System 7 - Sirènes Remixes

It took me a while to get used to the concept of System 7, considering the whole Steve Hillage element. Got their first album and to be honest it was all a bit "poor man's Orb with shitey guitars" for me. I wanted it to be so much better. The second album was much better and sure enough there were a few great tracks on it. But hey - it was all about the remixes, maaan.

Acid Ted posted the Alpha Wave mixes a while back, so here's the companion 12" for Sirènes which I got free with the album (I think) - it's got a carefully 'peeled off the shrink wrap' sticker saying 'Includes Ltd Edition Sirènes 12" anyway...

Check out the remixers - three really good tracks which actually live up to their billing for once.



System 7 - Sirènes Remixes
A1 - Sirènes (Marshall Jefferson Mix)
A2 - Sirènes (Laurent Garnier Mix)
B1 - Sirènes (System 7.1) (Carl Craig)

Buy it here

Clementine - Time Explored EP

... aka Luke Slater's DJAX moniker.

Rather than the full-on techno of Planetary Assault Systems, this sees Luke, if not exactly in 'electronic listening music' mode, then certainly less pounding-pounding-techno-music. Well, on some of it anyway... Lots of nice flange on A1 (we like the flange round these parts).



Clementine - Time Explored EP
A1 - Approaching Fulfilment
A2 - Drifting Signs
B1 - Ram Rod
B2 - Dream
B3 - Groove Me
B4 - Untitled

Buy it here

Sven Väth - L'Esperanza (Hope Will Move Mountains Mix)

Hmmm, today seems to be developing into a kinda Euro-frenzy. Fuck it - here's the definitive mix of L'Esperanza by Visions Of Shiva. Two Paul Van Dyk mixes in the one day? I must be on rocky ground now, credibility-wise...

Forget any mental picture you might have of the mecca/ned-infested superclub cheese you'd associate with the PVD of the last 10 years or so - for about six months in 1993 he was my source of melodic euphoric trance, before I got bored. Hmmm. Not really selling it but go check it oot, this mix is FAB.



Sven Väth - L'Esperanza (Hope Will Move Mountains Mix)

Buy it here

Basscult - Paradise Place

After ripping a Paul Van Dyk track (see below), I feel a wee bit Euro-trancey (only a wee bit). I'd recommend this tune, as it's got a great organ-hook with a fab drum fill-in and great hi-hats & percussion. This was release #1 on the excellent Save The Vinyl label - those ones where the label took up much more space than necessary. The 'Paradise Vocal' Mix couldn't be more appropriately named, as the vocal consists of a singy-woman singing 'pa-ra-diiise' while whispery woman whispers 'paradise'. Dammit - the track just ended and the needle just skidded across the extra bit of label.

B1 mix? You guessed it - it's exactly the same, only minus our two lady friends. The track on B2's a bit Hardfloor so it's quite well-titled as well...



Basscult - Paradise Place
A - Paradise Place (Paradise Vocal Mix)
B1 - Paradise Place (Paradise Trance Mix)
B2 - Acid '93

Buy it here

Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy Remixes

It's not often that a remix is as good as the original, but I reckon that at least one of these remixes comes close. Check out the remixers: Sabres Of Paradise, Disco Evangelists and pre-cheese Paul Van Dyk (with Johnny Klimek - odd combo or what)!! I had to get the MFS import rather than the UK Sabres release to get the 'exclusive' PVD mix, but it ruined my 'collect all the Sabres releases' pattern.

The first time I heard the Sabres mix, I couldn't believe what I was hearing after having been so used to the original mix. That final 'oooooohhhh' build up gets me every time. It's the pick o'the bunch for me but the other two are well worth checking out. Must be the only occasion that Paul Van Dyk crossed paths with the Weatherall/Holmes/Needs gang, surely to fuck...?



Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy Remixes
A - Sugar Caned (Sabres Of Paradise)
B1 - Out Of Our Brains On The 5:15 (Disco Evangelists)
B2 - Trip Across The Moon Remix (Paul Van Dyk & Jimmy Klimek)

Buy it here

Simple Synth In Flash - Bassline Synth Experiment

Not a download, but a great Flash application that'll have you fannying about relentlessly for hours.

Some people (thankfully) have way too much talent/spare time on their hands. Magnificent!

You'll need Flash Player 10 to run it. Go check it oot.



Simple Synth In Flash - Bassline Synth Experiment

Cap'm Stargazer Vs Commander Mindfuck - EP

This record is completely nuts. It came out of the American West Coast on the Exist Dance label in 1994. What starts off quite calmly as a nice wee trippy San Francisco-style EP soon degenerates into insanity. They've done the order of tracks very appropriately.

Check out those track titles...



