Music Reviews

Album Review: Goldfrapp – The Singles

Ah Goldfrapp. I love parts of you so!

This compilation of 12 of the divisive Goldfrapp’s most successful songs did two unexpected things to me. One of the two is that I am re-enthused about the duo’s music. Ever since attaining sentience I’ve despised the very presence and notion of ‘Greatest Hits’ (anywhere outside the realm of bona fide, unambiguous Pop – Where its cynical, vacuous presence is apt). Goldfrapp’s ‘The Singles’ reintroduced me to the duo whose debut is still deeply cherished in my curious, dangerous little music collection. From ‘Felt Mountain’s sensuous, suggestive title to its (then-) novel marriage of stark, metallic electronica with warm instruments, to its array of musical styles – traditional European folk, waltzes, yodeling, and operatic strains – all elegantly traversed and slipped together, it was something gorgeously new. And purring behind it all, the hum of sex.

Goldfrapp are deeply, darkly sexual – from eyebrow-raisingly erogenous lyrics to subliminally charged visuals, all delivered with wit and sophistication.

I was so appalled to hear the dance-floor specific second album ‘Black Cherry’, I basically ignored most of their subsequent output. Silly I: ‘The Singles’ carefully represents both sides of Goldfrapp; in such a way as to reveal that they are complementary – merely two distinct Moods. Premier tracks ‘Yellow Halo’ and ‘Melancholy Sky’ looking to the future, intricately meshing both sides.

Get it and be happily Frapped.

Pascal & Pearce – Passport 2.0 Special Edition (Just Music)

<Electro House> Hot on the heels of their successful debut album, Passport, Pascal & Pearce return with this ‘Special Edition’ release aptly titled Passport 2.0. Aside from opening track, Beautiful Life with Yoav this 12 track album is made up exclusively of remixes mainly done by the duo as well as a handful of tracks from the original release that have been reworked by others. Showing off their remix skills the boys get a chance to sink their teeth into the likes of Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette on Big in Japan, Childish Gambino’s Heartbeat, Alex Kenji, Starkillers & Nadia Ali on Pressure, Robyn Banks ft. Bekuh Boom on You Can Find Me and LA Syndicate’s Levels on the international front as well as Locnville ft. Natasha Meister – Staring at the World Outside locally. With each remix P&P stamp their trademark electro twist. The last three tracks are all remixes of the duo’s tracks from their debut album with ESC doing a really interesting remix combo job on Paper Skies and Passport as one track! A kind of electro meets Dubstep mix. It works! Kyle Watson reworks Disco Sun into a glitch house stomper and Danalog closes the disc off with a sneaky minimal tech groover. Passport 2.0 will please fans of their first album with these tougher dancefloor ready stompers.

Giggs Superstar – Sounds of a Superstar Volume 3 (Soulcandi Records)

<House> Sounds of a Superstar Volume 3 is a marked departure from Giggs’ previous release, Deep House Chronicles 4, on which he featured a lot of his own productions (half the album) and catered to more of an afro-deep audience. This album has much stronger commercial appeal. Considering the popularity of I Don’t Care (with Dr Duda ft. Genevieve), Giggs did well to include similar sounding self-produced tracks featuring Mario Ogle to open and close the album, one of which, Say Yes, has already enjoyed some chart success. The rest of the album is an interesting collection of local and international productions, remixes and collaborations. Mi Casa’s These Streets, remixed by Abicah Soul, Harrison Crump’s No, No, No as well as Rocco & C. Robert Walker’s I Love The Night (Louie Vega Roots Mix) are all relatively well-known tracks, kicking things off on a dancefloor friendly note.  Rocco’s Reconstruction Remix of Jerk House Connection’s Velvet Touch reinforces his reputation for crafting light, ethereal remixes that are simple yet sublime. The track selection is astute, but the mixing is strangely inconsistent; one track carrying on a little too far into the next in some cases, but seamless in others. Overall, a big stride in the right direction for the Superstar.

