Review: 14 years have passed since Benji B and Judah established their monthly Deviation parties in London. This fine compilation celebrates the club's legacy and sound, which famously touched on all manner of soul-fired musical styles whilst keeping one eye (and both feet) on the dancefloor, with Benj B selecting cuts that never failed to rock the party. Expect a mixture of skewed, bass-heavy beats (Dorian Concept, James Blake, 00Genesis), heady instrumental hip-hop (Waajeed, Damn Funk remixing Baron Zen), Afro-funk (K Fimpong), peak-time UK bass mutations (Pearson Sound, Martyn, Mala), high-grade deep house (Gilb'r remixing Rick Wilhite, Theo Parrish) and a smattering of genuine scene anthems (Detroit Experiment, Maurice Fulton's remix of Alice Smith, DJ SPen presents DJ Technic).
Review: Techno pioneer Carl Craig's new album features eight tracks from his back catalogue re-composed in collaboration with classical musicians such as Francesco Tristano and the Les Siecles orchestra conducted by Francois-Xavier Roth. Originally released on the 2004 EP Just Another Day, this revised version of the anthemic "Sandstorms" will be featured on the new album entitled Versus. "Sandstorms" (VCO Update) is a nice modern revision of the track for modern dancefloors in all its seductive and slow burning glory.
Review: And here we are with the second batches of remixes from Carl Craig and Francesco Tristano's Versus series and, with a duo like that as a line-up, things are surely looking like they're on the up and up! The Infine imprint have collated a serious collection of remixers, starting with the mighty tech don Henrik Schwarz, who lands a majestic remix of "The Melody", backed up by Ishmael Ensemble's more abstract, jazzed-out version. Abul Mogard's rework of "At Les" unleashes a stupendous landscape of noisy drones for the most experimental ears, while Secret of Elements' remix of "Desire" is a placid, cooling vortex of subtle house, and Siavish Amini's ambient mix of "Sandstorms" unleashes a potent wave of euphoria into the airwaves. Lovely stuff.
Review: This an altogether epic offering from Deetron; a vast collection of un-mixed tracks from his brilliant DJ Kicks mix (naturally included as a bonus cut) that is little less than a lesson in the evolution of techno over the last three decades. Amongst the 38 tracks you'll find fine representatives of a myriad of sub-genres (intelligent techno, dub techno, IDM, ambient techno, gospel techno, and so on), as well as past, present and future classics (Damier and Trent's "Morning Factory", Spacetime Continuum's "Swing Factory", Mark Ernestus's recent Equinoxx remix, the Motor City bliss of Rhythim is Rhythim AKA Derrick May's "Ka-o-tic Harmony", a brilliant old Black Dog Productions workout). In other words, it's a breathlessly brilliant collection of both well-known and obscure gems. It comes heartily recommended.
HECTOR - "Sound Of BPM Festival" (continuous DJ mix) - (1:22:44) 124 BPM
Review: Mexican producer Hector has sure come a long way. From his humble beginnings in London's underground scene, working the counter of London's infamous Phonica record store and becoming a regular at popular London haunts of the time like fabric and T Bar (R.I.P.) he has gone on to international stardom, playing the word circuit and launching his Vatos Locos imprint: the very label which launches this compilation and credited to the highly popular Playa del Carmen festival that he has since become a regular guest at. Highlights on here (and there's many!) not limited to: the hi-tech soul sounds of Carl Craig with his classic "Sandstorms" or Martin Buttrich with his classic from 10 years ago "Full Clip". More recent classics such as Loco Dice's remix of Carl Cox's "Family Guy" and Nicole Moudaber & Skin (of Skunk Anansie) with their explosive "You Like This" getting a rolling rendition courtesy of Paco Osuna. The VL Recordings head honcho appears also, with a bunch of new exclusives: the best being his track "L.A. Kr3w" getting a makeover by Detroit boss man Stacey Pullen.
