Showing posts with label Techno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Techno. Show all posts

Saturday, July 23, 2022

CULTCHA Clash Outer National 2022 Mid Year Vinyl Round-Up

 CULTCHA Clash Outer National 

2022 Mid-Year Vinyl Round-Up

Written by Selecta J-Cut







Once again, in usual C.C.O.N. fashion, I'm a little late on a few of these titles. However, some of the vinyl pressings are also late, relative to the release dates.

G36 vs JK Flesh - Disintegration Dubs (Pressure)



To begin with, Disintegration Dubs, the full album release split between JK Flesh and G36, which was released digitally on Pressure last year. The wax is out now, mine just arrived the other day. 

The double record set comes superbly packaged with artwork on the inner sleeves, as well as track listing and credits that clarify some of the mystery behind G36, who had previously been described as a Japanese Anarchist collective. Kevin Martin (The Bug), come to find out, is 1/2 of G36 and is credited with the first track on each side. 

Martin's contributions here, such as "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" and "Body Crusher" are synth heavy, evolved steppers tracks, which may invoke images of marching stormtroopers or mass destruction, depending upon the listener.

The second track on each side is credited to G36's Gorgonn, who's "Sulfer" sounds like a slow motion dancehall riddim with flanged claps propelling the sound. "Ghengis" is percussive, reminiscent of 23 Skidoo's more ambient work, to me.

JK Flesh is credited with the third song on each side and he brings more of the hypnotic groove to the album. Atmospheric, industrial soundscapes, are the vibe... some not too dissimilar to something from Cabaret Voltaire's Johnny Yesno soundtrack, not to say that there is anything at all "retro" about this work.

Recorded in Berlin, where G36 is now based, the minimalist techno element is ever present in all of Disintegration Dubs. However, this bass-bin rocker is also heavily infused with abstract dub elements that make it not only club friendly but a captivating listen, beginning to end. Released on Pressure, The Bug's label, and available from Bleep or Bandcamp... this one comes highly recommended.

 

Various Artists - Pay It All Back Vol. 8 (On-U Sound)




Pay It All Back Vol. 8 is the latest in the long-running series of samplers which spotlight On-U Sound's current crop of artists and projects. 

Set off with "You'll Own Nothing" by Mad 45 - an American toaster who has obviously been influenced by the likes of On-U veterans Gary Clail and Andy Fairley - with an ominous forecast for late-stage capitalism over a sparse dub-step-ish track.




"Many Names Of God" is a metaphysical journey across the universe with Lee "Scratch" Perry featuring LSK. The chorus comes off a bit like one of those "Coexist" bumper stickers, jetting across the universe on a supernova. Rhythmically, this one moves - the energy reminds me of a previous P.I.A.B. entry, "What A Wonderful Day" by African Head Charge.

The mighty Tackhead return with two contributions, "Rulers & Foolers" and "I Don't Wanna Work A Fake Job" (this one particularly speaks to me!) - heavy alternative-electro-funk jams with Mad 45's slightly white and nerdy rapping style reminiscent of Bay Area leftists, Consolidated. 

African Head Charge return with the tribal, club energy of "Asalatua" and Creation Rebel appear with an awesome new tune, "Stonebridge Warrior." 

Horace Andy's "Watch Over Them," from his Midnight Rocker LP, is here, as well as "This Road" from Denise Sherwood's album by the same title.

Jeb Loy Nichols brings his Country-Reggae style with "What Does A Man Do All Day?" There are two previously unreleased Andy Fairley tunes that do not disappoint, "Your Best Tune" and "Deranged Man." LSK makes an appearance with "Money Masters," a fine display of his smooth, conscious lyrical flow. The Ital Horns cut, "Metropolis" is a fairly conventional instrumental cut (with subtle vocal samples) that sounds fresh and vibrant.

Sherwood & Pinch contribute two tracks, the comical "Excessive Drinking" and the hardcore, "We No Normal" with vocals from Daddy Freddy.




