Warren G featuring Nate Dogg – Regulate

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Slye

Warren G featuring Nate Dogg – Regulate (Violator: 1994)

Nate Dogg passed away yesterday. His vocals were one of the signature sounds of West Coast G-Funk, swooping into the mix for the chorus on records like The Chronic and Doggystyle, records that came to define the G-Funk sound. He appeared on countless records as the nineties passed into 2000, a fixture for a certain type of hip hop record of the era.

The tune of his that had the biggest impact on me was Regulate, a track recorded for the Above The Rim soundtrack. When I first heard it back in the day – this must have been May of ’94, school winding down with summer just around the corner – it blew me away. This impossibly lush, widescreen production sounded like it was beamed down from another planet. It was the most laidback hip hop beat I’d ever heard, Warren G‘s low slung rap and Nate Dogg‘s mellow vocals nonchalantly delivering the brush-with-death scenario. The climax, where his singing “Next stop is the eastside motel” cascades over the rolling groove was an absolutely sublime moment. Check out the moody video below:

Built around a smooth, deep pad loop taken from Michael McDonald‘s self-titled debut and extrapolated along the endless shoreline of Los Angeles, the track just rolls along at a leisurely pace for its four minute duration. This track is the point where G-Funk became so mellow that it could concievably sound at home rubbing shoulders with the smoothest of soul and jazz funk (think George Benson‘s Give Me The Night, Leon Ware‘s Musical Massage and Nate Dogg), as Peter Shapiro put it in The Rough Guide To Drum’n'Bass: “The music actual gangsters listen to.”

The closest contemporaneous music I could compare it to is Kruder & Dorfmeister‘s G-Stoned EP (who I wasn’t yet familiar with at the time) and scattered moments from Cypress Hill‘s Temples Of Boom (Boom Biddy Bye Bye springs to mind). That record wouldn’t come out for another year, however. Suffice it to say, the tune was oddly synchronized with the blunted downbeat developing in parallel on both sides of the Atlantic, but right there in hot rotation on the RnB radio of the day.

This record’s actually been on the decks pretty often for the last few years, its gentle pulse dovetailing nicely with a lot of the current deep space boogie I’ve been soaking up for the latter half of this decade. Stuff like Dam-Funk, Ryan Leslie and SA-RA Creative Partners. The tactile, four-dimensional spacial quailty of Regulate places it as a missing link between lush 80′s boogie (Kleeer‘s Tonight and Mtume‘s The After 6 Mix (Juicy Fruit Part II)) and Timbaland‘s revolution just around the corner. This track’s right in there as a crucial moment in the story of the smooth.

But setting aside talk of influences and and reference points, Regulate stands on its own merits as one of the best records of the 90′s, with the smoky presence of Nate Dogg riding atop the whole thing, guiding it along the endless drift of the LA shoreline.

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The Wit And Wisdom Of Simon Reynolds

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Slye

Now this might be the funniest thing I’ve read all week.

Man has a point.

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Motion 003

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Slye

Steady on a roll now. The weather has been crystal clear and I’ve put together volume three:

  1. Sly & The Family Stone Babies Makin’ Babies
  2. Johnny Hammond Shifting Gears
  3. SA-RA Creative Partners Glorious (Redux)
  4. Marvin Gaye You Can Leave, But It’s Going To Cost You
  5. King Tubby Base Dub
  6. Can Moonshake
  7. Moodymann P.B.C.
  8. Prince The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
  9. Kleeer Tonight
  10. Annette Peacock Solar Systems
  11. King Crimson Heartbeat
  12. Steve Miller Band Sacrifice
  13. Mtume The After 6 Mix (Juicy Fruit Part II)
  14. War Beetles In The Bog
  15. The Byrds Bad Night At The Whiskey

Not much to add beyond the fact that these low-slung laidback tracks provide the perfect aural landscaping for the crisp lunch-break trips around the track that I’ve been making a habit of. Also, these Motion playlists are starting to devlop a few common parameters as the series progresses:

  1. Where back in the day playlists were simple composites of tracks, these have been built around a particular vibe or sound.
  2. So far, the tempo has tended toward the downbeat (although this will certainly change).
  3. The running lengths hover somewhere around one hour.

This has been the latest installment of the Motion series. Until next time… keep moving!

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Motion 002

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Slye

The first volume lasted a couple of months, sandwiched between long spells of listening to entire albums while working out. Here’s volume two:

  1. Aaliyah Are You That Somebody
  2. Playa Don’t Stop The Music
  3. SWV featuring Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott Can We
  4. Missy Elliott featuring 702 The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
  5. Total What About Us
  6. Outkast Humble Mumble
  7. Ginuwine Pony
  8. Kelis Mars
  9. N*E*R*D Tape You
  10. Timbaland And Magoo Clock Strikes (Remix)
  11. Nicole featuring Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott & Mocha Make It Hot
  12. Mya It’s All About Me

This playlist resting squarely on late 90′s machine soul from produers such as Timbaland, The Neptunes, Daryl Simmons and Earthtone III. Machine soul and trip hop make the perfect music for long-distance running, a tempo you can lock onto while the double-time riddims give you something to shuffle your feet to, Apollo Creed stylee. The highlights from One In A Million made for classic running music back in the golden years, with Are You That Somebody always slipped in to kick things off (as it does here). Maxinquaye is another one (Aftermath cannot be beat), but that’s another story altogether.

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Motion 001

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Slye

The first in a series of playlists designed to accompany early morning running or cycling.

  1. Grace Jones Love Is The Drug
  2. Soft Cell Memorabilia
  3. Talking Heads Cities
  4. Can “Don’t Turn The Light On,” Leave Me Alone
  5. Morgan Geist Probs
  6. The J. Geils Band Flamethrower
  7. Yoko Ono Walking On Thin Ice
  8. Section 25 Looking From A Hilltop
  9. Inner Life I’m Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair (John Morales 12″ Remix)
  10. Liaisons Dangereuses Peut Être… Pas

This one worked out rather well, a solid post-disco thing going on here. Looking forward to getting back in the game, hence keeping track of these playlists here – I lost all of my classic ones due to an inconvenient hard disk crash a couple years back.

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Other99 (Slight Return)

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Slye

I’ve decided to fold my original blog at Other99 into the Parallax Room in the interest of concision. This is primarily because I feel a little foolish at having multiple blogs floating around, but also in order to organize everything under one umbrella. Other99 existed during a period when I’d all but forsaken production (an unfortunate habit kept up after trying to finish school at an accelerated pace) and was delving into music other than the electronic dance I’d been listening to almost exclusively up to that point.

