KID FROST

This week I've decided to focus on classic electro tracks. So to start off, heres is one of my favourite electro track of all time.

Kid Frost - Terminator    Theres nothing particulalry weird or outlandish about this track, it is just a straight-up battle rap over some really cool retro sounds and thats what makes it so good . It is just done soooo well. The rapping is so tight and the lyrics are fairly intelligent for the time and delivered in clipped rapid bursts that really show off Kid Frost's verbal dexterity.
The backing track is just so of its time - robot-vocals, crystal clear melodies, laser fire, video game explosions, and that classic electro bassline.

When I stick this one on I just can't stop listening to it - I have to immediately put the track right back to the beginning... simply a classic - all the right bits in all the right places. A classic track of its era which is a fine example of the distinction between retro and dated, if you get my meaning.

Forgive me for over-using using the word classic. No other word describes it!

CLASSIC.



This one is not cheap, mine cost me close to £50 and I had to get it shipped over from Spain, but it was worth every penny. I think there are a few cheaper ones knocking about on Discogs, so snap em up quick kids.

http://www.discogs.com/Kid-Frost-Terminator/master/95152



1989 - Summer of Rave Documentary

Fantastic full-length documentary about the Acid House Second Summer of Love.

What strikes me about this documentary is how relevant this is to the modern era. If you hadn't noticed, the UK is a bit fucked at the minute. This doc shows some alarming parallels with 1989 and you can draw some very interesting comparisons with then and now.

BAM BAM

Another unsettling spine-chiller.

This is one of the true acid house greats. It is seriously disturbing and dark stuff. Bam Bam must have been a pretty twisted individual to come up with it. This isn't just some dark strings and evil bass lines - this is crying babies, breaking glass, leering satanic vocals and a seriously demented acid line combine to make this possibly the darkest track I have EVER heard. I wouldn't use that description lightly, this track shows a very good understanding of psychology and the things that really pull at the heartstrings of a person.

On the one hand it Bam Bam might have been aiming this track at 'straight' parents, laughing at them for letting their children sneaking out to raves, getting up to no good. But on the other he could be aiming it at the people on the dancefloor... and that is a bit disturbing in itself. Many people had totally spazzed out to this tune, smashing stuff up, dredging up half-forgotten demons.

I can't imagine what it would have been like hearing it in 1988 with a head full of speed and acid in a dark warehouse full of smoke. I'm thinking it would feel umm bad.

I've put up two mixes.

Where's your Child? (original) - this has the more chaotic twisted vibe

Where's your Child? (suck) - I think this might be the better mix as it is a lot clearer and the arrangement is a little more measured. The vocals sound slightly confused, which I think only adds to the fucked-upness of it all.

Buy both mixes here: http://www.discogs.com/Bam-Bam-Wheres-Your-Child/master/164267

PSYCHOPATHS

Its almost HALLOWEEN! So time for some spooky tunes....

Heres a couple of tunes by the Psychopaths, both of which featured in my Halloween mix that you can download here.


Nightmares - Not often you come across a tune which is genuinely scary. The children's rhyme at the beginning sets the tone of general spookiness until the music proper kicks in with a very simply layered arrangement, and an absolute KILLER basssline, which twists and snarls aggressivley and just won't leave you alone. The vocals samples are spot on and Freddie's voice seems to dreamily emanate from somewhere below the floorboards. If the Nightmare on Elm Street films shit you up as a kid, then you'll get a real buzz out of dropping this onto an unsuspecting dancefloor. It could be considered a bit camp/kitsch, if it didn't do the job just so damn well......

Killer Mummy - Now this one goes all the way over to camp, but is all the more fun for it. With a really hyper synth line and a surprisingly groovy bassline, this is great for halloween parties or if you want to play some 'fun' horror. The 'time to play!' and 'killer mummy..... don't let her near!' samples are just plain silly. 

Fun tune for fun times. And the record cover is just plain wrong.

buy dem here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Psychopaths%2C+The

SY KICK

I'm just about to order this off discogs for a very small amount, so you have about 5 mins from me posting this to beat me to it. Maybe 10 mins because I might make myself a cup of tea first.

