Bought a lot more than usual this month so here are some recommendations (and a few links):

Fix - Flash, Player’s Anthem
- already had the brilliant Dope Computer from the same EP (the Electrowerk edition from 2003 but the tunes are at least ten years older) but it’s always been labelled as ‘Flash’ or just ‘Fix’ and it’s all still really confusing. All tracks produced by Orlando Voorn, an often terrific and perhaps under-appreciated producer of jittery techno and warm electro over the years. Everything on this EP directly and obviously inspired by P-Funk.

Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming
- first thing I heard by them and immediately loved but nothing else on the increasingly hyped album has grabbed me yet.

Queen - Greatest Hits II LP
- it was only a fiver so why not. lol ‘Invisible Man’ etc.

Dirty Dapz, Dotstar, Flirta D & Skats - I’m Not Playin’
- the only thing I liked the sound of from the Channel U Vol 2 compilation (also cheap on itunes). Hectic but compelling grime, the like of which I rarely hear these days. Sound quality is a bit shit tho frankly. Only thing missing is a bassline…

Chaz Jankel - Number One, Call Me (Bonus Dub)
- LOVE ‘Number One’, a meditation on success or just a simple but thoughtful 80s pop song done well - reminds me a bit of Julian Lennon’s ‘Too Late For Goodbyes’ (good? bad? okay). This guy was born up the road from me in Stanmore, Middx so props.

The Tough Alliance - A New Chance LP
- slept on this for too long despite liking ‘Something Special’ immediately. whole album sounds good, a fair few AR Kane vibes and more. We could do with more bands that sound like this in the UK.

April March - Chick Habit
- surprised this is from as far back as ‘95, don’t think I heard it until ‘Death Proof’ which is annoying because it’s great and fiendishly sticky.

Barbara Morgenstern - Come To Berlin
- seems like a cheap promotional theme because of the lyrics but good atmospheric electronica anyway.

Ghostland Observatory - Stranger Lover
- The Rapture meets Zoot Woman uptown - would mix well with the Jankel actually.

M - Pop Muzik (Steve Osborne Mix)
- U2 used this as their intro music during their PopMart tour. I think it’s a worthy compliment to the fun original, for empthasising the importance of the subject with it’s epic whirling tone and bigger beats (so ‘97).

DJ’s Unite - Vol. 1 (Remix)
- A brilliant spacey ardkore tune I could not ID for years so grabbed it from a recent Moondance Anthems comp as soon as I realised what it was. Up there with the genre’s greats.

Liam Howlett didn’t do many remixes but they were all pretty good fun and this one allowed him to indulge and pay tribute to his hip-hop beginnings somewhat. Comic-book menace with funky breakbeats and the ominous brass build-up works really well. The track is busy enough to never sound boring.

Method Man - Release Yo’delf (The Prodigy remix)

 

1. Concerned about how much my confidence in my own ability (probably higher than ever) is not matched by an ease with which I can demonstrate this effectively. Will work harder and faster on this.

2. A lovely new typeface called Hiruko. Some similarity to a typeface I’ve been thinking of having a go at creating (hence the mention). It would be my first if so, but high time such an endeavour was attempted.

3. Lemon Jelly’s ‘Man Like Me’ video from 2005’s ‘64-’95 album.

Overlooked this track at the time but really like it now - terrific break loop (when it kicks off at 1:10), good use of sample (Ralph Tresvant’s ultra-smooth ‘Sensitivity‘), dreamy tones and of course Airside’s video offers charming, stylish imagery (I like the volcano eyes and the silhouette birds best). They’re due a new album now surely.

Embedding this because it cheered me up (briefly) this morning:

Huge tribal-ly Latino house opus by MAW’s Louie Vega from which India’s soaring vocals immediately became a sampler’s favourite (appearing on a couple of Jungle tracks that same year as well as on Vega’s own co-production with Eric Morillo, ‘Reach’, the next year). A video exists in my mind similar in style to Los Lobos’s ‘Kiko And The Lavender Moon’ but with added elephants, dancing and rotating symbols.

River Ocean - Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochùn)

Track also features on Ultramix 94 (part 07) altho I only just noticed that the Flash-based audio players on the Ultramix site don’t seem to work with the new version of Firefox (but they’re fine in IE) - will try and sort that out ASAP.