tim fisher

Getting It On

[ review of: Getting It On by Only Child (CD Album) ]

Manchester's Grand Central Records are proving to be one of the most consistent labels in the UK of late, with a slew of releases reflecting their beguiling Mancunian slant on breaks and hip hop.

Only Child is Justin Crawford, and this single, taken from his album 'Satellites And Constellations' features newcomer Azeem, who takes his cues from northern soul heavyweights and contributes one of the most convincing and genuine soul vocals to come out of Manchester in years.

Crawford's production sense ensures the parts compliment the vocal beautifully, the track's simple, warm keys never overshadowing Azeem's vocal stylings. Add a squelchy filtered bassline of the Stevie Wonder school that's so irrisistably funky it almost forces everything else into the background and you've got a stunningly judged summer favorite that's perfect for the cocktail hour.

The second track on the single - 'Thanks For The Break' - takes a Salsoul sounding vocal sample and lays it over a simple funk break which, after a lovely organ-led middle eight - gradually introduces flute, the bassline and hand-claps in an admirably restrained and undeniably funky build up.

Understated and completely infectious.
Posted by tim fisher at 14:18, 01 Aug 2001

Hi-Fidelity House: Imprint 3

[ review of: Hi-Fidelity House: Imprint 3 by Various Artists (Hi-Fidelity) (CD Album) ]

Set up in the mid-nineties at a time when the general consensus was that house had run out of steam, ideas, and perhaps its course, Guidance is now known as the label primarily responsible for changing this attitude. More than any other, Guidance made saying you were into deep house cool again with its mind-bogglingly solid output.

Since the first handful of 12"s emerged out of Chicago in 1996 from relatively unknown artists such as Blueboy (whose Scattered Emotions EP featured a nice little breakbeat number called 'Remember Me' on the B-side), Guidance has released tunes from almost every single house producer of any regard, including timeless classics from Glenn Underground, A:xus, Larry Heard and Joe Clausell. Located in house music's spiritual home, Guidance went out of their way to embrace the global nature of the sound, and the artists it featured were as likely to come from Scotland or Finland as they were from the Windy City.

Although their knack for spotting the tunes that end up kicking off the trends is as sharp as it ever has been, this compilation is surprising in the lack of new material on offer. Released almost 3 years after the last imprint in the Hi-Fidelity House series, the compilation is let down by the fact that many of these tracks have appeared on other compilations over the past two years. This isn't to say they don't deserve being trotted out again - Jazzanova's remix of 'Circe' with Ursula Rucker's incredible, otherworldly vocals is already something of a downbeat classic; Nu-Spirit Helsinki contribute their deeply funky 'Take It Back; and the ever dependable Dubtribe Sound System's excellent piece of San Fran sunshine imbued 'What You Feel In Your Heart" deserves as many airings as it's given.

Unlike the last two Hi-Fidelity House compilations the focus of Imprint 3 is shifted away from the dancefloor and the disc suffers from this, with tracks from Pat Barry, Solaris Heights and Kevin Yost blurring into an unremarkable, jazzy background haze. Maybe a tad too relaxed for even the deepest of heads, the lack of any real attention grabbers is a disappointment considering the catalogue at the compiler's disposal and the usual standard of compilations coming out of the Guidance camp.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 12 Jun 2001

Ordered from the Catalogue

[ review of: Ordered from the Catalogue by Various Artists (mixed by Mark Rae) (CD Album) ]

Despite the likes of Gescom, DJ Vadim and their ilk pushing hip hop past its recognised forms with often incredible results, few UK outfits have be able to do anything successful with its more accepted forms and much continues to be made of the impact UK hip hop has consistently failed to make. It seems there's just something about the bare bones of the genre that continues to elude the champions of the form in Britain. Which makes listening to this mix so great.

Manchester's Grand Central Records have never felt the need to trumpet their hip hop credentials, managing instead to build up a huge amount of respect and goodwill on both sides of the Atlantic as well as bigging up the Manchester massive without feeling the need to pop a cap in anyone's ass.

Mixed by Mark Rae (who, if the press release is to be believed, took two phone calls and made himself a sandwhich while laying down the final mix live) 'Ordered from the Catalogue' exemplifies the term 'all killer no filler'. Not only does it highlight the strength and consistency of Grand Central's output, it's also not a bad showcase for the boss's enthusiasm for turntablist trickery, with some fine cutting and scratching throughout.