As the series has been for nearly forty years, P.I.A.B. 8 is a excellent example of the variety of artists and groups that record under On-U Sound for the great producer, Adrian Sherwood.


Various Artists - Dub No Frontiers (On-U Sound / Real World Records)


Various Artists - Dub No Frontiers (2022 On-U Sound / Real World Records)

The long-awaited compilation, Dub No Frontiers, that features non-English language, female vocalists performing on Reggae / Dub rhythms, produced by Adrian Sherwood, is finally almost here!  

It's been many years in the making, I've looked forward to it's release with much anticipation, release date is September 30 and it's available at Bandcamp.

Check out the video for Rita Morar "Meri Awaaz Suno (Hear My Voice)" here.





Horace Andy - Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound)


Horace Andy - Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound)

The follow up to Horace Andy's On-U Sound debut, Midnight Rocker, is due for release on September 16 and it will be called Midnight Scorchers. Pre-order it now at Bandcamp or Bleep.

Check out the video for his latest dub-plate, here.



Well, that wraps up the round-up, until next time, Peace.

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Monday, February 15, 2021

CULTCHA Clash Outer National Record Review: Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow Of Fear (2020 Mute Records)

CULTCHA Clash Outer National Record Review:

Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow Of Fear (2020 Mute)




Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow Of Fear (Mute)

This one has been out for several months now but I'm just getting around to writing about it. Get it digitally from CabaretVoltaire.Bandcamp.com/album/shadow-of-fear

And on LP or CD from Mute mute.com/mute/new-album-shadow-of-fear-out-now 



 Originating from Sheffield, England in 1973, Cabaret Voltaire have been hugely influential in the world of electronic music. Their early days were experiments with guitar, vocals, electronics and loops, with influences as disparate as King Tubby, Captain Beefheart, Miles Davis and Can, as well as the Dada movement and William S. Burroughs' "cut-up" techniques. Although relatively obscure, along with Throbbing Gristle and their Industrial Records label, and other contemporaries, like Clock DVA, they laid the groundwork for the sounds of dance music for the next several decades to come. 

In the early eighties Christopher Watson parted ways with the group (to eventually form The Hafler Trio), leaving Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder to produce a string of genre-defining albums and singles throughout the eighties and early nineties.

This is the first Cabaret Voltaire studio LP release since 1994's The Conversation (Apollo), on which founding member, Richard H. Kirk was the sole member of the group, the same is true for this one.
Without Mallinder, who took care of the vocals, the tunes are instrumental except for vocal samples, usually stark and foreboding soundbites of a dystopian, authoritarian state. The tracks were put together by Kirk, originally for live performances but adapted for an LP format. This album sounds 100% like a C.V. album, to me...

The variety of rhythms drive every track to the last beat, nothing boring about this one. From the digital dancehall vibe of the opening track, "Be Free" to the layered horns and funk groove of the nod to Marvin Gaye, "What's Goin' On," I can play the album all the way through without an urge to skip one tune.

Electronic Sound Magazine released an accompanying 7" single featuring Daniel Miller edits of "Vasto" and "The Power (Of Their Knowledge)" which is limited but worth grabbing if you can get your hands on one.

The Mute  EP, Shadow Of Funk, will be out later this month as a companion piece featuring three more new songs, including "Billion Dollar," check it out below.




 

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Saturday, July 6, 2019

Vinyl Encounters of the...Rewind! I.F.D.A. V

Vinyl Encounters of the...Rewind!

The Mixes: Industrial Funk / Dub Abstractions V (Jack Dangers Version / Meat Beat Manifestations)





This is the fifth edition in the  reboot of Vinyl Encounters of the...Rewind! (see original video episodes Here). This time I'll be breaking down the tunes and telling some personal anecdotes about Industrial Funk / Dub Abstractions V - The Jack Dangers Version aka Meat Beat Manifestations, recorded in 2012, the series is currently at Volume 10. (Due to licensing issues, the Mixcloud upload is restricted in some areas so I included a link from another source.)
After making I.F.D.A. IV, which consisted solely of the production and remix work of Adrian Sherwood & On-U Sound Records, I decided to spotlight another influential artist and group that is important to me, musically...Jack Dangers and Meat Beat Manifesto.