I got into writing about music in the first place primarily through reading about music. When I started doing Radio AG as a recurring mixtape, that factored into the proceedings as well. Before that, I’d had the REZ Room over at the Aztek Records site, where I kept up a small webspace with various writings about music: my first (tentative) forays into music criticism. That may find a place here as well, someday.

The Parallax Room came into existence alongside the blossoming of Allied Heights and the transformation of Radio AG from a mix series into an honest-to-goodness radio station, broadcasting 24 hours a day. Also, I’ve finally been able to put a new studio together (the old one ended up sold off into pieces to pay for school, much to my dismay), which means a return to production and an end to the Other99 chapter of my writing.

I’ll be periodically adding posts from the archives under the new Other99 category, so click the Other99 heading and it’ll be just like old times.

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Atomic Records

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Slye

The latest in a series of jaunts up to Los Angeles took us to this record store, Atomic Records, out in Burbank and not a mile from my brother’s place. The shop itself was roomy and pristine, while the pricing was almost sureally low in some cases. No disco, dance or hip hop sections to speak of, but beyond that the selection was exquisite. The jazz section was as big as the rock section here, which just about sums the spirit of this place up – the owner was playing this incredible Charles Mingus/Langston Hughes collaboration for the majority of our time there. Definitely one to check out if you’re in the area – or even if you’re not!

The Zodiac – Cosmic Sounds (Elektra: 1967)

Have been curious about this record, having recently read about it in the Seth Man’s Beaver & Krauserocksampler over at Head Heritage. Apparently the first in a slew of records circa 1967/68 that the duo were allowed to run riot upon with their newly purchased Moog synthesizer. This just after giving a demonstration of said Moog synth at the Monterey Pop Festival, an engagement that put them in contact with some of the forward-thinking acts of the time. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, after hearing the demonstration, purchased a Moog for The Byrds‘ own studio that factored into their epochal The Notorious Byrd Brothers record, possibly the first rock record to use synths.

David Holland Quartet – Conference Of The Birds (ECM: 1973)

A Naz tipoff, this one the legendary session on ECM – the home of ambient jazz after Miles Davis‘ In A Silent Way. We actually did a spaced out cover of the title track back in the day, before I owned the record.

Return To Forever – Where Have I Known You Before (Polydor: 1974)

This one a fusion monster. Chick Corea does serious damage here, splashing sun-glazed synths all over the burning backbeat. Earth Juice has long been one of my all-time favorite disco jazz funk burners, and one I’ve long wanted on wax.

Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson/Jessi Coulter/Tompall Glaser – Wanted! The Outlaws (RCA: 1976)

The culmination of the outlaw-country thing, this compilation features previously released material from the four principals in one concise document. A welcome find in a month where I’ve been caning records like The Taker/Tulsa, The Red Headed Stranger and Kristofferson.

Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette (Island: 1980)

Been wanting to track down this one for ages, and finally found a pristine copy. This, Grace Jones‘ breakout into new wave mutant disco, is the first in a run of exquisite records with the Compass Point Allstars. I’d never seen the original sleeve for this one, which marks it as the template for the current Metropolis fixation in neo soul.

Osibisa (Decca: 1971)

So stoked to find this definitive slice of afro-rock, especially after just managing to snag a copy of the Black Ant 7″. Always dug Roger Dean‘s sleeve art, but only now noticed that the record itself is produced by none other than Tony Visconti.

Eddie Russ – See The Light (Monument: 1976)

This is one of the essential 70′s jazz synth records (see also Herbie Hancock‘s Sextant and Les McCann‘s Layers). Like the sun-glazed jazz disco of RTF‘s Earth Juice spread across an entire album. These have seemed to be scarce (I’ve been clocking it for some time) but this copy only went for $8. Score! What’s the deal?

Gentle Giant – Interview (Chrysalis: 1976)

One of Gentle Giant‘s proto-post punk (as put by Woebot in the Woebot TV Gentle Giant episode) records. The desolate majesty of Empty City has long been a favorite, even factoring into the Winter 2007 Radio AG 009 mix.

The Mamas & The Papas – Deliver (Dunhill: 1967)

Definitive west coast lush pop. Always thought the cover to be incredibly glamorous.

10cc (UK: 1973)

Another favorite that I’ve long been stalking on wax. Not a rare record, but often thrashed up beyond all recognition. This copy was pristine! I’ve had the Rubber Bullet 7″ for some time (along with the excellent Complete UK Recordings1 and all the peak-period albums – Godley & Creme still onboard – and a few more on cd). On a good day, one of the best albums of the 70′s, but one that never seems to find its way into those narrow-minded lists (see Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums Of All Time). Although I suppose any list that only includes 5 jazz albums split between two artists and three records by Eminem isn’t gonna have the best grasp on scope.

1 It’s releases like these that have me constantly praising compact discs. A format where you can collect an album, surrounding singles and unreleased recordings and tart it up with great liner notes? Sounds great to me. As I never tire of telling people, all of these formats complement each other. They’re all intrinsically better at different things. There’s no format to end all formats – not yet at least.

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Protest Songs (CHR-003)

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Slye

Various Artists – Protest Songs (Cheap Hotel CHR-002: 2010)

“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

There’s been a bit of a gap between this and the last Cheap Hotel release, but a request from a good friend of my Dad’s provided the window of opportunity to put together a new compilation and put it up here. The brief in this instance was protest songs, centering primarily on the late 60′s and early 70′s window in time (with a few exceptions), songs that kick in the door and make themselves heard, so to speak.

There were so many great protest songs written just within the confines of this particular time period, not to mention whole movements that I didn’t touch on due to the main stylistic thrust (put crudely, the intersection of singer/songwriter folk and progressive soul) of this compilation. Thus, lots of great militant jazz (Max Roach‘s We Insist! Freedom Now Suite provides a quote in the liners) was left out, not to mention Africa (Fela Kuti, Thomas Mapfumo, William Onyeabor‘s Better Change Your Mind was the very last song to be cut), an unfortunate byproduct of trying to stick to concise bursts of energy. In an effort to maintain stylistic cohesion, whole genres were left out: hip hop and post punk get shorted for being completely outside the timeframe, and Reggae is shamefully under-represented. Perhaps a second volume will be in order someday…

Without further ado, I give you the track by track breakdown:

  1. Sly & The Family Stone Underdog (Epic)

    2. Kicking off both this compilation and their first album A Whole New Thing is this stunning declaration of intent. These cats were one of the great musical movements of the 60′s, laying the groundwork for the political soul of the 70′s and beyond, but at the end of the day, they were simply untouchable as this rabble-rousing groove bears out.

  2. MC5 The American Ruse (Atlantic)

    3. Any number of tunes by the MC5 could have been here, but this one is the most direct and basically predicts hardcore punk in it’s lyrical attack.

