Reviews: Hacienda & Aphrodite

Mark Turner (mturner@netcom.com)
Sun, 8 Jun 1997 09:23:00 -0700 (PDT)


It's Sunday morning and I'm sitting here with my cup of
Starbuck's and listening to a beautiful album called
SUNDAY AFTERNOON by Hacienda, on Eye Q Records. This
has been around for a while but it was just recently
called to my attention by the fine folks at Drop Beat.

I can't think of a better title for this album. The
music really embodies that langorous, end-of-the-week
feeling. It's a genre-straddling affair in the
tradition of Fila Brazillia: part ambient, part trip-
hop, and part house. It could be all electronic but
I would swear there are some real drums, horns, and
an electric piano in there somewhere. Ah, maybe not.
Anyway the melodies are gorgeous and I can't imagine
why anyone wouldn't find something here to like. If
you're a fan of Pork or perhaps Mouse on Mars, this
comes highly recommended.

At the other end of the energy meter is the new
APHRODITE RECORDINGS compilation. This is definitely
an album for Saturday night: a non-stop party record
"par excellence." Although it's a collection of
previously-released singles, it gets my vote as the
best single-artist drum'n'bass album yet released.
Aphrodite's brand of jump-up jungle deftly incorporates
elements of hip-hop and soul, and sprinkles samples
around so liberally that there's never a boring moment.
His trademark rolling beats and wobbly bass lines
also make him one of the few junglists that stand out
from the pack with a recognizable sound. Even if you
just don't "get" drum'n'bass, or think it all sounds
the same, I highly recommend you give this album a
chance. For those who've been collecting the 12"s,
here's the compilation track listing:

Aphrodite - Aphromoods
Amazon II - King of the Beats
Aladdin - Woman That Rolls!
Aphrodite - Spice (of the Gods Remix)
Aladdin - Summer Breeze
Amazon II - Music's Hypnotising
Aphrodite - Listen to the Rythm (Vortex Mix)
Aphrodite - Dub Moods (The Greatest Trick)
Aphrodite - Style from the Dark Side
Aphrodite - Tower Bass!
Aphrodite feat. Gail Mclean - I Wanted it More and More
Aphrodite - Sweet Mind

Coming soon: Albums for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday. ;-)

-- 
 Mark Turner
 mturner@netcom.com