'Ordered ...' moves from the northern soul-influenced end of the label through some fine party-rocking tracks and back again, taking in some exceedingly funky gems from Riton and Only Child en route. Rae looms large over the CD through both his own tracks with Steve Christian and Mr Scruff, and his dextrous mixes taking in the infectious genius of Finga Thing, the front of Aim and turns from J Walk and Tony D, while maintaing the flow essential to any half-decent mix-CD.

Finga Thing's 'You Fly Me' from their debut long-player 'The Main Event' has you wondering why they aren't superstars already and the album closer; Rae and Christian's remix of their own fine, fine collaboration with Bobby Womack is almost worth the price of the album alone.

If there is a gripe with this release it's that several of the featured tracks have appeared on other Grand Central compilations, but then you get that with retrospectives and besides, the whole thing oozes so much soul and class it's almost beside the point. Word.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 22 May 2001

Sandunguera

[ review of: Sandunguera by Tito Heron, the Cubanaires (CD Album) ]

As with whatever sub-category of house is currently flavour of the month, the latin-house explosion is resulting in hundreds of identical, identically derivative records flooding clubs as producers knock out tracks in their haste to cash in.

Fortunately, there are as many producers for whom retaining the soul of the original source tracks is a goal over and above getting their track out before clubs and clubbers move on to the next biggest thing.

Tito Heron and the Cubanaires are such producers. The man behind West London's excellent Soleal night, Dado Valentic's second release under the Tito moniker is an excellent reworking of Los Van Van's classic Cuban hit 'Por Encima Del Nivel'.

With its super clean bassline, understated filtering and live piano the track is a perfect example of why latin influences are the current way forward in house music. The original trumpets and male vocal are dropped in and out of the mix, adding to the overall exuberance of the track, and the temptation to slap a boring bogo trill over the 4-4 kick is resisted with some genuinelly interesting percussion.

On the flip, the Live Mix drops the 4-4 kick drum and accentuates the live instrumentation with an added violin, while the Voodoodub Mix strips it all back for the dancefloor.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 21 May 2001

Raya - Collectivism

[ review of: Raya - Collectivism by Various Artists (Raya), Tom Churchill...(CD Album) ]

Conceived as a showcase for some of the audio artists and DJs who performed at Raya's three-year London ICA residency, Collectivism serves to cement Raya's reputation as something of an institution in the London club and festival world.

As well as the ICA residency, the collective of film-makers, visual artists and DJs who make up Raya have contributed to events London's Scala, East London's 333, and have been responsible for designing and managing the environment and video-mixing in the club tent at the Big Chill festival, as well as being chosen by the British Council to represent London underground club culture and art.

The layered violin of Abigail Hatherly's opening track doesn't give much indication of the ride you're in for, as the CD moves into lush, downtempo house territory soon after and stays put for most of the disc.

Things warm up with the squelchy metallic bass, insistent drones and warm keys of 'Stack' by Freeform before moving into Klash Production's chugging 'Blue Dub'. Ovni's 'Energise' is a lovely piece of shuffling late-night deep house, held together by its ethereal, understated vocal, and Tom Churchill's 'Wide Open' is a standout piece of downtempo techno, all washy hi-hats and Detroit strings, with a nod to northern deep house.

Cim also contributes an absolute gem with the atmospheric 'Vittel,' followed by similar tracks from Max , Les Elles and Isabel Waidner.

Unlike too many dance music compilations on the racks, a lot of thought has been put into the programming of this release. Across a diverse range of London electronic artists, Collectivism sustains its resolutely chilled out mood (and the listener's interest) throughout.

As Raya's involvement with the dance music scene stretches beyond that of the average record label it's not easy to get a feel for the organisation from an audio CD, but as an illustration of the sounds and names of Raya, Collectivism is a great starting point. As a solid compilation of quality downtempo and experimental dancemusic, it works pretty well too.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 18 May 2001

Stephen Malkmus

[ review of: Stephen Malkmus by Stephen Malkmus (CD Album) ]

When Stephen Malkmus floated a boat called Pavement, he sailed at the helm of one of the greatest and best-loved bands of the past decade. After the last Pavement album 'Terror Twilight' divided fans and critics alike, many felt their breakup, announced soon after 'Terror Twilight's release at a Brixton Academy show in November '99, was not before time.