  3. Stevie Wonder Big Brother (Tamla)

    4. Stevie Wonder wrote a handful of the great protest songs: Living For The City and You Haven’t Done Nothin come to mind immediately, but this is the one for me. One of his many songs inspired by Richard Nixon.

  4. Crosby, Stills & Nash Wooden Ships (Atlantic)

    5. A hallucinatory tale of two rival soldiers shipwrecked on the same island, its understated charm has always appealed to me. Part of that micro-continuum of West Coast troubador downbeat funk – David Crosby‘s Cowboy Movie, The Byrds‘ Bad Night At The Whiskey, etc. that I’m perpetually alluding to.

  5. Chocolate Milk Action Speaks Louder Than Words (RCA Victor)

    6. New Orleans soul, continuing in the spirit of Stevie Wonder‘s You Haven’t Done Nothin.

  6. Randy Newman Political Science (Reprise)

    7. Some of the best protest songs do their work by simply exposing the inherent ridiculousness of their subject, and this is pretty much the textbook example.

  7. Graham Nash Chicago (Atlantic)

    8. This track has a monolithic stomp to it that you just can’t get around. With one of the great choruses of all time, this tune’s mix of utopian optimism and dread immediately mark it as something special. This one another entry in the West Coast downbeat funk canon, Nash‘s delivery here has (strangely) always reminded me of Peter Gabriel.

  8. John Prine Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore (Atlantic)

    9. Thanks to DK for the tip on this one. John Prine‘s sarcastic wit often cuts to the quick, and this is no exception.

  9. Creedence Clearwater Revival Fortunate Son (Fantasy)

    10. Obvious maybe, but this comp wasn’t about being obscure and would have been utterly incomplete without this anthem. Everyone knows this tune, but might I add that the opening chug (right there along with that of The Beatles‘ I Saw Her Standing There) never fails to make me flash on Neu!‘s motorik thrust.

  10. Jimmy Cliff Viet Nam (A&M)

    11. Like the Prine tune, this one goes down sugar sweet and cheery even as it mercilessly mocks the subject at hand. Standing in for the stacks of militant roots reggae that could have been here by virtue of locking into the same currents as the other tunes here. Plus, it’s just a tune that totally knocks you out the first time you hear it.

  11. The Flying Burrito Bros My Uncle (A&M)

    12. Found right in the middle of Gram Parsons‘ country rock opus The Gilded Palace Of Sin is this song about the draft blues. Rather embarrasingly, I thought it was about a particularily overbearing uncle for something like the first 20 times I heard it, until rather sheepishly realizing that the uncle in question was Uncle Sam.

  12. Jefferson Airplane Volunteers (RCA Victor)

    13. The whole Volunteers album qualifies (We Can Be Together gave this one a run for it’s money, and the Airplane‘s version of Wooden Ships was pipped to the post by CSN‘s rolling west coast funk). The title track, however, is the most succinct blast of fury on the album and ultimately took it’s place here.

  13. Tim Buckley No Man Can Find The War (Elektra)

    14. Tim Buckley‘s visionary apocalyptic saga, from that early period when he was still a straight up folk singer.

  14. The Kinks Some Mother’s Son (Pye)

    15. Britpop’s entry, from the Kinks‘ classic Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire lp. Like most of the album, this features skull-cracking breaks from Mick Avory. The Zombies‘ Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914) could have been here as well. Perhaps it should have. That’s one bleak tune. Those two songs always stick together in my mind.

  15. Gil Scott-Heron The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Flying Dutchman

    16. There’s a lot of 70′s proto-hip hop that could have been here – The Last Poets, Kain‘s The Blue Guerilla, Lightnin’ Rod, etc. – but this one’s arguably the most iconic.

  16. Bob Dylan Masters Of War (Columbia)

    17. An absolutely blistering takedown.

  17. Billie Holiday Strange Fruit (Live at Jazz At The Philharmonic) (Clef)

    18. This song really does speak for itself.

  18. The Chambers Brothers People Get Ready (Columbia)

    19. For me, this is the definitive version of this tune. There’s a bittersweet sway to The Chamber Brothers‘ harmonies that perfectly evokes the vision of this Curtis Mayfield song.

  19. 13th Floor Elevators Rose And The Thorn (International Artists)

    20. Maybe not a protest song in the strictest sense, I nevertheless always got that feeling from this song. It evokes a similar mood to the war scenes from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. The Elevators achieve an utterly singular sound here – incandescent guitars over swirling harmonies (definite Morricone overtones). And that line, “The unknown soldier will come home” gets me every time…

  20. Nathaniel Mayer Please Don’t Drop The Bomb (Alive)

    21. From Mayer‘s renaissance period, shortly before his death, when he put out those hard blues records. This one from Why Don’t You Give It To Me? is one of the best albums of the decade, but I didn’t see it in any end-of-decade lists (outside of The Parallax Room, that is). A dirtier, more psychedelic blues you will not find, with Mayer‘s raspy spectre of a voice smack in the middle.

  21. Marvin Gaye Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (Tamla)

    22. From What’s Going On, one of those epochal records that always places in the top ten albums of all time. I’m partial to Here, My Dear myself, but there’s no arguing that this is the quintessential slice of conscious soul.

  22. Waylon Jennings Six White Horses (RCA Victor)

    23. Sublimely beautiful country music, rendered all the more powerful by Waylon‘s gentle croon.

  23. Curtis Mayfield We Got To Have Peace (Curtom)

    24. Curtis Mayfield paints another one of his musical utopias, and in a world where people were just that little bit less cynical, this song could end wars. As it stands, it’s one of the most beautiful declarations ever laid down on tape. Curtis Mayfield was without a doubt one of the coolest people ever to pick up a guitar and start writing songs.

And that brings this compilation of protest songs to a close. Thanks for checking out this selection of tracks which were all concieved (I’m sure) with the idea of making the world a better place. Such was the brimming over of great songs that, although it wasn’t my original intention, I will most likely put together a companion volume down the line.

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The Flyer Run

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Slye

Today Snakes and I hit the town and put up some Radio AG flyers. First stop was where it all started, Grossmont College. From there, we decided to hit a couple record stores that we hadn’t checked out: United Records and M-Theory Music. Truth be told, we’d hit United Records a few times back in the day, when they were still located in Kearny Mesa. The new spot is a huge improvement, nestled as it is in the bohemian climes of North Park, with a far more spacious interior that was clean and concise. Strictly modernist bizzness seen. Here’s some of the records I found here:

Glenn Underground – Hum Along And Dance (Basement Boys: 2001)

A remarkably deep GU cut on the Basement Boys‘ own label.