Cap'm Stargazer Vs Commander Mindfuck - EP
A1 - Battle On The Tundra (The Initial Citrus Earthquake Confrontation)
A2 - The Mindfuck Introspective Ancestral Channeling Pilgrimage
B - Allied Against Nivar The Floor Killer

Buy it here

Peace Together - Be Still (Sabres Of Paradise Mix)

Here's the brief:

Get a cast of cunts: Therapy, Feargal Sharkey, Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor & Nanci Griffith
Get one token good guy: Jah Wobble
The task: write and produce a record which will make all the 'Troubles' in Ireland go away after everyone has listened to it and heard the 'message'
Get flavour of the month to provide a 'cutting edge' remix: step forward Sabres Of Paradise

A bizarre record indeed, but not half as bizarre as another Sabres mix I found the other night, will stick it up sometime next week.

Actually the mix is really good, I squirmed the first time I heard the 'Celtic' riff at the start but it's a grower. If anyone feels the need to hear the non-Sabres version you can check it out on YouTube.



Peace Together - Be Still (Sabres Of Paradise Mix)

Buy it here

Black Dog Productions - Black Dog Productions E.P.

This EP is a bona-fide classic, and sits nicely with the Bytes album which came out shortly afterwards. Each of the four tracks was so ahead of its time, this came out in 1992 - fuck me!

This was quite early in my dance/electronic music indoctrination and I didn't know that music like this existed. Made a point of buying up all those Artificial Intelligence albums afterwards, but on CD which was a mistake. Disks are now fucked and don't play properly, unlike this beast of a 12". I ditched all my CDs to mates/2nd hand/charity shops last year as I realised that I had no emotional attachment to them. Every flat move has an increasing amount of record boxes which seem to get heavier with age, but I wouldn't have it any other way...



Black Dog Productions - Black Dog Productions E.P.
A1 - Balil - Flux
A2 - Balil - Flux (D Mix)
B1 - Atypic - Otaku
B2 - Atypic - Pillars & Mirrors

Buy it here

Jeff Mills - Java EP

This is the first release on the Purpose Maker label by the man whose name seems to mean more in rhyming slang than it does for music nowadays. Or maybe that's just amongst my friends...

The first time I saw Jeff Mills DJ at Pure I think he played about 50 records in the first 5 minutes. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but he was flinging them about like a loony. I loved it, and returned to see the Jeff Mills show a few times after that.

The last time I saw him was in Rub-A-Dub where he was signing a DVD release. I got him to sign my iPod, a sign of the times...



Jeff Mills - Java EP
A1 - The Dancer
A2 - Gift Of The Hills
B1 - Java
B2 - Outsiders

Buy it here

X-Tatic - Monkey Forest

Another one on the R&S Global Cuts label, this is a mixed bag, The A-side is a kinda Jam & Spoon 'Stella'-style track which sites quite nicely with me in 2009, but the B-side is pure pish (poor piano, vocal, breakbeat) and aint getting ripped. Who gives a fuck though - it was never about the B-sides anyway.

Wish I could find the definitive Global Cuts release, Capricorn's 20hz (which has just received an Optimo remix) but I think it might be in a different flat. Will appear at some point.



X-Tatic - Monkey Forest

Buy it here

Drax - Amphetamine

This is a stunning piece of trancey techno music which I first heard being played by a certain Mr Weatherall in Space in Ibiza in 1995! For some reason I thought I'd enjoy the music that they played in Ibiza back then, spent the first week pissing about various clubs not quite getting it, hoping for the day that someone would hand me a flyer for Andrew Weatherall playing there.

That day came in week two and I still have the flyer! It was part of a double-header called Moondance which started in Pacha 12-6 then continued to Space 6-12. As we'd been in Pacha the week before and couldn't afford the double-bill we hedged our bets and went to Space. Just as well! This was pretty much the first tune I heard as we went in. Magnificent. Spoke to AW after his set and he said he'd been kicked off the decks at Pacha for being too techno. We made the right decision...

A few more Drax to come when I can locate them. A 7" and a glow-in-the-dark 10" if I remember correctly...



Drax - Amphetamine

Buy it here

Wladimir M - As The Leaves Fall From The Trees

Hearing records like this again is what makes doing this blog all worthwhile for me. Had completely forgotten about it until about 10 mins ago when it appeared in a random wad of 12"s I pulled out of a box.

Second release on the magnificent Eevo Lute label, this is from 1991(!) and is produced by Stefan Robbers and Wladimir Manshanden. Wladimir has an excellent sinister voice - and sometimes comes out with all sorts of beautiful prophetic poetry (check out track B2).

