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Artist: Alex Jones
Title: bed ep
Label: hypercolour
Catalogue: hypoe010
Year: 2008
Genre: Techhouse
Subgenre: Minimal

Alex Jones parties harder and smarter than the average bloke. Since his early days as half of the infamous and beloved big beat group The Insurgents, Jones kept his name close to the upper echelon of technorati. With a residency at Brighton’s Big Beat Boutique, slots at Glastonbury and Ministry of Sound, as well as opening gigs for the likes of Norman Cook, Jones well secured his likelihood of getting passed even the tightest velvet rope.

Hard and smart partying aside, however, it is Jones’s life since 2005 and his budding career as label head musician in which 88 considers Jones’s latest release: Bed EP. As purveyor of the now globetrotting installation entitled Retox, Jones took his sound deeper towards the funk laden minimalism and well towards the deepest part of afterhours partying. Retox would forge Jones’s relationship with the group of tech-house artists currently developing the genre’s most tempting tracks. That said, Bed EP along with other Hypercolour releases find Jones testing various depths of funk while being remixed by Jamie Jones and, here, the ubiquitous Mr. Dan Berkson.

At the deepest of the afterhours begins Jones with the title track to the Bed EP. It is a dark, cagey number pecked everywhere with snares and beats most notably the muted bass skipping along at mid tempo. The reverbed bongos help to fill out an otherwise hollow minimal track until about the final 2:30 when the track really gains its character. At the 6:00 minute mark the feel of all of the beat sources seem to finally align. Ultimately, the accented off beat snares lift the lumbering track somewhat, however the hip movement to this track may not sway passed the shoulder and the head nod may remain negligible. That stated, Bed serves as just that, the ground point from which to forge three other stellar tracks.

The following track, entitled “Humid”, begins with dubby distance which builds upon the funk hinted to in Bed. The feel of the track begins with its title. The faint drop every measure mirrors beads of sweat while the razor like shimmer every fourth bar fizzle like heat waves swelling from concrete. Once the hi hat sets in, buzzes become more frequent and alarming. A distant bell takes shape with a yowl echoing at some points. In the end, it is the combination of hi hats hitting as an accelerated clock ticking with a jungle cricket chirp which the track its rich character.

Whereas Jones’ “Bed” may lie in the Sub Club of Glasgow, Dan Berkson’s “Bed” lies at the Pawn Shop of Miami. On his “effortless” mix of “Bed”, Berkson traded Jones’s vapid distance for a warm layered synthy house. While the house beat is fairly standard with a nice 808 hand clap ending out each quarter four beats, it is the interplay with the beat and the many levels of synths that make the track dance in the ear. The track is so good one might almost realize Jones’s business acumen in being remixed by the gifted Berkson. This track effectively aims his label on what is bound to be numerous Ibiza mixes this summer. Regardless, Jones and Berkson combine for a wonderful production bound to move bodies on beaches one wishes were closer to DC.

The final track completing the EP gels together the themes of Jones’ other two tracks, namely the sticky heat urgency of “Humid” with the vapid feel of “Bed”. The result is bell laden minimal funk. To call the track original however is to mispeak a bit. Put on 15 seconds of CVS’s “Who’s Afraid of Detroit” and one discovers the close father to Jones’s “Easy Spiderman”. Where Jones shows his own touch is in the remarkable final 2:30 where all of the parts developing over four minutes, take shape. That shape resembles the “all directions moving in unison feel” of Richie Hawtin’s usual frenetic final hour of a festival closing set. For as much as Richie Hawtin loved the CVS track, it would be unclear where a DJ like Hawtin would go with this one. Where its groove is tight, it is irreplaceable. That said, the better DJ, like a junkyard mechanic, will scrap the spare parts for the awesome peaks Jones created for the more discerning ear.

While Hypercolour, in its infancy, has laid the groundwork for an excellent UK minimal label, this EP is a peak to its Hypercolour peers. To call it anything further would be bold (as the British Dance Press has been known to be). Nonetheless, due credit to Cedric Maison and Alex for putting this wonderful piece in gifted hands to sing its praises. One will be therefore well served to listen keenly to these tracks as each might appear in a stadium minimal set hopefully near the DC area soon.

