef Napalm

Relief - A Benefit To Raise Funds For Haiti

2010-02-12T09:43:00.005-04:00

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention the Haitian relief benefit I'm playing at on the 19th alongside Mr. Ricardo, Kardinal Syn, Nexus6ix, MC Addition, and special guest (who is a last minute addition and does not appear on the flyer) DJ Bolivia. I've managed to score a peak hour set, so come on out to hear some of Chef Napalm's biggest choons. Not to mention supporting a fantastic cause, of course. As I understand it, all money will be donated to the Red Cross Fund for Haitian Relief.

Usual rules apply: come up and tell me you read about the show on Kitchen Heat and I'll buy you a drink.

Set times are:

9:00pm - 10:00pm DJ Bolivia
10:00pm - 11:00pm Mr. Ricardo
11:00pm - 11:20pm MC Addition
11:20pm - 12:30am kardynal syn
12:30am - 01:30am Chef Napalm
01:30am - 02:00am Nexus6ix

As an aside, I was inspired to design a flyer, but the promoter didn't like it. I'm still quite pround of it, tho. It's posted below.

Top Ten Tracks of 2009

2010-02-04T14:29:00.014-04:00

Better late than never, right? I hope so. 2009 was a tipping point in electronic music. After being maligned for the better part of 5 years, house music has risen somewhat surprisingly with help from minimal techno’s early adopters. In a bizarre quid pro quo, producers most often associated with house music started to go a bit minimal. The two camps have met in the middle and recorded some of the best deep and tech house tracks of the last decade.

On with the countdown.

Chopstick & Till Von Sien – Bachkippe (Baalsaal)
Buy it now here or here.
Anchoring this year’s Kitchen Heat Top Ten is a track from the Chopstick & Till Von Sein’s single-sided, and ironically titled, Ten EP. Chopstick (aka Chi-Thien Nguyen) and Till Von Sein are minimal techno guys on a minimal techno label (Baalsaal) who have applied the minimal techno approach to what are typically house sounds. “Bachkippe” revolves around a two-note guitar loop and a one-note bassline with the changes being made mostly by the occasional organ stab and the ticks and tings of the percussion. The breakdown comes in at just the right moment with what sounds like a wind instrument (a flute?) recorded in such a way that one can hear the musician’s breath blowing through it. It’s a subtle detail that really drives home the organic sound of the instruments, effects and arrangement. “Bachkippe” is the kind of track that, while sounding deceptively sparse, is so groovy that you can’t help but nod your head, tap your toe, or shake your ass.

Dragosh – Aloo Ma Auzi (Bearweasel’s Linear Drum Edit) (Viva)
Buy it now here or here.
Londoners Dean Muhsin & Louisa Page write and produce wonderfully dubby tech house under the name Bearweasel. In this case they’ve taken a middle-of-the-road tribal tech house track and maximized its potential with a bit of re-arrangement, a groovy bassline and some well placed horns. Just like Bachkippe, most of the ear-candy is in the layered percussion. While the hypnotic driving bassline propels the track along, congas, rimshots, a bunch of different snare drums and mouth-clicks keep things interesting in the mix.

Ian Pooley feat. Tim Fuller – What I Got (Derrick Carter Remix) (Pooledmusic)
Buy it now here or here.
“What I Got” is deep. Pooley blends Tim Fuller’s falsetto over a funky synth bassline, lush pads, bleepy gated lead, and string-inflected rolls for the kind of deep house one usually associates with Ron Trent, Miguel Migs, and Masters at Work. It’s good, but not great. The real reason to pick up this 12” is the Derrick Carter remix. Carter is one of the second wave of great underground house producers from Chicago who made his name in the 1990s producing amazing remixes for European artists. On this remix he dispenses with all but the vocal, underpinning it with a funky, shuffling drum track. What’s interesting about the track is the lack of sounds: it is literally a beat, a 303 squiggle through a low-pass filter and someone panting low in the mix. That’s it! And yet both the remix and the dub seem to have so much to hear. Remixes like this show just what can be done with a less-is-more approach to arranging. Minimal techno could learn a thing or two from Derrick Carter.

Andrea Festa feat. Mike Dunn – The Sound Of Lugano (Hardfloor Remix) (AF Records)
Buy it now here or here.
I’d never heard of Andrea Festa prior to my search for Terrence Parker material back in September. It would appear that Mr. Festa wrote a bunch of mediocre house tracks and then contacted as many house and techno legends from Chicago, Detroit, and Germany as he could think of to remix said tracks. The list really is a who’s-who of electronic music since the 80s: Mike Dunn, Terrence Parker, Hardfloor, Woody McBride, Terrence Dixon, and Max Durante. Those who were receptive did their work admirably and Mr. Festa set about releasing the results. “The Sound Of Lugano” is the second 12” to be released from the compilation CD. In truth, Hardfloor do all the heavy lifting, substituting their 303 magic for Festa’s house clichés. And it is especially good Hardfloor 303, too. Quite possibly the best thing they’ve done since their remix of Blue Monday, in fact. With any luck, this spells a return to the fray for Dusseldorf’s 303 masters.

Superslut – Bulerias (Great Stuff)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about Great Stuff’s Munich Discotech compilation series before, albeit a completely different track. I had originally bought the record for the Pooley/Tonka track on the A-side. It wasn’t until I flipped it over one night that I discovered the techno genius of “Bulerias”. With one foot planted in the future with a stomping techno undercarriage and the other planted firmly in the past with a chopped up flamenco guitar, “Bulerias” would sound contemporary with any techno track written in the last 30 years. It’s the flamenco claps and guitar that really set it off. That’s a triumph in my eyes, as most examples of fusion between ethnic and electronic usually end up sounding like that Cumbria track from a couple of years ago: elevator music with a backbeat. Superslut’s catalogue is limited to a couple of remixes and this one track. Hopefully "Bulerias" is a sign of things to come.

Sonny Fodera – Resurrection (Guesthouse)
Buy it now here or here.
Adelaide, Australia’s funky house DJ and producer Sonny Fodera has really come on in the last year. With a slew of remixes and releases under his belt, he is an up-and-comer to watch in 2010. The best of the bunch, in my view, is his Sonny Side Up EP on American label Guesthouse. Resurrection’s old-school vibe seamlessly blends house, hip-hop, and funk in a deliciously refreshing confection that kicks the emotional crap out of any of the bitter electro crap released this year. It’s so funky, you just can’t help but groove to it.

Spencer Parker – Untitled Head (liebe*detail)
Buy it now here or here.
Englishman Spencer Parker makes the kind of minimal house that is starting to come into vogue in places like Germany. “Untitled Head” is little more than a thundering drum track, gliding bassline, and chopped up female vocal. Really, though, the magic is all percussion; the vocal is just “uh-uh” and “duh-duh” sounds syncopated to work as extra drum hits. Like the Derrick Carter remix, it’s amazing that there seems to be so much to hear and yet the track is made of so little. More proof positive that 2009 was about “less-is-more”.

DJ Dealer feat. Typhanie Monique – Is You Is (Look At You)
Buy it now here or here.
Chicago DJ Greg Diehl has been making house for well over a decade. After releasing a couple of tracks on Mindfood and Subliminal, Greg kicked off his own label, Look At You and hasn’t looked back. Is You Is has a real classic Chicago house feel with a three-note bassline, Hammond organ and smokey vocal. A simple mid range band-pass on the vocal gives the track a bluesy, 1950s vibe, while the Hammond provides a bit of thickness to the mix. Again, a simple arrangement makes for an incredibly effective song worthy of the top five.

Michael Jackson - Stanger in Moscow (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix) (white label)
Buy it now here or here.
Late in 2009, progressive house juggernaut Jerome Isma-Ae put out a single-sided white-label featuring two remixes; Way Out West’s Only Love and Michael Jackson’s Stranger in Moscow. I’d never heard the original Stranger in Moscow, but apparently it was released as a single from the HIStory compilation/album. In his tribute to the fallen star, Jerome takes the best and most emotive parts of the vocal and lays it over a monster of a progressive house track. It’s a real hands-in-the air affair, the kind of song that was once so popular at clubs and raves across the globe but has lately fallen into disfavour. It’s so close to being my favourite that part of me thinks it should be a tie for record of the year.

La Roux – In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix) (Kitsuné)
Buy it now here or here.
La Roux’s gotten lots of press for her retro 80s Flock-Of-Seagulls hair and analogue sound. I’m a big fan of analogue, but most of her stuff sounds harsh and leaves me cold. Lifelike gets it right, tho. His remix is the perfect balance between classic analogue synths and modern dance music arrangements. His remix makes La Roux sound soulful instead of harsh and the chorus is so emotive it makes you close you eyes, throw your head back and grin like an idiot. In my view, it’s the best thing that came out last year and I'm looking forward to hearing more from both artists.

Wolf Whistle

2010-01-26T11:12:00.005-04:00

Wow, January 26th and this is my first post of the year. That. Is. Sad. In my defense, I have the annual record round-up and a post on the recent dusting off of all the Detroit and Chicago music legends. Even though both are written, neither feels quite finished. Anyway, I promise to do better. With luck this will be the first of many tracks previewed on this site.

My eldest daughter got a keyboard for her birthday two years ago, played with it for a month and lost interest. Typical, I know, but that's not the point. The point is that I discovered it's MIDI capabilities while messing with the internal sounds over Christmas. So, I hooked it up and promptly wrote the groove at the heart of Wolf Whistle. Throw in a guitar sample, rhodes organ, and some spoken word wisdom from Howlin' Wolf, and voila!

In the end, what was intended to be a house track turned out to have more of a bigbeat vibe. In order for the groove to really work everything had to run at 140bpm, so it's a bit on the quick side for a house set, but would likely fit nicely beside some old skool breaks.

Let me know what you think.

Chef Napalm – Wolf Whistle by Chef Napalm

No Heart, No Soul, No Service

2009-11-15T10:39:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I was given two crates of Detroit Techno records. A few days later the remainder of my collection, which includes a smattering of Chicago Acid House and few Hardcore (U know the score!) records, arrived from Nova Scotia. It amounted to four crates in total and I've been playing the hell out of them. This mix is the result of a particularly spirited session.

A word about the cover art: Penny Arcade is written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik and is without a doubt my favourite webcomic. The original strip containing the cover art can be found here. Do yourself a favour and follow these guys; they are both dripping with talent.

Download No Heart, No Soul, No Service here.

Tracklist:

Logikal Nonsense/F.U. – F.U.S.E.
Bring Back My Happiness (Wink’s Acid Interpretation) – Moby / Are You There (DJ Tool) - Josh Wink
Magic Feet – Mike Dunn / Are You There (DJ Tool) - Josh Wink
E Dancer – Kevin Saunderson
The Phantom – Renegade Soundwave
Flash – Green Velvet
Bounce Your Body To The Box – Reese & Santonio
James Brown Is Dead (12” Mix) – LA Style
Lord Of The Land (Crispy Cool’s Make Mine A ’91 Mix) – Cyclone
Impact (USA) – Orbital
Pepper – Speedy J
Losing Control – DBX
Bulerias - Superslut
Strings of Life ’89 (Juan’s Magic Mix) – Rhythim Is Rhythim
Love (Loved) – Luke Slater
Halcyon (Tom Middleton Re-Model) - Orbital

Soundclouded

2009-11-03T17:25:00.009-04:00

For some time I have been frustrated by the lack of upload/download options available to the semi-pro* DJ/producer. Sure, you can upload mixes and tracks to a third-party upload/download service like Megaupload or YouSendIt or ZShare, but their interfaces are annoyingly time-consuming, unless you happen to be a PREMIUM member, and are chock-a-block with Google adds for online poker and porn. Plus, by forcing you to enter authentication codes, these services preclude the use of embedded music players in you blog/forum/myspace. It’s hard to look like a professional when you’re distributing your promos at the internet equivalent of a road-side yard-sale.

Speaking of myspace, are they ever going to upgrade that crap-assed music player? How can you strut your stuff when your tracks sound like they’re playing on a tape-recorder you bought at the Dollar Store? Honestly, my myspace page is more of a placeholder than a real marketing tool.

So, with my new-found impetus for production, I began exploring other options. Along came Soundcloud. Soundcloud is to myspace what an art gallery is to a page of thumbnails. On Soundcloud you can upload full-length tracks AND mixes, while on myspace you’re stuck with limits on track length and file size. Soundcloud has coding for embeddable players; myspace only allows a link to you page. Soundcloud allows for comments on specific tracks and even comments linked to sections of a track or mix; myspace has a general comments section on the page.

Believe it or not, this is not an ad for Soundcloud, I’m just so excited by the prospects that I’m having difficulty containing my enthusiasm.

Anyway, my inaugural upload to Soundcloud is a remix I did for DJ Bolivia’s remix contest. The contest closed yesterday, so I think I’m safe posting it here. If you took the time to download the sample pack, what you heard was a spoken-word story about a Midwestern girl who discovered electronic music and subsequently moved to New York in an attempt to connect with the scene. The track is called “Global Underground” in honour of the seminal mix CD series that figures largely in the story. The inspiration for my remix came from a couple of different places. Firstly, I’ve been re-reading Simon Reynold’s “Generation Ecstasy” (aka “Energy Flash”), specifically the chapters on the dark side of rave culture. The cheese in the vocal sort of annoyed me anyway, and so I decided to focus on the grind of raving rather than the honeymoon. At the same time I was given two crates of Detroit Techno records, mostly Plus8. This remix is my attempt at a Detroit sound.

DJ Bolivia - Global Underground (Chef Napalm's 212 to 313 Dub) by Chef Napalm

I can’t let you download it until the winners have been announced, but please let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Keep watching, because there is much more to come.

