ARTIST: A GUY CALLED GERALD

TITLE: TRONIC JAZZ THE BERLIN SESSIONS
LABEL: LABORATORY INSTINCT

Words: Niall Coughlan

Someone who’s been around long enough to have a genuine claim as one of the originators of UK dance music, Gerald Simpsons latest album shows the new school how it’s done.  Techy and acidic from the outset Simpsons current base of Berlin shows its influence as much as the legacies of Detroit, Chicago and Manchester.  All of which mash together with masterfully complex rhythms playing off bleepy stabs, analogue synths and growling basslines to create a timeless yet futuristic album no self-respecting house or techno head should be without.  There’s even a cheeky nod to his involvement with 808 State on ‘Pacific Samba’ before the swung-out loopiness of ‘Merfed’ closes the album with a hint of flavours yet to come.
5/5

RUDI ZYGADLO:
RESEALABLE FRIENDSHIP
CAT: ZIQ264
LABEL: PLANET MU
RELEASED: 29TH MARCH
FORMAT: 12″/ DIGITAL

An unholy union of dubstep attitude and pop hooks, these are some of the freshest sounding tracks to come my way in quite a while! Won’t appeal to everyone but much kudos is due for daring to take the ‘formula’ in a new direction. Remix duties are handled by the mighty Starkey who turns in a bleepy mix with a dose of wonk and Slugabed does his best to drown the original in surging bass and drum choppage. The EP is rounded off with the downright weird staggering ‘Udo and the Clave’. His sound referencing everything from Joker to Zappa this EP promises well for Rudi’s upcoming album ‘Great Western Laymen’. One to watch…

Artist: Kyle Hall
Name: Kaychunk / You Know What I Feel
Format: 12” vinyl / mp3
Label: HYPERDUB [HDB032]
Release Date: 15/03/2010

On opener ‘Kaychunk’ syncopated drums bump and sway under lush detroit strings and synths joining the dots between Detroit techno and LA’s hiphop soul sound. On the flip the woozy vibe continues with a shuffling yet driving drum pattern underpinning drifting chords. Ultimately despite their strengths both tracks begin and end without ever really going anywhere, though the journey is nice enough.

Moritz Von Oswald Trio

Vertical Ascent (Honest Jons, 2009)

Words: Stuart Watson

The first recorded work by one half of Basic Channel, Maurizio and Rhythm & Sound, and who can be said to have defined at least one significant strain of hazy techno over the last two decades, the Moritz Von Oswald Trio follows its namesake’s ongoing recovery from a stroke: a recovery borne out not least by this excellent recording.  The album features Vladislav Delay on metal percussion, Max Loderbauer on synthesisers and Von Oswals on synthesisers, Fender Rhodes and mixing.

The lift-off drones and overdriven Radiophonic analogue electronics of “Pattern 1” give way to lush pads and handclaps, pointillist clusters of Fender Rhodes hanging in space, lightly driven along by Delay’s tuned percussion.  There’s a return here also to some harsher and more abrasive sounds reminiscent of the percussive elements of Basic Channel tracks sych as “Phylyps Trak”, as distended glissandos and spongy electronics rise in the background, returning eventually to elements of classic Detroit techno in the closing minutes of the track.

“Pattern 2” presents a step into more unfamiliar territory: beginning with a menacing bass pulse what resembles the pluckings of an ethnic stringed instrument merge with Delay’s reverbed percussion, this time sounding as if played on Tibetan prayer bowls and woodblocks, to create a cavernous humidity that becomes claustrophobic as dissonant electronic bell-like tones rise to the foreground joined by ricocheting delays and brushed metal.  The track ends with another cluster of dissonant modulated tones, reminiscent of early electronic soundtracks such as Gil Melle’s The Andromeda Strain.

Delay’s gamelan of metal percussion ushers in “Pattern 3” as the music is underscored by sub bass drops and the first 4/4 pulse of the album.  The influence of African and Brazilian musics can be felt in the tracks interlocking rhythms, in parts sounding like a less baleful Shackleton as Delay’s percussion takes on steel drum textures and the jazzier Fender Rhodes chords splash in the background.  Oswald’s presence on the mix is felt here as throughout the album, as percussion and unidentifiable electronics are sucked into a vortex of echo and sliding frequencies.