- Review by Adam B. Ross

Measax – July Chart

1. Soulphiction | Liberation Dub | Sonar Kollektiv
2. Whatever Girl | Activator You Need Some [Johnny Vicious Edit] | Yoshitoshi Recordings
3. Portable | Release | Perlon
4. Fred Fisher | Asa-sa | Sound Way Records
5. Anthony Collins | Spanish Chicken | Vinyl Club
6. Ian Funk | Shimmuhdiddy | Stir Digital [Stirsound]
7. B80 |Deep In | [unreleased]
8. Markus Fix | House In The House | Love Letters From Oslo
9. Lust Addict | Heart Of The City | Playground By Lessizmore
10. MD3 | Pressure Cooker [DJ Sneak Remix] | P&D

Download Measax – July/Aug Mix

http://www.sophistos.com/88/measax%20july%20-%20aug.zip

Please let us know what you think in the Comments section.

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 Jubilee - 1 for 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jubilee - 2 for 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lazzich’s story begins at the end of the cold war. Displaced soviet artifacts befell a local “culture” palace and by providence Sergey Lazarov aka Lazzich found a little machine called the maestro located deep therein. History, seven years and 25 releases later, Lazzich still continues to expand on the metallic sounds of his little, found Maestro. To date, 7 labels have released his material and in light of his growing popularity, he makes few club appearances. If his myspace site is any indication, however, his posted tracks would make for quite a live pa set and we hope he might brave his native climate for a journey abroad.

On “Tak Tak”, a 4 track and 1 remix EP, Lazzich explores microhouse sounds as varied as Autechre with an austere groove at times as funky as any Luomo track. “Grey Channel” begins as a lurching train hiccupping into rhythm. The familiar distorted whistle like seventh drop signals in a tight muted groove. Only after the occasional bongo drum and high hat does Lazzich intend for someone to dance to this rhythm. To the non-dancer, however, the swirling off beat exercises recall Derrick May’s visionary interludes on “Innovator”. This exercise develops to about the 3:30 mark. By four minutes end the hiccup continues and the train trails off.

“Clear Blue” begins much in the same fashion as its predecessor. In place of the whistle is a wood block chop into a straight 4/4 pace, this time “Innovator” grooves substituted for a pallette of different, interesting sounds ripe for the headphone head bobber. To start, a snare is accented by a whirl and the hi hat again takes off. Within four short bars one hears a shrill accent, a triangle bell and a synth upstroke. The collection of sounds dance in an ear far better than on a dance floor, especially at Lazzich’s 78 bpm. Two minutes in the beat falls out and the Eno like synth takes five minutes to clarify the many sounds. Within 90 seconds this peaceful pan flute joins the many other sounds mentioned above. A heady track to say the least but a calming listen perfect to cleanse the pallet for a post club drive home.

2007 microhouse could not be better represented than by “Japanese Voice”. If but only as the perfect complement to any Trentemoeller jam, this track features a wonderful Rhythm and Sound dub intro. 30 seconds thereafter and electric dub shock fills in the beat. 15 seconds thereafter comes the tech hinting high hat. While one might nod a head to other tracks featured on “Tak Tak”, “Japanese Voice” truly moves. The use of space does not feel busy as in “Clear Blue” while the dubby rhythm and the calming echo of “Tak Tak” have “got me in its sway” so to speak. If any track could be used in the dead of 4am in the deepest abyss of the Berghain it might be “Japanese Voice”. At a scant 7 minutes its groove could last far deeper into a weekender than many of its 2007 microhouse peers.

“Kancha” is probably the most pointed of the tracks. A steady triplet into a syncopated coupling makes this an interesting rhythm. For as interesting as the rhythm may be the track tends to phase in and out of a slight phlange effect. It is not until the final 48 seconds that Lazzich adds the high hat only to remove and let his interesting syncopation die out. A curious track, however interesting only in so far as the beat and not how Lazzich chose to beautify it.