*By “semi-pro” I mean that I have been paid for my work in the past, but have yet make a living off of it.

Return of the Kitchen Heat Chart

2009-10-15T15:29:00.003-03:00

It's been ages. Many of these records were played at the Terrence Parker show.

Click the flaming text in the side-bar.

When Detroit Came to the Port City

2009-10-01T15:06:00.010-03:00

I know that it’s coming up on two (2!) weeks since the Terrence Parker show, but it was such an inspirational experience that both Fred “Nexus6ix” and I have been busy beavers. We’ve got a bunch of irons in the fire, so to speak, but mainly it’s just been an ever-inflating creative bubble that I’m praying doesn’t pop anytime soon.

As I’m sure you’ve gathered, the show was incredible. I have never, ever, in my life seen a DJ cut-up house records the way Terrence did in the wee hours of September 20th. Most of the time I find the work of “turntablists” (Read: Scratch DJs) to be entirely un-musical. Don’t get me wrong; I admire their dexterity and sense of timing immensely, but I think there are very few who make their art truly danceable. That’s not to say they can’t be make their sets danceable, but when they do their styles become closer to that of a traditional club DJ than a scratch DJ. Terrence went the other way: he came at it from the club mixing side and applied the techniques of the turntablist. He knew those records inside and out, backwards and forwards, upside-down. He’d grab a record from his bag, put it on the platter, cue it up without using his tele-head-phone, and drop it into the mix like it was nothing. He pick out a record, cue it, and start cutting it up for awhile, put it back in his bag and mix in something else. It was less like watching a DJ and more like watching a wizard work magic or watching a saint work miracles.

To top it all off, he’s a hellova nice guy. A lot of DJs, even local guys, are at least a bit of a diva and will turn their noses up at you if you’re not “their people”. Terrence was absolutely the antithesis of the diva DJ. He seemed pleased to chat and we talked about records for at least an hour before he went on. It was a real pleasure to meet him and with any luck, I’ll be seeing him again soon.

The video below will give you a taste. The sound is terrible, but if you can get past that, there’s nothing but genius there.

The last little piece of the story happened when we had to shut it all down at 2:15am. We were packing up the gear and Terrence was talking with us and other patrons while we worked. Out of nowhere the obviously very drunk guy comes up to the both and says to Terrence, “Budweiser?”

Terrence says, “Na, man, thanks. I don’t drink.”

Drunk Dude responds, “No, for me,” and drops a couple of bucks on the booth counter.

Terrence just stares at him, stunned. “Dude, this is the DJ both. The bar is over there,” he says with a bemused chuckle.

The guy stares back at Terrence, confused. Then he responds, “Come oooon! Just gimme a beer!”

At this point Fred steps in and says, “Look, pal, do you see any liquor here?” and gestures to the wall behind the booth. “The bar is over there!”

Buddy mumbles a “Fuck you” and stumbles away.

Terrence looks back and forth between me, Fred and Tommy, eyes wide. Finally with a wry smile he says, “I spend a lot of time in clubs, but that’s a new one for me, fellas.”

It was certainly an amusing cap to a unique show.

2009-09-18T08:57:00.003-03:00

IT'S HERE! I am very, very, veryveryveryveryvery excited and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of you out tomorrow night. If you can make it, tell me you ready about it on Kitchen Heat, I'll buy you a drink, and we can celebrate my birthday with TERRANCE-FUCKING-PARKER!

Sorta Siesta

2009-08-18T12:18:00.005-03:00

With the cancellation of both the "Repo-Men" and "Solid Sessions" shows, my August suddenly freed itself up almost completely. Then the proverbial fecal matter contacted the rotary ventilation device and I found myself putting in extra time at work on Sundays. That's good for the bank account, bad for my sanity.

The bad news is that I'm going to take the majority of the next four weeks off from the scene. That means no Open Turn Tables and no shows. Sorry.

The good news is that I'm taking the free time I have to focus a bit more on productions. Hopefully by the time the Terrence Parker show rolls around on September 19th, I'll have a bunch of fresh remixes, re-edits, and original tracks to play. And what better way could there possibly be to celebrate my birthday than with a top notch DJ in a great venue. Make sure you sign-up at the facebook event and invite all your friends to score some free passes.

See, it's all good news really.

10 (!) Hours of Nexus6ix

2009-08-09T09:30:00.004-03:00

When Fred "Nexus6ix" Bissnette said to me that he was planning a ten (10!) hour set, I raised my eyebrows and smiled, but privately I must admit that I scoffed a bit. I mean, it's hard enough to find 90 minutes to record let alone ten (10!) hours. So, I smiled and wrote it off as one of those brilliant art projects that never quite sees the light of day.

I stand here, now, corrected. Goddamned if he didn't pull it off. Download if you dare!

Nexus6ix - Ten Hour Marathon

Thick & Rich

2009-07-12T22:32:00.008-03:00

There doesn't have to be a story to go with my mixes, but it always seems like there is. This one came out of a rainy Sunday afternoon that was in dire need of some soul. In a bit of a funk, I started choosing records. What came out was 70 minutes of deep, bluesy house that includes a track by Saint John's own Fred "Nexus6ix" Bissnette, as well as Carl Craig's amazing rework of Tony Allen (RIP), Derrick Carter's stripped down version of Pooley's latest, and a stone-cold classic from Olav Basoski.

Kardek - Secret Garden
Max 404 - Honey
Fresh Juice - Party Stomp
Mingers - Emancipation
Ekkohaus - Learning to Fly
DJ Sneak vs. Hervé - Droppin' Kisses (Sneak's Dub)
Sandy Rivera - Hope
Nexus6ix - Morning Workout
Tony Allen - Kilode (Carl Craig Remix)
Ian Pooley Feat. Tim Fuller - What I Got (Derrick Carter Remix)
Nifty - B-Harp
Dragosh - Aloo Ma Auzi (Bearweasel's Linear Drum Edit)
Parov Stelar - Love
Olav Basoski - Infatuation
Knee Deep - Sweet Love

PooleyCarterTonkaBrazil

2009-07-06T15:21:00.004-03:00

It’s been awhile since we had a record review on Kitchen Heat, so let’s have a look at some of my recent favourites courtesy of partners-in-crime Ian Pooley and DJ Tonka.

Tonka and Pooley were schoolmates in Mainz, a city near Frankfurt. Along with contemporaries Mousse T and Boris Dlugosch, the pair have redefined the German electronic aesthetic from one of cold techno and cheesy trance towards the warm sounds of the funkiest house. Tonka became known for his disco-breaks sound, while Pooley’s sound bridges the gap between techno and house. To be fair, both artists have broadened the scope of their palettes in recent years forging roads into the other’s territory.

Ian Pooley feat. Tim Fuller – What I Got (Derrick Carter Remix) (Pooledmusic)
Buy it now here or here.
“What I Got” is deep. Pooley blends Tim Fuller’s falsetto over a funky synth bassline, lush pads, bleepy gated lead, and string-inflected rolls for the kind of deep house one usually associates with Ron Trent, Miguel Migs, and Masters at Work. It’s good, but not great. The real reason to pick up this 12” is the Derrick Carter remix. Carter is one of the second wave of great underground house producers from Chicago who made his name in the 1990s producing amazing remixes for European artists. On this remix he dispenses with all but the vocal, underpinning it with a funky, shuffling drum track. What’s interesting about the track is the lack of sounds: it is literally a beat, a 303 squiggle through a low-pass filter and someone panting low in the mix. That’s it! And yet both the remix and the dub seem to have so much to hear. Remixes like this show just what can be done with a less-is-more approach to arranging. Minimal techno could learn a thing or two from Derrick Carter.

Tonka – Orca (Ian Pooley’s Orca Mallorca Remix) (Great Stuff)
Buy it now here or here.
Tonka’s “Orca” is straight-ahead techno of a sort that has fallen out of fashion amongst all but the ‘heads: Driving drum track, one-note bassline, ray-gun lead and pitch-bent siren. The title comes from the manner in which the siren is bent so as to suggest whalesong. It’s a departure for Tonka, to say the least, and it could definitely benefit from a bit of his former disco-break polish. Thankfully, Ian Pooley steps in to give it some of his patented funk. Keeping only the siren, Pooley adds quiet pads, a ticking clavier, a beeping one-note lead and a nice round bassline to give it a shot of urgency missing from the original.

Ian Pooley vs. Zoo Brazil – Reader (Tonka Remix) (Pooledmusic)
Buy it now here or here.
Pooley teamed up with prolific Swedish producer Zoo Brazil on this one. What they produced is a split 12” with one version Pooley’s (deep house), one version Brazil’s (tech-house), and Tonka’s remix. Someone had the forethought to put Tonka’s remix on the A-side, and rightly so as it takes the best bits of the other versions, cross-breeds them and comes up with the techno stormer that Orca tries to be and more. In addition to the “Oh-oh-oh-oh” vocal present in both Pooley and Brazil versions, Tonka adds some string pads and a Ferris Bueller sample: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” The sample’s relaxed message is in smirking contrast to the percussive bassline, driving backbeat, and oh-oh sample, giving the track the kind of subtle, delicious irony not often seen in modern dance music.

Pooley and Tonka seem to have learned real lessons from the current popularity of minimal techno. Less is more and focus on the mix. It’s the kind of thinking that will keep me listening, that much is certain.

A Space Age Success

2009-07-02T10:37:00.006-03:00

Fantastic night at Element on Tuesday. It wasn't a huge crowd, but they were appreciative. My friend and colleague Mr. Ricardo was added at the last minute, making five (5!) DJs for just over four hours. I had a chance to play twice, at the beginning for around a half-hour and then again in the last hour. That last set was by far the best. I had a chance to really pull out all the stops and drop some bangers. My brief playlists are below for anybody who's interested.

Opening Set
Cassius - Feeling For You (Les Rhythmes Digitales-Dreamix)
Hatiras - Mannequins (Need Love Too) (Robodub)
Phillipe B - I Want You (Housy Mix)
Lost Vegas vs. Paul McCartney - Coming Up (Summer Funk Mix)
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Frankie Knuckles Mix)
Future of Vision - Talk To Me

Peak Set
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (The Crystal Method CSII Mix)
Hi-Tack - Waiting 4 U (Original Mix)
Space Cowboy - I Would Die 4 U
Filterfunk - S.O.S. (Message In A Bottle) (Delano & Crockett Remix)
CJ Bolland - Sugar Is Sweeter (Armand's Drum 'n' Bass Mix)

CANCELLED - Homebass - July 10th

2009-06-21T19:56:00.002-03:00

Apparently due to lack of interest. What can you do?

Space Aged Disco

2009-06-19T13:36:00.005-03:00

I'm excited to announce that I'll be playing alongside Hellacopta and DJ Double Dee at Element on Canada Day Eve. Come on uptown and celebrate Canada's 142nd birthday the right way.

Facebook link

Celebration with TERRENCE PARKER!!!

2009-06-09T15:30:00.001-03:00

Yup, THE Terrence Parker is coming to Saint John in September and I'm opening.

For those not in the know, Terrence is one of the famed second wave of producers to come out of Detroit in the early 90s. Unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Terrence favoured the soulful sounds of gospel, soul and house to the brittle timbres of Kraftwerk and techno. Expect to hear lots of horns, piano rolls, and vocals, not to mention some incredible turntablism. He's the kind of DJ who makes me embarassed to call myself one. We're all in for a treat, no doubt about it.

Home Bass

2009-05-27T09:11:00.004-03:00

This show was announced a while ago, but with everything else going on I just haven't had the time to post it. For future reference, you can always see what I'm up to on the Schedule of Events in the sidebar.

I really excited about this show in large part because I'll be debuting a number of my own re-edits, remixes, and original tracks. If you want a sneak peak of what's been happening on the production side of the Chef Napalm omelette, you can check out the Chef Napalm myspace page. If you're a member, feel free to add me as a friend.

Kitchen Heat Chart

2009-05-20T12:04:00.004-03:00

I discovered a fun little feature of the Juno Records website: Creat your own Chart. So I did one.

I'll try to update these after each public appearance, so watch for a new one on Monday.

Frisson

2009-04-30T21:32:00.001-03:00

Maybe because everybody at Element Open Turntables seems to be playing electro (blech!) or variations of funky house, I found myself playing more melodic, progressive house and techno just for something different. This mix includes many of the records I've been playing on Sundays at OTT, but more than that they are tracks that give me a little thrill of pleasure when I hear them. In most cases, it's some sound in the track that triggers it. In others, it's in the mix between two records that raises the hair on the back of my neck. Here's hoping Frisson makes you shiver, too.

1. Partial Arts – Trauermusik
2. Spencer Parker – Untitled Head
3. Johnjon – Meanwhile (Kollectiv Turmstrasse Remix)
4. Roger Sanchez – Nothing 2 Prove (Neanderthal Dark Ages Mix)
5. Dano – Ghetto Tech
6. Sil – Windows (Chocolate Puma Remix)
7. Silicone Soul – The Pulse (Hypno House Mix)
8. Nifty – Loopy Bell
9. Satoshi Tomiie – Virus
10. Underworld – Cowgirl
11. G-Pal – I Can See The Lights
12. Spiritcatcher – Total Confusion
13. Sexy Trash – Around the World (Kid Dub)
14. Toby Emerson – Reflections
15. Lumina – Borealis
16. Moby – Play (Rob Dougan Remix)

The Final Word on Headphones?