Roy Davis Jr. – Something Inside Of Me (King Street Sounds: 1999)

Roy Davis Jr. in filter disco mode, prefiguring the mood of his Traxx From The Nile lp’s lush garage textures (one of the great soul records of the last decade), which were right around the corner.

Jamez – Passion/Music (Glitz: 1996)

Half of Jark Prongo with a hard-edged progressive epic.

RAZ – Amour Puerto Riqueno (Underground: 1986)

Old skool house from Ralph Rosario. Impossibly crisp, hard-edged percussion. Can’t wait to spin this on a very large system.

Paperclip People – 4 My Peepz (Planet E: 1998)

The last of the Paperclip People 12″s missing from my collection (although I’ve had the CD since way back). Punishing, dejected-sounding house music. Thanks to Snakes for passing this one on to me.

Basic Bastard – Cruising/Space Rider (Ignitor: 2003)

Peak-period Orlando Voorn. Already seem to have it in the bins, so Snakes it’s yours if you want it.

Norman – Troll EP (Synewave: 1996)

Raw techno on Damon Wild‘s Synewave imprint.

Saytek – Orange Drive/V3.8 Dub (Console: 2001)

This one was the find of the day… a total wildcard purchase. I was totally sold on this label’s logo: sort of an Atari 2600-esque thing going on… the deep, spacious grooves within more than lived up to the sleeve’s promise. In the same way that Drexciya often sounds like a pre-WWII stab at electro (the synths have a timbre that you just don’t find anywhere else), this ends up sounding something like a deep house record made in ’76.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a beat-centric record shop, and it was good to be back in one with such a solid vibe and selection. United Records: check it out.

So then it was off to the aforementioned M-Theory. Now THIS is what a general-purpose record shop should feel like. The place almost felt like a lounge, such was the effectiveness of the vibe and the clean, lean layout. We really only checked the soul, hip hop, electronic and international sections… but there was enough great stuff to drop a whole paycheck on. Without further ado:

Yma Sumac – Voice Of The Xtabay (Capitol: 1950)

A stone cold classic. So stoked to finally have this on vinyl.

Stevie Wonder – Fulfillingness’ First Finale (Tamla: 1974)

Another utterly essential slab of vinyl. Everyone needs this and the preceding three records.

Moodymann – Forevernevermore (Peacefrog: 2000)

Still in disbelief at finding this one. Far more pricey than the others pictured, but not nearly as much as it could have been. Moodymann vinyl so impossibly hard to come by these days.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – Scorpio (Sugar Hill: 1982)

Flash in deep space electro mode. Another one that’s been on my Christmas list for ages.

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Rammellzee vs. K-Rob – Beat Bop

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Slye

Rammellzee vs. K-Rob – Beat Bop (Profile: 1983)

  1. Beat Bop
  2. Beat Bop (Instrumental)

It’s unbelievable that Rammellzee, the mad visionary of the early hip hop, is gone. No other MC had more claim to be “dropping science” than Rammell, and his influence spread far and wide beyond his slim discography to touch on theory, mathematics and the visual arts. This record, Rammellzee vs. K-Rob‘s Beat Bop is my favorite of his records. Indeed, this is my absolute top hip hop record of all time, hands down.

So what does it sound like?

Imagine those two side-closers on Sly Stone & The Family‘s There’s A Riot Goin’ On, allowed to stretch out even farther, elongated grooves pulsing from the heavy wax of a twelve inch single. Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s production is crisp and spacious, existing in that same continuum as the greatest 80′s electronic funk. You’ve got a skeletal drum machine rhythm, congas straight from the Bronx, wandering electrofunk bass, a simple guitar rhythm bouncing over the beat, some percussion effects and what sounds like an occasional electric violin flourish – that’s about all it takes these guys to put together an untouchable groove – an untouchable groove that Rammellzee rides in singular style, sounding like nothing so much as Sly Stone versioning The Message.

The trick of this record is that it effortlessly draws on both futurism and roots at the same time, creating something both immediate and timeless – this is a record that could have come out tomorrow. It’s suffused with real and unreal vibes in equal measure, coming off neither like the latter day undie hip hop (trying too hard to be clever) nor the platinum “street” gang (trying too hard to be hard) and sounding for all the world like a template for the lost future of hip hop – gothic futurism.

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The Lou’s Excursion

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Slye

This was something of an excursion, starting last Friday when I stopped by Lou’s Records on my way home from work. I only had so much money to work with as payday was a week away and I have a strict policy against dipping into savings in order to buy records. The play was to grab a couple records, but things quickly escalated. You see, Lou’s has been pretty dry for the last couple years… a case of diminishing returns. The record bins just didn’t contain the magic that they one had.

Not so this time, as there was a treasure trove of great stuff in stock. There were African records, Krautrock records, essential jazz tablets, post-disco grooves, etc. I ultimately ended up walking out with the Szabo and the Santamaria, but wrote down everything I wanted to buy so that I might come back the following week and clean up. It was torture leaving the others behind, but it had to happen.

When the following weekend rolled around, I rushed down there and managed to grab a fat stack of those records…

From the top:

Kenna – Say Goodbye To Love (Interscope: 2007)

From the great, recent Make Sure They See My Face lp. Neptune-produced.

Phoebe Snow – Second Childhood (Columbia: 1976)

Been wanting to get ahold of this one ever since hearing Two-Fisted Love on Gerald Simpson‘s Blueprint mix back in the day. Not a rare record, just one I’ve never come across it before. Lush canyon folk.

Phoebe Snow (Shelter: 1974)

And the debut by this enigmatic folk-soul troubador.

Streisand/Kristofferson – A Star Is Born OST (Columbia: 1976)

Featuring Evergreen, as heard in the Mostrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind mixes FSOL did a while back. Not quite as magical in the cold light of day, but its still a solid bit of lush pop.

America (Warner Bros: 1971)

Folk-rock crew’s debut. Pristine copy, couldn’t pass this one up and grabbed it for Sari.

Bert Jansch – Jack Orion (Vanguard: 1966)

Reissue of this stone classic of British Folk, with a different cover.

Mama Cass – Dream A Little Dream Of Me (Pickwick: 1972)

Never seen this one before and was totally sold on the cover. Turned out to be a compilation of some of her early solo work.

Utopia (United Artists: 1973)

Amon Düül II side project in which kosmische trippy landscapes are wrought. This one was the crown jewel of the trip. Having to walk away from this one the first time, I was sure it would be gone when I returned. After biting my nails all week, it was still there when I returned. Score! Priced a little more dearly than the others here, it was still an absolute steal.

Jr. Walker & The All-Stars – Moody Jr. (Soul: 1971)

Been curious about this early 70′s Junior plate for some time.