Deep House Chronicles 7, Mixed by Funk Deepstar – Let’s Play House (Soulcandi Records)

<House> G-Family’s contribution to this series of deep house compilations was always gonna be a hard act to follow, but Funk Deepstar has risen to the challenge with aplomb. I’m a firm believer in structuring an album like you would a live set, with each track linking together in a way that takes the listener on a sonic journey with clear points of departure and arrival. Funk pulls this off brilliantly. The opener, by the Soul Renegades, is an understated, atmospheric jam with snatches of vocals that sets the tone for the rest of the album; somewhat funky, somewhat muted, but always deep and soulful. Jimpster’s remix of Love’s Got me High will set your feet to tapping from the first bar, and the stripped down Lele X remix of The Difference will have you shuffling around the room and singing off-key without a care in the world. If you aren’t on your feet by the time Hauke (Atjazz base elements remix) comes on then you definitely will be; there’s just something undeniable about the funky piano, incoherent vocals and that signature Atjazz off-beat clap. The album comes to a well-placed climax with Pablo Fierro’s The Essence of Your Smile, a lovely slow-building minimal number that I couldn’t help repeating; it just seems to end way too soon.

Lolo – Breathe (Soulcandi Records)

<House> Lolo already has a string of hits to her credit as featured vocalist, so I guess it was a logical step to put out an album of her own.  Breathe is her first full-length studio release and includes collaborations with the Pasta Boys and Jerah among others. One can’t help but reference other female urban house vocalists, especially the American songstresses, and I’m not entirely surprised to find this project lacking in just about every department. The records she made before this album were catchy commercial tunes, not relying on strong vocals or particularly well written lyrics to carry them. Lolo’s voice becomes grating about half-way through the opening track; partly because she’s not that good a singer and tries to carry notes in a way that she has no business attempting, and also because the lyrics are poorly written and repetitive to the point of distraction. There are bright spots though; Gonna Be is well arranged, and she (thankfully) stays well within her vocal range. Baybe is another well produced track, spoilt only a little by harmonising that contradicts the word. Jerah combines a great bass line with slick guitar arpeggios on Everyman, but again the vocals only serve to detract from what could have been a stand-out track.

TJ Kong & Modular K – Dream Cargoes (Poker Flat)

<Techno/Electronica> The album title Dream Cargoes alludes to  a short science fantasy story by J.G. Ballard – in which a young sailor uses memories and flashbacks to give clues to his present predicament.  Similarly, the two Dutch producers TJ Kong and Modular K have used memories and flashbacks in the form of vintage techno textures to craft a cohesive, intricate and intriguing sonic storyline. TJ Kong (AKA Erwin van Moll) was one of the first Dutch techno musicians during the early nineties and a key developer of the ‘Eindhoven techno sound’ and his recent partnership with virtually unknown Gijs Janssen (AKA Modular K) has been productive, literally. Dream Cargoes fits nicely alongside their recent work on Poker Flat’s Forward To The Past compilation, which explores early analogue techno. Their artist album draws heavily on techno nostalgia – 909 drum machine samples and old synth sounds swirl and expand, creating lo-fi sci-fi spaces. There is a variety of moods and tempos on offer here: tracks shift from Dubtechno to tech house and the fact that they’re interlocked makes interesting listening. I found some of the tracks to be a touch over-crowded and directionless but, overall, an absorbing album.

Spoek Mathambo – Father Creeper (Sub Pop / Sony) <>

<Ghetto Tech> Dark Grooves. The Spoek Mathambo band is Can’t-Stand-Still rhythmic. It whispers motion into your bones. Dark dance music concocted of Funk Rock instrumentation and elsewhere syncopation, Spoek Mathambo’s is not the groove of escapism or flights of sunshine. It is the groove of survival, of persevering in the face of a corrupt, decadent world. Following the delightful and profanely neon excesses of previous outfits Sweat.X and Playdoe, the hushed beats and ghosted melodies of first solo outing Mshini Wam was confounding. What we didn’t know was that this was Mathambo for the first time approaching his own sound. “Some tracks on Mshini Wam and Father Creeper were written in the Sweat.X days. Obviously they wouldn’t work in that project, so it was great to finally give them life,” notes Spoek. Father Creeper, and, most crucially, Spoek’s current circle of conspirators, sees said Spoek Mathambo sound finding potent fruition. Contrary to the popular platitude, there are many new things under the sun. This. Is one of the more rewarding ones. Deeply recommended.