2009-04-28T15:13:00.006-03:00

Let’s hope. For a while, at least. As I said last week, Sunday’s Open Turntables would be the club test for my new Beyerdynamic DT770Pros. So, what is the final word? The word is: perfect. The DT770Pros are so light and comfortable, I wasn’t even a bit fatigued from wearing them for my 60 minute set. Isolation is as good as the In-Ears I’ve been using, which was my big attraction to IEMs, without the necessity of removing and reinserting when I want to monitor the club system. Yup, I am very pleased with my new cans. The Beyerdynamic DT770Pros have earned the coveted Kitchen Heat Stamp of Approval. Congratulations to all.

Having said that, I must admit that I was almost as impressed with Troy “Hellacopta” Morehouse’s new Sennheiser HD215s. They’re also circum-aural, isolate nicely, and sound fantastic! And they only cost $90!! The only downside is that they, like every other DJ headphone, are made of plastic.

I’m sticking with my DT770Pros, but if you’re a young jock starting out you could do a lot worse than buying HD215s.

Customer Service Special

2009-04-08T15:45:00.008-03:00

In January, I wrote about the trials and tribulations associated with the demise of my Beyerdynamic DJX1s. At the time I noted how fantastic Martech, and Doug Jones in particular, had been about having the broken DJX1s repaired. In fact, the repaired headphones arrived shortly after I wrote that post.

That was the good news.

I’d been planning the mix that eventually became À La Carte for a while and was excited to have my full-sized cans returned to me so I could lay it down. My elation quickly changed to disappointment, however, once I plugged them into my mixing board. Within seconds of the beginning of the first track, I could tell that the left driver was slightly quieter than the right. I checked the balance on my mixer with both my JVC Marshmallows (In-ear) and my Grado SR-80s (open); the issued was not the mixer. Normally, the listener’s awareness of this kind of balance issue will fade within a few minutes. Like eyes, most of us have one ear that is slightly weaker than the other and the brain can compensate for the slight discrepancy. My awareness of the imbalance never went away, though. In fact, it seemed to get worse. Not only that, but after a couple of weeks of regular use both at the club and in the studio, the left driver developed a buzz on the kick drum of whatever track I was playing. That buzzing has been getting progressively worse as well and has now spread to the right driver like some kind of distortion virus. Long story short, rather than sink more time and money into shipping and handling for further repairs that may result in still further issues, I decided to save for the IEMs I spoke of so glowingly in January. The DJX1s have hung in my studio, limply, ever since.

Out of the blue two weeks ago, an email from another Martech employee named Nathan Smith popped up in my inbox. He stated he had read my post about the troubles I had with the DJX1s and was enquiring as to whether I was satisfied with the outcome of the repair. Apparently, my blog had come up as a referring website in his webmaster tools and, curious, he had taken a peek. And boy, am I glad he did.

Stepping outside the events of the last couple of weeks, I’d like to touch for a moment on the root of what brought us to this point in our story; namely the general crappiness of DJ headphones. Every headset manufacturer on the planet has at least one set of silver-painted plastic, cup-swivelling, so-called "DJ" headphones marketed to the public based on toughness and driver size. While the drivers are indeed huge (most DJ headphones are in excess of 2”/50mm in diameter) I have yet to find a pair I would describe as robust. The issue with these plastic behemoths is invariably the swivel, either where it attaches to the ear cup or where it connects to the headband. If they’re going to break, that’s where they’ll let go. What gets me is that the vast majority of DJs don’t even use the swivels as they are allegedly intended, preferring instead to wear the headset in typical fashion with the headband over the head, one ear cup on, on off for monitoring. So, if virtually no one wears the swivelly headphones as intended, why continue to mass-produce what amounts to plastic garbage? Two reasons: 1) DJs from seasoned pros to bedroom beginners will pay any price for gear that they perceive is purpose-built for DJ equipment; and 2) When the headset breaks, that same DJ will buy the exact same brand and model for no other reason than they are what he/she has always used. Brand loyalty amongst DJs is the same as the loyalty displayed by musicians towards their guitar/bass/drums of choice and purveyors of DJ gear know it. They count on it. Technics SL1200 turntables, Pioneer CDJ-1000 CD players, Pioneer DJM-800 mixers, and Sony V700DJ headphones are the equipment of the “serious” DJ and don’t you dare suggest otherwise; “serious” DJs will take your head off. An Ecler mixer or a Denon Cd player might be as good or better than the venerable offerings of Pioneer, but you’ll have a hard time getting most DJs to admit it. Once that touchstone of quality has been assigned, everything that comes after, regardless of manufacturer, is based upon it and thus inferior in the eyes of the DJ. The reason all DJ headphones look and cost the same is because Sony had so much success with the V700DJ at the $200 price point and everybody else (Beyerdynamic included) had to get in on the action. It’s a sad state of affairs and one that has forced me to start looking outside traditional DJ equipment tropes, like the custom IEMs I wrote about four months ago.

One small footnote to that post was a response I got from a friend of mine who happens to be an active member of headfi.org, a forum catering to headphone audiophiles. He suggested I take a look at the Beyerdynamic DT770s. As he suggested, I looked into them and was mightily impressed with what I found. Not only were they highly regarded as studio headphones, with an impressive isolation of 18dB, but they also featured a spring steel headband, sans swivel. Judging by the specs they would be a very difficult headset to kill, but their isolation still couldn’t match the IEMs I had in mind.

Back to my story: as I was saying, Nathan Smith from Martech (Beyerdynamic’s Canadian distributor) had emailed me to ask about my DJX1 repair. I related to Nathan what had happened to my DJX1s after they were returned to me along with a little rant about DJ headphones very much like the one above. He replied with a gracious offer to replace them completely or heavily discount a pair of DT770PROs. Just like that. I wasn’t interested in a repeat performance by the DJX1s, but I’ll take the DT770s, please. Send them forthwith.

Here’s some specs:

Beyerdynamic DT770PRO-250

Transducer type: Dynamic

Operating principle: Closed

Weight without cable: 270 g

Frequency response: 5 - 35,000 Hz

Nominal impedance acc. to IEC 60268-7: 250 ohms

Nominal SPL acc. to IEC 60268-7: 96 dB

Nominal THD acc. to IEC 60268-7: <0.2%

Power handling capacity acc. to IEC 60268-7: 100 mW

Sound coupling to the ear: Circumaural

Ambient noise isolation: approx. 18 dB (A)

Single-sided cable w/ Gold-plated jack plug

Length and type of cable: 3 m / coiled cable

Nominal headband pressure: approx. 3.5 N

And they arrived on Friday! Man, do they ever look good. The spring steel head band looks and feels really substantial, yet they’re significantly lighter than the DJX1s (330g vs 270g). The other big upside is that the headset appears to be almost completely modular. That is, all of the visible components can be easily and quickly replaced in much the same way as the Sennheiser HD25-1 II. So if, for example, I was to somehow bend the spring-steel band, I can easily replace it by simply quoting a part number. I sincerely wish that other headphone manufacturers would follow Beyerdynamic’s lead rather than producing all those Sony clones.

I’ll write back soon with my thoughts on their overall sound. I burned them in over the weekend and if all goes well this week I’ll be posting a new mix to go along with a review of the new cans.

Regardless of how they sound, I can’t stress enough how pleased I am with the service I’ve received from the folks at Martech. They’re a quality outfit and they obviously understand that customer service is more important now than it’s ever been, especially while the economy is in freefall. Nathan and Doug, both scholars and gentlemen, deserve special recognition for their efforts. I really appreciate it, guys.

So what’s the moral of the story? I’m not sure there really is one, other than perhaps you get what you give. That and just occasionally, the wheel that doesn’t squeak sees some grease.

Saint John Sound

2009-04-06T14:43:00.005-03:00

What is it? What is the Saint John Sound? Fred (Nexus6ix) and I had a conversation last week about finding the sound of our city. Neither of us had any idea what it might be, but we are looking for it. We agreed on one thing: it is NOT electro-house.

The cold light of Monday morning

2009-03-16T14:37:00.006-03:00

Cartoon courtesy of Savage Chickens.

Seven weeks into the Open Turntable's run at Element and we had more DJs through the door than people. How sad is that? Attendance has been declining ever since we started on February 1 (60+ paying customers), but we've always had a core of 10-12 who at least put in an appearance.

Not yesterday.

Yesterday, we had a grand total of six (6) people who came out to witness the musical craftsmanship of the 7 attending DJs. And it was on, too; everybody was in top form.

To add insult to serious injury, plastered all over facebook today are the pics of those regulars giving it hell on the dancefloor the night before in the very same bar. I'm glad they had a good time, but could they not spend an hour and drop by the following afternoon. Apparently not.

As you can see, I'm finding it hard not to take this all personally. The thing is that a bad day like yesterday can spell the end of an endeavour such as OTT. I mean, it is entirely possible that Element's Sunday Club spun its last record at 8pm, March 15th, 2009.

The irony is that next weekend they'll all be bitching because there's nothing going on. Such is the fickle nature of the crowd.

To critical acclaim

2009-03-13T11:20:00.003-03:00

For all the would-be critics out there I would encourage you to screen "Heckler". It says things that should have been said to the critical community by the artists a long time ago. It has been my considered opinion for some time that critics in general, and internet critics specifically, write reviews more for their own glory than as a guide for the general public. We do occassionally publish reviews here at Kitchen Heat, but we only review what we like. That is to say we never eviserate anybody's art, only praise the art we appreciate the most.

Mix Menu

2009-03-03T11:10:00.004-04:00

Check out the list of free mixes in the "Menu" section to the right. All mixes are 70+ minute, 192kbps mp3 files.

Some Stormin' Sets

2009-02-24T15:22:00.005-04:00

Despite cancellations by Shonaman, Kraker, and Deuce because of the impending storm, Sunday night turned into a real treat for the ears. Everybody, including me if I may be so bold, was in tip-top form. Nexus6ix and Bolivia both put on mixing clinics, with Bolivia pulling off the fastest track drop I have ever seen. EVER. It's a pity only a few people were there to hear it. Due to the sickness of Farmer Shawn there is no recording, so they're the only ones who will, too.

Don't miss out again. Make sure you stagger down this Sunday, 2pm-8pm.

Surf City Sunday Club Revisited

2009-02-18T13:20:00.008-04:00

We've had three successful Open Turntables @ Element and I think I can safely say that this Sunday is shaping up to be the best yet.

2:00 - 2:45 Bogey Lowensteen - Electro-house new-comer.
2:45 - 3:30 Chef Napalm - That's me!
3:30 - 4:15 Mr. Ricardo - Funky house partner-in-crime.
4:15 - 5:00 DJ Bolivia - Progressive house legend.
5:00 - 5:45 Shonaman - Back for another round after a jaw-dropping set on Febuary 1st.
5:45 - 6:30 DJ Kraker - An Element electro favourite.
6:30 - 8:00 Deuce - New to me, but I've heard great things.

Make sure you make it uptown on Sunday.

...memories...all alone in the strobe light...

2009-02-10T10:58:00.005-04:00

Not so successful show at A Khord. We had maybe a dozen people through the door to hear Kardinal Syn open. I went on at midnight as planned. I was two records deep, looked up and everybody was gone. WTF??? Apparently, they all left with the Kardinal. Almost a year after my last engagement at A Khord, I repeated my performance by playing for the barstaff.

It's times like this when you really start second guessing what you did. I don't think I played enough records to have driven people out, but there's always that nigling bit of doubt, that nasty little person at the back of your head screaming themselves hoarse that you played the wrong records or that nobody showed up because they already know you suck. Most of the time I can tell that vindictive motherfucker to shut his mouth. After watching people walk out on your set, however, it's tough to ignore those very real possibilities. By the time I'd arrived home, I'd almost decided to drop off all my records at the Salvation Army and sell my turntables for scrap. That may sound like the petulance of a child, but you have to appreciate that I've been DJing in one form or another since 1999. That's ten (10!) years, for anybody who's counting. If I'm not good enough now, I have to think that I probably never will be and that is about as sobering a thought as anyone will ever have.

As with many things, the light of day lends a clarity to the situation. I dragged my ass from bed on the low side of the morning and stumbled to my "studio" with every intention of packing up the whole works. But, I couldn't do it. As it turns out, I love it too much to quit. If I never play another show in public, that's OK with me, as long as can still make my monthly record order and play for the freezer and the water heater in my "studio". If the music that I love still has a place in my life, then all is right with the world.

Quick & Dirty

2009-02-07T09:54:00.007-04:00

A last minute booking at A Khord tonight with Kardinal Syn! If you're reading, the dirty beats drop at 10pm with the Kardinal. I go on at midnight. Drop by, tell me you read about it on Kitchen Heat and I'll by you a drink.

Surf City Sunday Club

2009-01-26T11:17:00.004-04:00

After six months (6!) without a show I'll be appearing at the freshly minted Open Turntables @ Element. In case you're the only person I know without Facebook, the sickness kicks off at 2pm and runs until 8pm. Or until you stop buying drinks. Whichever comes first.

See you there!

à la Carte

2009-01-17T13:03:00.005-04:00

As promised, a new mix is available for download. This mix comes from one of the all-vinyl, turntable workouts I referred to earlier in the week.

Favourites From 2008

2009-01-14T13:41:00.014-04:00

With the demise of a number of big distributors, there are those who will undoubtedly refer to 2008 as the year vinyl died. I prefer to think of it as separating the wheat from the chaff. In the future if the track isn’t absolutely top quality, it’s simply not going to see a proper record release, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. As it was, there were an awful lot of top-notch tracks that dropped last year. These are ten of my favourites.