Goin' South is kinda Detroit meets old-skool Euro if that makes any sense, Reasonable Doubt is UR-style electro and Evil is kinda industrial/sinister/'evil'. More from Wladimir to come...



Wladimir M - As The Leaves Fall From The Trees <<-- new link
A - Goin' South
B1 - Reasonable Doubt
B2 - Evil

Buy it here

Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4

Bit of an oddity this, Morgan Fisher from Mott The Hoople along with Kris Needs (who ran their fan club in the 70s!). It came out in 1993, his sound seemed to have moved on a bit since 'Roll Away The Stone'...

Picked it up in Rub-A-Dub when I was after anything Kris Needs-related. Never saw or heard of its existence again. Despite the sleeve billing things as "Kris Needs/Morgan Fisher", the label only refers to Needs as remixer for side A. Bear this in mind when (if?) you listen to the Original Mix - didgeridoo alert!!



Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 <-- New Links (individual tracks)
Kris Needs & Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 (Sea Diver Mix)
Morgan Fisher - Humtone #4 (Original Mix)


Buy it here

Jimi Tenor - Take Me Baby

These mixes are taken from the T&B Vinyl reissue of the original Puu release. Dunno what to say about Jimi Tenor - an eccentric wee Finnish dude who looked like he should be in a Gerry Anderson show (Joe 90?). This tune is a lo-fi classic, which rocked Pure and Optimo more than a few times back in the day.

Out of the six(!) mixes on the 12" here's my 3 choice tracks, including a mix that's definitely not by Mr Alan Vega of Suicide fame. It's just a bit sound-a-likey.



Jimi Tenor - Take Me Baby
A1 - Finnish Bass Boy Mix
A3 - Vega Mix
B2 - Live In A Glasgow Tenement Block Kitchenette With Dribbler's Drum Machine Mix

Buy it here

Maurizio - Domina

Is this the best Maurizio release of all time? Surely must be a contender, with the sublime Carl Craig mix on one side and Moritz' own floorfiller on the flip. Nice yellow vinyl as well. 1993?? Mental...

This record blew me away when I first heard it. Not a word of a lie - I am getting goosebumps while keying this in, waiting for the Maurizio mix to do its cheeky fade then killer comeback. It happens about 7:40 in - I'm punching the air!

After a shitty Monday, this is just the ticket for putting a smile on yer face. Hallelujah!

Just found out that it is a remix of track B2 on this 1981 release by Die Dominas. I see there are a few not-very-cheap copies to be had on the Discogs marketplace. Phew!



Maurizio - Domina <-- new linky
A - Domina (Maurizio Mix)
B - Domina (C. Craig's Mind Mix)


Buy it here

The Cure - In Concert - 371

Came across this BBC Transcription Services album in a record shop in Barcelona a couple of years ago. Had to buy it for the Cure-addict love of my life - she bought me a set of Bowie picture discs in return! "We'll call that your birthday". Magnificent.

Anyway, as a young'un I used to sit in and tape the In Concert sets off Radio 1 on a Saturday evening. Had this one in amongst way too many other Cure bootlegs but it's nice to get the proper version. It's an excellent set from Birmingham NEC in 1985, complete with Richard Skinner's intro for the broadcast. You'd think that half an hour per side would be pushing it for quality but it's fine...



The Cure - In Concert - 371
Side A
A Night Like This
Kyoto Song
The Blood
Hanging Garden
In Between Days
Let's Go To Bed
The Walk
Side B
Push
Screw
A Forest
Sinking
Close To Me
Charlotte Sometimes

Buy it here

Optimo - BBC Introducing

... in which our intrepid heroes branch away from the comfort zone of the Sub Club for an altogether different Glasgow experience - broadcasting to the nation via Radio 1, sitting in for Vic Galloway (who's away at SXSW, the cunt). Not a single tune from south of the border, this features the cream of new Scottish talent. Worth the money alone for the Big Ned session.

A few Peel-style fuck-ups along the way of course, but this showcase is magnificent - as a licence-fee payer I demand that they get their own show. Check out the tracklisting...