Faithless – Passing the Baton (Just Music)

<Dance>This CD/DVD set of their final live performance in Brixton, is just great, and is especially well played on the nostalgia front. The tracks performed, are delivered superbly without flaw or fail, which is what you can expect from this legendary band. This CD release is a lovely compilation of their all time best tracks such as Sun to Me, God is a DJ, I Want More and my favourite for reasons I can’t really explain… Insomnia, just to name a few. Faithless, has been and still is a pioneering band that has stood firm in the EDM scene since their launch in the mid-nineties and is still garnering new fans and building on the age old respect they have received from their founding fan-base. Expect undeniably great production, thought provoking honest lyrics and none other than Maxi’s legendary throaty vocals, wrapped in the kind of electronic music that makes you go, yes! “I remember this from such and such a day years ago”. If you are a fan, this is definitely a must have, CD and DVD set, you will surely love!

Orbital – Wonky (Shelter)

<Electronica> Five years after their split, British rave icons Orbital reunited for a reunion gig. The huge success of the gigs prompted two years of ‘Greatest Hits’ touring and by the end of that they decided to craft some new tunes to inject into their live sets.  These new tunes turned into the album, Wonky. There are hints of new elements – like the Dubstep re-rub of Satan called Beelzedub and title track Wonky which features the hotly-tipped UK emcee Lady Leshurr. Distractions is a breakbeat banger and the ethereal New France features vocals from Goth songbird Zola Jesus.  But despite incorporating new artists and influences, Wonky is unmistakeably Orbital. As one of the most beloved live acts of the first rave era, they have managed to mix their retro rave sounds with fresher styles. Convincingly. They’ve made an album that reaches back to the band’s earliest days while simultaneously being firmly rooted in the present.  Wonky probably won’t make it onto any ‘all-time-great’ lists but it still represents the signature Orbital sound – cinematic and bold, beautiful and brutal – and if it means that a new generation of ravers get a taste of Orbital then I’m all for it.

Toddla – T (Just Music)

<Hip Hop/Dancehall/Grime> I Love Take It Back, a song about the urge to rekindle past relationships. I’m so into the sweet 90′s pop vocals by the songstress, Shola Ama, which makes me think of back then, it successfully pulls in that reminiscing energy, nice. Cruise Control flows in as though part of the track before; UK Rap with a synth heavy and Drum & Bass beat. Street So Warm makes me decide that yes, I think I do in fact really enjoy this album. Few things beat a bumping sexy Dancehall inspired track with those raw ragga hooks. Badman Flu carries on with the same high energy and manages to make the album even more exciting. I feel like getting up off my seat and busting a few badman moves myself! These tracks were arranged so beautifully on this CD in the order of how you were meant to enjoy them. The Jamaican Body Good is one for the ladies. Sexy, with effective bursts of wild vulgarity. What is most obvious to my ears is the total throwback to what was experienced fifteen years ago in early Hip Hop, Dancehall, EDM and specifically the root efforts of Drum & Bass. Toddla -T has managed to layer this over his own take on the combination of these sounds, and he is good at it! I love this CD!

High Contrast – The Agony & the Ecstacy (Just Music)

<Electronica> High Contrast’s 4th studio album ropes in tellingly big names like Tiesto and Underworld. To little effect. Continuing in the realms of standard Drum ‘n Bass and retroactive tropes of build-up and release associated with early Nineties Rave and, indeed, Roxette, The Agony & The Ecstasy does little by way of charting fresh release – preferring to keep the new lighters, I-Pads, aloft in stadium-sized clubs. Curiously, second track The Road Goes On Forever quotes Rock Opera stalwarts The Who, to intriguing effect, and 238 Days dares to explore less beat-en tracks; but these are exceptions in an otherwise tried-and-tested routine of dance floor seduction. The highs and lows of the title are, unfortunately, non-existent. Inoffensive stuff, best left to peeps who love the cozy high of the predictable.