The record in question is Nasty (Remix) by Sy Kick, and is a very tasty ep indeed.

It has four tunes on it, but I'm only interested in two. Neither of them are mental crazy, but they are really solid and are  tried and tested big crowd-pleasers.  And these are:

The Journey - This is an unsettling four to the floor track, very techno for Sy Kick. It starts off by sucking you into a slightly creepy twilight zone, with a voice suggesting you 'swallow a pill' and 'take a vacation from yourself,' and then just as you are about to relax a bit it hits you in the face with some booming hoovers. Take that! The heavy kicks combined with big bad bassline make this a real stomper. The acid line is a nice subtle one - it sounds like electric pylons blowing in the wind, fizzing and spitting slowly at first and then sizzling away maniacally. The track then settles into yet another creepy synthline. NICE.

Upside - Lovely piece of  feel-good dancefloor euphoria. This is fairly measured and restrained and doesnt wonder into overly-emotional sentimentality as some old skool is prone to do. No, this is just right - nicely melodic, good beats, lovely rushy dreamy/screamy vocals. The 'Love is Happiness' vocals fit perfectly in, and 'that riff' is instantly recognisable! Its one of those riffs which feels so right, you feel a twitch of recognition even if you've never heard it before. Sy Kick got it right with this one! Great track, and I will follow in the great tradition of caning it to death until all turntables in the world break.

UPDATE: Too late, I ordered it.



Buy this classic by Sy Kick here: http://www.discogs.com/Sy-Kick-Nasty-Remix/release/154195

A very insightful documentary about the darker side of the Acid House raves - the gangsters, hooligans, smuggling and robbery associated with it.

Get the full doc here: http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bernardomahoney.com%2Fupdates.shtml&session_token=8lGGz4a5eSjDYVTktlAHgpimJr58MTMxOTcxNDM2OEAxMzE5NjI3OTY4

ARMANDO

One of my favourite acid tunes.

This was released on the Acid House compilation on Jacks Trax which was a UK press of some of the sounds coming out of Chigago at the time. The Chicago sound was much more techy and gritty than the UK stuff - they really liked to strip it bare, sometimes with just a beat and a 303 undulating over the top like some sort of monsterous squelchy acid octopus.

 Its not often you hear machine music sound so organic, futuristic, dated and alien all at the same time.

Confusion's Revenge -

I got mine off ebay for next to nothing, but if you're not so lucky you can get it here: http://www.discogs.com/Various-Acid-House/master/7569

There was also another version released on the Hot Mix 5 label, but I prefer the Jacks Trax one because of the trippy cover.

FAST EDDIE

I love Fast Eddie. I've mentioned him in this blog already, but with so many classics its hard not to. A pioneer of Chigago house, acid house, hip-house and ghetto house. That is a lot of house.

This is Acid Thunder and should need no introduction. 

Buy Acid Thunder: http://www.discogs.com/Fast-Eddie-Acid-Thunder/master/91855

smile

CHARM

This is a bit of a secret-weapon which I shouldn't really be spreading around, but I'm in the mood for some mind-bending acid house and this fits the bill nicely. Actually, it is so secret I havent even played it to anybody before, so you really owe me for this one.

This is a b-side to Walk on the Wild Side, which is kind of an acid house cover of the famous song of the same name. It doesnt really work in my opinion.... but this flip-side is pure gold. It is a track I've never heard anyone play called Phantastic Voyage.

'Taking you on a journey' is a phrase which gets used a lot in the dance music scene, but generally the only journey I want to take when I hit the dancefloor is a quick one to the bar and a prolonged one in the toilets, HOWEVER that phrase pretty much sums this tune up.

And TOTALLY FUCKING MENTAL as well.

This tune is proper TOTALLY FUCKING MENTAL, no messing about, seriously. Listening to this at work I feel like I'm literally melting into my desk. And its only Tuesday.

It feels like it is taking me through time and across the cosmos - when I listen to it I think of HG Wells' The Time Machine, Dinosaurs, Planets and Stars. I haven't even seen HG Wells' Time Machine.

Whether it will set a dancefloor alight is a matter of trial and error i guess, but is it a work of phantasmagoric genius? The answer is a blatant yes.

