Hyped up?

So apparently my shit is on the Hype Machine now. Um, thanks guys? I guess this is supposed to mean I made it in blogworld? I'm not really sure what to make of it, but now part of me feels like I should start being super responsible free promo guy or something...which is a pretty daunting thought. If I stopped picking songs apart or denying my inner hater, I'd definitely be at a loss. So, I guess to compromise, I won't be blatantly irresponsible and do something like post an mp3 and saying it sucks point blank. I think I only did that a couple times in the past, but from here on out, everything will range from good to the best jams ever, so y'all betta get HYPE! ::insert that little keyboard build from Technotronic's "Pump the Jam" here::

Speaking of hype, I finally listened to Ed Rec. Vol 2...really not that impressive, kids. I mean, I still ride hard for Sebastian but this new showcase for the roster seems just barely above mediocre despite being the most agreed upon thing in dance music (at least for people that don't really listen to dance music). SO ME's visuals are great and this promo clip thing is really awesome and I'm stil gonna check for all their new stuff obviously...but I'm just saying shit is not the end all be all of "cool music".



Also, on a little broader scale, I think this mythical rave explosion 2.0 business no longer has me starry-eyed at the possibilities of it all...

Here's a simple way to sum up what I thought I saw coming...

BEFORE



Some nutball freakout shit where people are going animalistic while colors are erupting all over the fucking place and the everyone is on some retro burnout steez and having seizures like it's their jobs.

NOW



That, only the whole idea is blanketed and commodified by a "Oh, look at us, we're raving" hipster asshole slant, where the entertainment is about going through the motions of some "quaint" period, rather than actually experiencing and engaging something head on. Shit is already destined to not work out right because rave is "in" and "passe" at the same time, and that seems to matter more than whatever it IS that is actually happening. Also, this nu-rave stuff only engages a narrow selection of old rave really, and believe it or not OLD RAVE IS STILL AROUND, at least in the US. I still see flyers for Moonshine-era relics like Rabbit in the Moon, Ak1200, Uberzone, etc. Its not like you see those dudes blowing up the blogs or anything. So yeah, dance music, sure. Rave, not so much.

Fuck yeah, first little spike in new exposure and I start ranting my ass off IMMEDIATELY. Anyhow, here's some shit that I guess is a little more in line with what's happening on this side of the divide...or not, these are just some synthy ass jams that you need in your life.

Carl Finlow-Anomaly

First to counteract all that dirty bizness we just discussed, here's some clean ass, bouyant, simple yet effective "listening" electro from around 2003. Carl Finlow's done a bunch of good stuff under various alias's, the most known to me being Silicon Scally.

A Number of Names-Sharevari

Such a jam, from like detroit 1981 or so. The vocals are inimitably dope. This type of stuff is kind of blowing my mind right now. Here's a video of local dance show called "The Scene"



I should say I heard this jam on the sickest mix I've heard of other electro, italodisco type stuff, I-F's Mixed Up in the Hague Vol.1 It's from 2000 or so, and I probably heard it around 03 and now that this stuff is blowing up, I've listened to a bunch more and it still is number one in my book. Pure heat. Cybernetic Broadcasting System all day. Also it features Mr. Flaggio's Take A Chance, which has gotta be one of the sickest songs of all time...Fuck it, I gotta post it.

Mr. Flaggio-Take A Chance

This is from that actual mix, it's the only trace I've ever been able to locate of this song so if anybody has a 320k version of this track recorded clean from vinyl, dude, PLEEEAAAASSSEEEEE hook it up.

Black Devil Disco Club-I Regret the Flower Power

On the retro synth tip, I only just recently heard Black Devil Disco after Rephlex put out the EP 28 After. It's supposed to be a collection of unreleased old space disco stuff that was found at a carboot sale or something, but this shit sounds WAY too absolutely fantastic to be recorded back in the late 70's, in terms of quality of the recording (lot's of low end, etc), so I am very skeptical. Still, one of the best things I've listened to this year, every song is worth purchasing.

Black Devil Disco Club- H Friend

Here's one of the real authentic ones made way back when. The same amazing song structures and haunted disco spacechants are there, but you can tell it's recorded on OG equipment.

Bernard Fevre-Pendulum

This is some solo stuff from the last surviving BDD member, Bernard Fevre. It's a lot more Tomita-fied then Morodor-esque. Still, way way ahead of it's time.

Pole-Tanzen



The I-F tip got me thinking about the good ol' days, buying all kinds of crazy European cd's and compilations back when I first started really getting excited about exploring music. I heard his "Space Invaders are smoking grass" on these Freestyle File comps that !K7 used to put out towards the end of the 90's. That reminded me of Pole, another distinctly different artist I found out about through those comps. He used a broken Waldorf 4 Pole-Filter (hence his name) to generate all the blips and crackley minimilism on his dub inflected beats. Nowadays that kinda clicks and cuts type deal has been done to death, but back then it was pretty striking. Anyway, he just put out a new album too. While not ground breaking like back 98, he still is pumping out jams like Pferd, so much respect new and old.

Pole-Pferd

--------------------------
So there you go hype machine, you have been fed some no nonsense jams, don't go imploding on me now, y'hear?