Biorhythm – Divine Geometry – (Village Records)

<Psytrance> Attention all night time stompers the Cape Town duo, Carl Sharples and Kieron Grieve aka Biorhythm have released their 2nd album. These producers have advanced diplomas in sound engineering and are the founders of The Village (party organisers) and Village Records. With Divine Geometry you can get your fix of screeches, zips, howls and creepy sounds, yes, this is psychedelic trance for the hardcore and they take no prisoners. The majority of the tunes are fast and furious with a driving basslines that stops for nobody or nothing. The beautiful symphonic sound of Limitless and the fuller bass of Ground Zero makes these tracks my favourites. Faceplant is something many of us have done at outdoor events and this title made me chuckle, the guttural vox is a nice addition to the swirling melody. By the time you reach Aweh the sweat should be pouring as the stomping intensity has been increasing all the time and by now the music has reached a crescendo. But wait….there is more. Sincronicity grabs you by the balls and keeps you glued to that dance floor. Dark Monkey with beats like bullets from a machine gun and creepy vox leaves you looking nervously over your shoulder. Recommended.

Reviewed by sevenR

Rubix Cube – Dark Continent (Village Records)

<Psytrance> Rubix Qube (aka Kieron Grieve) is a psychedelic trance artist from Cape Town and co-founder of The Village. The tracks on this album are very intelligent compositions with twists, turns and surprises. The structure and note placement must have taken a lot of deep thought and planning; this is the mark of a great master and an artist that I will be following with interest in the future. Sneeky Snake Eyes starts off with beautiful piano and then gets down and dirty with crunchy and distorted melodies, this could possibly be a future dance floor classic. Sweeping melodies abound in Brain Wave with a touch of guitar, this is hard stomping stuff. The bass is so hard on Not Physically Possible it smacks you between the ears like a whip and then the synth lifts you up onto a magic carpet ride. Demon Speeding which includes heavy metal guitar and singing sounds like a motorised bat out of hell from the 70’s, wonderful. What do we have here? Sounds like melody straight from an arcade game with sweeping synths, a great tune – No Time. The album ends off on a banging track with some awesome Buck Rogers vox. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by sevenR

Sonic Species – Unleash The Beat (Alchemy Records)

<Psytrance> Massive! Large! Groovy! Sunshine! Expansive! Banging! All these superlatives can easily be used to describe Sonic Species’ first full length (to my knowledge) album. But perhaps the most important one is psychedelic. I think it’s fair to say that I know SA psytrance floors pretty well so believe me when I say that Unleash The Beat will do just that to our sunshine laden daytime dancefloor. These are BIG outdoor tunes aimed squarely at a boisterous energetic floor of freaks and party monsters. Right from the get-go with opener, The First and the Last, the template is set for a hugely energetic ride through phat soundscapes of psychedelia. Whilst there’s nothing profoundly new about what Sonic Species do and little deviation from their previous work, in fact one could argue that it’s fairly safe and obvious trance, what they do they do very, very well with nice big analog basslines, huge kicks and psy-sounds in all the right places. Collabs with Avalon, Zen Mechanics and Mr. Peculiar (perhaps the most peculiar of the tracks, sic) do manage to add a subtle twist here and there. Bottom line… guaranteed fodder for any mid-morning DJ with energy that carries through from beginning to end.

Reviewed by Dave Mac

Zero Hour – Dementia (One Foot Groove)

<Psytrance> Bulgarian Georgi Dunkov, aka Zerhour, aka Zero Hour is no doubt entrenched in the darker half of psytrance and this is his debut album. Listening to the vox, most of the tracks sound eerie and foreboding; this is not for the feint hearted. Some serious hard arse guitar can be found on the first track, no holds barred. Nuclear sounds like the soundtrack to an underground first person shooter, it is hectic and banging (he wants to nuke the crap out of it). Psyonic Emanations has a driving bassline and computer generated voice that can be found in creepy sci-fi movies. Prototype continues on that same course and wants you to put on your Doc Martens and march into battle or just pogo your arse off. Code 138 contains more vox that sound straight out of a jet fighter com. Inferno moves to the religious side with talk of sin… man, I love this type of thing so much. Oh boy, the tunes before have set me up nicely for the title track. This is an explosive tune on an epic scale of HARD and MAD….a track that leaves the rest behind. Just when I thought it couldn’t give more, Transformer hit me between the eyes; this stuff is off the scale. BANGING. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by sevenR

Sonic Wave Control – Sixth Sense (Free Spirit Records)