Salif Keita, Kante Manfila & Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux – Tounkan (Celluloid: 1984)

Stunned to find this one in San Diego. Another steal. I’ve got a few of the Ambassadeur records and some Salif Keita solo work, which are all great, and this one’s no exception.

Ipi ‘n Tombia – The Warrior (Stax: 1973)

Another African record, this time on Stax, which I took to be an early US look-in on South African Jive. It turned out to be a hoary jam session of sorts.

Alhaji Bai Konte – Kora Melodies From The Republic Of The Gambia, West Africa (Rounder: 1973)

This one, on the other hand, was exactly what I was hoping for.

Mongo Santamaria – Mongomania (Columbia: 1967)

Always keen to pick up Mongo‘s records.

Gabor Szabo – High Contrast (Blue Thumb: 1971)

I’ve been trying to track this one down for ages. I’ve seen it a couple times, but it’s always been fairly scratched (which is strictly out of bounds for such a lush, warm production). Gabor Szabo and Bobby Womack in earthy pastoral mode. Amazon is one of the all-time great exotica tracks.

Ramsey Lewis – Mother Nature’s Son (Cadet: 1968)

Ramsey Lewis is often great. This one’s completely made up of covers from the White Album.

O.C. Smith – Hickory Holler Revisited (Columbia: 1968)

Deep southern country soul.

And four more records that are of a piece, forming a post-mutant-disco sketch of mid-80′s dance:

Grace Jones – Living My Life (Island: 1982)

I’ve got quite a bit of Grace Jones in the vaults, but was excited to grab this mid-period Island record.

Grace Jones – Inside Story (Manhattan: 1986)

Also, the first post-Island full-length. Love that early 3D cyberpunk sleeve art.

Eddy Grant – Killer On The Rampage (ICE: 1982)

Always wanted a copy of Killer On The Rampage, and here was my chance.

Eddy Grant – Going For Broke (ICE: 1984)

Completing the gulf stream mutant-disco set, the next record from Eddy Grant‘s peak of popularity.

Of all the records that I’d written down, the only one that had disappeared in the intervening week was a copy of Pete Shelley‘s Homosapien. Doh! Although I do have the 12″ single of the title track. All in all, it was an extremely fortunate turn of events (especially in the case of Utopia). Looking forward to checking out the new and improved Lou’s again in the near future.

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Garden Grooves 002

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Slye

This is a smaller set of records than last weeks monster breakdown, but an interesting selection nonetheless. Less garden time went down compared with last weekend, thus less records were played in the gardens:

Queen (EMI: 1973)

On Friday, my brother Brian requested a quick Queen compilation for a fishing trip this weekend. What I came up with leaned pretty heavily on the first record (5 tracks altogether), which has some of their greatest songs, so I ended up putting this on when the weekend kicked off.

MC5 – Back In The USA (Atlantic: 1970)

Getting the day started with a rock ‘n roll classic. The Human Being Lawnmower just about sums it up.

Sly & The Family Stone – A Whole New Thing (Epic: 1967)

Perhaps everyone knows Trip To Your Heart, indirectly at least (as the loop underpinning LL Cool J‘s Mama Said Knock You Out), but this debut by one of the great sixties bands should be more widely heard.

War – The World Is A Ghetto (United Artists: 1972)

The sound of steam rising off the asphalt on the hottest day of the year.

Rubén Blades Con La Orquesta De Pete Rodriguez – De Panama A Nueva York (Fania: 1970)

The salsa man’s debut, before he did those records with Willie Colón. If you’ve seen Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Rubén Blades played the retired FBI agent (the heart of the film and the best part of this solid close to the trilogy).

Be-Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim (Harvest: 1974)

Latecomer glam rock opus. Bill Nelson seems to enjoy playing guitar more than any other guitarist, slipping in a preposterous amount of guitar trills and filligrees into every space he can find.

Japan – Adolescent Sex (Ariola Hansa: 1978)

Completely different from the better-known new pop period, this utterly unique glam-funk hybrid blew my mind upon first listen (during that period when I first branched back out from an exclusive diet of beats). Pitched somewhere between the New York Dolls and The Royal Scam-era Steely Dan, but truly sounding like nothing else out there.

Japan – Obscure Alternatives (Ariola Hansa: 1979)

The very disappointing second album, and the band’s weakest by far. However, Rhodesia – one of the greatest cod-reggae tracks of all time – marks it as utterly essential. If only this track could’ve been swapped with Don’t Rain On My Parade from the debut!

After this, I caught a great folk show (more on this later) at an old world bistro up in Carmel Mountain with my parents and a hip uncle from the bay area. I do believe that good times were had by all.

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Garden Grooves 001

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Slye

This weekend was one for the books. First of all, we finally got the backyard gardens in order (no small feat if you saw it, oh say 6 months ago). Also managed to lay down some beats in the studio while simultaneously getting it organized. To top it off, there was a great little barbecue thanks to Sari (with unbelievably tasty hamburgers), a surreal game of Scategories and a series of movies viewed in the late hours of the night. All in all, vibes were conjured and memories were made.

Here are some of the records that were bumping in the gardens over the course of last weekend while the crew put in work on the heights beautification project:

Steve Hillage Rainbow Dome Musick (Virgin: 1979)

Ambient soundscapes set the weekend off on the right foot while Matt crashed on the sofa.

E-Thèque Beatbox EP (Aztek: 1998)

The second E-Thèque EP from 1998… that’s ages ago. This one got played a lot over the weekend, as I’m currently remastering it for the Aztek Records relaunch. Has aged surprisingly well, and sounds great in the car. Scoops likes this one.

Nick Lowe Jesus Of Cool (Radar: 1978)

Finally picked this reissue up on Friday. Stacked with bonus tracks, with brilliant tunes from front to back.

Journey (Columbia: 1975)

Also grabbed this one at Best Buy of all places, as I’ve been somewhat curious about the early Journey records for some time. Totally sold on the cover, the light prog grooves within didn’t disappoint. Kicked off the Saturday gardening with this one.

Joni Mitchell Blue (Reprise: 1971)

Put this one on to cheer Sari up, and I think it did the trick!

Prince And The Revolution Parade (Paisley Park: 1986)

Mountains, in particular, singled out for praise here. Excellent music for putting in a new planter.

Paperclip People The Secret Tapes Of Doctor Eich (Planet E: 1996)

Carl Craig in full-on house mode. Previously I’d been working alone in the backyard, but after this came on everyone rolled up for a listen.

The Beach Boys Sunflower (Brother: 1970)

Matt took the reigns and tossed this one on. I’m forever bigging up the early 70′s records by The Beach Boys, and this is probably the most consistent of them (i.e. no blunders like “Student Demonstration Time”).