Optimo - BBC Introducing
Aidan Moffat & The Best Ofs – ‘I Got You Babe’ (Chemikal Underground)
Hudson Mohawke – ‘OOOps Oh My’ (Wireblock)
Correcto - 'Downs' (Domino)
1990’s - 'Balthazar' (Rough Trade)
Big Ned - 'Final Steps’ (Live Session Track)
Big Ned - 'Ambition' (Live Session Track)
Slam – ‘Hot Knives’ (Paragraph)
Ming Ming And The Ching Chings – ‘Creepy Tales’ (White Label)
Magic Daddy – ‘Tastes Pretty Good' (White Label)
The Niallist Feat Ms Mac D – ‘I Came’ (Little Rock)
Foxface – ‘Last Waltz’ (Gargleblast)
Gummy Stumps - 'High Tower' (White Label)
Fingerprintz - 'Wet Job' (Virgin)
Dolksabeat – ‘Zodiac Rising’ (Optimo Music)
Jacob Yates And The Pearly Gate Lockpickers - 'Merry Hell' (White Label)
Big Ned – ‘Love, Honour & Obey' (Live Session Track)
Big Ned – ‘Sugar Daddy’ (Live Session Track)
Naum Gabo - 'Black Lab' (Dissident)
Tattie Toes - 'Shanty' (White Label)
Divorce – 'Scissor' (Optimo Music)
Den Haan - 'Release The Beast' (Optimo Music)
Rustie - 'Zigzag' (White Label)
The Phantom Band - 'Island' (Chemikal Underground)
Dananananaykroyd - 'Black Wax' (Best Before)
The Lady Vanishes - 'Sleep Walk' (White Label)

Buy it here

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - Becoming More Like God (Secret Knowledge To Hell And Back Mix)

Possibly the longest post title on the blog, this sees Mr Needs in fine form. Starts off all dubby then goes nuts - a true 'journey' track (14 mins long as well). At this period I held Needs up there with Weatherall in the remix stakes. Fuckin top notch, and that reminds me - plenty of Needs stuff to come up. Aye.

A couple of mainstream uploads today that always reminded me of summer. It feels a bit summery today so I'm off to the pub for an alfresco drinky or two. Toodle-pip!



Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - Becoming More Like God (Secret Knowledge To Hell And Back Mix)

Buy it here

Orb - A Huge Ever Growing Remix

What to say about this lot? They hosted many a psychedelic night at Glasgow Barrowlands back in the early 90s, serious madness - I've never quite been the same since. I saw in my 21st birthday at one of them (still got a painful memory of attempting to force down my dinner the next night out with the parents).

This was the tune that got me into them, and for the next couple of albums (and remixes along the way) they were a hard act to beat.

Made the mistake a few years later of going to see Dr Alex Paterson DJ at the Arches, his mixing was shite and a light fell on his head while he was doing it. Ah well, that's showbiz...



Orb - A Huge Ever Growing Remix
A - Orbital Dance Mix
B1 - Orbital 9am Radio Mix
B2 - Aubrey Mix Mk1

(not THAT Orbital btw...)

Buy it here

Two Lone Swordsmen - Receive Tactical Support

Well it's been nearly a week since any sign of Mr Weatherall, so here are TLS being remixed by other folk...

First up we've got Silicon Scally doing his version of Black Commandments, then C-PIJ (aka Weatherall's old flame Nina Walsh) working her magic with Big Clapper. Apologies as that one's a bit crackle-tastic. Finally Kenny Hawkes takes the reigns for Hope We Never Surface.

1999 this came out - positively recent as far as this blog goes. Only just keeping the '90s techno' remit alive here...



Two Lone Swordsmen - Receive Tactical Support
A - Black Commandments (Remix By Silicon Scally)
B1 - Big Clapper (Remix By C-PIJ)
B2 - Hope We Never Surface (Remix By Kenny Hawkes)
(back to ZShare - fancied a wee change)

*EDIT* As pointed out in the comments box I have once again been a fanny and have ripped Black Commandments at 33rpm rather than 45. Here you go with the proper version, as the artist intended. Two for the price of one, I guess...

Black Commandments (Remix By Silicon Scally) --> 45rpm

Buy it here

Various - Hard Trance Classics From Deepest Germany

This is a sampler 12" for a compilation album on Labworks. Dunno why I never bought the album on the back of this because the three tracks on it are excellent. Must've been going cheap...

First up is Spectral Emotions, remixed by old Club 69 favourite, Alex Knight from Fatcat Records. Dunno much about the second act, apart from the fact that another of their psuedonyms is "Disturbed Genitals", which is nice. Great track! The final track on the sampler is Colone (otherwise known as Rob Acid), remixed by Mark Broom and Dave Hill (not the dude from Slade, unfortunately). A veritable who's who of a certain type of techno...



Various - Hard Trance Classics From Deepest Germany <<-- new linky
A - Spectral Emotions - Chiswick Days
B1 - S.D.L. - Ascend From The Mind
B2 - Colone - D-9-5

Buy it here

Conemelt - Conemelt

Its amazing, I was just thinking about sticking up a Conemelt record after reading the comments below, and this just popped up during a random flick in a box. My records are in no order at all (as you've probably guessed) so it had to get ripped immediately.

This was the debut Conemelt record, which came out quickly after the madness of The Corridor's Two Days. This one's still a dark record, if not in the same league as that one. It starts to show their melodic style coming through as well. No titles of course, and the label is equally uninformative. Who gives a fuck though - these are 3 great tracks!