<Progressive Trance> Sonic Wave Control is a progressive psychedelic trance act formed by Jay OM aka OMsphere/Journey) and Steve Morley (aka Cathar/Cosmic Warrior). I really love extended progressive tracks as it gives me the time to explore and all eight on Sixth Sense are over 8 minutes in duration, a bonus indeed. The album is a stunning work and expresses the ability and talent of these artists perfectly; each note is in its rightful place. Although there are no surprises and all the tunes remain on the same path, it remains a must-have in my collection. It starts off on a very chilled pace and remains that way throughout. The style may be relaxed but the tunes are very danceable progressive psytrance. Many of the track titles are a reference to nature and the third termed, Solar Flares effortlessly creates the imagery of wide open expanses of space. The second track named, Thunder Storm even has the sound of wind for added effect and it had my mind wandering off to a cloudy but pumping dance floor somewhere in the sticks. Every time I listen to this album I set it to repeat and float off to faraway places in my prog spaceship. Recommended.

Reviewed by sevenR

Various Artists – Big Air Vol. 2 (Digital Nature Records)

Compiled by Aerospace and Etic, Big Air Volume 2 is this label’s latest progressive trance compilation. Ten brand new tracks by a large number of international producers are featured. ‘Up or Down’ by Soulscape (Solaris Vibe remix) is a very serious track and images of a long road cutting through a desert had formed in my mind. A broody dark start to ‘New Dawn’ by 3D Mode is swiftly replaced by light melodic keyboards and then sprinkled with some Dubstep; this is a very interesting departure from the norm. ‘The Pulse’ is a beautiful spacey tune by Etic and ‘I Beg You’ by Dualism (Mind Spin remix) has an uplifting melody. The choppy style of ‘Future Shock’ by Sonic Sense had my feet tapping. Shanko is a new name to me and this track, ‘Slow Light” is gentle and calming. ‘Saw Great’ by Nitrodrop contains cool djembe drumming and spiralling echoed synths. The sparkling gem here is ‘Harmonic Form’ by Tectum and doubtless the best progressive track I’ve heard all year. The chilled track by Mental Broadcast and Minimal Criminal is top notch and the final tune is an uplifting one by Zonka, Subsistence and Pakman. Recommended.

Reviewed by: SevenR

Cathar – The Union (Free Spirit Records)

The Union is the psychedelic debut album by Cathar and consists of the legendary Steve Morley (Sonic Wave Control) and Jessica B. The Cathar Cross, represents the union of Heaven and Earth, body and mind, temporal and spiritual lives. This is a very cool and caused me to wonder whether these two artists were just professionally involved or romantically too. After a bit of research I discovered that Jessica is Steve’s girlfriend, they are a perfect union of souls and sounds on a psychedelic level. This is a full on (but hard) dance album with a very clean sound made for people that want to stomp and smile. ‘The Outer Marker’ starts off with a bang and continues on with metronomic thumping throughout. I really love, ‘Forgotten Frontier’ with its great UFO vox it was made for itchy feet, I wanted to dance and swirl. ‘Interplanetary Love’ ups the enjoyment factor to another level and feels like an open invitation to hard dancing. The title track, ‘The Union’, is a celebration of dance and technical excellence. The final track adds a bit of Dubstep to the mix. This team will be crowd pullers of note at any party, get this album while it is hot. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by: SevenR

Mindwave – Concept of Freedom (Iono Music)

Mindwave, aka Anton Maiko born in Russia, now calls Israel his home base. ‘Concept of Freedom’ is the third beautiful album by Mindwave. This progressive psytrance release is filled with enjoyable melodies and light pads. ‘Simple Moves’ is a track that fits in at the beginning or right at the end of a party; it is so smooth and chilled. The throbbing bass and hushed breathing of ‘Within You’ caressed my ears and left me longing for a dusty dance floor. There is a clubby feel to ‘Levity’, with a tune this smooth I want seconds. ‘New Day’ has a full on feel that fits right into the midday slot followed by ‘Underwater’ with fleeting melodies and a driving bassline. Twittering bird song starts off the title track, ‘Concept of Freedom’ and then moves to a message of freedom and hand drumming, giving it a sense of importance. The final track, ‘Deepest Thoughts’ makes you contemplate your deepest dreams and thoughts whilst still steering you towards dance. Recommended.

Reviewed by: SevenR