Lloyd Hemmings Thirteen Months In Zion (Prophet: 2006)

Finishing up with Saturday’s gardening, Lloyd‘s recent record went down a treat.

Kruder & Dorfmeister G-Stoned (G-Stone: 1993)

The Saturday evening back porch barbecue chill out began with this downbeat touchstone.

Gene Clark White Light (A&M: 1970)

One of the great 70′s singer-songwriter lps… it’s a shame Clark‘s post-Byrds work isn’t more widely known.

Otis Redding Pain In My Heart (ATCO: 1964)

The great soul man’s debut.

Clarence Carter Patches (Atlantic: 1970)

Late 60′s soul blues… this and the next album are bundled together in a Collectables two fer.

Clarence Carter The Dynamic Clarence Carter (Atlantic: 1969)

Carter‘s version of Light My Fire a stone cold killer.

King Crimson Beat (E’G: 1982)

This laidback album from 80′s King Crimson capped off the evening. After this, Matt and I stayed up late watching Escape From New York and Purple Rain.

Tim Buckley Happy Sad (Elektra: 1969)

Kicked off Sunday Morning back out in the garden with my favorite Buckley record. Everyone needs to experience the 12 minute krautgroove of Gypsy Woman immediately.

Tony Allen with Afrobeat 2000 N.E.P.A. (Earthworks: 1984)

Dubbed out African electrofunk. The future on wax.

The B-52′s (Warner Bros: 1979)

Going it alone on Sunday, I was free to throw on The B-52′s debut (Sari HATES these guys). Back in 2001, one of the first albums I bought after listening almost exclusively to techno for ages.

Creedence Clearwater Revival Cosmo’s Factory (Fantasy: 1970)

Classic swamp-rock from San Francisco. “I wouldn’t hold out much hope for the Creedence though…”

Moodymann Black Mahogani (Peacefrog: 2004)

Capped the weekend off in the late afternoon with an ice cold drink and Moodymann‘s last full-length. As far as I know, at least. Am I the only one who thinks this gives SilentIntroduction a serious run for its money?

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The Weekend Starts Here

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Slye

It’s been nearly a month since my last post (and that one was basically a stopgap) and things have been busy in the heights. That is to say there are even more developments coming over the course of this month – things are on a roll.

I’ve been wrestling with the tone of this blog, which initially was meant to contain nothing but thinkpieces and the like. Unfortunately, this leads to tons of half-finished works waiting in the wings and long breaks between posts.

So I’ve decided to start leavening the conceptual with some material that just appeals on the level of basic music love. Bashing up album covers and the like. If this sort of thing is enjoyable when I read it elsewhere, then why not do it here as well. Over the past couple months I’ve come to the realization that I’ll always be a music lover, producer and a dj first and foremost, and that while I love reading solid music criticism… well let’s just say that I’m no Parallax Room is a lounge where music lovers hang out and soak up vibes. In cyberspace, this blog is merely the place where the reverberations of that vibe, surrounding thoughts and ideas may or may not be recorded. The weekend starts here.

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Dyzzy’s On Vinyl

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Slye

In a recent post on the heights forum, Snakes‘ description of this record shop in Long Beach left me intrigued. The other day, I traveled up to Cypress (west of Anaheim) in order to hang out with my Dad (who’s current job site is in the vincinity) and brother Andrew (who lives just north in Burbank), and we decided to check it out.

The shop is a charming little set of three tiny rooms, similar in spirit to the type of record shop that one might find in an old victorian house. The staff was totally laidback: a cool group of dudes chilling out and throwing on tunes like A Funky Space Reincarnation. The selection went pretty deep, and I didn’t even get around to around to checking out the third room beyond a cursory glance. Here’s a shot of some of the records I snagged:

Rick James – Come Get It (Gordy: 1978)

92.5 plays this one. Surprisingly ballad-heavy.

Tom Lehrer – Songs By Tom Lehrer (Reprise: 1953)

One of the stone classic 50′s comedy records. I had a thinkpiece kicking around back in the day about how the underground currents already present in the fifties laid the groundwork for the sixties explosion, rather than being cultural wasteland (as played up on the nostalgia programs) that the boomers were railing against. Granted, I wasn’t there…

King Crimson – Discipline (E’G: 1981)

Rock hard new wave prog masterpiece. Proto-math rock in places, but not boring in the slightest. Stoked to finally have this on vinyl.

Wilson Pickett – The Sound Of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic: 1967)

This one was an absolute steal – an original pressing – and southern soul isn’t so easy to come by down here in SD.

Simple Minds – Sparkle In The Rain (Virgin: 1984)

Another cool thing about Dyzzys is that first time customers get to grab a free record from the discount bin. While I prefer their early, weird new wave records, this and New Gold Dream are absolutely essential new pop.

Jim Croce – The Faces I’ve Been (Lifesong: 1975)

Double lp from the beloved folk icon. My dad expressed an interest in this one, so I picked it up for him.

Santana – Welcome (Columbia: 1973)

This one figured into Kirk Degiorgio‘s classic “Op-Art Hall Of Fame” list back in the day. Carlos Santana was one of the visionaries pictured on UR‘s Turning Point double ep, which doubled as an indispensable road map of influences – routes out of straight-up techno just as it was being hi-jacked by the knee-jerk minimal crowd and drained of all these selfsame vibes and inputs. Had this on cd for ages (I gave Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield the look-in around the same time, turn of the century bizzness), I was keen to finally grab this one on vinyl. Up til now, most copies I came across were pretty beat up.

Patti LaBelle – I’m In Love Again (Philadelphia International: 1983)

Been curious about this early 80′s LaBelle r for some time, and finally took the plunge.

Oingo Boingo – Pain (MCA: 1986)

This tune is something of an institution between my brother and I. Not realizing that it had even had a 12″ release, I was quick to grab it on sight.

After taking far too long digging in the bins (nervous looks between my dad and brother – “Is he done yet?!”), I purchased the records in question and dropped off some Radio AG flyers on my way out. Afterward, we grabbed some dinner and had a great time. Looking forward to doing it all again!

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Sequential Noir (CHR-002)

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Slye

Various Artists – Sequential Noir (Cheap Hotel CHR-002: 2010)

Music for the other side of midnight…

This selection is pretty straightforward, that is some of the finest downbeat and tech jazz to come out over the past twenty years. It was originally envisioned as two separate volumes (hence multiple tracks by same artists spread across the two discs), but ultimately I decided to present them together since they worked so well as a single monolithic entity.

