House Sucks (Pessimistic Conclusion)
Now we've let the DJ Become a superstar, have we stopped listening to the music?
We have DJs who are so famous that we'd go crazy for their first record even if it was utter rubbish. We have DJs who let the club tell them what to play. We have personality DJs who can draw a crowd even though they're crap. Porno DJs who hve someone else to put on their tunes. Novelty jocks. Ex-boxers as DJs, soccer heroes behind the decks, washed-up pop stars desperate for new credibility. DJs who are shit but they've got a record in the charts.
We go to superclubs that only exists to support a lucrative brand name so that a company run by people who don't dance can make millions from T-shirts, compilation CDs and alcohol and tobacco sponsorship. We listen to a few big-name DJs on the radio and let them totally rule our tastes. when their name's on a mix album we trust it without thinking and rush out to buy it. The DJ is a corporate whore.
The DJ has chopped and mixed and mergd every kind of music until there's no chance of a "next big thing". All we can expect is the next remix, a variation of a theme. And the music is so effective now, especially when consumed with drugs, that no one cares whether it's actually any good. It's just an infallible, Pavlovian technology of pleasure. At the end of the seventies people decided "disco sucks"; at the end of the nineties, house, trance, garage... SUCKS! (techno and drum'n'bass are just boring). The only difference is we haven't notice how much it sucks yet, because the commercial club industry has got us in the palm of its hand. As long as it gets me throwing my fists in the air with my eyes glued shut on my Friday night podium, I dont give a fuck whether it has any artistic value.
Our precious, once-underground culture has been co-opted into a great mainstream capitalist hegemony.
Is going clubbing special anymore, or is it just like going to the pub?
The greatest success of dance culture is suppose to be that it now has acts who are at home playing American stadiums. But it's not a triumph for dance music to disguise itself as soemthing that's existed for 35 years or more. The Prodigy are just The Rolling Stones for a new generation. The record labels have just squeezed them into the rock-star rulebook so they can market them better. They'll go on tour when the album comes out. We'll all scream when they come onstage and the music biz is happy.
Dance revolution... Where?
Club culture was built on togetherness, on participation, equality, communion. When it works you shouldn't be able to tell the dancer from the dance. It was founded on the idea that the clubbers are the stars, not the short guy who fiddles with the record player. If we're on a dancefloor but we're all weatching the DJ, or if we're in an arena all looking at the stage, we are no longer doing what it's all about: we are once more an audience and no longer the event.
Dance culture has been completely stolen by the forces of commercialism.
OK?
Good.
That's the pessimistic conclusion over with.
The Global Underground (Optimistic Conclusion)
But the dialectic saves the day.
In dance music, there's always an underground.
This is at its most creative just after things have got horribly commercial.
The mainstream picks up on something, burns it up, and declares it dead. But meanwhile, pioneers have moved on and are free to push things further, to reclaim the momentum and come up with something new.
So rail about supercommercial club cultures all you like. It's all true, every pessimistic word, but it doesn't matter because there's always an underground, always something fresh on the horizon.
For every cheesy commecial DJ who's happy to play what the record pluggers send him, who charts records he doesn't like just so he stays on the mailing list, who plays records he hates because everyone else is playing them, and who has no problem with a club giving him "guidelines" on what and what not to play, there's another DJ who loves music, who searches out and buys records rather than just playing promotional freebies, who develops his own style, who throws his own parties, who generates his own following, who creates new music.
There'll always be an underground and it will always be filled with people who love music, not as a job but as the center piece to their life - even if manipulative drug pop seems to rule the day and even if most clubs are clogged with DJs who have abandoned their missionary zeal to return to the safe job of musical waiter. The exceptions are where the energy lies.
The fragmentation of dance music into scores of specialised genres is another reason for excitement. This works directly against the idea of of the superclub and the prostitute DJ, and can only encourage experimentation and creativity. You can bet sooner or later, out of these devious little scenes will come soemthing interesting, and inevitably something momentous. That's how we got disco, hip hop, house, and in recent years, that's how jungle emerged, and drum'n'bass, UK garage (speed garage), two-step, coastal breaks...
What's next? Who knows - all that's certain is that something somewhere is busy evolving, just like it's always done.
We spent the last forty years recording pop music, now we're gonna have incredible fun recycling it into any form we want. The band is dead, long live the DJ. No more waiting for the next big thing, let's look forward to the next amazing tweak, the next gut-wrenching new noise, the next unbelievbable collision of sampled sound.