Steven Lee & Gaby Dershin – Exit Row (Pirupa & Ruggero Remix) (C2)
Buy it now here or here.
C2 consistently put out quality records from the likes of Danny Howells, DJ Pierre, Eric Prydz, and Steve Angelo. This year, they have two in my top ten and two more that just missed the cut. This collaboration by veteran collaborators (Steven Lee is half of Lee-Cabrera, while Dershin is half of duo Astro & Glyde) features plucked strings over a chugging bassline. The original is good, but the remix is better. By adding another, percussive bassline underneath the original bassline and dispensing with the super-long breakdown, relative unknowns Pirupa & Ruggero make the track that much more propulsive. Whenever my mix needed to gather a bit of steam, this is the record I reached for.

Shed – Warped Mind (Ostgut Ton)
Buy it now here or here.
2008 will also be known as the year when minimal techno really came out. Labels like liebe*detail, Get Physical, and Areal all made big splashes this year, but the tsunami came from Berlin producer Shed. With a penchant for odd time signatures and unique track structures, “Warped Mind” is probably his most accessible track in recent memory. In keeping with the auditory aesthetic of minimal techno, “Warped Mind” is an elegant track, consisting of little more than a filtered synth line over skittery percussion. And yet, as with most of the genre, there is something about it that moves the hips and nods the head.

Kaskade & Deadmau5 – Move For Me (Deal)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about this track before and, thankfully, it’s lost none of its immediacy. Even though it is the only Deadmau5 production I’ve enjoyed all year, it’s still a great track and the ‘mau5 is in my top ten for the second year in a row.

Renato Cohen – Magica (Sino)
Buy it now here or here.
Every now and then, Brazilian techno star Renato Cohen drops a couple of brilliant techno stormers into the laps of Hong Kong label Sino. He did it in 2003 and again in 2005. This year he dropped off one driving techno classic (b-side “Power”) and one tech-house masterpiece (a-side ”Magica”). Both tracks are elegantly simple, with the latter being a slightly better track than the former. “Magica” marries a looped vocal sample with an acid bassline and a high-low, pitch-bent electro-bass. The loop extols the listener to “Save my Life!” which, when combined with the pitch-bent bass, creates the kind of adrenaline-inducing vibe most often heard in jock jams like Gary Glitter’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 2)”. “Magica” works best as what I think of as a transition track; one that transitions from a lower to a higher state of floor energy. In that context, it simply can’t be beat.

My Federation – Don’t Wanna Die (Eye Industries)
Buy it now here.
There aren’t very many so-called Indy-rock bands that incorporate the house/techno sound palette into their songs with any grace or consistency. These types of bands tend to display a great deal of distain for all things electronic, despite the fact that punk bands these ingrates tend to idolize owe just as much to dub reggae and disco as they do to 50s rock. My Federation would appear to be the exception rather than the rule. The title single from their excellent album “Don’t Wanna Die” sets the tone for the whole album. It’s punk with an acid bassline. The icing on the cake is the glorious 3-part harmony on the chorus. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then for god sake pick up this slice of 7” gold. If those are all gone, then go get the CD.

Murk Presents Liberty City – If You Really Love Someone (Paul Woolford’s 11 Minutes of Magic) (C2)
Buy it now here or here.
Miami-based duo Murk has been in the game a long time. They’ve been making house since the early 90s under a plethora of pseudonyms. You might know them from classics by the likes of Funky Green Dogs or Mission Control or Interlude or Interceptor or Deep South or Coral Way Chief or, indeed, Liberty City. “If You Really Love Someone” was originally released was originally released in 1994 under Twisted Records sub-label TRIBAL and is considered a classic. The real story here is not Murk; it’s Paul Woolford. Ordinarily, I have avoided putting remixes and redoes of classic tracks in the round-up because they tend to be luke-warm versions of the original; a Malibu Stacy with a new hat. Just occasionally, however, an accomplished producer can take a classic and make it their own. “If You Really Love Someone” is a pretty menacing track to start with. The hissy percussion cuts through the three-note bassline like a knife, while Shauna Solomon’s layered vocals wails over top of it all. Woolford dispenses with everything but the vocal, adds a growling, pulsing bassline over some 909 drum sounds and manages to simultaneously make the track more propulsive and more ominous. Even its extended length (11 minutes!) isn’t an issue as Paul changes things up just enough to keep things rolling and stop the listener from tuning out. Woolford’s output has been spotty at best in the last few years, but this remix places him firmly back in the pantheon of great producers.

Oliver Koletzki vs. Parker Frisby – The Is So Fuckin’ Oldschool (Stil Vor Talent)
Buy it now here or here.
Don’t let the title fool you: Oliver Koletzki wrote and produced all four of these gems. Even though the track list credits A-side tracks “Since You Are Gone” and ”This Is So Fuckin’ Oldschool” to Koletzki and B-side tracks ”Street Life” and ”Brain Against Heart” to Parker Frisby, it’s obvious to the listener that they’re all the same guy. The title is accurate in one regard; these tracks would fit nicely in sets from both 2008 and 1998. ”Street Life”, for example, sounds like a Samplitude-era Olav Basoski track. What ties the EP together is the percussion. The same drum palette is used in all four productions with varying degrees of success. Of the four, I slightly favour “Since You Are Gone”, closely followed by ”Brain Against Heart” simply for the interaction between the chosen drum sounds and clean piano/keyboard melodies. In terms of bang-for-your-buck, you can’t go wrong with this EP.

Wagon Cookin – Mallorca (Sasse Remix) (Compost)
Buy it now here or here.
Apart from the time-signature, I’m not even sure there’s anything left of the original in Sasse’s remix of “Mallorca”. Regardless, I have been digging that bassline since this record dropped in February. The filtering applied is just perfect for head-nodding and hip-shaking. My only complaint is that that the track ends…oddly. After the break, that awesome bassline just drops completely out and you’re left with only the drums and the synth chords. If you’re not paying attention, it’s a real letdown, but if you’ve got another bassline waiting it the wings, it’s gold.

Andomat 3000 – BND2 (Four:Twenty)
Buy it now here or here.
Andomat 3000, a.k.a. Andreas Wiegand, has been recording as DJ Mahatma since the turn of the millennium. I can understand why he came up with the new moniker because his previous output consists almost entirely of hardcore techno/Schranz; certainly nothing like this minimal jewel. The combination of the shuffle percussion and stand-up bass loop provides “BND2”s groove, while the occasional trumpet call and ululating yell evokes the image of outlaws huddled around a campfire in a Tex-Mex desert. Even the title is a clever contraction of the word “bandito”. Even Kiki’s utterly pointless remix serves to underline the genius of original. Out of all the artists listed in this round-up, Andomat 3000 is the one to watch.

The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here or here.
I wrote about “Golden Cage” 5 months ago in The Lost Post (Summer Ingredients) and it’s still golden. Fred Falke doesn’t put a foot wrong on this remix. The sparkling melody, the pulsing bassline, the pitch-bent synths, I love it all and it is far and away my favourite record of the year.

Anyway, keep watching this space. I’ve got a bunch of things in the works, including some upcoming shows and record reviews. Not to mention a new mix that may include a few of the tracks listed above. All set to drop in the next couple of weeks. Until then, keep buying records.

The Lost Post

2009-01-13T13:16:00.005-04:00

For some unknown reason, the August 10th post intitled "Summer Ingredients" has disappeared from the blog. Is it a blogger issue? Did I delete it by accident? It's a mystery. Thankfully, the Google Cache has saved my bacon and I'm able to repost it below.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Summer Ingredients

We moved. Again. Same city, just down the road in fact, but it was still quite an undertaking. Not the least of which is all those little jobs a new house requires. Like mowing the lawn. I haven't had to mow a lawn since moving from Nova Scotia, and now I have to mow twice a week just to keep up with the growth brought on by all this rain. And I'm here to tell you, nothing makes you appreciate new music like mowing a lawn. Especially vocal tracks with a bit of hands-in-the-air whooshy-ness. Here are a few of my current favourites.

The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here or here.
A gloriously sparkly remix by frenchman Fred Falke. I always kind of assumed that Alan Braxe was the real genius behind past Braxe & Falke remixes, but it's clear I was very much mistaken. Sorry about that Freddie; you certainly hold your own. Back to the track: I'm not sure if it's the pitch bent keys in the melody or the minor chords of the rhythm line, but FF's remix makes me want to tilt my smiling face into the sun. He takes what is otherwise po-faced guitar song about being trapped and turns it into a kind of bitter-sweat anthem to summer flings. You cannot lose with this one, sunrise, midday, or sunset.

The Presets - This Boy's In Love (Lifelike Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here.
Another Modular record! I've been watching the Presets since their Blow Up EP five (5!) years ago and I have to say these guys are doing it right. The original track is genius all on its own. The tenor/bass verses and falsetto chorus make for the kind of ear-candy that has me singing along even when the song's not playing. Lifelike (another frenchman and Vulture Falke-alike) injects a bit of bounce to the somewhat dire original. The over-compressed chorus along with the wonderfully squelchy melody combine for maximum whoosh!

Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move For Me (Deal)
Buy it now here or here.
Written by San Franciscan Kaskade and produced by Canada's own Deadmau5, it's hard for me to judge the separation of duties. It sounds more like a Deadmau5 track, except for the exceptional vocals (performed by one Haley Gibby). Regardless, the track feels more like a lament than the typical techo/trance stormer we've come to expect from both Kaskade & the 'mau5. I've been feeling a bit blah about Deadmau5's stuff lately; too much bombast and not enough soul. Not the case here. The lyrical couplets "Move for me/I'll move for you," and "Another night out/Another dance floor," sound like the groan of a DJ who's been on the road for too long or the cry of the rave casualty so jaded that they're begging the DJ to bring back the rush of the early days/years. That their weariness can be expressed so succinctly is what makes the track great. In fact, the raw emotions expressed elegantly is what makes each of these three records great and is, I think, what's been missing from the current trend towards the minimal. There's just too much tech out there, and not enough soul.

In the Ear of the Beholder

2009-01-12T10:30:00.007-04:00

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

I know, I know; I have got to better than one post every two months. In my defence, it has been an extremely hectic six months. We moved into a new house and the room designated as my den/”studio” was an unfinished basement room with concrete floor and bare studs. So, after wiring outlets, installing sheetrock, crack-filling, painting, and carpeting my new space, I decided I needed some new monitors to complete the picture. Of course, the monitors I wanted (Read: could afford) were back-ordered and I waited another six (6) weeks for them to show up. This is on top of all the other little chores that go along with home-ownership. Chores that I have been able to avoid for the last two years of ass-swelling, rental bliss. Chores like mowing the lawn, which I had to do twice a week through the summer months because of all the rain. I guess this is my long-winded way of saying that after almost six months of no deck-time I am very rusty and it’s take a couple of weeks of regular steel wheel workouts to knock myself back into shape. Fear not, though, a fresh mix is on the way, so keep an eye out for it.

The other thing to put a crimp in my spin sessions was the demise of my headphones. I bought my Beyerdynamic DJX-1s a little over a year ago after breaking what I swore would be my last pair of Sony V700s.

Not only did they sound great, as you would expect from a high-end manufacturer like Beyerdynamic, but they fit very nicely also. Very comfortable headphones. My only complaint at the time was that they were constructed entirely of plastic. My experience with plastic headphones has not been good. At various times I have cracked, snapped, or otherwise destroyed a set of Sony MDR-V500s, a set of Sony MDR-7605s, and two pairs of MDR-700s. Given the reputation of Beyerdynamic as a purveyor of quality headphones, I pushed those doubts aside and proceeded with enjoying my new cans. That is, until the simple act of removing them from my head after some practice time broke the band just above the swivel joint almost in half.

After contacting Beyerdynamic directly about a possible replacement under warranty, I was directed to the fine folks at Martech, Beyerdynamic’s reps here in Canada. Martech were extremely helpful, informing me that the broken portion of my DJX1s was covered by a five (5!) year warranty against breakage. “Send them to us,” they said, “and we’ll send them back, good as new.” So, off they went to Beyerdynamic's repair/replacement facility in Ontario. I am still awaiting their return.

In the interim, I played at a friend’s Christmas party using the only other closed headphones I own: JVC Marshmallows! And they were GREAT!! I know, I know; I asked myself the same question: How can this be? How can $20 earbuds function as well, if not better, than my $200 full-sized circumaurals? The answer, in short: isolation. The Marshmallows are like little foam earplugs with drivers (speakers) in them. According to headphonereviews.org, they’re able to block a whopping 26dB, two-and-a-half times that of the DJX1s. The big advantages to such a set-up are, 1) the improved isolation allowed me to turn down the monitors because I wasn’t using them anyway, and 2) I didn’t wake up the next morning with ears ringing. The latter has been of real concern lately. It used to be that I could play a show and go home with ringing ears, but wake up feeling right as rain. The last couple of events, however, I’ve woken up ringing and it has lasted through to the afternoon. This points to a disturbing trend of auditory deterioration, one that many be at least delayed simply by switching from full-sized headphones to In-Ear Monitors (IEMs for short).

For those unfamiliar with the term, the In-Ear Monitor is defined by the fine people of headfi.org, the definitive resource for all things headphonish, as:

In-Ear-Monitor (IEM), also known as canalphone, ear-canalphone, or ear-canal headphone, is a type of Inter Aural headphone that is designed to be used where the user’s ear canal is sealed by the ‘phone. The seal generally serves two functions: 1) blocks noise and 2) forms a sealed acoustic chamber to achieve a fuller sound. To create such as a seal, the earphone’s nozzle along with its tip (or sleeve) is inserted into the front part of the ear canal. Many high end IEMs are custom molded for comfort and perfect seal.