Disc One

  1. Patrick Pulsinger Citylights (City Of Starsigns) (Disko B)
  2. Photek The Hidden Camera (Science)
  3. Khao Crazy Diseased And Barmy (Terranova Mix) (Studio !K7)
  4. Recloose Landscaping (Planet E)
  5. Kruder & Dorfmeister Young Men (Wall Of Sound)
  6. Ian Simmonds The Man With No Thumbs (Studio !K7)
  7. Reprazent Share The Fall (Full Vocal Mix) (Talkin’ Loud)
  8. As One featuring Jinadu Problems (Ubiquity)
  9. Primal Scream Duffed Up (Creation)
  10. Terranova DJ-Kicks/Contact (Studio !K7)
  11. Dark Comedy Everything’s Alright (Poussez!)
  12. Innerzone Orchestra Bug In The Bass Bin (Original Mix) (Planet E)
  13. Jimi Tenor Can’t Stay With You Baby (Warp)

Disc Two

  1. Terranova featuring Manuel Göttsching Tokyo Tower (All Good Vinyl)
  2. Kruder & Dorfmeister High Noon (G-Stone)
  3. Massive Attack Blue Lines (Wild Bunch)
  4. Air Modular Mix (Source)
  5. The Angel Selector (On Tha Otha Side Of Midnite) (Supa Crucial)
  6. Tosca Chocolate Elvis (G-Stone)
  7. Beanfield Keep On Believing (Compost)
  8. Nautilus Jones The Moonlight Track (Mettrex)
  9. Jason Hogans Peter And The Rooster (Planet E)
  10. As One featuring Paul Randolph I Love You (Ubiquity)
  11. Underground Resistance Big Stone Lake (Underground Resistance)
  12. Incognito Out Of The Storm (C’s Planet E Special Mix) (Talkin’ Loud)
  13. Recloose featuring Mark Alston Cardiology (Planet E)
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Unveiling The Secret Roots Of Trance

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Slye

Thoroughly fascinating article about the emergence of trance in Goa in the eighties and the visionary mixing style (using only audio cassettes!) of one DJ Laurent. This one a blissblog tip off. Snakes, I’m sure you would enjoy this. Been reading Last Night A DJ Saved My Life again (post forthcoming), and this article could well slot into that book among all the legendary company found therein (David Mancuso/The Loft, Larry Levan/Paradise Garage, Ron Hardy/Music Box, etc.). This of course slots in patly with the 1988-1993 window I’ve been going on about lately.

I remember once telling Snakes that the type of trance I dig is that which sounds like it were made by desert cave dwellers, and well this just about fits the bill.

Check it out.

The video clips sound great as well. Literally and figuratively, miles away from Gatecrasher and 1999.

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Trouble Man

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Slye

Excellent movie! Totally lives up to the promise of Marvin Gaye‘s OST.

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Music For Babies Volume One (CHR-001)

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Slye

Various Artists – Music For Babies Volume One (Cheap Hotel CHR-001: 2010)

Ravers… they keep getting younger and younger, don’t they?

In the post-industrial era, the sounds of machinery have been subsumed into the sound of machine music. The synthesizer came along and swallowed it all whole. Drum machines have no soul? Come off it, for real now! Anyone who’s heard more than fifteen minutes of the real deal knows how small-minded that bumper-sticker mentality sounds. Derrick May, The Black Dog, Kraftwerk… if you know the names, then you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, well that’s another lesson for another day. It’s with a different compilation on a different day that I would put the case of techno’s soul to a court of law.

This compilation is about the flipside to that coin. For every absolutely beautiful peace of soul music like Strings Of Life or What’s Going On, there’s an equally ugly, blank-eyed piece of trash like Search And Destroy and The Punisher. My friends, there’s a time for Marvin Gaye and there’s a time for The Stooges, and metaphorically speaking, today is without a doubt all about RAW POWER. The mad spirit of punk rock lives on in the mental 4/4 stomp you find in the darkside of dance. DIY? This was a whole generation who did it themselves, good and proper. Joey Beltram? UR? Outlander? For real!?! These cats are the stuff legends are made of… So let me break this sequence down for you all while you throw in this disc and soak up these sounds.

  1. X-102 Groundzero (The Planet) (Tresor)

    2. The programme kicks off with X-102. The X-102 project was the UR boys getting down under another name. See, that’s just how it works in techno. If you don’t have records out under half a dozen names, then you’re doing something wrong. And if X-102 Discovers The Rings Of Saturn was a concept album about a voyage to the titular planet, then this track is the point when the spaceship crash lands on the surface of the gas giant itself.

  2. Second Phase Mentasm (R&S)

    3. Mentasm is just sick: the most twisted, disgusting synth line up to that point in history underpinned by nothing but a high-pitched drone and a kickdrum. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make it happen, and this track most certainly did make things happen. That sick, distorted Mentasm synth sound went on to fuel the darkside excursions in hardcore, jungle and gabba for the rest of the decade. It’s no wonder then, that Joey Beltram was the man behind the magic, having already put out Energy Flash (aka the record that really kicked off the nineties… sorry Nevermind).

  3. Armando Land Of Confusion (Westbrook)

    4. Next up is Armando‘s acid classic, Land Of Confusion. That’s the sound of funk in the nineties. Acid was all about grinding out synthlines over an elastic groove, and Armando was one of the absolute masters of the form. Whoever said Everybody Needs A 303 hit the nail on the head. This one came out 1987 and hasn’t aged a day. Acid’s a lot like 60′s garage punk in that it’s a sound so elemental that you can pretty much play it anywhere, at any point in time between 1985 and doomsday and it’ll still sound unbelievable.

  4. Chancellor Insane (Black Nation)

    5. Black Nation is without a doubt one of the greatest labels ever when it comes to hard-edged techno. I could have just as easily picked any tune at random from their back catalog and come up with a winner. I went with Chancellor‘s Insane from the Birth Of A Nation II compilation because it’s about as bad a jam as you could ask for. As with most Black Nation records, it’s like punk and post-punk doing their thing simultaneously with nothing but electronics. And many of their tunes seem too abrasive to play around other people… not that it ever stopped me!

  5. Underground Resistance The Punisher (Underground Resistance)

    6. The same goes for , this time by UR proper, taking the sounds of Belgian Hardcore and knocking out a more than reasonable facimile with that Detroit swagger. “Hard Music From A Hard City” was this crew’s mantra at the time, and it shows. They put out loads of other essential hardcore records around the same time like Death Star, Message To The Majors and the Riot ep, but The Punisher is a stone cold killer.

  6. Outlander The Vamp (R&S)

    7. The Vamp is just a monster of a tune, actual honest to goodness Belgian Hardcore. I’d originally envisioned this compilation being chock full of Belgian tunes, but this was the one that bounced vibes best with the others here. Hearing the Kevin Saunderson revamp of this tune on Deep Space Radio absolutely changed my life and got me into the arcane practice of making beats in the first place.