The loping beat of “Pattern 4” provides the clearest link between the expansive textures of the Trio and Oswald’s most recent work in Rhythm & Sound, though in common with the rest of the album the sound has a more analogue feel with what resembles the live grit of delays deployed in real time, as the track is scythed apart by a roiling synth drone that reaches a crescendo of distortion before abruptly cutting out.  The album as a whole has a distorted, saturated sound fitting to its conception as a live Trio as echoes peak in the red alongside electronics resembling the work of the pioneers of the 60s and 70s.

While it’s basic sound elements, incorporating textures more familiar from the Fourth World fantasias of Paul Schutze and Jon Hassell represent somewhat of a departure from Von Oswald’s more recent work as Rhythm & Sound, it’s in the reverbs and delays that the album shares common ground with all Von Oswald’s work, displaying a finely tuned sense of space and placement of minimal sound for maximal effect.

When this record started I thought I was Mogley from the pages of the jungle book loosely draped in a cloth rag. I’m foraging in this slow burning noise and what sounds to me like an array of tribal field recordings of all kinds. This full length from the head behind Ammoncontact and many other outings is a delight of space jazz and folk.

There is a great deal of head music in this record with well constructed soundscapes but it’s all perfectly balanced, lending some of that expanse to little rambling folk strings, melodies and other sonic nonsense best heard rather then read about!

The highlight for me comes with vocals, on ‘Rabbit Island’ which conjures up a a sound of a deflating traveling carnival carousel.

Lonely meets happy for sure!

Nice cover too!.

.Hungry Ghost.

WAXON Records have released a killer bass rolling hip-hop instrumental cut which rattles rib cages and nods heads.

Hungry Ghost is the provider supplying us with ‘C64 Dub’ on the A-side and ‘Waveshifter’ on the double A! Its as deep black as the label on the wax itself with ‘C64 Dub’ trickling out some classic sounding hip hop beats, polite samples and melting low end freqs.

‘Waveshifter’ on the flip doesn’t shift the mood too much but does have a fine example of some addictive bleeps and pieces.

What’s missing is ‘K-Sta’, another release from Hungry Ghost which is available for download. It’s more of the same goodness h deserves some wax of its own. Looking forward to the album.

You can grab the download at waxonrecords.com or for those vinyl junkies there is a limited 10″ slab at Boomkat, look into it!

More info about Hungry Ghost and the other fine releases on waxon:

www.myspace.com/hungryghostuk

www.myspace.com/waxonrecords.com

www.waxonrecords.com

Clubroot has pressed a serious first album on LoDubs, a sound that seems to have been brewing in the deep for some time.

‘Talisman’ nails it for me, but the album builds to this track so when it drops it’s perfectly apt. ‘Low Pressure Zone’ is the albums title track and sets up the mood with precision, letting you know what you’re in for as this one rolls up, and the rest doesn’t let you down.

A beautifully crafted first outing  for Clubroot.

Grab more info and an earful of this stuff at:

www.myspace.com/clubroot

www.myspace.com/lodubsrecords

A label that continues to impress our ears is one which continually provides us with fine examples of quality producers  pushing what could be considered the Hessle Audio sound.

The roster read out loud is music enough, with Martyn, TRG, Untold, Pangaea and of course Ramadanman as notable delegates of Hessle.

David Kennedy (AKA Ramadanman), Ben Thomson & Kevin McAuley (AKA Pangaea) gave birth to a label solidifying the cross-over sound of Dubstep and Techno which Martyn had helped kick off with his Broken / Shadowcasting 12″ released on Re:volver in 2007.

The lads got together to throw down some hard earned, and took a gamble on TRG’s ’Put You Down / Broken Heart’, which had an updated garage sound. It paid off. The lads are now on there seventh release, each and every one could be tagged ‘excellent’, and have the feel of records with lasting presence. For a label in its infancy it’s already done well to establish itself as a beacon of quality groundbreaking music, with its own sound and ethos. Hessle Audio have made a splash and there is no sign of the subsequent ripples trailing off.

Do yourself a favour and spend some time listening over what these lads are up to.

Hessle Audio releases to date:

HES 001
TRG ‘Put You Down / Broken Heart‘ 12″ Vinyl

HES 002
Pangaea ‘Coiled / Nest / Deviant’ 12″ Vinyl

HES 003
Untold ‘Kingdom / Purify / Test Signal’ 12″ Vinyl

HES 004
TRG ‘Broken Heart (Ramadanman / Martyn Mix) ‘ 12″ Vinyl

HES 005
Ramadanman ‘Blimey / Drowning / Tak ‘ 12″ Vinyl

HES 006

Pangaea ‘You & I / Router ‘ 12″ Vinyl

HES 007

Joe ‘Grimelight / Rut‘ 12″ Vinyl

Find out more at:

http://www.myspace.com/hessleaudio

2562 – Embrace / Hijack (3024)

(buy from boomkat)

Another superb release from Martyn’s 3024, this time from compatriot 2562.