“Clear Blue” (Suffragettes Remix). For those who do not know the Suffragettes a very sleek 30 minute microhouse set is still available on samurai.fm. If you do not have time to dig the archives for it, this 6 minute track might be a fine introduction. The Suffragettes brighten up the sometimes sullen shades of “Clear Blue” with an interesting wash effect and what sounds like a half 808 drum machine fill. After a quick peak, the beat fills in with a hand clap and an indecipherable voice and the remix is more or less complete. The most clever of the Suffragettes additions to the track are the high hats and snares now garnishing the beat. Even if this track is not the perfect sample, the Suffragettes pair well with Lazzich in use of different glitch and dub inflected stylized grooves.

[review by Adam Ross]
* for MP3 audio clips of the tunes from the Tak Tak EP, visit Juno or the official Lazzich Myspace page.

The Great Mundane – When Falls Arrive – Review June 2008

In my ever increasing quest for music with individualistic character, that is, music that stands with a solid presence of unique personality that reflects that of it’s creator (rather than a genre/formula), I’ve had the pleasure of meeting up with the sounds of The Great Mundane (www.thegreatmundane.com). Emerging from whatever shadows he had been hiding in, producer/instrumentalist Jeffrey Acciaioli has been swiftly perking up the ears of listeners who join me in that search.

First, through the connection made between 88 and the beautiful people over at Chi-town collective Psymbolic (www.psymbolic.com), I had the chance to meet and communicate with Jeffrey and hear his music. Then, I got to perform with him at the Sacred Earth Open Air Festival thrown in Wisconsin by the collective known as the Chilluminati (www.chilluminati.org), which was simply perfect. Through talking and listening, I discovered he’s both an outstanding producer and an exceptional human being. So, now catching up to his sound a bit after the fact, I’ve learned that he’s been pretty busy for a number of years, flexin’ his style until it came to bear the fruits of 2 Ep releases on Belladonna Records, which are now unfortunately out of print. Of course, I’ll be hitting him for my own personal copy..

No worries however, as it was all leading up to the album in question, released recently on Psymbolic Sounds (the label platform that is a part of the aforementioned multi-faceted Psymbolic collective), called ‘When Falls Arrive’. This album is without a doubt a definitive moment in the career of the Great Mundane, as it flawlessly showcases a signature style and work ethic that is just…truly different.

I feel that his sound, no matter where it eventually leads you, is based on a very firm foundation of hip hop work ethics and very intelligent sound design. The rhythms and general themes of all these 15 tunes are very hip hop influenced, and you could easily throw an mc on any one of them. Think funky-chunky breaks, moody ambiances, g-funk leads, experimental beat structures and heavily edited/fragmented sample layers, and you could be getting close to describing his sound. Only close though- as the combination of these elements only hint at things familiar. The sound design is exceptional, swaying your senses constantly and keeping you in check with extreme textural manipulations and stereo field imaging that work in subtle and suspicious conjunction so well calculated you feel like you’re getting a subliminal math lesson. New neural pathways get opened with this music for sure, making you question the direction at all times- and challenging your expectations of linear musical development by delivering surprises at every turn. Some may hear similarities to Prefuse 73. Totally different styles, but there are certainly similar decisions made in some major regards, which is quite the compliment.

Composing and producing this album completely in Reason, he makes me want to go back and check it out again. His melodies are consistently warm, playful, melancholic, and full of dreamy connotations, heavily utilizing flutes, Rhodes, and monophonic synth lines that weave their way around, full of motion and movement. Standouts for me are ‘No Dumping in Jersey’, ‘Disguising Discomfort’, ‘Circus’, ‘ and ‘When Falls Arrive’- all tunes that linger in the domain of melodies that make me feel discomfort through comfort, if that can possibly make any sense. There is also so much diversity on this album, you’re continually exposed to new varieties of sonic oddities, texture and nuance. Every track is a different flavor, but extremely cohesive to the album through such a common set of ground rules, which I think is the ideal for an album, as it shows that the artist has a solid grasp on his vision.