And dance music is now truly international and internationalist. Musical possibilities have become global. The established centers of our story have splintered so much that the next great record might just as likely come from Norway as from New York. And with words losing out to the universal beat, we all speak the same language. French people cn finally make music that English people like. In fact you can bet that any really radical styles of dance music will emerge from somewhere truly bizarre, far away from the intense scrutiny of the dance media and the commentators who swoop on anything novel before it has a chance to spread its wings.
Abetting this dramatic crashing of borders is the rise of the Internet as a force for musical distribution. If house music was the fufilment o the do it yourself punk ethos, then netcasting and clever compression formats like MP3 take things even further. The means of music production have long been in the hands of the masses; now we have the means of distribution too, and record companies - who were only ever banks stupid enough to lend money to musicians - are redundant. Any DJ can create a global community of listeners on the Net. Djs in a club in New York can play to the dancefloor of a club in London. A DJ can make music in his own home, transmit it to another DJ across the world, who can press it himself onto a CD and play it when he does on in a club in Singapore in a couple of hours.
The Buzz Remains
The disc jockey has been with us for almost a century now. In that time he has been ignored, misunderstood, despised, worshipped and adored. He has stayed in the forefront of music, twisting and shaping it into fresh forms, perverting technology and forcing from it stunning new sounds. He has conjured a long series of novel genres in his endless search for material to keep his dancers moving. In the US the DJ created amazing music, then the UK gave him a home and made him a star. He continued his magic and around him there grew a musical culture more revolutionary and more enduring than any before.
After the 1988 summer of love, kids in Britain were finally enjoying the transcendent rituals on which the US evolution of dance music had been based. They finally understood the real power of a DJ, and in large numbers. Now, having conquered Europe and much of the southern hemisphere, the music is spreading back across the Atlantic. Having forged music more truly universal than any preceding it, the DJ is arguably a conduit for celebration and communion on a global scale. It's possible that the DJ is the ultimate expression of the ancient shamanic role; that the DJ is the greatest witchdoctor there has ever been, unmatched at shaking us out of the drudge of the day and into the life of the night.
Why do we worship at the knees of the record-slinger? Because he is occasionally capable of divinity. When it all connects in a club, there's nowhere you can have more fun.
"A really great DJ is totally capable of making a bad record sound okay, a good record sound great, and a great record sound fantastic - by the context they put them in, and what they put around them. How they steer them. They can do all kinds of tricks. A great DJ can make people spontaneously cheer just for a little squelchy noise. Which is quite insane really. A little noise like "wha-wha-wha" and people go, "Yeeeaah!" They can have people clapping along to a cymbal, just by the way they're bringing it in. When it's done well, it's fantastic. If it's done really well, it can be quite transcendental."
It's a mystical art indeed. It seems so banal, but it holds the potential of phenomenal, inexpressable power. A great DJ can arouse more raw emotion in his audience than the composer of the most bittersweet opera, or the author of the most uplifting novel, or the director of the most life-affirming film.
When you're DJing and you're great at it, you're not playing records, you're playing the dancefloor. You're not just mixing tunes, you're mixing energy and emotions, mixing from surprise into hope and happiness, cutting from liberation to ecstacy to love. When it goes right, you're inside the bodies of everyone in the room, you know what they're feeling and where they're going and you're taking them there. You're sweeping them off the earthly plane and transporting them to a higher place. You're moving their bodies and their souls with the music that flows from your fingertips.
You're putting them in the moment.
"Sweaty palms. Huge smiles. That kind of intenseness when you're in the zone, when you're in the box on your own. Oh my God! What's the next record? Frantically searching, making sure your instinct's right, changing your mind, then going back to your first choice, then ripping that out and putting it on at the last minute... and it works!
"And seeing people smiling.
"And singing.
"And going crazy."