Review: Third Ear continue their fine form by giving us a remastered reissue of two remixes which have inspired just about everyone in the game. Both versions of "Falling Up" are given an ante up by Stefan Betke and although there isn't really a way to make these tracks any better, the man does a fine engineering job indeed! Carl Craig's take on it is almost too much of a classic to be described into words - if you haven't heard it then shame on thou! Theo Parrish has similarly created a timeless infusion of atmospheric broken beats and deliciously placed sample snippets.
Review: Woah, it's that time again; peak season on The White Isle and Sven Vath's institution releases another compilation of this year's finest compiled by masters of the art. This time around it's Detroit icon Carl Craig up first who delivers a mix typically soulful and emotive journey through futurist groove. Highlights on his contribution include Ricrado Villalobos' rendition of DJ Pierre's "What Is House Muzik" (but not all 32 minutes of it, rest assured!), the sheer power of Robert Hood aka Floorplan's "Push On" and Oxia's massive tune from several years ago "Domino" which still sounds great! Next up is Swiss queen of minimal Sonja Moonear who'll subject you to a glorious hour or so of hypnotic bliss, with a bit of help from Brett Johnson & Cpen's druggy/funky "You Got Me Going Crazy (Berlin Dub)", Scandinavian legend The Persuader with the brooding "Vattungarna" and the always impressive John Tejada with the high tech soul of "Fourier Transform".
Review: The latest release on Jerome Sydenham's ever-busy Ibadan imprint is a release that brings together a rag tag selection of tracks. First up is Sydenham's "Special Edit" of Carl Craig's "Angel", which moves with all the functional poise and warm synth work you would expect of two techno veterans, making all the right moves for a big room experience without any of the fluff. Sydenham's own "Sun Ark" appears in its original form, throwing down an unshakable blend of drums with that rugged techno-meets-house concoction that the man has been making his own for decades now. The flipside is given over to relative newcomer Lo Hype, also known as Japanese producer Katsuya Sano, whose "Route 303" represents a more patient approach compared to the chunky dynamics of the first two tracks. The steadily trickling acid of the original mix also comes in a more raw form in the shape of some "Bonus Beats" that ditch the atmospherics and focus on the rhythm.
Falling Up (Carl Craig 2013 Remaster) - (8:25) 123 BPM
Falling Up (Theo Parrish 2013 Remaster) - (12:44) 116 BPM
Review: Third Ear continue their fine form by giving us a remastered reissue of two remixes which have inspired just about everyone in the game. Both versions of "Falling Up" are given an ante up by Stefan Betke and although there isn't really a way to make these tracks any better, the man does a fine engineering job indeed! Carl Craig's take on it is almost too much of a classic to be described into words - if you haven't heard it then shame on thou! Theo Parrish has similarly created a timeless infusion of atmospheric broken beats and deliciously placed sample snippets.
Review: The perception may still linger that Tony Allen's influence on modern electronic music is limited to Afrobeat or broken beat, but as this remix compilation attests, his influence looms large in other, unexpected places. On Chop Up, for example, Carl Craig finally delivers his response to his evergreen 2004 version of Beanfield's "Tides", with hypnotic chants, rolling drums and brassy breakdowns dominating his take on Allen's "Kilode". Equally, Mark Ernestus is inspired to push Allen legacy into the realms of low-slung house, with "Moyege" transformed into a languid, dubby disco rhythm. However, it's not just the more cerebral end of electronic music that has been seduced by Allen's genius: US star Diplo also contributes to Chop Up, with a squelchy, party take on "Fuju Ouija", while other unexpected contributors like Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Salah Ragab keep the mood upbeat: the former drops an irresistible swaggering version of "Sankofa' and the latter brings a flavour of Notting Hill Carnival to "Ole", as celebratory brass competes with sunny day ivory tinkling. In spite of these joyful renditions of Allen's legacy, the version that we keep returning to is Moritz Van Oswald's take on "Ole". It's fascinating to hear that Allen's tumbling, rambunctious drums informed the Basic Channel member's work in the same way as King Tubby, but even more fascinating is what van Oswald does with Allen's drumming. Transforming them into solemn but understated marching beats, he uses them to underpin the most atmospheric, woozy dub chords this side of "M6".
