Friday, March 31, 2006

Extra Extra


I've got this terrible cough, and apart from making me feel like I have a live rat trapped in my throat, trying to scratch its way out, all it really does is remind me how much I want a cigarette. I then have a cigarette, what with my willpower being exceedingly low, and set off another cycle of rat-scratching. Vicious. Circle.

Anyway, thought I'd come back and write some more this evening, given that my last post consisted mainly of slapstick tales of drunkenness and ruminations on an uncertain summer to come...Some of what I'm going to post in this lil' session has, for sure, appeared on other blogs in the last couple of days. Apologies for that; I would refrain from posting 'em at all, but I've sitting on a couple of the forthcoming tracks for a while, and I want to say a few words about 'em, so....It seems appropriate, before I jump in, to express my gratitude, and direct you to, the blogging galactacos that are Skull Juice, 24 Hours and Oh My Gosh. If you're a regular here, then you're almost certainly a regular there, but if you're not may I take this opportunity to humbly suggest that you FUCKING CHECK THEM OUT.

Erol's remix of Hot Chip's 'I Was A Boy From School' is knocking around webspace; unfortunately, the hen's teeth 12" has already sold out of Phonica (before they even managed to upload the details properly onto their webshop...), so you might want to keep an eye on City 16 for one of the limited promos, or wait the ten or eleven years that will elapse before the official release. It's a fine piece of work by Alkan, with the anticipated DFA influence (it's heavily reminiscent, in some ways, of Murphy & Goldsworthy's mix of 'Far From Home') and a sound palette very much indebted to EA's Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve psych-re-edit project. A far gurn from the Bugged Out!-bating electro grenades that we usually associate with our Trashman, the whole thing's a ruddy wonderful surprise - woozy and intricate and adventurous, and probably the first thing I'll put on the stereo when I start smoking draw again next month. Now that's praise.

Now Ben, one half of the aforementioned Skull Juicers, unveiled two tracks that are fast becoming favourites of my season so far...One of them I'd already heard, the lead track on Oxia's forthcoming Speicher for Kompakt, Oxia being a Frenchman who's previously released on Intec and Goodlife. It's nice to see the series receiving a bit of life; ever since the Wighnomys' momentous 'Wombat', the princely offshoot has seemed to disappear from view - with what I would think of as traditionally Speicher fare turning up either on the main label (Axel Bartsch's wicked 'Light in the Dark', for instance) or on the now heartily established K2 imprint. I think I'm right in saying that the merciless chugger of an Orb track which appeared on Speicher 33, 'God Less America', was more of a headache than a revelation. So anyway, Kompakt Extra is most definitely back, and with the next one being helmed by none other than Superpitcher. Can't wait. To be honest, Kompakt is really warming up at the moment; 'tis the season to bring out all your best tunes, what with summer looming ever nearer (thank Christ). There's a Koze LP remix pack on its way, and new K2 fodder from Steadycam and Herve AK, not to mention the very appealing sounding 'Music to Fall Asleep' CD by Klimek. Basically, the good ship is once again ready to sail...my only question is, where's the new production by Michael Mayer (pictured way up top)? Now some people don't rate Mayer as a producer, which is just silly, 'cos he has a dancefloor finesse and an enviable knowledge of how to make things trancey and jackin' at the same time - basically, he has a distinctive production style, all of his own, which is a rare thing in this world. His LP, Touch, was a little weak, I'll admit, coming over like a John Digweed prog album from 1996, but it concealed a hidden gem in 'Neue Luthersche Fraktur' and spawned a Balearic monster in the unstoppable 'Lovefood'. Since then, we've had the Speicher 28 he did with Reinhard Voigt ('Sky Dumont') which was all peak-time rave gloriousness, the evil (in more ways than one) remix of Baxendale and a remix of Depeche Mode ('Precious'). I think it's time Michael brought out a monster Speicher bearing his own hallowed name, to kick the summer into action. In the meantime, here's the Oxia track from the forthcoming Speicher 34 - a track very much in thrall to the melodic progressions of Holden's mix of 'The Sky Was Pink' but enough going on with the tough, clicky rhythm track to transcend the imposture; this is a functional diamond that's understandably already a staple in the sets of Mayer and Lazarus. TRENDY TRANCE LIVES!!!!

Download:
Oxia - Domino // Kompakt Extra

More later, I have to go and do some stuff.
P.S. Erol's mix of Hot Chip really is something. Sniff it out.

10 Comments:

Blogger Jack Lucas said...

I find that the remix totally misses the euphoria of the original, and doesn't really replace it with anything. Maybe it's just me.

In any case, thanks; I'm a regular reader and I love this site!

3:48 PM  
Blogger RJ said...

Erol's remix was also on Juno... i was very quick :)

5:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

er... that oxia track is just patrick chardronnet 'eve by day' + the sky was pink. honestly it's a complete rip. kompakt should be a little embarassed.

6:21 PM  
Blogger Blackest said...

Jack - in a way you're absolutely right. i was trying to remember what the oxia track reminded me of, and yes, it is 'eve by day'. but i wouldn't go far as to say kompakt should be embarasssed, it's nice production and making euphoric minimal house is a risky business if you want to be consistently original. But yeah, fair point. What does everyone else think?

9:20 AM  
Blogger Blackest said...

jack & daphne, i must confess i haven't heard the original hot chip track, so i guess i'm coming at erol's mix from a totally different perspective. As a thing in its own right, i just loves the sounds, the unusual way it unfolds, etc, etc.

9:21 AM  
Blogger Blackest said...

benedict, indeed speicher is the shit. last year - 'wombat', 'dirt road...' (mathew jonson), 'prototypes' (m of m) not to mention 'brutalga square' and a host of classics from yesteryear. i love those auto-translated words on the kompakt site ("Super super fat hardtrance!") too. the think about speicher, though, is the presentation - i think there are things in my sad life that i find as satisfying as those crisp, boldly designed and weirdly utilitarian 12"s. splendid. that dude's right though, 'domino' is eve by day + sky was pink. still rocks. the other track i was going to mention was that one on compost bl, 'kumquat' - amazing. i may yet do a post about it, just luvverly squelchy disco-house action, richly produced, and reminiscent of Herr Kohncke. A treat, thanks for unearthing that one

9:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ah damn, i too love this track. the basslines remind me a lot of patrick chardronnet's eve by day. cheers mr. soft!

6:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, i didn't read your comment above. great, you spotted it right on the dot. ha!

6:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

listening to this track from my fellow countryman. it is indeed true that it sounds like a mash up of fake and chardronnet but again what really new stuff comes out these days? overall, i think it is a nice track but lacks the little touch that will make it stand out like the other two aforementionned did. love this site.... MERCI!

6:45 PM  
Anonymous porn said...

er... that oxia track is just patrick chardronnet 'eve by day' + the sky was pink. honestly it's a complete rip. kompakt should be a little embarassed.

10:12 PM  

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