[bill brewster and frank broughton - last night a dj saved my life]
31.5.02
30.5.02
a phone call and im booked for the flight back to singapore. as usual i left it too late... something about these things, the human mind, or rather, mine, always seem to assume there's enough time or its never too late... says much about my character huh? procastination is a sublime art.
feeling quite chirpy today... i think thanks to the 5htp i took last night... well, i'll enjoy it while i can.
listening to tyrant 2... no words of mine are descriptive enough for the sounds in this compilation, trippy, dubby, twisted, fucked up, its all good. somehow... i always seem to play cd1 at a certain time in the day and when it comes to an end, the sun is setting outside my window, which complements the music beautifully... kinda funky, and yet whimsical... an ode to end of the day.
shall attempt to integrate with society tonight... hope it works.
feeling quite chirpy today... i think thanks to the 5htp i took last night... well, i'll enjoy it while i can.
listening to tyrant 2... no words of mine are descriptive enough for the sounds in this compilation, trippy, dubby, twisted, fucked up, its all good. somehow... i always seem to play cd1 at a certain time in the day and when it comes to an end, the sun is setting outside my window, which complements the music beautifully... kinda funky, and yet whimsical... an ode to end of the day.
shall attempt to integrate with society tonight... hope it works.
nothing like a bit of digweed to end the night with... my god...
pole folder - planetary activity -> tone depth - rumblefish -> porter + debo - deported... epic metallic synths/soaring strings/angry bass guitar -> tribal chant/percussion/stiring strings -> deep/dark/techy/subtle melody F U C K!!!!!!!!!!!!
digweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed *runs around screaming*
[digweed - welcome 2002 (pole folder - planetary activity)]
pole folder - planetary activity -> tone depth - rumblefish -> porter + debo - deported... epic metallic synths/soaring strings/angry bass guitar -> tribal chant/percussion/stiring strings -> deep/dark/techy/subtle melody
digweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed *runs around screaming*
[digweed - welcome 2002 (pole folder - planetary activity)]
29.5.02
sigh... here i am again... heart weighing heavy in my chest. a feeling so familiar, like a friend whom one is resigned with, and yet cant disown. are u sick of reading about this? cos i know im sick of blogging it down. unfortunately, i have nowhere else to turn to.
listening to mandalay - deep love again... its not helping to lift my spirit.
the plaintive voice stands out to me in its emotive powess.
sigh.
it doesnt look like my mood is going to improve.
listening to mandalay - deep love again... its not helping to lift my spirit.
the plaintive voice stands out to me in its emotive powess.
sigh.
it doesnt look like my mood is going to improve.
28.5.02
im feeling alright tonight... in part, thanks to a friend i've been chatting with pretty much the whole day cos its vesak day in singapore. and i've been reading someone's blog, kinda voyeuristic but its amusing and well written. she has a flair for writing, making everyday mundane happenings, while not a joy, but certainly captivating, involving. its quite odd though, delving into someone else's private life, and dangerous. i was telling myself not to read it.
listening to digweed again... another journey.... music is truly the steadfast companion, i am so grateful to appreciate music the way i do.
mandalay - deep love is up next... cant get enough of it, after reading the lyrics, the song just takes on another dimension. its beautiful, im a sucker for this emotive stuff. the deep mellow piano keys hit me first, almost reminding me of the title track to twin peaks heh. a hint of a flute... then this quiet voice sings. muffled kickdrum comes in, like a heart beat. how apt. she has the sweetest voice, almost classical if that means anything... and then the cymbals and high hats come in and the song soars, literally soars with her voice... and then takes a dip into the mellow again, sad violins... quiet, contented voice singing... god i love her voice. this song somehow embodies all the sadness and hope in love. i guess i identify with that... as much as i hate emotions, i know very well i still long to feel and be reciprocated, the damn paradoxes of being human.
time for some whiskey.
went to the gym tonight again. my forearms were killing me from grasping the bar to do my bicep curls. i would think with all these training i would be getting big, but no its not happening... probably fucked up genes eh.
im sidetracking... rambling random thoughts.
for the longest time... tonight, im feeling alone, whimsical, introspective, and yet, at peace, almost... almost. or am i resigned? is there such a thing? at peace with being sad? heh another paradox. but there is a quiet in me, a calm, so much so that i dont dare to disturb it, dont dare to agitate myself. its almost like there is an equilibrium there, a fine scale in balance and i am very afraid to tip it, because i know it will only tip one way.
and so i am looking for the right music, to keep my sanity for the night.
i am smoking a lot. it worries me when i look at the pack but i cant stop. i am not usually bothered with my smoking, but right now its obviously disturbing me and as i write, i feel like lighting up again.