Enjoy

This goes for the price of a choclate bar, so go on a diet and buy this instead you fool! http://www.discogs.com/Charm-Walk-On-The-Wild-Side/release/59994

STAKKER

Humanoid

Classic Acid House from Stakker - this tune actually got to #17 in the mainstream pop charts .. not bad for 1988!

Being a bit lazy today so heres a link to wikipedia

An absolutely storming track with a simply stunning visual feast of a video. You don't see graphics like this anymore! Does my eyes in after a while though.

........and a rather less glamourous video..... Pete Waterman and  Michaela Strachan aka Hitman and Her!

An amazingly futuristic and forward-thinking track....... in a shit-hole of a club.

Sounds like most of my gigs.

This one goes for a few bob: http://www.discogs.com/Humanoid-Stakker-Humanoid/master/32355

BRITCORE

Is Britcore coming back? Its hard to tell really. There definitely seems to be renewed interest in it, and with the Criminal Minds active again, perhaps this heralds a return to the UK's golden days? Austerity Britain might be the catalyst for a harder-edged sound in UK hip hop since Grime seems to have imploded and American hip hop sounds like a robot gangster having sex with a chipmunk.

Britcore was a strain of the UK Hip Hop to emerge in the mid-80s and early 90s and unless you are a hardcore hip hop head seems to have been largley forgotten. I certainly didn't know anything about it until last year, and at first I didn't really like it. Generally I prefer classic 80s US stuff and I never really thought much of UK stuff although I liked some Grime here and there.

As for Britcore, I'd heard some of the more obvious ones like MC Duke stuff and Silver Bullet, but that was about it. Once I made an effort to look into it though, I couldn't get enough! I still only know a few tracks from some of the more well-known acts, but they are proper up there!

Britcore was about spitting rapid hard-hitting lyrics over hard beats and sounds (which often had a gothic bent to them), much more raw than the US stuff hapenning over the pond. Britcore acapellas ended up being sampled over and over in the rave scene and practically all of the more well-known ones come from MC Duke or Hijack.

Since I'm hardly an expert in Britcore, I'll stop chatting shit in case it turns out I'm completely wrong, but heres some examples of the gems i've found:


HIJACK - The Terrorist Group  Hijack were AWESOME! They got signed to Ice T's label, Rhyme Syndicate, but of course it all went tits-up. Looking like a cross between the Wu-Tang Clan and Slipknot these guys meant business. They have been rated as the best UK hip hop group of all time, although I guess that comes down to personal preference. Very much Brixton's answer to Public Enemy, Hijack put UK Hip Hop on the map. Kamanchi Sly's voice is fantastic.....just don't mention Chuck D.

GUNSHOT - 25 Gun Salute This track is slick - I love how it flows and unlike Hijack (above) its real London accents you can hear. Ruff tuff and wicked stuff.

CRIMINAL MINDS - Urban Warfare     Criminal Minds went on to do great things in the rave scene, releasing ground-breaking hardcore and jungle, but before all that they were a straighforward hip hop act. Hailing from Milton Keynes they had thier own style and brought their own sound. Halo is a GREAT scratch DJ, and DJ Spatts was a really talented producer who since became a fantastic one.

Hijack: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Hijack+%282%29
Gunshot: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Gunshot
Criminal Minds: http://www.discogs.com/Criminal-Minds-TCM/master/328245

DJ HYPE

DJ Hype  is a wicked drum and bass producer and DJ, and is well up there as one of the big boys in the scene.

However what most people don't know is that DJ Hype used to tear out some terrific hardcore in the early 90s. They are all extremely polished and give off Hype's classic hip hop vibe he became so well known for.



The first two tracks are more early morning numbers, very bleepy. These were collaborations with The Scientist and both The Bee and The Exorcsist have become classics of the genre. The Bee made it to #1 of the independent dance music charts and was very ahead of it's time (1990).

The Bee -heres a trivia fact for you - no bees were recorded in this track.

The Exorcist - no exorcists were recorded in this track either.

The Scientist and DJ Hype were also Kicksquad who were mentioned earlier in this blog with their amazing bass bleepy monster 'Champion Sound'.