The a-side weaves a subtle path through steppy ryhthms and lush pads, with deep sub bass rolling underneath. With sounds reminiscent of oldschool atmospheric jungle and elements of garage and techno this one spans the divide between dancefloor and down time.

On the flip 2562 takes a more direct approach with 4/4 techno cut that skips nicely along, moving through subtle pads and fine variations in the shuffly hats and atmospherics. Another beatifully diverse release from the 3024 camp.

Visit Martyn’s 3024 blog for the latest info and news from the source.

LD – Traumatic Times / Woodblock (Hyperdub)

(buy from boomkat)

Moving on to Hyperdub now, and we have the debut solo release on the label from LD, who recently appeared along side Kode9 on the superb Bad/2 Bad.

Two killer cuts both taking two very different directions with the A side Traumatic Times a deep reflective roller with some melancholic rhodes sounds and low sub rumbles. Beautiful.

The flipside is the one for us however. This one is a pure dancefloor cut with rave written all over it, with metronomic precision this one wheels out pure stomping stabs and bass with nice subtle use of the “woodblock” punctuating the groove.

Highly recommended.

DEEP CHORD – Electromagnetic Dowsing (The Final Step)  2nd Edition (SYNTH)

Oh yes. Revisiting an older cut for this one after spending the last month or so listening to their album “the coldest season” on rotation. This is just pure distilled awesome dub techno. Beautiful dubbed out effects and stabs roll out over the classic crackling sounds of Deep Chords organic grooves. Repressed in limited amounts so keep your eyes peeled for this beauty.

If you haven’t we also recommend getting your hands on their album “The Coldest Season”, a beautiful collection of deep organic ambient dub techno sounds. It’s on modern love, and it’s available from boomkat.

The original featured a capacitor attached to the vinyl, but sadly the repress is lacking this addition, although the holes are there so you can maybe bust open an oldschool piece of electronic equipment and get yer own. Or more sensibly go to an electrical suppliers. We dont condone the smashing of electronic equipment. Especially when it’s still plugged in.

Landslide – Yemp Booty  (Round the Houses)

(buy from dancetracksdigital)

We love a bit of broken beat round here at Rudimentary HQ, and veteran producer landslide makes em real good. Definitely one for fans of the bugz in the attic style sound, this one beats out a tasty rhythm over a nicely gradually pitched up stab vibe and bass line.

On the remixes Aaron Jermoe , taking a more direct line strips it down and breaks down into a nice glitchy section midway through.

Lastly Colonel Red features on a vocal cut called Yemp Hooty with nice live sounding breaks, subtle sub bass sounds and distinctly garage flavour.

Tasty taste.

Go check it.

Various Artists – Pleasure & Pressure Vol.1 (Solid Bump)

(buy from dancetracksdigital)

An irrisistable selection of disco/french house type sounds from the Solid Bump crew.

The four tracks on this EP are just fun down to their funky bones.

The stand out tracks for us are Blackout! by White Girl Lust which is a booty shakin blend of solid beats and disco vibes and So Much more by Laberge, a badass groove track that filters the main guitar lick lead in and out and drops a nice hooky vocal snippet to keep things interesting.

Well worth a listen.

For more info on these guys check the solid bump website.

Una Mas Trio – Clear as Water (Agogo)

(buy from dancetracksdigital)

Released as a preview for their forthcoming album Ritmo Del Futura this one is a bit special. Featuring some real nice remixes, and the original Ritmo del Futura fans of the Thru Thoughts sound will really dig this package.

Personal favourites of ours Mo Horizons remix clear as water featuring the smoky vocals of Bajka lending it a latin/gypsy funk vibe with the hidden jazz quartet taking a different direction crafting a lights down low jazz flavoured cut.

Smoove offers a real breaks driven relick of Son Montuno with a classic latin piano riff setting the track off superbly.

The choice cut for us on this one though is the title track of the forthcoming album. Ritmo del Futura is a wickedly good Bossa/Latin drum and bass track that oozes class. The breakdown into the spanish guitar lick in the mid section that bridges into some cosmic keys is just badass.