We Are Proud Of Our Choices

25.4.2006

Sorry it’s been a while folks. Busy times at Pearson Towers (see 10 below for excuses…)

1. Delia Gonzales and Gavin Russom – Relevee (Carl Craig remix) [DFA]

Carl Craig with yet another astonishing remix, this time of track three from Delia and Gavin’s epic Days of Mars LP. Craig – currently in a run of form which matches anything he’s done in is his career to date – delivers a stunning eleven and a half minutes of analogue techno wonderment. The dramatic intro features the teasing sequences which made the original LP so captivating, except this being a 12" disco record after a four minute wait the drums finally kick in and everyone goes beserk as we – finally – get the dancefloor pay-off that’s always been implicit in the music but never actually present. I went to see Delia and Gavin play live a couple of months ago and as wonderful as it was you just knew that had a kick drum dropped at some point the whole place would have soiled themselves in ecstatic release. Quite a good thing one didn’t then, I guess.

2. Grandad Bob – Hide Me (Al Usher 12" mix) [Southern Fried]

My Partial Arts partner delivers a heart-breakingly lovely solo remix for the ‘Bob. Bloody marvellous.

3. Rekorder 4.1  [Rekorder]

The latest and best episode in the anonymous German series. Crisp, efficient electronics that can’t fail on any sensible dancefloor.

4. Bo’tox – Hummer Party [Marketing]

Superbly menacing Kraut-ish drone-house from Cosmo Vitelli and Tekel’s Julien Briffaz. Moodier than a Parisian boulanger in a roomful of Mother’s Pride.

5. Suxul Music – Fancy [Suxul]

Another no-nonsense club bomb. Your only difficulty is choosing between the storming original and the italo-inflected John Tejada versions.

6. Shy Child – Astronaut  [CDR]

Paul Epworth-produced follow-up to the mighty "Technicrats". Wonky 9/8 nerd-pop, all honking saxes and unreasonable arpeggios, that gets stuck in your head and refuses to de-camp.

7. Fuckpony – Ride The Pony  [Get Physical]

The Berlin house revival continues; Jay Haze and Samim from Tuning Spork have got together to produce a decidedly old-school EP, whose daft pitch-shifted vocals and twitchy acid-stylings should keep it out of the hands of mistakenly minimal boremongers. Right now, Berlin’s all about the boompty.

8. Pet Shop Boys – Psychological [EMI]

Tennant and Lowe in dark but pop-tastic return to form;  the original is uncanny electro with a superb lyric of love as paranoiac nightmare. Alter Ego deliver an ace Age of Love-esque version and – apparently – there are other remixes to come when this gets released as a single proper later in the year…

9. Akabu – Phuture Bound (Âme remix) [Z]

Another brilliant Âme remix to go with the current Dixon / Henrik Schwarz / Derrick Carter / Innervisions 5 release. They wear their influences on their sleeves; Carl Craig here, Octave One there, (and a rather large debt to Isolee on ‘Rej’ it must be said). Put like that it sounds cynical and contrived but the results are transcendent and undeniable.

10. The Rapture – W.A.Y.U.H. [Mercury]

A couple of weeks ago an unfinished monitor mix of this somehow made it onto the internet, so I guess i can talk about it here. (BTW it’s weird having your efforts pored over in public before they’re even finished. At least people are interested you might say, but see how you’d like me coming into your place of work, finding something you’d been slaving over for ages and showing it all round the world before it was ready. Harrumph over.)

Likely first fruit of the new album co-produced by me and Paul Epworth (plus a few tracks from some chancer called Dangermouse). Matty Safer bemoans joyless hipster party culture over an irresistable dancefloor backing. Altogether now: "People don’t dance no more; they just stand there like this. They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and dis."

Much much more to come on the LP. Hopefully the drives are being guarded by burly and humourless sentries. With sticks.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 25th, 2006 at 1:42 am. It is filed under enthusiasm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.