Welcome to Violence - This is one of my all time favourites even though it can be difficult to mix sometimes. This is DJ Hype under the alias The Warrior, and this tune is a b-side released on the AMAZING label Strictly Underground from 1992. It has a lovely bassline and wicked scratch samples and the key change is sooooo good. Even the bridges are sexy as hell. This is just one of those tunes which has all the right bits in all the right places. Just have a listen and I defy you to not like it!

Lets Go! - Again, this ones on the Strictly Underground label. There were so many quality releases on this label, it almost feels like cheating using them, beacuse they were all so gooooood. This is quite a simple techno banger with Noise Engineer on the production and DJ Hype on the scratching - and what scratching! Classic '91 style with rave stabs over a four 2 the floor beat this track just builds into an ABOMINATION of face-melting rave-fuckery (which is a good thing). A really powerful track which will have everyone bouncing off the walls! Un-fucking-believable!

Buy these great tunes off the Strictly Underground label here: http://www.discogs.com/label/Strictly+Underground+Records

And Scientist tunes here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Scientist%2C+The

Spiral Tribe at Lewisham Library 1991

FAT EYES

Usually when I'm at a party and it goes on until the morning, I will almost certainly play either or both of these. They haven't left my record bag ever since I got them some years ago, when I was going through a dancehall phase. Don't play much dancehall these days, but I'm sure I'll come back to it at some point.

Anyway,  I still play these instrumentals which are KILLER tracks! I've never had a crowd go wild to them or anything like that, but they are definitely NICE TO LISTEN TO, and I'm almost always approached by some guy with dreadlocks and wearing spectacles asking me who its by.

When I tell them, they go away nodding their head and then I don't see them for the rest of the party. Its magical.

But the main problem is - I don't know anything about these tracks. As far as I can tell they are only available on the Dynamite Style dancehall compilations released by those lovely folk from Soul Jazz. And the tracklisting says they are by FAT EYES.

But I can't find Fat Eyes anywhere. After a bit of diggin I came to the conclusion that Fat Eyes is a LABEL. So who was responsible for these tracks? Its still a mystery to me.

If anyone knows, then please tell me. Because I want MORE.

Wake the Town - this one starts off with a great fanfare, which can make a nice scratching intro. Theres an almost 'Percolator' wobble rhythm throughout, and the bassline is a deep slow rumble. The production on this is lush and borrows so much from classic dancehall. My friend Selina calls this 'the Commando track' and when I would put it on she would rampage slowly through her imaginary jungle (aka our living room).

Assault Rifle - a bit more up-tempo than the last one with really yummy percussion. Not much to say apart from the intro sounds very similer to that used in Moby's 'Go!' and I like it.

UPDATE - On posting a link to the discog pages I noticed that Fat Eyes appear on yet MORE Soul Jazz compilations....... only recently released! I will be investigating them most closely.

Buy Fat Eyes here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Fat+Eyes

DJ DISTROI

I'm in a bit of a strange mood, probably a bit too keyed up for a cold Wednesday morning.. So heres some frantic ones to match my mood (at least until the coffee buzz subsides).


Jungle Warrior - This one is proper bad boy.  Don't know much about it except one of the guys behind it, DJ Distroi, was involved in the Alphawave e.p. and was in the Mystery Men.

Alphawave - this one doesn't go down well at weddings.

Buy Jungle Warrior here: http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Distroi-Boykz-Jungle-Warrior-Dark-Side/release/211794
and Alphawave: http://www.discogs.com/ES-PEE-DEE-DJ-Distroi-B-P-S-I-EP/release/147001

DJ PHANTASY & GEMINI

DJ Phantasy and DJ Gemini did quite a few collaborations, some of which were released in three wicked volumes on Liquid Wax Recordings.

These are all great examples of solid ’92 breakbeat hardcore without a trace of cheese in them. Lovely preogressive tunes, which judging from the sound of them were produced on an Amiga! Don’t quote me on that though haha.

All these tunes had tough breakbeats, cut up stuttering vocals and weird melodies and oozed street credibility. No cheese here mate!