M.B.M. started in Swindon, U.K. in 1987 by Perennial Divide members John Stephen Corrigan (Jack Dangers) and Johnny Stephens, they're known for pioneering many recent sub-genres of electronic music from Rave era Techno to Breakbeat, Big Beat, Trip-Hop, Jungle, Drum & Bass and Dubstep, as well as their elaborate (however infrequent) live performances, and Dangers' exceptional remix work (some included here) and are still active today based primarily around Dangers. Check out the latest LP, Opaque Couché.

Again, I will make this disclaimer, the title of this series is my own description, some artists may take the label "Industrial" as a pejorative, or a purist would say that Industrial is exclusively Throbbing Gristle and music that was released on their Industrial Records. I'm not attempting to classify or categorize any of the artists included here, I'm using the term as a personal interpretation as more of a reaction to the music industry itself than any actual distinct "sound."


Many of the artists included in this series are active now, links have been included (highlighted) where possible, as it is our goal at CULTCHA Clash Outer National to educate and entertain.

Meat Beat Manifesto - Storm The Studio

When the masters for the first album were lost in a fire, the whole thing had to be replaced, the resulting Storm The Studio was subsequently recorded and released in 1989 on the label Sweatbox (that their previous singles had been on, as well as Perennial Divide's label) and in the U.S. by Wax Trax! Records. This record was massive for me in my late teens and is at least partly responsible for my choice to get into music production and DJ'ing. The first tune here is "I Got The Fear, Part 2" from that LP.

Meat Beat Manifesto - Strap Down



The next tune is "Wall To Wall" off of the 1988 12" single Strap Down, this is a lower-tempo go-go kind of groove on a b-side track juxtaposed nicely with the acid-house banger on the a-side.





David Byrne - Forestry



Following that, is the chunky rhythm and crushing snare of "Nineveh (Industrial Mix)" from the David Byrne single, Forestry, which came out in 1991.







Nine Inch Nails - Closer To God



Next up is the Nine Inch Nails remix, "Closer (Deviation)" (confession: this song is recorded from CD, the rest of the mix, and the series, are all recorded from vinyl) from the 1994 hit single, Closer To God. 

 "Re-Animator, Part 3" comes in next, again taken from the Storm The Studio album.



Public Enemy - He Got Game


A collaboration between M.B.M. and one of my favorite Hip-Hop groups, Public Enemy, finally came to fruition on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1998 film, He Got Game, on this tune, "Go Cat Go." 
P.E. & production crew, The Bomb Squad's sound, to me, push all limits and barriers and defy genres in a manner similar to M.B.M., it seemed a natural match-up.





Bark - Compilation

The cut-up, scratched and stabbing "Mister President" was taken from the 1988 Sweatbox compilation, Bark and was included on the second M.B.M. LP (with the original title from their would-be debut), 1990's Armed Audio Warfare

Meat Beat Manifesto - Armed Audio Warfare
















Meat Beat Manifesto -99%




"All The Things You Are" is from the 1990 Mute / Play It Again Sam Records release,  and third M.B.M. LP, 99%. The band had evolved at this point to include more melodic elements and guitar along with the synths and experimentation in loops and samples that were already incorporated into the sound. I was very fortunate to get to see them on the U.S. tour for this album when they played at Phoenix's Silver Dollar Club.




Next is the lush strings of "Ava (Nu Wage Mix)" from David Byrne's Forestry, once more.


Meat Beat Manifesto -
Prime Audio Soup




Following that is "Prime Audio Soup (Boards Of Canada Mix)" off of the 1998 Prime Audio Soup single and the LP, Actual Sounds + Voices. The original mix of this tune got quite a bit of recognition from it's appearance in the soundtrack of The Matrix.


