Fuck The Ghetto / Think About Outer Space - (5:15) 60 BPM
Universe Is A Simulation - (3:59) 60 BPM
Pussy Thumper - (5:35) 100 BPM
CimetieIre Des Innocents - (4:52) 109 BPM
Roof Of - (4:41) 69 BPM
We Are Not The First - (18:38) 88 BPM
Review: Billed by the label that is releasing it as an "11 poem epic", First pushes Jamal Moss from noise-obsessed acid freak into jazz-frazzled modern day beatnik. Working with J.I.T.U. Ahn-Sahm-Buhl, Moss delivers a series of drum-heavy, sax-laden workouts like "Civilization That Is Dying", "Cybernetics Is An Old Science" and "Brain Damage". There are some echoes of Moss' 303 fixation on the evil bleeps and abstract techno of "Universe Is A Simulation", but the emphasis here is on freeform jazzy sounds; this is most audible on the odd flutes of "Cimetiere Des Innocents" and the jittery rhythms and Sun-Ra style complexity of "Root Of". If this is poetry, it's TS Elliot rather than Pam Ayers.
Review: What a release this is. Coming from the vaults of Break, it's unsurprising that Symmetry's summer compilation has turned out to be such a standout collection of tracks, I mean just look at that tracklist: Lenzman, LSB, Break and more. Break's 'I Need You' has been doing the rounds in mixes and sets for a little while now and it's great to see it released, the simplicity of the sample and structure is shows that less can often be more and Break is the king of finding that balance. Lenzman's remix of Ill Truth's In My Soul is a well-made rework of an already fantastic original, its revamped drums injecting the Amsterdam flavour. Again, simple is best and this release proves that.
Review: This triple-album collection is something of a treat for Prins Thomas fans. Released as an accompaniment to his epic, three-disc Paradise Goulash mix, it's entirely made up of previously unreleased re-edits from the Norwegian maestro. Musically, it's as cosmic and varied as you'd expect, variously touching on ambient (Claude Speed), Balearic jazz (Gabor Szabo), Middle Eastern oddness (Cat Trance), synth-samba (Richard Schneider Jnr), modern classical (a Johanna Billings cover of Arthur Russell's "This Is How We Walk On The Moon"), and all manner of hazy, sun-kissed grooves. There's little slamming dancefloor fare, but plenty of unique versions of overlooked, little known or forgotten musical gems. For that alone, it should be an essential purchase.