starecase - faith (loafer mix) another vocal bomb, soaring vocals but with a housier tint unlike mandalay. almost gruff and husky, brusque perhaps. see the truth, all i see it, even if it brings me pain, i will go on... i find the joy i feel the beauty in all u bring to me just where i belong... i am... all i... need to... i am... all i... need to... find the faith heh one of them inspiring tracks.
that's what i am searching for, faith. not of the religious flavour... just faith... i think, perhaps, that's why i've been so empty, it's all gone, the faith. im looking for it, in myself, in people... i want to trust and love again, i want to be whole again the way i was... i want to feel again. how odd... an epiphany, and im not even on acid. the emptiness in me that overwhelms the sadness, i think, is the lack of faith... the emptiness kills me more than the sadness.
am i being pretencious? voicing all these messiness... well, too bad, its helping me to come to terms with myself, and if u(disclaimer: no one in particular ofcos, just whoever is reading) cant come to terms with it, fuck off, in the nicest way possible. heh.
whoa... internet connection just got cut... god damn it. damn it! here i was feeling relatively good for once and this shit has to happen, FUCK! right now, i can rip out the technician's throat for cutting off my connection to the world. fuck! the thought of being alone has suddenly become absolute. i am pissed off, very pissed off, to have my one good night fucked up by the inept australians. damn it.
damn it...
sigh.
whew... back online again, once more connected to the global village. i better post this while my connection is alive.
listening to digweed again... another journey.... music is truly the steadfast companion, i am so grateful to appreciate music the way i do.
mandalay - deep love is up next... cant get enough of it, after reading the lyrics, the song just takes on another dimension. its beautiful, im a sucker for this emotive stuff. the deep mellow piano keys hit me first, almost reminding me of the title track to twin peaks heh. a hint of a flute... then this quiet voice sings. muffled kickdrum comes in, like a heart beat. how apt. she has the sweetest voice, almost classical if that means anything... and then the cymbals and high hats come in and the song soars, literally soars with her voice... and then takes a dip into the mellow again, sad violins... quiet, contented voice singing... god i love her voice. this song somehow embodies all the sadness and hope in love. i guess i identify with that... as much as i hate emotions, i know very well i still long to feel and be reciprocated, the damn paradoxes of being human.
time for some whiskey.
went to the gym tonight again. my forearms were killing me from grasping the bar to do my bicep curls. i would think with all these training i would be getting big, but no its not happening... probably fucked up genes eh.
im sidetracking... rambling random thoughts.
for the longest time... tonight, im feeling alone, whimsical, introspective, and yet, at peace, almost... almost. or am i resigned? is there such a thing? at peace with being sad? heh another paradox. but there is a quiet in me, a calm, so much so that i dont dare to disturb it, dont dare to agitate myself. its almost like there is an equilibrium there, a fine scale in balance and i am very afraid to tip it, because i know it will only tip one way.
and so i am looking for the right music, to keep my sanity for the night.
i am smoking a lot. it worries me when i look at the pack but i cant stop. i am not usually bothered with my smoking, but right now its obviously disturbing me and as i write, i feel like lighting up again.
starecase - faith (loafer mix) another vocal bomb, soaring vocals but with a housier tint unlike mandalay. almost gruff and husky, brusque perhaps. see the truth, all i see it, even if it brings me pain, i will go on... i find the joy i feel the beauty in all u bring to me just where i belong... i am... all i... need to... i am... all i... need to... find the faith heh one of them inspiring tracks.
that's what i am searching for, faith. not of the religious flavour... just faith... i think, perhaps, that's why i've been so empty, it's all gone, the faith. im looking for it, in myself, in people... i want to trust and love again, i want to be whole again the way i was... i want to feel again. how odd... an epiphany, and im not even on acid. the emptiness in me that overwhelms the sadness, i think, is the lack of faith... the emptiness kills me more than the sadness.
am i being pretencious? voicing all these messiness... well, too bad, its helping me to come to terms with myself, and if u(disclaimer: no one in particular ofcos, just whoever is reading) cant come to terms with it, fuck off, in the nicest way possible. heh.
whoa... internet connection just got cut... god damn it. damn it! here i was feeling relatively good for once and this shit has to happen, FUCK! right now, i can rip out the technician's throat for cutting off my connection to the world. fuck! the thought of being alone has suddenly become absolute. i am pissed off, very pissed off, to have my one good night fucked up by the inept australians. damn it.
damn it...
sigh.
whew... back online again, once more connected to the global village. i better post this while my connection is alive.