Meat Beat Manifesto -
Actual Sounds + Voices















Meat Beat Manifesto - At The Center


Meat Beat Manifesto - Off Centre


"Wild (Remix)" is from their 2005 Off-Centre 12", released on Thirsty Ear with special mixes from the At The Center album.










Meat Beat Manifesto - RUOK




From the 2002 LP, RUOK, comes "Horn Of Jericho" featuring Alex Paterson of The Orb.

After that, from Storm The Studio, once more, is "God O.D. Part 3."




Meat Beat Manifesto - Satyricon




Next, from 1992's Satyricon, is the rather ethereal, "Circles."









Meat Beat Manifesto - Now





"Now (I'm In Paradise Now)" is on the 1991 Now 12" single and the original is from 99%.







Meat Beat Manifesto - Acid Again


"Acid Again (Depth Charge Mix 1)" originally on Actual Sounds + Voices is taken from the 1998 Acid Again single with remixes by Freddy Fresh and Depth Charge.







MC 900 Ft Jesus - Killer Inside Me




MC 900 Ft Jesus makes an appearance with "Killer Inside Me (Meat Beat Manifestation #2)" taken from the 1991 Killer Inside Me 12" single.





David Byrne - Back In The Box





"Back In The Box (Contemporary Hermit Mix)" is a remix of a David Byrne tune from his 1994 Back In The Box single and eponymous LP.





Meat Beat Manifesto -
Edge Of No Control





Next comes "Edge Of No Control 2" from 1992's Edge Of No Control single and the Satyricon LP.






Meat Beat Manifesto - God O.D.




"I Got The Fear Part 5" is another from Storm The Studio, followed by "God O.D." from the 1989 God O.D. single.





Meat Beat Manifesto - Dog Star Man




"Dog Star Man" is from their 1990 EP, Dog Star Man.






Meat Beat Manifesto - Radio Babylon





"I Am Electro" is from the Radio Babylon 12" single, released in 1997.







David Bowie - Jump They Say




I read somewhere that Dangers was one of the few remixers that David Bowie liked working with. "Pallas Athena (Don't Stop Praying Mix)" is an example of the result of this work, off of Bowie's 1993 Jump They Say single.






Meat Beat Manifesto -
Psyche Out




"This is what it's all about..." next in the mix, originally from 99% and remixed by Andrew Weatherall on 1990's Psyche Out single is "Psyche Out (Sex Skank Stripdown)."







Meat Beat Manifesto - Transmission



The drum & bass style scorcher "Transmission (Burning Fire Mix)" is on 1996's Transmission single, the original is from the LP, Subliminal Sandwich.


Meat Beat Manifesto -
 Subliminal Sandwich













Meat Beat Manifesto -
 Helter Skelter / Radio Babylon




The next tune, "Radio Babylon" was released in 1990 on the Helter Skelter / Radio Babylon single which would be hugely influential tunes in the genres of breakbeat, jungle and drum & bass.







Meat Beat Manifesto -
Echo In Space Dub / Retrograde




"Echo In Space Dub" comes from a 2004 12" Echo In Space / Retrograde Pt. 2 single on the label Tino Corp. which was founded by Dangers, Ben Stokes (D.H.S.) and Mike Powell (Bo Square).  The original tune was on the LP, RUOK.








"Helter Skelter '97" is next, from the 1997 single Radio Babylon.
Meat Beat Manifesto - In Dub

 Next is "Retrograde Pt. 2 Dub We R 1," also from their 2004 Echo In Space / Retrograde Pt. 2 single, as well as their In Dub CD.

Tino's Breaks Five: Dub





The last tune in the mix is a Reggae break called "Body Dub" off of Tino's Breaks Volume 5: Dub, released in 2000.








That concludes both the mix and this edition of Vinyl Encounters of the...Rewind! I hope that it was enjoyable, thanks for checking it out and look out for the next one at www.cultchaclash.com.




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