As a debut album, this is most promising- I can’t recommend it enough. It might be a bit different from what you encounter with your normal listening habits, and that’s a much-needed thing. It’s inspiring and hopeful to run across artists who have no fear of really pushing limits as well as the ability to do so. If you have a bone in your body that wants to hear something unique and distinctly fresh, you’ll follow along with this fellow- he’s got you covered.

-DM

www.aligning-minds.com

artist: Kontext label: Immerse

Kontext (Stanislav Sevostyanikhin), also know in the drum and bass world as Dissident, journeys into several different artistic realms with a 4 track ep scheduled for release on UK based label Immerse. Each track seems to have roots in idm and drum and bass, but oddly enough the release also includes a surprise for 4/4 thinkers such as myself. So, if you are looking to pin this down to one genre look again. The one thing that ties it all together is a strong dub influence focusing on muted base lines driving the primary beats of the rhythm (no jazz like meanderings in the low end here). I’m going to keep this short and sweet, so here’s the rundown in short.

Aeromonarch – Dub click-hop/dubstep with spacey elements and epic reverbs. The track doesn’t really grab me by the balls, but the production is at least quality. The influence of grime and d&b are evident throughout and Certain elements, like the dark pads and percussion, are very encouraging from a listeners perspective. I don’t know the timeline of this production but this one seems to foreshadow the experimentation in other pieces on the EP.

Falling to Weightlessness- Abstract dub IDM. To me, this could easily be considered broken beat abstract techno (if you call that a genre), but the dubby bass and spacey vibe bring us back to the similarities in each track of the release. Its an interesting listen and something worthy of a chin stroke or two.

Blinkende Stjerne – Abstract dub and broken beat. A lot of elements found popular in both minimal techno and dubstep are present here. The track is epic and I have to comment on the quality of the work. The more I listened to it the more I liked it. It has something for everyone. This cross genre piece has techy hats, dubbed out base, broken beats, 4/4 for a short period and the classic IDM bit crush. Epic synths bring us in and out of the arrangement and all together its worth listening to… 5 times in a row.

Plumes – Deep house. Yes, this is deep and its a 4/4 so lets call it deep house. I really can’t say enough about this one… Other than that I will most likely have to chart it. The perfect track for 6 am. If you aren’t into the other stuff on this release please be patient because this is the one for you.

Cheers and beers – measax

Press Release below:
Kontext
‘Falling To Weightlessness’/ ‘Aeromonarchs Attack’/ ‘Plumes’/ ‘Blinkende Stjerne’
Immerse
Ime009 pt 1 & 2

Launched in May 2006 with a near-classic Benga production, Bristol based Immerse has fast become one of the champions of new talent within what it terms as the “breakbeat and subculture” community. Here, it furthers its outstanding reputation with four tracks from Russian based Kontext.

Otherwise known as Stanislav Sevostyanikhin (aka Dissident) of St.Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, Kontext is a veteran of bass-heavy electronic music having recorded for the likes of Renegade Hardware and his own Tam Records, but the Kontext moniker is a project which sets to open him up to a multitude of ears.

With no genre classification standing in his way, Kontext delivers four tracks of bass-led electronica for Immerse.

Kicking things off is the beautiful “Falling To Weightlessness”, a skittering melodious foray into the lighter side of what is known as dubstep. Still maintaining a slightly sinister edge, this track is the epitome of balance with music as it walks a tightrope of emotion.

Next up is the incredibly detailed “Aeromonarchs Attack”, an intricate yet minimalist view of machine led dub. Subtle clicks and atmostpherics ride atop an undulating broken groove to create an absorbing, consuming track which begs for re-listens.

“Plumes” follows, and adopts a machine funk meets deep house template. Frighteningly original, this track is a testament to the joys of fusion within electronic music and evokes memories of Detroit or Sheffield in their music heyday.

Finally, Kontext rounds off the release with “Blinkende Stjerne” – a walk into the extremely fertile techno-dubstep crossover territory which sidesteps cliché throughout to become a genuinely fascinating listen.

This EP is just one highlight of the Immerse schedule for the rest of 2008 and should see Kontext take his place alongside the likes of Shackleton and 2562 in terms of inventiveness.

This two part EP is released on Immerse in August 2008.