Conemelt - Conemelt <-- New Linky
A1 - Untitled
A2 - Untitled
B - Untitled

Buy it here

Planetary Assault Systems - Planetary Funk Volume 5

One of Luke Slater's later expeditions into Planetary Funk, this 3-track 12" from 1996 shows him still to be on form when it comes to this guise.

Mind you, I'd imagine that the 10mins plus 'Surface Noise' won't appeal to many casual dance fans - a bit of a Ravey Davey Gravy style alarm sound right through it which might put off the non-believers...

Watch out for the false ending on 'Gruve' - nearly tripped me up when I was ripping it.



Planetary Assault Systems - Planetary Funk Volume 5
A - Surface Noise
B1 - Gruve
B2 - Funk Electric

Buy it here

Tim Taylor & Dan Zamani - The Planet Of Drums

This is one of those one-sided 12"s that always got put on wrong-side-up when wasted and fucked your needles in. Not this time though.

If you're a fan of tribal drums and a big acid build-up then this is a tune for you. This became the first in a series of Planet Of Drums releases by this pair, but I only ever got the one...



Tim Taylor & Dan Zamani - The Planet Of Drums

Buy it here

Robert Hood - Nighttime World Volume 1

Former 'Minister of Information' for Underground Resistance, this EP sees Robert Hood trying out lots of different styles over this double-pack 12" from 1995. It came out on the marvellous Cheap label, from Austria. Well worth checking out each track, the one to 'play out' would be D1 in my opinion but plenty of other nonsense there to be getting on with...



Robert Hood - Nighttime World Volume 1
A1 - Behind This Door
A2 - Nighttime World
B1 - Episode No. 19
B2 - The Color Of Skin
C1 - Electric Nigger Pt. 1
C2 - Nighttime
D1 - Untitled
D2 - Stark Reality

Buy it here

Codeine - Barely Real

Perfect Sunday listening here, with this EP from 1992. Very apt name for a band, my life began to sound a bit like this record last year when I was pumped full of codeine after I fucked my back in. Felt great, apart from dodgy toilet-related side effects...



Codeine - Barely Real
A1 - Realize
A2 - Jr
A3 - Barely Real
B1 - Hard To Find
B2 - W.
B3 - Promise Of Love

Buy it here

Can - Zhengzheng Rikang

This is a semi-official bootleg vinyl album which came out a couple of years ago. I picked it up on a recent trip to Dusseldorf. It features alternate takes of the 1968/1969 Malcolm Mooney period. Some tracks are VERY diferent to where they appear elsewhere, particularly in the lyrics for Little Star Of Bethlehem. Nuts!

For the Can fan, this album is a must for "Little Star", "Connection", "She Brings The Rain" and "Melting Away". The other tracks can be found elsewhere or in better form. The quality's excellent for a bootleg - you'd never know.

Another reason for putting this up is that it totally freaked out my mate in the early hours of Saturday morning when we were feeling a bit 'psychedelic' - he'd never heard of Can and his mind was suitably blown. I packed him off home with Julian Cope's Krautrocksampler book and he'll be getting tested on it next time...



Can - Zhengzheng Rikang
A1 - Father Cannot Yell
A2 - Pnoom(h) 1
A3 - Little Star of Bethlehem
A4 - Melting Away
B1 - (My) Connection
B2 - She Brings the Rain
B3 - Outside My Door / Pnoom(h) 2 / Greyhounds Greyhound

Buy it here

Deanne Day - I Can Hardly Breathe

aka Dave Harrow and Andrew Weatherall ('D' and 'A' as pointed out here).

Sabres/Emissions seemed to be going up in the world by this point (late 1996), as indicated by the fancy pants label (no Lo-Fi, Echoic or Static indication). MCA Music? A website URL? Corporate whores!! Mind you, that 'phreak' website still seems to be going to some extent - it links to Digital Hardcore, Rotters Golf Club's mail order people.

The AA track features a vocal sample(!) from a track by all-round oddball Ed Barton, who's had a very interesting career over the years. Some great noises on there as well...



A - The Long First Friday
AA - Hardly Breathe

Buy it here

Slack - Painkiller / Blade

It's Friday, so hey, here's a couple of Weatherall-related releases. No excuses required, though...

First up we've got Slack on the Sabres label from 1995 - starts off a fairly dark affair, which is always nice. Then gets fairly triumphant towards the end. No idea who is responsible for this (Drake/Whalley??) but they've done a grand job.

Anyone fancy recording Weatherall from Awdio tonight (Cookies, Germany)? I'm off to see Optimo does The Cramps so ain't gonna make it.