The custom molded IEMs referred to in the definition are those favored by live musicians nowadays. They sort of look like hearing aids and are credited with saving the hearing of rock bands world-wide.

Funnily enough, there aren’t any DJs who have jumped onto the IEM bandwagon. At least, there aren’t any who are talking about it. I did stumble across an article in Remix magazine talking about how the industry should adopt these auditory extending devices sooner rather than later, but that seems to be the sum-total of DJ scene coverage. Regardless of whether I’m breaking ground or not, a pair of custom IEMs are definitely in my future. In the meantime, my trusty Marshmallows will have to carry me. It will be very interesting to hear how they make out on February 1st.

Pinkpenny Promo

2008-10-23T15:48:00.005-03:00

Earlier this month I passed an important milestone (well, important to me at least): I received my first slice promotional music.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I didn’t start this blog, or DJing for that matter, to get free music. I started DJing because I wanted to listen to good music at the parties/clubs I attended. I wish I could say that at all charitable, that it was about sharing great music and giving my friends and fellow party-goers a good time, but no, it is entirely selfish – I quite simply could not stand what was being played and decided that if I wanted to hear anything else, I was the one who was going to have to play it. One can only listen to so much Great Big Sea before one yearns for fiddle-free music. I started this blog as simply a vehicle for my mixes. I wanted people to listen to what I was doing and so set up this site as a place to host online links to my mix archive and announce any live gigs that I might be doing. Since I started it, it’s taken on a bit of a life of its own with editorial content largely consisting of record reviews. Records I bought myself, I might add. It does what it was intended to do, I suppose; it lets those who care know what’s happening with my DJ “career” (a term I use ever-so loosely), but it has never lead to any paying gigs or promotional swag. That is until now.

Pinkpenny records is a net label based in Devon, UK. They sent me, and presumably others, links to two mixes of “You Know Where Your Going” [sic] by TC, a remix by Mr.Vinyl and the original mix. The original is a downbeat track best described as “chilled”. It consists largely of a synthesized saxophone over a warbling synth, melodic washes and a nice stand-up bassline. The original is good; I’ve played it for a few people and it got their heads nodding to the groove. Definitely worth a download.

The Mr. Vinyl remix is an up-tempo version of the original. Mr. Vinyl has dispensed with the saxo-synth, augmented a staccato piano riff, thrown in a gated copy of the synth wash for drama and replaced the stand-up bass with a typical, bouncing, progressive bassline to give the track a bit of thump. As in the case of the original, this mix is effective; good but not great. Competent is actually the word that leaps to mind.

Overall, I think the original works marginally better as a track that the remix, but I’d certainly play both if only they were on vinyl. If only. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, though. Digital promos are better than no promos at all.

The Last Bastion of Analogue

2008-10-01T09:11:00.002-03:00

Can someone explain to me why it is so important to signal the death knell of the vinyl record, the terminus of the turntable? What do these early laptop-adopters have invested in software and file formats that necessitates constantly crowing of "the end of vinyl"? What satisfaction do they derive from it? And why when you challenge that assertion are you immediately labeled a "hater" with a "hard-on for vinyl"? Anybody?

NiteLite Snack

2008-06-29T12:13:00.006-03:00

Yup, good times at NiteLite last weekend. Although, as I said, the levels on the recording were very hot, and it’s not worth posting. But, I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit: the party, the records, the vibe.

I’m on vacation for the next week or so while our house closes and I had a couple of hours to spare on Friday. My record bag was still packed from last weekend, so all the tracks in the mix were either ones I played or planned to play. The tough part about playing a tag-team set is not clashing too much with your counter-part’s style. My partner-in-crime Mr.Ricardo has a more progressive edge to his selections, so the records I picked out also tended towards the progressive. This is also my first mix using a CDJ, which I’m still getting used to.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you Chef Napalm’s NiteLite Snack

Stage One (Pariah’s Banjo Mix) – Space Manoeuvres
Voltage – Matthias Meyer
Do ‘un Goodur’ (Tom Middleton’s Cosmos Mix) – Crazy Penis
Risingson (Underworld Mix) – Massive Attack
Dubb Me Some’tin Fresh – Halo, Hipp-e, & Tony
Warped Mind – Shed
Mallorca (Sasse Remix) – Wagon Cookin’
Magica – Renato Cohen
BND2 – Andomat 3000
Electrikiss – Eric Kupper feat. K-Scope
Can You Relate – Samuel L. Session
Exit Row (Pirupa & Ruggero Remix) – Steven Lee & Gaby Dershin
Charlotte (Remix) – Booka Shade
Harder Better Faster Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit) – Daft Punk
Shiver (Ewan Pearson’s Bari Girl Remix) – Silver City
Don’t Wanna Die – My Federation

After the nitelites come on...

2008-06-23T14:34:00.004-03:00

A bit of a disappointing end to a great night: for no reason I can fathom, the levels on the recording are very distorted. After some testing, I narrowed it down to the mixer; a crap-assed Pioneer! Since there's no adjustment of the levels for the rec-out apart from the individual channel gains and since we kept said gains out of the red, there is no reason for the hot recording other than some internal fault. I've thought for a long time that Pioneer mixers were of questionable quality at an inflated price, and this lends even more credence to that belief. Why people continue to buy/insist on them I'll never understand.

Solstine Anticipation

2008-06-20T14:39:00.004-03:00

For those of you who don’t know, the venue for NITELITE has been changed to the Gothic Arches in Saint John. Go check out the Facebook event for more details on that. Personally, I’d just as soon it was on home turf anyway. I think you’ll all agree that travel is nice, but the best sleep comes from one’s own bed.

My partner-in-crime, Richard “Mr. Ricardo” Carhart, is feeling the pre-show butterflies acutely. Strangely, I am not. Despite this being the biggest event I’ve played to date, and for probably the first time, I’m not experiencing any of the paralyzing apprehension I’ve encountered prior to previous shows. All I feel is a sureness, a rightness, a confidence in my skills. That’s not macho swagger or arrogance talking either. I certainly don’t think my (our) set will be the highlight of the event, although I will say we’ve got a trick or two up our sleeves that may make it something special and unique. No, it’s like being prepared for a big exam; I know exactly what will be asked of me and I am ready to face the challenge.

A brief word on our set: the poster says “Progressive/House”; I’m not at all sure that’s particularly accurate. There will be some house, and maybe even some progressive house, but I’d say the majority of what we’ve been playing is closer to melodic, minimal techno, if that makes sense at all. I’m recording, so watch for that coming soon.

If you’re attending, watch out for our sweet new T’s. Saint John DJ Farm in full effect.

Keep the nite-lites burning.

2008-05-07T11:16:00.004-03:00

As you can see, I'm doing a tag-team set with my good friend Richard "Mr.Ricardo" Carhart. It's just an opening set, but this is a really big show. Here's hoping it pays off in some more regular gigs.

It'll likely be a very (although I hesitate to use the word) minimal set, although maybe "deep" would be a better way to describe it. Underground sounds, for sure. We are opening, after all. In all likelyhood I'll record it, so watch for that.

A new addition to the cheese tray

2008-04-07T10:26:00.009-03:00

I was recently solicited to come up with a "Rave" mix, as opposed to a club mix. When I think of "rave" music I think of trippy, loopy tracks, with short stab-like vocal samples running at around ~130bpm. Ordinarily, I prefer to operate around 120bpm and I like vocal mixes, so compiling something along those lines became a bit of a challenge. The other challenging part about the excercise was not repeating myself by using records I'd high-lighted in mixes before. Here's what I came up with.

Easy Peasy Ravey Cheesey

Easy (Niekisch & Hermann Dub) - Trick & Kubic
Show Me Your Monkey (Punkers Cheetah Remix) - Percy Filth
Your Wildest Dreams (Joey Negro Medusa Mix) - Akabu
Penetration (Olav Basoski Remix) - Alex Romano
Booth Test - Dee Magic
Control Freaq - Felix & Junior
At Night (Alan Braxe Remix) - Shakedown
Star Catching Girl (Sander Kleinenberg's Dub) - Brother Brown
Needy Girl (Boy 8-Bit's Talk Box Dub) - Chromeo
Runaway - Thomas Cajal
Run On (Sharam Jey's Always On The Run Remix) - Moby
Golden Sun (Haji & Emanuel Remix) - Asle
Psycho - Romain Curtis & Ceeryl
Reddie (Paranoid Jack Remix) - Isaac S
Discoteca (Full Length Baby Doc Mix) - Pet Shop Boys
Drumspeak - Paranoid Jack

Beware the Ides of March...almost.

2008-03-14T15:38:00.004-03:00

It is a sad thing to be present for the end of something you thought was good and pure. Last night at A Khord I played three hours worth of delicious vinyl for...the barstaff. That's right; not a single patron walked through the doors from 10:30pm until we shut it down at 1:30am. The novelty has apparently worn off and now the fickle audiences of Saint John have moved on to other, lesser events. I'm told that the engagement at A Khord ends on March 27th and there will not be a renewal. I for one will be very sorry to see a club night in such a spectacular space come to a crashing halt.

No recording, I'm afraid. The left-hand turntable had a short in the audio cable and it was causing some dire distortion. It wasn't a total loss, though, as it kept me entertained trying to choose records that could handle a bit of additional distortion. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

Another last minute booking!

2008-03-12T18:17:00.003-03:00

I'm filling in for DJ Nexus6ix tomorrow night. My three (3!) hour set will feature lots of the music listed below. Come on down and check out some lush wax in context. For all those of you overseas, I'll likely be recording at least some of it, so stay tuned.

Gotta go pick out some records...

Tender Cuts - February 2008

2008-02-26T09:57:00.009-04:00

As I noted in my round-up a couple of months ago, there were some serious contenders left off of my top ten. After spending a bit more time with these records, I feel they are deserving of more recognition than a mere mention.

Tracey Thorn - Grand Canyon (Ada's 1st Dub) (Virgin)
Buy it now here or here.
I was surprisingly underwelmed by Tracey Thorn's recent album Out Of The Woods, considering that most of it was produced by remix genius Ewan Pearson. In fact the only tracks on the album that raised my blood at all were produced by Martin Wheeler ("Easy") and Alex Santos ("Grand Canyon"). On the strength of those tracks, and because I love the sound of Tracey's voice, I kept an eye out for the singles. It's All True yielded a decent disco-inflected effort by Martin Buttrich that, I swear, is on every minimal mix I came across at the end of last year. The real gem, though, showed up on the second 12" for "Grand Canyon". Areal Records regular Ada turned in both a softly pulsing remix and a dub. The backing track is essentially the same for both, but the dub dispenses with all but the most soulful sections of vocal and, for my money, is the sweeter of the two.

Tone-Loc - Wild Thing (Peaches RMX) (Delicious Vinyl)
Buy it now here.
And now for something completely different. It's hard the imagine how one could improve on Tone Loc's 1989 pop-smash "Wild Thing", but I guess Peaches thought she could. To my shock, she hits it just right. As anybody who has heard the song knows, "Wild Thing" is a catalogue of encounters with sexually aggressive women. Written entirely from the male perspective on these fantastical events, Peaches shrewdly realized that she was in the perfect position to fill the other side of the equation: that of the sexually aggressive female. She adds a couple of explicit verses, subtly tweaks the sample to give it that electro-house sound and "Wild Thing" is born again. Track it down, you can thank me later

Eric Kupper - Electrikiss (Nite Grooves)
Buy it now here.
Eric Kupper's career spans the last 20 years of dance music and beyond. Starting as a keyboardist for the likes of David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and Arthur Baker in the early 80s, Eric has been doing mostly remix work for the last 15 years. Checking his remix credits reads like a who's who of electronic music. All that aside, Mr. Kupper’s most recent effort, the “Faith Healer / Electrikiss” double A-side, is exactly the kind of keyboard work-out you’d expect from someone with chops like Eric’s. The one-note bassline pulses away underneath melodic pads while the melody sparkles on the top. The whole track puts me in mind of practically any scene from Blade Runner, and in fact would fit very nicely next to any the pieces from Vangelis’ score. That’s probably why it appeals to me so much; the track has that atmospheric quality that transports the listener to another place and time.

Bolivia in Saint John

2008-02-08T08:17:00.001-04:00

I wasn't able to make it out to A Khord for Ultrasound Collective DJs Soundsyster and Flyzzard, but I was able to drop in last night for local nudger Nexus6ix and scene veteran DJ Bolivia.

Arguably the most internationally known DJ from Atlantic Canada, Bolivia has been spinning records for almost 15 years. Even though started playing the university bar at little ole Mount Allison, he's built himself quite a reputation and now plays all over the globe.

Bolivia turned in a solid set of progressive, tribal house; his signature style. Ordinarily, not my cup of tea, but I must admit he made it sound fantastic. In fact, if you go to his website it might even be there for download.

I had to leave shortly after Fred (Nexus6ix) went on, so I didn't get to hear him play. However, he has a new demo available here loaded with honest-to-god classics.

Last Minute Show

2008-01-16T09:13:00.001-04:00

Call me crazy, but I love last minute bookings. It rachets up the excitment without drawing out the anticipation too much. I'm given just enough time to think about the records I want to take, but not enough time to worry about it.

Tim from Future Productions called last night and asked if I would like to put in an opening set at his Thursday club night at A Khord. "You bet!" says I. So, I am.

A Khord is a new bar that's opened at 30 Water Street in downtown (or uptown if you're from here) Saint John. It's a really nice place, as you can see from the pics.