Whether you felt Pavement had indeed lost their edge or you were one of the legions left gutted by their split, it was hard not to get caught up in the buzz surrounding Malkmus' first solo release. So much talk, so much conjecture. It was called 'Swedish Reggae', it was by a new band called the Jicks, it wasn't called anything, it sounded great, it sounded like Pavement, maybe it didn't.

Much of the album is the Stephen Malkmus we know and love. It's happy, it's fun, it's him doing his thing. There's an ease and a homeliness, missing from much of Terror Twilight, that Malkmus seems to have rediscovered on his own. And the album settles around you as comfily as your favorite wollen cardigan, but makes you smile a lot more often. It seems a more measured record than his recent offerings in both Pavement and Silver Jews, less cluttered. To say this album at times seems somewhat restrained is not a criticism. Each song feels complete, and the different sounds benefit from the extra room afforded them.

After the almost histrionic overdubbed guitars of opener 'Black Book,' the wonderful, bouncing 'Phantasies' finds us in more familiar Malkmus territory, both sonically and lyrically. By track three, the Yul Brenner biography 'Jo Jo's Jacket,' you're realising how much you've missed hearing this.

Recorded in his adopted home of Portland with local ring-ins (and now part of the apparently permanent line-up of The Jicks) John Moen and Joanna Bolm, Malkmus has produced a relaxed, beautiful album.

Without having been at the sessions it's hard to gauge the contribution of the other members of The Jicks to the finished sound, but it's safe to say it wasn't a great deal. This is Malkmus' album. It's him on the cover and it's him in the skewed, emotive, life-affirming songs of this album.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 17 Apr 2001

Soul Ecstasy (OST)

[ review of: Soul Ecstasy (OST) by Various Artists (CD Album) ]

Released by California's ever-interesting Emperor Norton records (home of Senor Coconut, Fantastic Plastic Machine and DJ Me DJ You), the Soul Ecstasy OST purports to be one of the only surviving elements from the 1972 blaxploitation flick.

The story goes that the film, which revolves around a Black Panther-esque gang selling girls to Hong Kong brothels, was felt to be over-stepping the mark just a tad in 1972, and it was pulled almost immediately on its release. Coupled with the fact that every known print in existence was destroyed in a fire at director Fulton James' house; a few stills, the script and this soundtrack are all we have left of the film.

With its wonderfully evocative track-titles (Soul Submarine, Citroens and Sitars, Pussyfoot Ray ...) the disc's polished funk gives a real sense of just what Soul Ecstasy was all about, and where it was coming from. Given Emperor Norton's past record for releasing soundtracks to fictitious films (and a plot which includes strapping young blokes being chemically transformed into mincing drag queens) you can make what you will of the above story, but whether all this is true or not, you've got to give them points for ingenuity and effort (and the excellent gatefold cover).

The disc swings into gear with the opening title track, sub-Curtis vocal stylings sounding like an outtake from a Jimi Tenor session, and from there moves into the urgent groove Soul Submarine. It's here that the album really comes into its own, all raw, wailing guitars and dirty funk workouts. Mostly instrumental, the album does a great job of bringing the film to life, trading on the familiarity of the classic blaxploitation images now embedded firmly in the post modern hipster psyche - Richard Rowntreee's John Shaft sliding under a windowsill, shotgun in hand, Foxy Brown and her high-kicking stilettos, fending off all comers without once disturbing her gravity defying afro.

Much is made in the liner notes of the attempt to fuse the sounds from the films Hong Kong and New York locales, and if taken in its early '70s context this works admirably. But in the wake of Dan the Automator's Bollywood Breaks, Talvin, Badmarsh et. al, Soul Ecstasy's attempt comes off a bit uninspired and half hearted. While it doesn't add anything new to the well ploughed furrow of early 70s east coast funk, Soul Ecstasy is nevertheless an enjoyable quirk that holds its own against the pantheon of great blaxploitation soundtracks.
Posted by tim fisher at 00:00, 12 Apr 2001