27.5.02
memories of the night
heads bowed
touching
hands holding
touching
not alone
not alone
sharing
opening
share
you say you'll bring
tears course down my face
i falter
she holds me
brows furrowed
voice falters
she soothes me
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
the words come
the chest loosens
i breathe
the bridge forms
we walked together
share
you say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
[tonight's post brought to you courtesy of mandalay - deep love]
heads bowed
touching
hands holding
touching
not alone
not alone
sharing
opening
share
you say you'll bring
tears course down my face
i falter
she holds me
brows furrowed
voice falters
she soothes me
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
the words come
the chest loosens
i breathe
the bridge forms
we walked together
share
you say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
[tonight's post brought to you courtesy of mandalay - deep love]
now
i can trust you
now
as I feel at ease
how lost in you
should I be
now
i can see you
clear
as the day begins
how lost in this
should we be
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
now
as I touch you
here
as the day begins
how lost in this
should I be
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
....
share
you say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel ...
[mandalay - deep love]
i want to cry.
i can trust you
now
as I feel at ease
how lost in you
should I be
now
i can see you
clear
as the day begins
how lost in this
should we be
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
now
as I touch you
here
as the day begins
how lost in this
should I be
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
....
share
you say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
just don't say that it's too soon to say how you feel
share
and say you'll bring
to me deep love
you can't say that it's too soon to say how you feel ...
[mandalay - deep love]
i want to cry.
[190501 - 270502]
wow... i just realised, i have been blogging for a year now. that's... longer than i expected i'd be doing it for. so there u have it... a whole year of my life encapsulated on this website... a virtual timemachine indeed.
a retrospective might be in order... but whoever u are out there who has read this blog can, i am sure, sum it all up easily:
this dude is fucked.
yes... i believe a retrospective is due... but shall have to do that in the wee hours of the night when one gets more introspective and intoxicated.
however, as a friend has mentioned... kudos to the team at blog for providing this outlet.
wow... i just realised, i have been blogging for a year now
a retrospective might be in order... but whoever u are out there who has read this blog can, i am sure, sum it all up easily:
this dude is fucked.
yes... i believe a retrospective is due... but shall have to do that in the wee hours of the night when one gets more introspective and intoxicated.
however, as a friend has mentioned... kudos to the team at blog for providing this outlet.
listening to lee burridge's nubreed... it sounds much better putting it in context with tyrant 2. i guess i was too used to/expecting the typical progressive sounds of the GU staple.
saw truman show for the firs time tonight... the ending left much to be desired... and it left me down and empty.
hence the whiskey session at the moment.
i think i can say for sure now, i am emotionally unstable. i dont want to be like this, its tiring, its draining to say the least. i was fine today, went to the gym, went to the spa, went to the sauna... how much better can life get? and the truman show left me touched and empty.
sigh.
carpe diem.
that's what im trying to convince myself of now.
saw truman show for the firs time tonight... the ending left much to be desired... and it left me down and empty.
hence the whiskey session at the moment.
i think i can say for sure now, i am emotionally unstable. i dont want to be like this, its tiring, its draining to say the least. i was fine today, went to the gym, went to the spa, went to the sauna... how much better can life get? and the truman show left me touched and empty.
sigh.
carpe diem.
that's what im trying to convince myself of now.
23.5.02
5.5.02
starts off with his trademark impact tracks, pollen - lonely planet's bassline grabbing the attention, deep and mellow, spacey echoes with the beat coming in nicely... melodies then fade in... very sublime and atmospheric with a wicked synth searing across the track. melody keeps building and building... even when it plateaus, the synth cruises the track alone... bassline changes with more melody, nice counter point to the room filling electronic action. melody takes a dip... coming down coming down... and suddenly, the bassline picks up, melody gets even more uplifting and yet, still sublime, definitely very mood-setting and mellow.
feels like digweed is taking his own sweet time bringing the listener in... he's in no hurry to go anywhere, just playing out the track to be appreciated in its entirety.
dies away... pole folder and cp - dust is in... silky operatic vocals slide in... silky smooth, counterpoint to the short bassline... goes into some liquid fluid sounds... some have criticised on the gu board that this track sounds more like a vocal mix of waxx... the structure and way the melody builds in the background... but this is a very lazy, slow builder compared to waxx with its grand epic breakdown.