I'm on at 10pm, so come on out and have a beer. Or a coffee, whatever.
Facebook Event Link

Favourites from 2007

2008-01-03T15:41:00.002-04:00

The general blogosphere consensus seems to be that 2007 was another gray year in terms of new music. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment at all. Even now I have almost 30 releases sitting in my Juno wishlist. In my view, there was more good music released this year than in the past 3 or 4 years combined. I know one thing for sure: this year’s top 10 was the hardest I’ve ever had to put together and a significant number of great records by the likes of Agoria, Ada, Kinky Movements, and Eric Kupper were left behind.

It is nice to see some Canadians in the list, too. Being a Canuck myself, of course I have a soft spot for my fellow countrymen, but I honestly feel both records rose above all the others. And so, without further ado, here are my picks for the best records of the last year.

Miguel Migs - So Far (Eric Stamile’s Old School Revival Dub) (Salted Music)
Buy it now here or here.
I had originally wanted this track to appear on my second Dissensus Cassette Swap offering as it would have fit in perfectly with the theme. Alas, the postman did not ring in time. Eric Stamile takes Migs Latin guitar original and infuses it with some much needed 80s retro-synth action. LT’s (aka Aya aka Lysa Trenier) breathy vocal matches beautifully with the saw-tooth synth chords and combined with the grumbling bassline makes for a sexy groove. The cowbell in the background is a nice touch, too.

Partial Arts – Trauermusick (Kompakt)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about “Trauermusick” before. The only thing I can think to add is that I still love the original, while the Alter Ego remix now grates.

Deadmau5 – Not Exactly & Faxing Berlin (Mau5trap Recordings)
Buy it now here or here or here or here.
Kind of a tie for eighth spot, but not really as they're both Canadian producer Deadmau5 tracks. I’ve been having this argument with myself for a while now: is Deadmau5 trance (shudder) or electro? Trance isn't all bad, I guess; I always liked the warm, melodic chords. The one thing I love about the recent crop of electro releases is that genre–defining, farting, squelching bassline. Deadmau5 has both in spades and combines them to greatest effect in these two tracks.

Tyken – Every Word (Hed Kandi)
Buy it now here or here.
Many critics seem to have a hate on for Hed Kandi. I guess I can understand that, as they seem to have been largely responsible for the recent crop of compilations distastefully slathered with hyper-stylized, headphone wearing, cartoon nymphs. Compilations aside, Hed Kandi really do seem to have a credible stable of house tracks at their disposal. “Every Word” by Swedish duo Tyken is a stellar example of the kind of house Hed Kandi are pushing. The electro bassline grinds in the background, while the filtered, burbling keyboards swing along with the vocal and strategically placed whooshing samples and synth stabs build the energy to a screaming crescendo. It’s perfect peak-time fair, guaranteed to plaster grins and raise hands.

Romain Curtis & Ceeryl – Psycho (Spinnin’ Records)
Buy it now here.
Dutch label Spinnin’ seem to be something of an enigma: they put out a dizzying array of test-pressings, white-labels, and CD singles, as well as being the parent for at least a dozen smaller labels and yet seem to fly completely under the popular radar. This 12” is a classic example. Released only as a test-pressing, it is the best bit of driving electro I’ve heard all year. Little more than a pulsing, hypnotic bassline and a blippy little synth phrase, “Psycho” keeps going and going, without the listener ever getting tired of it. I cannot for the life of me understand why this isn’t huge in the way that Alter Ego's "Rocker" was.

Jamie Woon – Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) (Live Recordings)
Buy it now here or here.
Up until I recently discovered this remix, I had been largely unimpressed by the output of inscrutable London producer Burial. This track, however, is the very definition of remixing genius. Taking the re-arranged folk song “Wayfaring Stranger”, as performed by John-Mayer-sound-alike Jamie Woon, and turning it into a menacing, pulsating, nightscape track evoking not so much a performer onstage as a lone driver singing along with the sound-artifacts generated as the city rolls past the car window. Every time I listen I hear something new and I can scarcely imagine how many audio tracks were assembled into this one remix. A must for quality headphone listening.

Parov Stellar – Rock For & Love (Etage Noir)
Buy it now here or here.
Another recent find that I am sorry I missed the first time. I have often thought that the bluesier (Is that a word?) side of electronic music is largely ignored by producers. Everybody seems to settle on soul, reggae, and funk, while leaving the slower tempo blues stuff on the cutting floor. The notable exception is, I suppose, Moby’s album “Play”, although “Play” dispensed with most, if not all, of the instruments and focused almost exclusively on the gospel/blues vocals. Austrian label boss Parov Stelar (aka Marcus Füreder) successfully mixes blues with house and comes up with two first-rate tracks for this 12”. “Rock For” uses a looped vocal reminiscent of Billie Holiday, couples it with a simple piano riff and a muted trumpet, which I’ve just realized is one of my favourite sounds, and throws down a stomping track that is equal parts house, jazz, and blues. B side track “Love” is even better with stomping breakbeat, pulsing 303 line, chopped up male gospel vocal and, yes, jazz guitar. So good I am literally itching to play it out.

Daft Punk – Television Rules The Nation/Around The World (Live Mix) & Primetime Of Your Life/Aerodynamic(Live Mix) (white label)
Buy it now here or here.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, you know all about Daft Punk’s triumphant world tour and accompanying live album “Alive 2007”. This particular 12” surfaced at the end of July and includes two allegedly live mixes in the mash-up style of the “Alive 2007” disc. After listening to both releases side-by-side, the 12” is either an excellently executed fake or it’s the real deal. Either way is irrelevant, I suppose, as both tracks are phenomenal mash-ups containing vocals and instrumental samples from a number of Daft Punk tracks, the most obvious of which are listed above. Track it down, you can thank me later.

Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Guns N’ Bombs Thizzmix) (Backyard Recordings)
Buy it nowhere or here.
Canadian duo Chromeo have turned in a fantastic album (“Fancy Footwork”) and a string of fun and funky singles. American outfit Guns N’ Bombs give the best track on the album the Kitsuné electro noise it was missing and turn it into a grinding dancefloor freak-out of gigantic proportions. Inexplicably, this, the best remix in the current bunch of singles, is only available on the promo double 10” or CD.

Basement Jaxx – Make Me Sweat & Cool It (Atlantic Jaxx)
Buy it now here or here.
I haven’t bought a Basement Jaxx record since the “Rooty” days. Nothing from “Kish Kash” or “Crazy Itch Radio” did anything for me at all. So, when a yellow vinyl double A-side on their label Atlantic Jaxx, as opposed to their usual home XL Recordings, passed my nose I thought, “Maybe they’ve gone back to their roots (no pun intended)?” And they HAVE! "Make Me Sweat is little more than an acid bassline, some well-placed woo-woos, and a female vocalist (R-O-X-A-N-N-E) exhorting the listener to, "Make me wet, make me sweat!" The second A-side "Cool It" is just as stripped down, with just congas, whistles, vocals and some fun little piano interludes. Despite their sparse instrumentation both tracks have that indefinable energy typical of early Jaxx singles and both work equally well as warm-up and peak-time records. A true return to form for Basement Jaxx and my favourite record of the year.

...with a disco filling

2007-12-11T15:16:00.002-04:00

For all those who miss that disco-house vibe.

To Step Aside (Ralphi's Old School Dub) - Pet Shop Boys
Temptation (Dealer's Raw Vox Mix) - DJ Dealer
Ride A White Horse (FK Disco Whores Dub) - Goldfrapp
Cool It - Basement Jaxx
Get This Party Started - Trouble Men
All Across the World - Alvarez De Jesus
Disco Dancer (Baby Bump Rochelle Mix)- Klatsch!
We Come To Party (Robbie Rivera's Hands In The Air Garage Mix) - Antoine Clamaran
Ready (Aquarius' Super Charger Mix) - Bruce Wayne
Lovers - Rawman
Dusk 'Til Dawn (Shapeshifters Remix) - Danny Howells & Dick Trevor
Dare Me (DJ Chus & David Penn Vocal Mix) - Kathy Brown vs. Miami Calling
Every Word - Tyken
Ride A White Horse (FK-EK Vocal Version) - Goldfrapp
Television Rules the Nation/Around the World (Live Mix) - Daft Punk
Luna - Andy Cato

Psycho Biscuits - A Subconcious Selection

2007-09-04T08:11:00.003-03:00

It's been quiet around hereabouts, I know. Sorry. I took a couple of weeks off to prepare for and assist in the nuptials of a dear friend. It really was a great, if somewhat frantic, vacation. Not to sound like a sentimental prat, but it does one's heart good to see one's friend's happiness so apparent.

And then it was back to the grind on Monday. I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for work. Because it's summer and most people are on vacation it has been lovely and quiet 'round the station over the last week. I was able to work peacefully, headphones in place, for almost the entire week and, believe it or not, it really gave me a chance to recharge. I hit the weekend running, with the intention of mixing up something fresh. I had expected that my exposure to the wedded bliss of the previous weekend would nudge my selection in an uplifting direction. Wrong. It would seem my subconscious had other ideas.

It's not common knowledge, but I've become somewhat disillusioned and jaded towards the Promoter-DJ relationship of late. My last two outings have ended up being freebies; one promoter has managed to avoid me since the event while the other got busted and is incarcerated for an as-yet undetermined period of time. Apparently, getting stiffed is endemic in the local scene. If a party doesn't earn enough cash to cover its costs, the DJ is the last guy to get paid.

I want to make it clear; this is really not about the money. I don't make my living from DJing and likely never will. It's about respect for the service we provide. Without a DJ there is no party, just lights and a sound system. That service is worth something and the DJ should be compensated for his/her work creating the vibe. Hell, if I could get paid in records or gear, I'd accept that over dollars any day.

Back to the mix: I picked out some records on Friday night, anticipating an opportunity to record the following evening. When I got up the next morning, I had another look through the stack and was stunned by the selection. It would appear that the majority of the tracks I had chosen the previous night alluded in some way to mental illness, be it track titles, remix titles, or included samples. Tracks are as follows:

Psychological (Ewan Pearson Remix) - Pet Shop Boys
The standout track from last years Fundamental was also one of my favourite records of last year. A song about madness made all the more menacing by Mr. Pearson's remixing skills. First half of the track here.

R U Ready (Psycho Dub) - Hyperdelics
A tribal track complete with tribal drums and samples of someone whooping and hollering. It sounds like a one of those cannibal tribe scenes from some B-movie; all drums and screams and big steaming pots.

Harrison's Ford - Unlucky Brothers
A groovy little track built around a Bladerunner sample.

Leon: Is this part of the test? I get kinda nervous when I take tests.
Holden: It's a test design to provoke an emotional response.

Walking on Thin Ice (Orange Factory "Larry" Dub) - Yoko Ono
Nice bassline on this one. Yoko sounds wonderfully unhinged warbling about somebody crossing a frozen lake.

A Little Bit Paranoid – Different Gear
Groovy track with lots of low end. "Do you think I'm going insane?" goes the vocal. No, but I'm beginning to wonder about myself.

Galleon – Clubber
Another movie sample in this one, this time from M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.

Elijah Price: You have a weakness. Water. It's like your kryptonite.

Not to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it, but Elijah is the comic-obsessed nutjob who kills large numbers of people in an effort to find someone who can't be injured.

Killer - Adamski featuring Seal
Seal's first song. One of my favourites. Classic bassline. It's a pity nobody's done a decent remix of "Crazy".

Lazy (Norman Cook Remix) - X-Press 2 featuring David Byrne
Nothing fills me with rage like laziness. That said, the production on this one is anything but; Normie turns out a fidgety chunk of the bigbeat he's famous for.

Psychological (Ewan Pearson Remix) - Pet Shop Boys
Here's the second half.

Lose Control (Freaksundertoneredub) - Zoo Brazil
There's this crazy little buzzing sound in the bassline that I just love. Just what I imagine neural feedback would sound like.

Where's Your Head At? (Sounds of da Future Remix) - Basement Jaxx
It was when I saw The Jaxx's seminal ode to "losing the plot" in the pile that I started to get an inkling something might be amiss. This breaks remix by Sounds of da Future fits in perfectly with the apparent disagreement going on in my head.

The Creeps (Fedde Le Grand Remix) - Camille Jones
Funky yet dark, Fedde Le Grand (of "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" fame) manages to make getting the creeps a delicious experience.

Love’s Too Much (Mugwump’s Next Phaze Reversion) - Shapemod
They're all excellent remixes on this 12"; in fact I used the Llorca remix on Fizz. This one is a nice long, bleepy, techy work-out. The gist of the vocal is that the singer can't handle his own feelings.

Psycho – Romain Curtis and Ceeryl
Brand new test pressing from Dutch label Spinnin'. Another gloriously bleepy melody with a rumbling undercarriage. Crazy.

Out Of Control – The Chemical Brothers
One of my favourite Chems tracks; the breakdown is just nuts.

Somewhere Beyond – Michael Gray
The mix ends on a high note with this sunny number from Michael Gray. An uplifting finish to what is otherwise a very dark journey.

See what I mean? What's amazing to me is the way that my subconscious influenced my choices rather like a word-association game. The negative things I was feeling about the scene and the music I associate with it coming to the forefront over the good vibes generated by the vacation and subsequent wedding. This mix is by far the darkest thing I've ever put together and may even be one of the best in that the theme is derived from such a raw set of emotions. I'll post it as soon as I've finished with my meager attempts at mastering. Here's hoping it leads to actual paying gigs.

Download Psycho Biscuits here.

Fizz

2007-07-10T13:13:00.001-03:00

A new mix has been added to the Menu. Inspired largely by my experience at Way Back When 3, the mix includes records I heard and played at the event. Track selection was also triggered by reconnection with old friends. ¿Hay una discoteca por aqui, Newton?