Slack - Painkiller
Slack - Blade
(separate links, dunno why...)


Buy it here

Eddie "Flashin" Fowlkes - Serious Techno Vol. 1

Another oldie here, this dates from 1991. This was before my indoctrination into the ways of the dance, give or take the odd Screamadelica-era Primal Scream or Orb gig. Did an extensive bit of back-tracking though, thanks to a healthy supply of vinyl in the Glasgow area.

Whether it could be classed as 'serious' techno or not, it's a fuckin' great EP, from the "Godfather of techno soul" as he likes to call himself. Fair enough, he used to always get brushed over on all those 'history of techno' articles which concentrated on the 'big three' of May, Saunderson and Atkins. He's still knocking 'em out as well, unlike certain other 'pioneers'...



A1 - D.M.U.
A2 - Trouble
B1 - Yum-Men-Da
B2 - Rave Detroit

Buy it here

Jazzy - Lonely (Underground Goodie Mix)

.. aka Cajmere, aka Green Velvet, under a SHIT name. Jazzy??? WTF was he thinking? A fairly below-par 12" that is rescued by the Underground Goodie Mix, as quite a few Cajmere releases were from back then.

A nice wee housey number from 1992, it's got a few noises in it that turned up in later Cajmere tracks on Cajual. It came out on Fader Records, which I haven't heard of before or since. At this point I'd have bought a shite if it had a label on it saying it had been produced by Cajmere...



Jazzy - Lonely (Underground Goodie Mix)

Buy it here

The Impossibles - The Drum (Andrew Weatherall Mix)

This is from way back in 1991, and you can tell. One for the Weatherall completists out there. Not a million miles away from Loaded in structure, but nowhere near as good a track. Obviously.

Pleasant enough though, and they namecheck Bongwater on the sleeve.



The Impossibles - The Drum (Andrew Weatherall Mix)

Buy it here

100% Acidiferous - Tank / 303 State

Dunno what was going on in 1993. At one point I was buying beautiful, melodic, graceful records like the Hardkiss one below, then I was buying nonsense like this! My brain must have been in a right old pickle, must have been *cough* something in the water...

Couldn't resist the purchase of this 10" when I saw and heard it, although needless to say I've not played it out on any occasion. Should appeal to a certain type of punter though - there's certainly a time and a place for this sort of madness.



100% Acidiferous - Tank
100% Acidiferous - 303 State

Buy it here

God Within - Raincry

Without doubt the best sleeve of any dance record I've ever seen, AND a tune to match. This record is the work of Scott Hardkiss, and stems from 1993. A beautiful piece of swooshing vocal/trance/ambience over a breakbeat, this got me into that whole San Francisco scene, although I never heard anything ever quite in this league again. Definitely in my all-time top 20!

I've actually got this record sleeve framed up in my living room, the only dance 12" to have that privilege!

The B1 track is good as well, although I didn't listen to it nearly as much as the A-side. I've done individual uploads so you can 'opt in' if you want. B2 is a fairly pish remix of Raincry which isn't worth bothering about.



God Within - Raincry (Submerged)
God Within - Daylight (Dreamerdreamsalone)

*EDIT* - here's the other mix, as requested by Paul in the Comments Box:
God Within - Raincry (Spiritual Thirst)

Buy it here

Orchestra Guacamole - SAAB 96 EP

More lo-fi nonsense here, only this time it's on the Finnish Sähkö label. I bought it because of the Jimi Tenor connection. Sounds a bit like it could be a Jimi Tenor release, but is actually the work of one one half of Pan Sonic and (get this) fuckin Darude, who did that Sandstorm pish which was all over the radio in summer 1999. Not only that, but he was the same cunt who did that 'Freestyler' as Bomfunk MCs. I can't quite get my head around this revelation!

Anyway - something a wee bit different for a Tuesday evening. Go check it out.



A1 - Havanna Shuffle
A2 - Saab 96 Drive
B1 - Theme For "The Lost Diamonds"
B2 - Avenue C
(fuck Mediafire - now on Megaupload)

Buy it here

Conemelt - Flashermac

This is their first release on Weatherall's Emissions Lo-Fi imprint, quite apt really. The A-side is on their debut album which I'm tempted to put up at some point. Three excellent tracks - A and B2 are melodic while B1 builds into a lo-fi percussive monster.

I think at this point Conemelt (and their offshoots) were probably my favourite band. Magnificent stuff all round! Excellent track titles as well...



A - Flashermac
B1 - Buggernaut
B2 - Message To All Eels
(fuck Mediafire - now on Sendspace)

Buy it here

Lino Squares - The Role Of Linoleum

aka Two Lone Swordsmen. This double-pack sneaked out in 1997 on Humboldt County (a subsidiary of MCA!) records. It sees Weatherall and Tenniswood initially in deep-house mode, then becoming more minimal as the tracks go on.

