within a constant groove: 1989

Showing posts with label 1989. Show all posts

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Masters Of The Universe

From the mind of 26 year old Dave Lee, already a skilful keyboardist, we get this true gem of UK Rave. It's full of e-tingle pianos and girlie "oh oh's" to keep you high - up there with Together's "Hardcore Uproar" as the perfect morning track. You could quite easily put 2 copies of this record on the decks and make a half hour mix that would go down a storm in 1990, but for most people, the 'Hyper-Spaced Mix' is enough. There is also a 1989 release that samples Loletta Holloway; "Check It Out" - but the vocal-free mixes here are to my mind vastly superior.

Dave Lee seemed to be doing quite a bit with Mark Ryder of Strictly Underground (legendary UK Hardcore label) at this time, and he'd also recorded some fine electro bleep techno for Sheffield's Warp Records in Energise's "Report To The Dancefloor".

Yet it would only be a year or two until Dave found his true home in disco led house, and a new moniker: Joey Negro. Thank fuck he came up via UK rave then - his stay was short, but it was momentous.

Discogs

A1 Space Talk (Hyper Spaced Mix)
B1 Space Talk (Spaced Out Mix)
B2 Space Talk (Inner Space Mix)
B3 Space Talk (Reprised Mix)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Selected tracks by The KLF

A little while ago I posited that Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond might rightly be considered as true pioneers of electronic trance. For the most part, The KLF owned all the rights to their own music, publishing it through their label KLF Communications. According to Discogs, in May 1992, they officially ended their music careers to pursue new artistic endeavours; they also deleted their entire catalogue of releases. I've checked Beatport and Juno and there was no KLF to purchase, so it seems that the two remain committed to art over profit.

I thought I would post a few select tracks only - there are extensive tribute site here and here and both have plenty of downloads available if you want to delve further...

First of all, "What Time Is Love?" in its two best forms - "Original Pure Trance" (1988) and "Live At Trancentral" (1990). I've said it before, but the Pure Trance mix is just so way ahead of its time that I can only think of one other track to compare it with, Humanoid's "Stakker" - both from England, both released in '88, both completely rewriting the dance floor template, both glorious mind fuck inducers.

The original mix of "What Time Is Love?" is very bare, has a slow tempo and a haunting sci-fi bassline fusing its melody and subtle kick drum. A Dr Who-like 'ooooooohhh' runs throughout to massive effect.

In 1990, the boys updated their tune (with a bit of help from others such as New York's Lenny Dee), totally transforming it into a high energy rave monster that pioneered the transfer of stadium rock excess to dance music. Everyone from The Prodigy to Underworld and 2 Unlimited took notice.

Discogs

What Time Is Love?
(Pure Trance Version)

CD Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Discogs

What Time Is Love?
(Live At Trancentral)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

"3am Eternal (Pure Trance Version)" (1989) is taken from the excellent Warehouse Raves 4 compilation - it's also got the Pure Trance Original of "What Time Is Love?" and a heap of other hard to find goodies (I'll probably post that too at some point). It's quite blissful, with a laid back vocal and a hypnotic groove. A few years later, it too got a stadium update leading to commercial chart success - The KLF had embraced cheese once more.

Discogs

3am Eternal
(Pure Trance Version)

CD Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Cauty and Drummond didn't leave the underground altogether though, at the end of 1990 they reverted to a previous moniker, The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, and put out the apocalyptic techno of "It's Grim Up North" in a limited release of 350 single-sided 12 inches on grey vinyl. No label text, no obvious artist identification - just a plain grey inner label.

In Melbourne, only one person had it - Mr Terry "H2O" Ho, and he DJed at the massively influential Maze underground night at The Commerce Club.

People waited all night to hear The Grey Record and embrace it's locomotive techno as it stormed out of the speakers and through the smoke machine across the dancefloor and into our shattered minds. It too got remixed and re-released (with new vocal and an awful guitar break), but the original was by far the best.

Discogs
A1 It's Grim Up North
(Original Club Mix)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps

MP3 ...mediafire

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Mr Monday - Rave Legend.

Simon Monday was an early member of the UK acid house scene, and pretty early on it seems he was contributing studio skills. He helped to pull the soundtrack of the monumental techno video project “Stakker – Eurotechno” together when Brian Dougans (of Humanoid and Future Sound Of London fame, and a techno legend of the highest order) quit the project. You’ll also spot a lot of his input in the first “Live At The Brain” compilation.

His solo work begins here with 1989’s piano house “Appreciate/Keep On”, and then follows with the b-sides to his masterpiece, funnily enough (or not) produced by Judge Jules. "Future" was released on Roy The Roach’s Elevation Inc. label in 1990; I think only about 500 copies were pressed, but this was enough to get it out and about. Tony Humphries cained it for ages, and Mr Monday played live PAs at some of that year’s biggest parties.

In Melbourne, "Future" was a fucking massive track and was probably played at every party and event running into 1992. I see it called a piano house stormer a lot, but I always thought the main melody had more of a latin guitar rhythm to it... anyway, I like "Future" most for the killer main break and turbo powered kick off. The synth stab patterns are magic too – best since “Strings Of Life”. I’d still put “Future” up there in my all time top 3 tracks (the other two move around a bit but at the moment “Pacific State” and “Multifunction” come to mind as contenders).

You won't find "Future" linked here - it's still available to buy, but the b-side “Pushing” is a bit of vocal house gem – even if it is a bloke doing the singing.

1991’s remixes of “Future” didn’t have a chance of equalling the original – although the Mellow Mix isn’t too bad (and they’re all a darn sight better than those that came out on Ministry Of Sound’s Open imprint in the mid 90s).
1992’s Power/Knowledge EP didn’t really go anywhere new and I lost interest in his work after that. But 20 years on, “Future” is still a class tune. So respect (and thanks too Simon, where ever you are nowadays).