pace begins to pick up a bit at bermuda triangle - mooger fooger... harder beat comes in, a hint of tribal action, this is where the compilation takes a shift in sound direction... thumping bassline, more electronic (filtered twisted voice in the background) contrasts with the live sounds of percussion. again... very subtle melody, more like a groove... then the higher notes come in, a very wistful sound, lost in wilderness.
sean q6 - thing takes the compilation on a suddenly different mood and pace... harder hollow bassline, even more tribal action, a surprisingly cheeky, quirky, upbeat tribal production from sean q6, considering his other releases (consider the raven, cb radio, multiple mirrors ep). not much happening here... a filler track, the hollow bass and percussion keeps the track moving, but hardly developes.
still continuing with the hollow sounding bass... the flash brothers - protect the senses sees digweed returning to the deeper and darker sound... ominous bassline, synth and layered echoes. definitely sinister... too sudden a change in mood imo.
out of the deep and dark... digweed delves into a more normal sounding bassline with 108 grand - te quiero (darren emerson mix), but compensates with much more high end actions... flutes providing the upbeat, driving melody... then the synth changes to mirror and complement the flutes, taking precedence in the foreground of the track... breakdown... tingling piano action... just that simple melody hanging in the air, let down by the comeback, typical stuttered drum roll... the melodies still carrying the track well along... a surprisingly nice mix from emerson, almost remiscent of his work with sasha on scorchio, the whole uplifting, upbeat mood, but i hate drumrolls, reminds me too much of trance today, though it has been tweaked to sound less obvious.
but surprise surprise... the track goes into an impromtu breakbeat... good effort on emerson's production if he is responsible for all these, havent heard the original.
melody fades out... bassline blends in smoothly with shakespeare's sister - black sky (dub extravangaza). track plods along... building but not quite going anywhere... till some atmospheric noise comes in... still building... strings come in, lifting the track... echoes of the twisted female vocals being looped, complements the strings, creating a weird backdrop for the peak, the echoes build and then twisted vocals come in at the crescendo, which gets looped and the beat increases, all building up into a sudden bass drop, sick old skool electronica action, riveting beat and then slowly the elements of the track comes back together... melody fades in, atmospheric sounds... and peaks again, more synth, twisted echoes all the while the beats remains riveting, forcing the body to move while the mind trips out to the twisted haunting echoes.
james holden - i have put out the light... another typical holden production, much more atmospheric melodies than before, melody for the mind rather than the senses (close ur eyes and see the sounds in ur mind and how it relates to the space around ur head).
and suddenly... echoes of sasha - xpander? no, spooky - belong (dub club mix) continues the journey in melody... again, digweed dips back into the rawer electronic sounds of yesteryears... no longer lush, but sharp and short, hyptonising melody, which drops away suddenly with a richer melody... go the old skool.
continues the trend with a charlie may(similar sound since may was part of spooky) remix of mandalay - deep love, but for some reason this track reminds me of second hand satellites - multiple mirrors ep, except for the driving beat. more filtered echoes. breakdown... soaring synth building up, bass comes back in... hanging in there and the vocal flies. scintillating keys/synths? i dont know, i need a fucking dictionary or thesaurus. keeps building while the deep bassline chugs along... simply angelic vocal soars... definitely a track for a big room. the track drops into a more mellow mood...
bringing the listener home.
imo, a good and welcomed change for digweed, departure from the deep sound, tracks 1 - 3 were class, has the feel of northern exposure 1 cd1 with a harder beat. but ultimately, sasha is still the master of the musical mix when it comes to crafting seamless soundscapes. digweed rediscovers the melodies again, reminiscent of his early works, but tries to do too much on a 1 cd compilation... the tunes would sound much better spread out over 2 cds rather than a full on melodic assault, which, when played together in 1 cd, loses the chance to appreciate each track and give them the attention they deserve. digweed feels more at home playing tracks with grooves, locking the listener into his hypnotic control.
though im not complaining, trying to be as objective as i can since i am the notorious digweed whore. ofcos its a good compilation, there is a journey which works and for once doesnt leave the listener hanging for more, but definitely a cocktease, would be better over 2 cds.