  7. Suburban Knight The Art Of Stalking (Transmat)

    8. Moving into rough territory. Straight up, no nonsense Detroit Techno here. Now this is the real deal. Suburban Knight eventually ended up in UR. The Art Of Stalking, recorded for Derrick May‘s Transmat imprint, came out even earlier. Forget everything you’ve heard about watercolor synths, “proper” music, purists and snobs… this is the real sound of techno, it’s essence. All that other stuff came about when people tried to copy off Derrick May‘s paper but forgot about the groove.

  8. Alter Ego Vincent Van Dance (Klang Elektronik)

    9. Alter Ego did their own thing though. They started out making brittle, otherworldly techno with albums like Decoding The Hacker Myth and Welcome Insel. But on this album, coming almost a decade later (making this the most recent track here by some distance), they just wanted to bash heads in until you everyone was dancing. Vincent Van Dance simply pounds it’s way into oblivion while taking the prize in the “sounds just like Front 242 sweepstakes.”

  9. The Chemical Brothers It Doesn’t Matter (Freestyle Dust)

    10. The Chemical Brothers were huge. They must have had the highest profile of all the artists here, with the possible exception of Daft Punk. I’d say the Brothers broke through just a little bit further, and they did it earlier on (when it was harder to do). Everybody seemed to have this album. Those breakbeats were the key – tying into both rock and hip hop, which were the lingua franca of the time. This track actually has no breakbeats, just one of the most monolithic house grooves ever put on wax. It starts off with what sounds like a cheap casio rhythm and then PUMMELS everything in it’s path.

  10. DJ Pierre Box Energy (Trax)

    11. Another acid track here, this time from DJ Pierre. From 1988, a good solid ten years before the mainstream push of the industry’s “electronica” movement, and proving how uneccesary the idea was in the first place. The Chicago bad boys were getting on just fine with tracks like this for years. Note how this one flows naturally out of The Chemical Brothers track, holding it’s own with a beat that came out ten years later. This stuff is TIMELESS!

  11. Steve Poindexter Feen For Rhythm (Housetime)

    12. And yet another Chicago track. The loping, endless rhythm a dead giveaway. Steve Poindexter was movingly described by Woebot as “THE MAN” with respect to his strikingly unique and uncompromising take on house music. Indeed, this is another case where I could have picked virtually any track he did between 1988 and 1995, but this one ended up being the lucky third of the acid tracks here.

  12. Daft Punk Rollin’ & Scratchin’ (Virgin)

    13. The French duo clearly inspired by Chicago acid here. Those early singles on Soma were great. Daft Punk, who are excellent at distilling the past joys of the golden eras of dance into a concise pop song, seem to work best in extremes. Early on, they were often at their best when at their most abrasive. Later, when they mellowed out a bit (taking notes from New York and Jersey rather than Chicago), I think the best stuff was the most serene. My favorite tracks by this lot weren’t One More Time and Around The World (which border on the tedious) but Voyager, Verdis Quo, Musique and this track, Rollin’ & Scratchin’.

  13. Robert Hood Rhythm Of Vision (M-Plant)

    14. The father of minimal with what is probably the most futuristic track here. The entirety of his Minimal Nation lp (just reissued on M-Plant) laid the groundwork for a whole raft of artists to follow for the next 15 years. As a stand-alone record it excels, far more inventive and compulsively funky than the majority of the minimal records that came in its wake. As The Vision, Hood put out a few earlier records including the wonderfully abrasive second volume of the Waveform Transmission series.

  14. Jeff Mills Changes Of Life (Tresor)

    15. Which brings us to the closer, Jeff Mills‘ bludgeoning take on Derrick May‘s Strings Of Life riff, from the first Waveform Transmission, which was the sound of Mills coming off his tenure in UR and serves as the halfway point between The Punisher and The Purpose Maker. The Waveform Transmission series was all pretty brutal stuff, but pointed the way forward to the taut, precise grooves that he and Robert Hood would proliferate for the second half of the decade (and beyond).

    That about wraps it up for Music For Babies Volume One. There will certainly be a second volume, as there are tons of other tunes that I could have included. It was a difficult task, sorting through the preposterously deep well of possible choices, but the result is that everything here really is the cream of diamond-hard techno. Hopefully this will serve it’s intended purpose and keep a whole generation of babies out there on the dancefloor (wink).

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Cheap Hotel

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Slye

As anyone who ever found themselves with a bunch of records will know, you end up getting a lot of requests for compilations. I can’t even remember all of the compilations I’ve made. Sure, I have some evidence of these projects lying around in forgotten directories on my computer, be it the sleeve art that I’d designed or the actual audio files in question, but by no means is any of this organized in a discernible fashion. And this troubles me. I’ve put a lot of effort into these things over time… making them flow well, whether mixes or straight compilations, and I always tried to make the presentation something special.

What’s more, there have been times that someone has requested a compilation that I’ve already put together, and it’s often an ordeal to locate all the pieces after the fact and run off another copy. Meaning that in recent years I’ve often been guilty of lagging when it comes to getting compilations out to people. What I needed was some sort of system to keep all of these compilations in order, a central directory if you will, one that people (including myself) could take a look at and see what’s out there.

All of which brings us to Cheap Hotel. I’ve been meaning to start this sort of thing for some time now. This little project is meant to act as a sort of label, an imprint with catalogue numbers and the whole nine, reserved especially for the compilations and mixes that I put together for everyone. Every release will consist of a handmade cd-r (or cassette) along with extended liner notes which I will be posting on the Cheap Hotel website. It will also get a post here, where I will get into any of the more informal waffle around the circumstances of the release in question. Most importantly, the turnaround on getting these things out to the people who need them will be greatly improved.

I already have plans for the first five or so releases. The first of these, Music For Babies Volume One, comes out today. The others will follow on an irregular basis. The second release will come out before the next live transmission party on Radio AG (which is incidentally happening on Saturday, May 15th).

From then on out, we’re looking at one or two releases a month. I’ll also be reissuing vintage compilations as I dig them up, knocking them into the grid with catalogue numbers and often with minor improvements/alterations. I’m particularly looking forward to getting the Glazed Soul series, the Shadez Of Colour mixes and the Amateur Hour Sparks compilation back into circulation.

At any rate, I’m hoping this project proves to be useful to the massive. It’s all part of plugging people into some great music, reading between the lines, and in the process having a bit of fun. And if it makes a few people want to pick up turntables and start buying up records as a result… well, mission accomplished, I’d say.

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