Tracklist:
It's the Music - Meat Beat Manifesto
Electro Disco - Plump DJs
P.O.P - Junior Sanchez
Love's Too Much (Llorca's Modluv Remix) - Shapemod
Breathless - LCD Project
Warrior (Andy Caldwell's Electric Rerub) - Andy Caldwell
Flashback (D. Ramirez Mix) - Max Linen
It Began In Africa - The Chemical Brothers
Discoteca (Original Baby Doc Mix) - Pet Shop Boys
Rock Dat Shit - Menace & Adam
Make Me Sweat - Basement Jaxx
Till There Was You (Gabriel & Dresden's 12 Step Program) - Rachael Starr
Waitin' 4 U - Hi-Tack
Thriller (The Screamer Cut-up) - MJ
Fancy Footwork (Guns N Bombs Thizzmix) - Chromeo
Bizarre Love Triangle (The Crystal Method CSII Mix) - New Order
Discoteca (Trouser Enthusiasts' Adventures Beyond the Stellar Empire Mix) - Pet Shop Boys

Bon Appetit!

Way Back When III

2007-06-20T11:19:00.002-03:00

I’m still processing the events of Saturday night/Sunday morning, but I have to say it was an incredible night. Lots of kind words from staff, patrons, and the two veteran DJs in attendance. It was a tag-team approach with Sonny D, Tommy Knuckles and your’s truly switching out every 30-40 minutes. My sets felt good, solid, and the selections seem to have been a hit on the dancefloor. People were dancing at any rate. Things didn’t start to go awry until my last set, between 5 and 5:30am. I was having real trouble concentrating and the mix just didn’t lock in the way it should have. I may have been the only one to notice, however, because everybody kept dancing and I didn’t catch any of the verbal insubordination reserved by ravers for train-wreck mixes.

What amazes me most about the night was the friendliness and camaraderie between all who attended. When one goes out at night to an event such as this in other cities, one invariably sees various illicit activities and/or forms of casual violence. This is just accepted; with the good comes the bad. That was not the case at Way Back When. With what I would consider a skeleton staff, consisting of the two co-promoters, co-promoter’s husband, male and female pat-down people, one huge bouncer (who was late), and bartender, they managed to pull of a night that was visibly thug-free and drug-free (Not to say that there wasn't any drug, you understand, I just didn't see any).

What made the night even better was that Deb was able to come with me. Through the kind generosity of my parents, who stayed with the kids all night long, we met lots of great people and danced our asses off between my sets. I can't wait for the next one.

Catering Services

2007-06-04T15:40:00.001-03:00

Cookin' up the bomb at Way Back When: Volume 3 on June 16th. I'll be tag-teaming with veterans Sonny D and Tommy Knuckles. I've got a lot to live up to.

Rich New Dessert

2007-05-23T09:18:00.002-03:00

Check the menu.

Do I Believe??? - KD
Come Together (Dub) - High Caliber
Turn It Up - Nixon
Fallin' In Love - Funkerman
Get 'Em High - Stanton Warriors feat. Sway
Nile - Eric Prydz
Pretend (Beat Cult 6th Avenue Vocal) - Emmanuel
Easy - Trick & Kubic
Nightshade (Rodriguez Junior Mix) - Alexkid
SOS (Message in a Bottle) (Delano & Crockett Remix) - Filterfunk
Yours - Delicious feat. Tiger Lily
Proper Education - Prydz vs. Pink Floyd
Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
Bossy (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Earth Out Mix) - Kelis
Here Comes the Rain Again (Future of Vision Bootleg) - Eurythmics
What Dreams Are Made Of - Space Cowboy
With Every Heartbeat - Kleerup feat. Robyn

Fresh Menu

2007-05-11T10:36:00.001-03:00

Three items currently listed on the right side of the page.

Bon appetite.

Partial Arts

2007-05-02T15:41:00.003-03:00

I've been super busy over at the FLC. It's not as simple keeping something like this moving as one might think. Regardless, some fresh cuts are long overdue so here's a few quickies.

Partial Arts - Trauermusik [Kompakt]

My first Kompakt record! I feel excited and dirty all at the same time. Wait, that didn't come out right... Oh! I've done it again...

For those who don't know, Partial Arts is actually DJ/Producer/Remixer extraordinaire Ewan Pearson and long-time collaborator Al Usher. The monnicker "Partial Arts" has only been used on a handful of releases and remixes, among them 2002's Canopy and recent remix of Audiofly's "Miscalate". "Trauermusik" is their first release on the Kompakt imprint and hopefully represents a turning point in the duo's collaborations. Partial Arts productions of the past have been sparse affairs, often little more than drums and bleeps, but "Trauermusick" is a step in a far more plush direction.

The track opens with a bell synth patch oscillating from ear to ear and quickly developes into minimal bleepiness. That's a good thing, though, as it fits in with what has to this point been the Partial Arts aesthetic. The rhythm track explodes with what Ewan has desribed in interviews as "cannon fire". The track continue to layer minimal elements on top of on another until the burbling electro bassline sneaks in at the 2:16 mark. Things get really dramatic when everything is faded down to low frequency pads. And thats when the cello kicks in (I never saw that one coming. Seriously.).

On The b-side, Alter Ego pump those low frequencies for all they're worth and force out the kind of electro-house work-out we've come to expect from the the makers of "Rocker". It's not as good as the original, though. Ewan and Al really have crafted a wonderfully melancholy track that chills you and lifts you all at the same time. It's the first Kompakt release I've heard that has an ounce of heart and, dare I say it, soul.

New Look

2007-04-11T15:26:00.000-03:00

What do you think?

...hello?...

...Anyone there?...

Stealth Second Thought

2007-03-18T12:02:00.001-03:00

Ever since I took over organizing the Dissensus Cassette Swap (AKA Ferrite Love Connection) I’ve become obsessed with updating the CSS template for both that blog and this one. The templates are now done and should be up in the (relatively) near future. More about that later; this post is about my “vacation”.

Last week I took my family home to Nova Scotia over my kids’ March Break. We’ve been here in New Brunswick for several months now, and they were keen to get home and see some of their family and friends. Personally, I could care less; my parents and siblings have made a concerted effort to come and visit us since we moved. My wife’s family, however, has made it clear that they are unwilling to make the journey and, if we cared about their feelings at all, we should bring the children home to visit as often as possible. So, last Friday we made the five hour journey to Nova Scotia.

Over the course of the journey, particularly after listening to the dialogue of the Cars movie playing on the in-car DVD system ad nauseum, I made a mental note to check out my boxed up CD collection for possible return trip listening. For those who don’t know, radio stations in this part of the world play either country music, classic rock (i.e. rock music made between 1969 and 1980 with selected hair-metal cuts from the 1980s thrown in for “freshness”), or talk news/sports. The situation is desperate to say the least. Ordinarily, I would have overcome this with a couple of burned CDs made especially for the trek. Unfortunately, between work, kids, my new CSS obsession and sleep, time was limited and those discs just never got finished.

During the following week I was stricken with a virus so insidious that it laid me low for almost the entire span. While I felt awful, it did give me the opportunity to explore my CD collection, something I haven’t done since I stopped buying CDs in favor of 12” singles five years ago. (Perhaps I’ll delve more deeply into the change-over some other time.)

The most surprising find was Leftfield’s Rhythm and Stealth. I bought Rhythm and Stealth in 1999 based on the strength of Leftism’s big hit “Open Up” I was still getting my feet wet with house, trance (yes, trance!) and techno in the late 90s and was hungry for whatever I could lay my hands on. Like most of the critics at the time, Rhythm and Stealth left me cold. It’s not as flashy or synth-y as most of the other electronic CDs I had been exposed to previously. I recall discarding it with a resounding “meh”. I can’t tell you why it didn’t end up in the local used CD store. Perhaps I was taken with the cover art.

Flash forward 8 years, through a brief flirtation with drum ‘n’ bass, a passing interest in UK garage, and a continuing obsession with repetitive, filtered French house. From dub to dubstep, I’ve heard an awful lot of electronic sounds and programmed beats since 1999, and after all of it I can say with absolute confidence that Rhythm and Stealth is a classic.

The biggest critical complaint lodged against Rhythm and Stealth seems to be that it isn’t Leftism Part 2, despite the fact that Leftism was met with equal distain when it was first released. I would argue that Rhythm and Stealth’s real strength lies in its departure from the typical Leftfield framework. (Aside: Can one say “typical” when there’s only been one previous album?) Besides, neither Leftism nor Rhythm and Stealth are really albums in the traditional sense of the word. Leftism is more a singles collection with “Open Up”, “Release the Pressure”, and “Song of Life” all released prior to the album. Conversely, R&S is more of a mix-tape, with peaks and troughs just like a good DJ set, that happens to collect tracks by the same artist.

The album launches with the Roots Manuva-fronted electro-dub of “Dusted”. Manuva’s blistering vocoded flow bridges the gap nicely between the dub and Bambaataa-electro influences central to the rest of the album. On first listen, I was struck by how much darker “Dusted” is than the majority of Leftism. That’s maybe to be expected with a title most often used to describe the psychotic behaviour of a habitual PCP user. That darkness continues with “Phat Planet”, a song best known as the soundtrack to the famous Guiness surfer add, through “Chant of a Poor Man”, a song about rising up in the face of oppression and intense loneliness, and into “Double Flash”, a percussive Underground Resistance-like track which can only be described as punishing. “El Cid” rounds out the first half (side?) of the record with an ambient dream more typical of Leftfield’s previous output. Many reviewers have described “El Cid” as the low point in Rhythm and Stealth, often pointing to superior examples of both trip-hop and ambient electronic music. For me, “El Cid” is a welcome relief to the harshness of the preceding tracks. It’s the release of all that tension with something soft and beautiful, before it starts winding up all over again.

As noted above, most of the tracks on Rhythm and Stealth owe as much to Planet Rock as to the work of Lee Perry and King Tubby. So I think it fitting that the second half kicks off with vocals by the electro-Zulu himself, Afrika Bambaataa. “Afrika Shox” is probably best remembered for its banned music video depicting a homeless man who is literally falling apart. Bambaataa’s vocals are processed in a similar manner to Manuva’s, but where Manuva sounds threatening, Bambaataa’s vocal has the air of preaching to the converted. “Dub Gussett”, as the title suggests, is little more than structural undercarriage; a dub bassline and a breakbeat that varies just enough to keep things interesting.

It’s not until “Swords” that the listener gets his first indication of the aggressiveness implied by both album title and cover art. A slowburn trip-hop track buried in the middle of the second half, “Swords” is the highlight of Rhythm and Stealth. The lyrics “I have/become pure water” and “I wear my sword/at my side”, either of which could be thought of as the chorus, can easily be imagined as the mantra of the samurai warrior pictured on the cover. A simple three chord refrain repeated as both bassline and icy synth-line couple with a click-track beat looping underneath the vocals to deliver maximum drama. The overall effect of the song is profound. I can’t help but stand a little straighter, lift my chin a little higher, as vocalist Nicole Willis sings “I wear my sword/at my side”. “Swords” welcomes the battle and promises an honourable fight.

If “Swords” is the build-up to the battle, then “6/8 War” is the war. Another unrelenting rhythm track, “6/8 War”s skirmishing beats are punctuated only by the occasional icy, echoing synth war-cry. Finally the stuggle is over and “Rino’s Prayer” anchors the record with what can only described as a lament. Reminiscent of Vangelis’ “Damask Rose” from the Bladerunner soundtrack, ”Rino’s Prayer” is mostly vocalist Rino’s mournful chanting over dissonant pads, plodding bassline and click track. The effect is melancholy, to say the least. Even the marching breakbeat and Nuremburg-like crowd noise that drops in at a little over the three minute mark only serves to highlight “Rino’s Prayer”s misery. It is the perfect finale for Rhythm and Stealth, a none-to-subtle reminder that all things come to a close.

After Rhythm and Stealth’s disparity with Leftism, the most common critical gripe was that the album never develops a groove. I played Rhythm and Stealth on the five hour drive home, and because everybody was asleep, I had to keep the volume very low. So low, in fact, that at times all I could hear was the bass. As I drove I came to realize that not only was I hearing the bass, but I was feeling it through the speaker in the door.

There is a groove to Rhythm and Stealth, but it’s hidden. You won’t hear it in your headphones.

It’s visceral; you have to feel it. With your leg up against the speaker

Favourites From 2006

2007-01-26T15:10:00.002-04:00

2006 was a pretty tough year for the DJ. There weren't really many records released that sounded fresh or different 100 other records one already has in one's crate. After a year of scouring the message boards, podcasts, and daily Juno emails, these are ten that caught my ear.

Sebastian Leger feat. Gia Mellish – Hypnotized (Royal Flush)

I’m not usually one for vocals, but, as you’ll soon see, this year I seem to be a sucker for the sound of a beautiful voice. Does that mean I’m getting old, I wonder? Dunno. What I do know is that Sebastian Leger has crafted a dirty little rump-shaker with Gia Mellish’s vocals over funky hand-claps, farty bassline and delayed synth wash. Good, solid electro-house with just a smidge of French luxuriance thrown in for good measure.

Emmanuel – Pretend (Beat Cult’s 6th Avenue Vocal) (white)

Ah, the analogue synth sound. Often overdone these days, but Beat Cult (whoever they are) keep it simple with just the vocal and that pulsing analogue-y synth sound. I especially like the “la-la-la”s in the break.

My Robot Friend – Rapture (Soma)

An odd little track, the lyrics consist of cut-and-paste syllables from type-and-speak software. This may seem gimmicky, but in fact it forces you listen more closely, piecing the puzzle together, trying to appreciate the bigger picture. I’m not usually one who pays attention to lyrics, so when a song forces me to do just that I consider it something of an achievement.

Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out (Bpitch Control)

The gloomy string sounds, grinding minimal bassline and guitar feedback would make for devastated dancefloors on their own; throw Ellen’s multi-tracked, delayed-to-distraction vocal on top and the track is elevated to the sublime. This should have been the song that broke minimal to the mainstream.

Trick & Kubic – Easy (Data)

Breathy, slightly European-accented vocals on the top and a groovy bassline thundering away underneath; it’s as simple as that. Lyrically, the track is somewhat trite in its belief that change (one’s life, the world) is easy, but when coupled with the uncomplicated groove, I can almost believe it.

Nelly Furtado – Maneater (Geffen)

The harmonies! The harmonies! Double, triple, octiple tracks of layered harmonies; it’s like a hip hop Bohemian Rhapsody in there. Timbaland works his magic with a less-is-more approach to the instrumental beneath Nelly’s phenomenal vocals. With little more than beats and bleeps as the undercarriage, those harmonies more than fill in the spaces.

Kelis feat. Too $hort – Bossy (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Earth Out Remix) (Virgin)

French label mates Alan Braxe and Fred Falke apparently have the same contempt for Kelis that I have. The remix dispenses with all but the breathy bits and then launches into the kind of old-school synth work-out that we’ve come to know and love from the French. Then they threw in a DJ E-Z-Rock-era “woo” sample on every other bar and voila! A masterpiece!

Pet Shop Boys – Psychological (Ewan Pearson Remix) (Parlophone)

The standout track on the excellent Fundamental gets a little help from the best remixer in the business. Pearson keeps the vocal, chucks the rest away, and comes up with a sinster (is that a harpsicord I hear?) acid monster that sounds straight out of a horror movie soundtrack. Danceable and yet even more menacing and unsettling that the original, it’s the best thing he’s done since "Strict Machine".

Alexkid – Nightshade (Rodriguez Junior Mix) (F Communications)

Alexkid seems to have a knack for pairing sparse acid sounds with female vocals. See 2003’s “Come With Me” and 2005’s “Don’t Hide It” for other stunning examples, which coincidentally also feature Lissette Alea, . I prefer this remix over the original only because Rodriguez Junior has added a few gently oscillating pads here and there, making it just a little sweeter.

Kleerup feat. Robyn – With Every Heartbeat (Risky Dazzle)

Is it my favourite because I just discovered it? Has the novelty yet to wear off? Maybe, but it’s one of those tracks that leaves you wishing there was more of it. Lots of low-end, melancholy pads, lush strings (Eat your heart out, Trevor Horn), earnest carpe-diem vocals…more, more, MORE!

And We’re Back!

2007-01-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

Highly successful move to Saint John, New Brunswick. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, back to work.

I’m a big enough guy that I can admit when I’m wrong(ish). So, when Stylus lists Villalobos’ 37 minute Fizheuer Zieheuer at #36 in it’s Top 50 Singles of 2006, I guess I have to swallow and accept that it was a success after all. I personally can only listen to about 4 minutes of it before it pisses me off, but hey, that’s me. Individuals far more eminent than me love it to death.

I also question the inclusion of the Clipse yawner “Mr. Me Too” at the #38 position. I know there are people who hail this as some kind of new standard, but I don’t understand why. After repeated listens all I get from it is hookless, drug-dealing slang. I think being from white, rural Canada means I will just never fully appreciate the darker side of the urban, black experience.

If there is a diamond in the rough (relatively speaking) on that list, it has to be Kleerup’s “With Every Heartbeat” (#27). I totally missed this 7” slice of disco genius despite all the time I spend reading/listening on blogs, messageboards, and podcasts. As far as I can tell it came out of nowhere, passed everybody by, and then made the Stylus Top 50. I’ll tell you this: my copy is going to be devastating dance floors in the very near future. I mean, what kind of sad indie-bastard would you have to be to not love it? I submit that you would have to be a great deal of all three.

Moving...

2006-11-11T10:26:00.000-04:00

Lots on the back burner, but I'm in the process of changing cities. Check back soon.

A long and progressive road...

2006-09-13T10:36:00.002-03:00

A fascinating article by Philip Sherburne over at Pitchfork on track times and their possible heraldic properties. Mr. Sherburne’s column “The Month In Techno” is truthfully the only thing I regularly read at Pitchfork. He really seems to have his thumb on the pulses of scenes on both sides of the pond, not to mention that he’s a great writer. Ordinarily he's spot on with his reviews of records, performances and whole scenes, although I really think he’s missed the mark ever so slightly with this one.

As Mr. Sherburne pointed out about halfway through the piece, extended track times are nothing new in dance music. The original 12” version of disco classic “I Will Survive”, one of the (if not THE) most recognizable disco tracks of all time, lists a running time of 8:02. Acid house standards like Steve “Silk” Hurley’s “Jack Your Body” and Jamie Principle’s “Your Love” both clock in at over 6 minutes. Even radio-ready stadium techno the likes of Underworld’s “Born Slippy.NUXX” (9:44) and The Prodigy’s “Voodoo People” (6:28) tend to sprawl a bit, although both tracks were issued hideously executed “edits” that were little more than fades at the break. Long tracks are the rule in dance music, rather than the exception. Villalobos’ proposed 44 minute single, though, takes the standard 10 minute extended mix, turns it on its head and kicks it in the crotch.

Mr. Sherburne proposes three possible reasons for such dramatic jumps in track times; firstly that due to the extended lengths of parties, tracks are being extended in a proportional manner; secondly that the relatively new digital media are allowing electronic artists the freedom to expand and fill said media with sound; and, finally that laptop sets are allowing DJs to test unfinished tracks, thereby introducing a degree of improvisation. Each of these reasons is equally plausible, and the reader can definitely see the logic underlying Mr. Sherburne’s conclusions. I find it interesting, and a little worrying, that only reasons indicating the growth of the minimal techno aesthetic have been presented. I would presume to suggest a forth, not-so-positive suggestion.

I should preface this by pointing out that I am mostly not a fan of Kompakt/Perlon/Get Physical/Bpitch/Systematic/Areal minimal techno. I say mostly because whenever I come across a release by any of these labels I feel compelled to listen in the hope that I will like it. Sometimes I do, but mostly they go back in the rack. I can quite understand why the music press likened the work of these labels and their associated artists to the minimalist works of Frank Stella, Samuel Beckett, Carl Andre, and Robert Bresson. The music is stripped down to little more than percussion or a single looped phrase, a single element of which is then varied ad infinitum, and in my case, ad nauseum. The good stuff develops an infectious groove that changes just enough to keep the listener interested while managing to maintain the repetitiveness that keeps things…well…groovy. Unfortunately, the tracks that achieve this delicate balance are few and far between. I can’t really explain why the vast majority of these tracks don’t appeal to me other than to say that I find the majority of them too…tasteful. They’re like of-the-moment audio wallpaper; like Eno/Orb ambient for the new millennium.

When I read in Mr. Sherburne’s column that Ricardo Villalobos is contemplating releasing a 44 minute single and Perlon’s Sammy D is playing bits of some 20 minute opus out at parties, I immediately flashed back to when I first heard Goldie’s hour-long abortion “Mother”. I wrote in an earlier post about defining moments; “Mother” was, for me at least, the death knell of jungle/drum ‘n’ bass. After that every thing with an Amen-derivative break sounded pretentious and vain. It wasn’t until I read Simon Reynolds’ Generation Ecstasy almost a year later that I had any kind of inkling as to why that was. It was that drive towards the “progressive” ("intelligent" is the word that Mr. Reynolds favors), that need for deeper meaning in the music in lieu of visceral reaction to it, that had precipitated the release of “Mother” and eventually leached the vibrance from drum ‘n’ bass. Of course, Mr. Reynolds saw the signs earlier (as detailed in the book) but the end effect was the same. After reliving the horror, I started to wonder if 44 minutes of Villalobos is going to sound like 10 minutes of passable minimal techno bloated with 34 minutes of "progressive" self-importance.

Has minimal techno, by all accounts a vibrant and exciting scene, been bitten by the progressive bug? I sincerely hope not. As I said earlier, Mr. Sherburne has immersed himself in the scene and he knows far more about it than I do, but where he sees manipulation of new media, I see the studio gimmickery and mellotron noodlings of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis, Pink Floyd and their ilk. Where he sees the infinite possibilities for improvisational sound manipulation, I see that scene in “This Is Spinal Tap” where the band takes the stage at a festival, minus guitarist Nigel Tufnel. “We’re not about to do a free-form jazz , uh, exploration in front of a festival crowd, are we?” asks bassist Derek Smalls. They did and hilarity ensued. Let’s hope that a half-hour minimal techno track doesn’t become it’s own joke.

Fundamentalist

2006-07-04T22:35:00.001-03:00

My name is John and I am a Pet Shop Boys fan.

I have been a Pet Shop Boys fan since I saw the video for "Always On My Mind" on CBC’s “Video Hits” in late 1985. My first CD (and what a CD!) was their 1990 album Behaviour. I still listen to it today. My first 12” single (bearing in mind the decline of vinyl on this side of the pond) was a promo-punched copy of Se a Vida É (That's The Way Life Is) coloured vinyl (lime green and lemon yellow) double-pack procured [ahem] from my university’s radio station archives. It was a turning point. Up until that moment I was strictly a CD-track-to-track DJ, slavishly seeking CD singles, lusting after the unreleased tracks and remixes, combing Usenet listings and mail order catalogues for that elusive German remix EP or Japanese four-track promotional CD3. Of course I knew of the existence of 12” singles, but, having grown up more with 8-tracks and cassettes, I viewed records as curiousity rather than a viable media alternative. Within a month of liberating [ahem] that doublepack I had a belt-drive turntable, purchased for a mere $20 from an electronics repair shop down the street from my apartment, and was playing the hell out of whatever wax I could lay my hands on. Within a year I had two Technics 1200s, albeit second-hand, and a cheap three-channel mixer. I often think back to when that double-pack landed in my lap, particularly while surveying my record collection, and it can only be described as one of those defining moments after which everything is different. In my case life split into Before-Vinyl and After-Vinyl and the pursuit of good, often obscure, records has become less a hobby and more an obsession. I no longer have much interest in the CD singles, but I’d step over my own mother for that Relentless triple-pack.

So you can imagine my excitement when the Pet Shop Boys' new album Fundamental practically leapt into my hands as I idly thumbed through the Pop/Rock rack at our local HMV. Once ensconced in the car on my hour-long commute home, I popped my shiny new CD into the stereo, prepared to bask in the glory that is 80's inflected electro-pop.

Boy was I surprised.

Fundamental opens with the dark and disturbing "Psychological", a haunting electro-house track with lyrics that are simultaneously nonsensical and evocative. "There's something in the attic/ And it smells so bad./ An Undertaker/ in a bowler hat./ (Psychological) / What's that spilt/ on the kitchen floor?/ Who's that banging/ on the cellar door?" sings frontman Neil Tennant as partner Chris Lowe's bassline grinds above ghostly groans . These lyrics, little more than disjointed phrases, suggest powerful and unsettling images and are the perfect precursor to the rest of the record.

Fundamental seems to be predominantly a response to the political climate both in the UK and Europe in much the same way Green Day's "American Idiot" was a response, although less subtle, to the political landscape of the good ol' US of A. The first single "I'm With Stupid" details British Prime Minister Tony Blair's fictitious doubts over Britain's alliance with the US in Iraq; "The Sodom & Gomorrah Show" describes a rural resident's first exposure to an Amsterdam or Ibiza-like world of sex, drugs, and dancing; the ballad "Luna Park" drips with bile over the Millennium Dome fiasco and an expected electoral backlash that never quite materialized. Stomper "Integral", a track reminiscent of the Boys' hit "Go West", anchors the record. A song about hard-line anti-terrorist surveillance policies put forth by Britain’s Labour government, it's the one track on the album that noticeably presents the rage and disgust Neil and Chris must be feeling with Blair and his supporters. As both pop song and political diatribe, "Integral" works in a way few songs have and is the most likely to draw the "American Idiot" comparison.

With Trevor Horn sitting in the producer’s chair again (he produced “Left To My Own Devices“ and “It’s Alright” from 1988’s Introspective) Fundamental is a lush record packed with all those little Horn-y flourishes. Sweeping strings flow in and out, over and under Art Of Noise bleeps and buzzes. It’s the kind of ear-candy that keeps a song fresh even when you know the words by heart and Horn is a master at it. “Left To My Own Devices” still sounds good, and I’m pretty sure Fundamental’s highlights will have equal staying power.

Having said all that, Fundamental is not a perfect record. The saccharine Release-reject "I Made My Excuses And Left" is glaringly out of sync thematically with the rest of the CD and its inclusion is a mystery to me. The Diane Warren ballad "Numb" is also a misstep, although given it's recent inclusion in the farewell-England world-cup montage it is destined to become a classic. These two tracks are the most typical of the Pet Shop Boys output and perhaps that's why I like them the least.

Happily, at least for me, Fundamental sounds like a Pet Shop Boys album without sounding too much like a Pet Shop Boys album. Put another way, Tennant, Lowe, and Horn have managed to craft a thoughtful and emotional record, while retaining their twin signatures of electro-pop and wry, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It's a combination that has served them well in the past and continues to serve them on Fundamental. I mean, when an album has a song on it called “Minimal”, which describes all things minimal and sounds anything but minimal (Horn strings, hello!) it’s the kind of delicious irony that can only be the Pet Shop Boys. Who says pop never lasts, anyway?

Patience

2006-01-11T15:54:00.000-04:00

Coming soon