[john digweed - mmii : an amateur review]
feels like digweed is taking his own sweet time bringing the listener in... he's in no hurry to go anywhere, just playing out the track to be appreciated in its entirety.
dies away... pole folder and cp - dust is in... silky operatic vocals slide in... silky smooth, counterpoint to the short bassline... goes into some liquid fluid sounds... some have criticised on the gu board that this track sounds more like a vocal mix of waxx... the structure and way the melody builds in the background... but this is a very lazy, slow builder compared to waxx with its grand epic breakdown.
pace begins to pick up a bit at bermuda triangle - mooger fooger... harder beat comes in, a hint of tribal action, this is where the compilation takes a shift in sound direction... thumping bassline, more electronic (filtered twisted voice in the background) contrasts with the live sounds of percussion. again... very subtle melody, more like a groove... then the higher notes come in, a very wistful sound, lost in wilderness.
sean q6 - thing takes the compilation on a suddenly different mood and pace... harder hollow bassline, even more tribal action, a surprisingly cheeky, quirky, upbeat tribal production from sean q6, considering his other releases (consider the raven, cb radio, multiple mirrors ep). not much happening here... a filler track, the hollow bass and percussion keeps the track moving, but hardly developes.
still continuing with the hollow sounding bass... the flash brothers - protect the senses sees digweed returning to the deeper and darker sound... ominous bassline, synth and layered echoes. definitely sinister... too sudden a change in mood imo.
out of the deep and dark... digweed delves into a more normal sounding bassline with 108 grand - te quiero (darren emerson mix), but compensates with much more high end actions... flutes providing the upbeat, driving melody... then the synth changes to mirror and complement the flutes, taking precedence in the foreground of the track... breakdown... tingling piano action... just that simple melody hanging in the air, let down by the comeback, typical stuttered drum roll... the melodies still carrying the track well along... a surprisingly nice mix from emerson, almost remiscent of his work with sasha on scorchio, the whole uplifting, upbeat mood, but i hate drumrolls, reminds me too much of trance today, though it has been tweaked to sound less obvious.
but surprise surprise... the track goes into an impromtu breakbeat... good effort on emerson's production if he is responsible for all these, havent heard the original.
melody fades out... bassline blends in smoothly with shakespeare's sister - black sky (dub extravangaza). track plods along... building but not quite going anywhere... till some atmospheric noise comes in... still building... strings come in, lifting the track... echoes of the twisted female vocals being looped, complements the strings, creating a weird backdrop for the peak, the echoes build and then twisted vocals come in at the crescendo, which gets looped and the beat increases, all building up into a sudden bass drop, sick old skool electronica action, riveting beat and then slowly the elements of the track comes back together... melody fades in, atmospheric sounds... and peaks again, more synth, twisted echoes all the while the beats remains riveting, forcing the body to move while the mind trips out to the twisted haunting echoes.
james holden - i have put out the light... another typical holden production, much more atmospheric melodies than before, melody for the mind rather than the senses (close ur eyes and see the sounds in ur mind and how it relates to the space around ur head).
and suddenly... echoes of sasha - xpander? no, spooky - belong (dub club mix) continues the journey in melody... again, digweed dips back into the rawer electronic sounds of yesteryears... no longer lush, but sharp and short, hyptonising melody, which drops away suddenly with a richer melody... go the old skool.
continues the trend with a charlie may(similar sound since may was part of spooky) remix of mandalay - deep love, but for some reason this track reminds me of second hand satellites - multiple mirrors ep, except for the driving beat. more filtered echoes. breakdown... soaring synth building up, bass comes back in... hanging in there and the vocal flies. scintillating keys/synths? i dont know, i need a fucking dictionary or thesaurus. keeps building while the deep bassline chugs along... simply angelic vocal soars... definitely a track for a big room. the track drops into a more mellow mood...
bringing the listener home.
imo, a good and welcomed change for digweed, departure from the deep sound, tracks 1 - 3 were class, has the feel of northern exposure 1 cd1 with a harder beat. but ultimately, sasha is still the master of the musical mix when it comes to crafting seamless soundscapes. digweed rediscovers the melodies again, reminiscent of his early works, but tries to do too much on a 1 cd compilation... the tunes would sound much better spread out over 2 cds rather than a full on melodic assault, which, when played together in 1 cd, loses the chance to appreciate each track and give them the attention they deserve. digweed feels more at home playing tracks with grooves, locking the listener into his hypnotic control.
though im not complaining, trying to be as objective as i can since i am the notorious digweed whore. ofcos its a good compilation, there is a journey which works and for once doesnt leave the listener hanging for more, but definitely a cocktease, would be better over 2 cds.
[john digweed - mmii : an amateur review]
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