I always thought this was one of Mr Weatherall's more unusual pseudonyms, maybe he was doing up his kitchen at the time...



Lino Squares - The Role Of Linoleum
A - Neuphrique
B1 - Here Come The Squares
B2 - Blue Pole Dancer
C - Raider
D1 - Tidy Unit
D2 - Phrique Out

Buy it here

Various - A Tribute To Spacemen 3

This was supposed to go up yesterday but I was a wee bit 'under the weather' and not feeling too clever. Better late than never...

This record must be the quickest ever delivery from the internet. I remember back when it came out I was staying on a shitty island off the west coast of Scotland. Ordered it off the internet mid-afternoon and it came the next day. Fuckin mental!

The content? Various late 90s indie-types paying their respects to Spacemen 3 and it's actually really good. If I'm being honest I only bought it at the time due to the exclusive Mogwai track, but there's plenty others worth a punt. My other recommendations are Flowchart and Arab Strap.

Beautiful shiny sparkly vinyl as well. Oh yes...



Various - A Tribute To Spacemen 3 <<-- new linky
A1 - Things'll Never Be the Same - Bowery Electric
A2 - Losing Touch With My Mind - Asteroid #4
A3 - Honey - Mogwai
B1 - Ode to Street Hassle - Flowchart
B2 - I Believe It - Accelera Deck
B3 - Revolution - Arab Strap
C1 - Call the Doctor - Bardo Pond
C2 - Hey Man - Frontier
C3 - Lord Can You Hear Me? - Low
D1 - So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears) - Amp
D2 - How Does It Feel - Piano Magic
D3 - Billy Whizz - Transient Waves

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The Martian - Particle Shower / The Voice Of Grandmother

This was the 8th Red Planet release, and I thought it was a bit 'Detroit by numbers' when I first listened to the A-side. Still good, though.

Then I flipped it over.

Why did I forget that they usually stick the killer track on the B-side? Those strings and those whistly noises! Fuckin beautiful. I wish there was an iPhone app which let you fanny about with UR samples. C'mon Mr Mad Mike - get the finger out!

Fuck knows who the granny was...



The Martian - Particle Shower
The Martian - The Voice Of Grandmother

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Optimo - 12 hours of Optimo

Here are three full nights at Optimo, which I downloaded from that AWDIO site. The Sub Club doesn't use it anymore, 'too clinical' they say - fair enough.

These recordings are from the following dates:

18th Jan
25th Jan (Burns Night special including band)
8th Feb

I've posted two of these mixes already but there seem to be download issues, so here's a wee Brucie Bonus for anyone who got those two. Obviously this will take FUCKING AGES to download as I'm the only seed for the time being but rest assured I'll leave my internet pipe open for the considerable future...



Optimo - 12 hours of Optimo

E-Dancer - Feel The Mood (Stacey Pullen Mix 1)

One of Kevin Saunderson's aliases, which surprised me as I thought that all those Detroit dudes were very anti-drugs. Maybe Saunderson was the black sheep of the family...

This 12" has two Stacey Pullen mixes and the Saunderson original. Pick of the bunch is the first Pullen mix so that's what you're getting, due to the fact that it's got a great 'glugging' bass-sound that comes in after about 2:40.



E-Dancer - Feel The Mood (Stacey Pullen Mix 1)

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Tata Box Inhibitors - Plasmids (Placid Mix)

OK, partly in response to a request down below, and partly because I think I need to chill the fuck out a bit, here's a peach of a track from Dobre & Jamez from 1994. A companion, if you will, to their 51 Days 'Paper Moon EP'. A nice mid-paced throbbing acid number that makes you just feel that wee bit better about things.

Time for a bit of self-medication while it's uploading. Ah, placid indeed...



Tata Box Inhibitors - Plasmids (Placid Mix)

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Fly By Wire / Graphite - Last Voyage / New Beginning

After a shit day at work there's nothing I like more than to stick on some hard techno to clear away the stress and pain. Here's Dave Clarke(!) under a couple of different guises on his Magnetic North label from 1994.

Apart from a handful of decent tracks I never really understood what all the hype was all about. I remember one time hearing John Peel (who loved the man) refer to him as "the baron of techno". A subsequent Dave Clarke Essential Mix had that same Peel sample repeated every fucking five minutes or so. Cunt.

Dunno why I seem to be in 'hard acid' mode this week, but the Fly By Wire track is too much for Audacity, as it quit the first time I tried to rip it. A good companion to the Acid Air Raid track from below.