Ruff Beats - First up is the most well known..



Never Try The Hippodrome - Maybe just as well known as Ruff Beats, but probably not sampled as much, this is a great track!

The sped-up vocal is saying 'Never try the Hippodrome, I'd rather check a tin can.' The Hippodrome was a populor commercial club at the time (which my brother used to go to!) and by 'checking a tin can' he means to smoke crack.

So there you go.

As far as I know my brother does not regret choosing the Hippodrome over checking a tin can. Perhaps if he had checked a tin can, the world might have been a brighter place, full of flowers and butterflys, with rainbows on every street corner. But I guess we'll have to settle for world-wide recession instead.

Switch to 33 - Although the ones above are played out more often, its these next two which are the best in my opinion. They are more 'filler' tunes than anything else, but really really good ones!

This one kicks off with a weird ghostly wail before turning into a funky beat-breaking monster.... and then halfway through, for no reason at all, 'switches' to 33rpms. And then after a bit, switches back to 45! No reasons! No explanations! A classic DJ trick.
My only gripe is that I wish it stayed at 33 for a bit longer cos it sounds trippy as fuck. Re-edit anyone?

Its a shame because in 10 years from now, kids won't even understand what the 33 - 45 reference is about.

Little bastards.

Everybody is Under the Influence - this is a nice solid breakbeat number. Not much to say about it, except it is nice and funky while remaining hard and uncompromising. The hypnotic vocal is one of my favourites. Good to hear an English accent for a change.

You can buy all these here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/DJ+Phantasy+%26+DJ+Gemini

I ordered Under the Influence about a month ago and I'm still waiting for the bugger to arrive, so good luck.





THE UNKNOWN

Still feeling the horror vibe so heres another horror hardcore track to put some fear into you!

This came out in 1991 on Hithouse Records as one of the B-sides on Dreams of Santa Anna by The Unknown. It is truly hardcore and no mistake! It has really crisp production with all the sounds nice and clear. When the tune drops it is positively terrifying and that blood-curdling scream puts all others to shame...... A great tune to play in the woods in the middle of the night!

The Unknown is a pseudonym of Holy Noise who were behind the second tune I put on my Halloween Mix.
Those Rotterdam guys knew how to put together pure evil!

You can buy this here: http://www.discogs.com/Unknown-Dreams-Of-Santa-Anna/release/82370

Something Wicked This Way Raves.... - Grave '92

I've finished a Horror Rave mix for Halloween.

Enjoy...!

Something Wicked This Way Raves... by Moronik

All audio recorded off vinyl.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

FAMILY FOUNDATION

I don't actually own this tune cos I only listened to it today, despite it being in my Wants list somehow, and the fact I see it in every second hand record shop in the world - but oh my god what a FUCKING TUNE!

Don't know what mix to put up, so I'll put em all up.......


Original

Jungle Techno mix

Ragga Rave mix

Another rave tune that nicks the strings from 2 Hype! Least they had taste....

You can buy these sterling tunes all on one black disc here:
http://www.discogs.com/Family-Foundation-Xpress-Yourself/master/59069

 Do you like to keep fit? Do you like music? Does it make you weep with rage that you can't listen to your favourite vinyl while cycling through the metropolis?  Can you cycle at exactly 33/45 RPMS?

Then check out this bad boy:

If you absolutely MUST know more about this impressive feat of engineering then go here:
http://www.dezeen.com/2011/10/09/today-at-dezeen-platform-merel-slootheer-liat-azulay-and-pieter-frank-de-jong/

SWEET DREAMS (NIGHTMARE MIX) - DAVE ANGEL

Since we're on the subject of dreams I thought I'd post this.

I bought this ages ago from some second hand record shop somewhere without listening to it. When I got it home I was well pissed off it didn't sound more like the original (i.e. with 'that' riff).
Fast forward 8 years or so and I found it buried somewhere and gave it a play. Quite liked it that time, but I didn't have much to go with it, so back in the misc. pile it went.

Fast forward a couple more years and it finds its way back into the light - and wow what a tune! Spooky bells coupled with dreamy vocals (which I am well into at the moment) and gorgeous synths and chord progression over a decent breakbeat. What was I thinking all those years ago?