Fly By Wire - Last Voyage
Graphite - New Beginning

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UR - Electronic Warfare

"Do not allow yourself to be programmed"... wise words there from 'Oz' on the title track.

This 8-track(!)UR double-pack varies from superb techno to electro beats to minimal squelchy noises to classic uplifting UR strings & synths. Magnificent!

When I got this it was in a plain brown shrink-wrapped cardboard cover with absolutely no information about what was contained inside. All I knew was that it was the latest UR double-pack and that was good enough for me. Quite bizarre as I don't have a huge amount of them, just took a wee notion for this one. Glad I did now, it's a classic fucking release.



UR - Electronic Warfare
A1 - Logic Bomb
A2 - Fiber Optic Commando (M.O.D. Mix)
B1 - Electronic Warfare (Vocal)
B2 - Electronic Warfare (Inst.)
B3 - Electronic Warfare (Oz Speaks)
C1 - Biosensors In Tunnel Complex Africa
C2 - Install 'Ho Chi Minh' Chip
D - The Illuminator

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Jack Of Swords - Vegagod

The partner release to last week's Velvet Underground effort, this sees Jack Of Swords paying tribute to Ripped In Glasgow favourites, Suicide. No actual track sample this time, the A-side features an interview with Alan Vega cut up over a fast-moving dubby electronic track. The B-side does away with the vocal and sticks with the spoken 'Vegagod' sample, over a much more dancey "Cool As Ice" mix.



A - Vegagod (Harlem Mix)
B - Vegagod (Cool As Ice Mix)
(separate links)

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Solar Quest - Acid Air Raid

This is a completely bonkers acid track, which kinda does exactly what it says on the tin. There were four mixes of this (including a rather pointless ambient mix), but the pick o'the bunch was always the "George's All-Nighter Mix". All 12 mins of it. Fuck knows who George is but I bet he looks a bit haggard these days...

A red vinyl release on London's own Choci's Chewns, I bought this on my one and only visit to Choci's shop on a trip down there in the 90s (well I couldn't leave empty handed). Mental.

Check out this 'enthusiastic' review on Discogs (scroll down to the bottom).



Solar Quest - Acid Air Raid (George's All Nighter)

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Twitch - Contort Yourself - Optimo Mix

This is a cover of the James White and The Blacks track from 1978, which actually came out on the Ze label (just like the original). A (wet) dream come true for JD Twitch, I reckon. The mix is disco-tastic and sounds great cranked up full bung.

Track B1 features JD Wilkes (as Naum Gabo) doing a tribute to another JWATBs track, 'Stained Sheets'. Track B2 is Twitch again, doing all sorts of shit with samples of The Fire Engines and The Pop Group. The full story's at the bottom of this page.

No more Optimo live shows as the Sub Club isn't on that Awdio site anymore, but maybe that's a good thing. There's actually a good chance of me getting off my arse and going down one of these days...



Zevolution Serie #1
A: Twitch - Contort Yourself (Optimo Mix)
B1: Twitch/Naum Gabo - Stella......?
B2: Twitch - Know Wave/Drone Wave

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Meek - Glowing Trees

aka Andrew Weatherall, on the Conemelt/Corridor label New Ground Dance Division. A tribute to legendary producer Joe Meek, as far as it looks on the label.

This sees Weatherall in 'New Ground' mode, as his sound fits in perfectly with the rest of the output from that label. I have always assumed that the rest of the releases on it were the same people and that this one was the only one that was different. Anyone..?

According to one of my mates who went to his gig the other night, he was "pish, was at a constant level of not quite there and never really got going", but has a "full Brian Blessed beard". According to another, "you didn't miss a thing dude. Prog nonsense. Not one fucked up beat at all. Raging." They are the type of cunts who would have rubbed it in as well, so maybe no bad thing that I didn't manage it down...



Meek - Glowing Trees Pt 1
Meek - Glowing Trees Pt 2

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Mogwai - Tracy

This is taken from the recent 4x vinyl box set reissue of the debut album, my original pressing has seen better days due to over-playing when it first came out.

A beautiful wee tune which I can't listen to without imagining the accompanying video segment from Channel 4's The Trip - an excellent late-night programme which played great music with NASA video footage (wonder what kinda audience they were going for). The video for this track showed the crew getting ready for the Challenger flight, and the accompanying short-lived ascent before disaster struck. Very moving indeed. I'd love to see it again! I know one person who has it tucked away in a cupboard on dusty old VHS, wish he'd take the plunge and get one of those VHS->DVD things so we could rip it.

Fits in nicely with me feeling sorry for myself for not making it out to Andrew Weatherall last night due to over-exuberance on Friday night. These bones aint what they used to be...



Mogwai - Tracy

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