 

Behold - Here Comes The Dreamer.......

Let Us Slay Him and You Shall See What Will Become Of His Dreams

Buy this here: 
http://www.discogs.com/Eurythmics-Angel-Angel-Sweet-Dreams-Nightmare-Mix/release/1147370

ER....... WHAT?

My girlfriend had a dream last night that I was insisting that my name was Wild Beast.

I'm not sure what this means.

KICKSQUAD

Great tune from Kicksquad on Kickin' Records. Reggae toasting followed by a lovely gurgling analogue bassline with dreamy breathy chants. And just when it seems to be settling into a predictable groove, it drops some really pure sounding melodic bleeps which for some reason sound really 'current'. Its funny cos I used to hate all that bleepy stuff, and now I can't get enough of it. In my mind it used to all sound horribly dated and now I think it sounds remarkably fresh. I guess what goes around comes around..

Anyway this is one of those tunes that can hype you up or chill you out depending on how you want to interpret it. Or maybe I'm just talking rubbish.

Get your copy for little over a quid here: http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=4708&ev=mb

BLAPPS POSSE

Some very nice old skool action here. Although the whole record is good, its the b-side that everyone buys this it for, a remix of BUS' IT (Its Time To Get Bzy).

This was a big hit back in the day and was very populor on the pirates by all acounts, and you can see why straight away. Right from the start this sounds incredibly organic with a very 'live' feel to it - even though it is mostly a cut-and-paste composite of sounds. After the intro comes a really unusual buzzing b-line and some wicked scratching. It all sounds like its only barely in time, which really gives it a 'thrown together' kinda feel to it, but it really really works! One of my favourites.

Very funky and and an absolute dancefloor smasher.

Blapps Posse recorded under a few different aliases including Epitome of Hype....(who will probably appear later on these pages) and then disappeared for a while. Two of their number returned with a vengeance and made it big as the FREESTYLERS.


The record isn't that rare and you can pick up a copy here:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Blapps+Posse%2C+The

Make sure you get the right version though!

ACIEEEEEEEEED!!!!

A great trailer for some new documentary about the UK raves in the 80s.

Nice.




High On Hope - documentary trailer from Piers Sanderson on Vimeo.

I found a wicked selection of images found in and around DJ booths here: http://nobreastsnorequests.tumblr.com/aboutme

2 IN A ROOM

Man, I love 2 in a Room so much. I don't know anything about them except they did a song called 'Wiggle it!' which was a big hit. Because of this, they are generally dismissed as a one-hit wonder... but dig a little deeper and you see that they made some wicked Chicago Acid House.

This is such a tune.. not sure if it works the whole way through as it can get a bit repetitive, but it is a real banger to drop at the beginning or mid-way through a set. Watch the party come alive!

This one is more of a slow burner....

Both of these records don't go for much and they're not exactly rare either! So pick up a bargain while you can.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/2+In+A+Room

 

FAST EDDIE

I thought I'd start with the one and only Fast Eddie. A true old school champion - a wizard on the decks and in the studio, this guy was responsible for a whole host of MASSIVE hip-house and acid house anthems. And he could rap too!

 

This goes for so cheap so you have NO excuse: http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Fast-Eddie-The-Yo-Yo-Get-Funky/master/91866

OI MATE - GOT ANYTHING I CAN DANCE TO?

Ok I confess it. I am a total record nerd.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I guess its time. I kinda have to since I'm now writing a blog about it.

Oh well - anyway, this blog is meant to be a compilation of tracks which I didn’t want to be forgotten - music that I love - music that if I don’t already own - I desperately want to!

Its mainly gonna be old school with a bit of new school here and there. Its meant to be straight up party music, meant for the open-minded dancefloors who like thier tunes tough and gritty. No trance here I'm afraid!

There will be funky tunes, there will be psychadelic tunes, there will be nasty tunes.There will be cheesy tunes and stupidly obscure tunes. There will be tunes which simply make no sense at all.

And yes there will be gabba.

So brave adventurer, let me take you on a journey through time, space and the battered crates of vinyl that rudely intrude into the middle of my living room.