This is so true! It would be safe to venture that a good majority of the
'promos' and 'white labels' in shops were actually bought by the shops and
their respective distributors, and were not intended to not be for sale at
all. What makes things even more confusing for Mr. Fliz and everyone else
is the wacky nature of underground dance music. 'Promos' and 'white labels'
often sell better for a new artist than a proper copy (because the DJs
think they've found something exclusive or special). So, the entire 500+
pressing of a new 12" could be all 'promos' and 'white labels'! Many of the
Orlando house artists put "For Promo Only- Not For Sale" on their records
for this reason, which creates problems for me in the shop because some
customers wonder why I'm selling them. Then of course, there is the
practice of putting "Promo Only" on your record because it has obvious
uncleared samples... so if you get caught you can tell the judge "It never
was intended for sale... I don't know how the distributors got it!" Pretty
weird, eh?
I enjoyed the 'promo food chain' that Dirk came up with, too. Very true.
Funny to use Tricky as an example... I got these two white labels of
Tricky's "Aftermath" from Cargo about three years ago long before the
official ones came out. They had some unreleased original mixes. Sold them
in the shop to a couple of regular customers who still boast that they have
them to this day. I told Howie B. we had these in the shop at one time and
he didn't believe me. "They only pressed a couple hundred of those... how
could a store in Orlando get some?" Stranger things have happened.
That said, and bringing this back to an AJ subject, here are some real
promos I've gotten lately that you may want to know about:
HI FIDELITY - The Stash EP on Sweetmother Records
Just got this in the mail a few moments ago and I'm listening to it now.
The emphasis here is on ultra-phat beats and a late night vibe. The beats
are familiar throughout, but not in the settings they are put in here. Hip
hop vocal drops are prominent but not overused, and there are some fine
keyboard textures and jazzy lines especially on the cut entitled
"Struttin". "Sneak Attack" is a credible attempt at jungle in an Alex Reece
stylee, but falls a little short. "Cream Of Beats" is the dancefloor mover,
and is quite effective in that regard. Another quality release from this
crew that are destined to become a major influence in the US electronic
funk scene. Get the currently available release by Sharkskin (for "Deep" +
"Kirans Dance")... it's great as well.
TURNTABLE TERRORNOVA - Precipice/Penetrate 10"
MCD 12"
FOUR EARS - Kurwa Galactica DLP all on Compost Records, Germany
The Compost label has been moving in a total electronic direction, almost
forsaking some of the jazz roots of earlier releases. With the recent
Future Sound Of Jazz compilation and these releases, the future of Compost
has definitely been spelled out. The Turntable Terrornova 10" is on the
jungle vibe, with "Precipice" being a DJ Krust remix. A bit hard + dark
than what you'd expect for Compost, but certainly retaining some of the
Krust unique touch + jazzy elements.The flip is on an experimental jungle
tip, with blips and bleeps as prominent as the beats. MCD (standing for Mad
Club Disease, right) have put out an intriguing effort. We've got three
diverse selections: the Solid Doctor-ish future funk of "Dadawo", subtle,
understated drum n' bass with "Lost In Mind", and all out techno on "Da
Space Is For All". A polished electronic edge with moody analog keyboard
sounds and a lazy feel hold everything together. Primo. The favorite of
this bunch, though, is the Four Ears double LP. Not sure where this bunch
came from, but this is an LP where the beats are solid, the melodies are
there, and the atmospheres are intoxicating. We're still hitting future
funk territory as the BPMs are above 105 and the electronics bubble and
blurt in pure electro fashion. Lo and behold, there are plenty of jazz
elements... on now is a high BPM jungle-ish track with a fine trumpet
playing throughout. Extemely recommended to DJ Bambi and those who love his
tapes!
NAKED FUNK - Valium LP on Pussyfoot, UK
Probably defining 'trip hop', Naked Funk have unleashed an album of dark
beats and samples, strange electronic meanderings, and a unflinching focus
on the dancefloor where the heads nod more than the feet move. This is a
pretty solid set of tunes of this ilk, and many of the melodies and rhythms
are nicely memorable. However, Naked Funk have seemingly taken to that
practice of recording things off the streets (such as people yelling,
derelicts ranting, crowds chatting, etc) and throwing this in the mix.
Sometimes these snippets pop in the end of tunes (did they run out of
ideas?) and interrupt an otherwise steady flow. Some of the rantings make
one a bit uncomfortable, which may be the aim, but when not matching the
context of the song this technique is just downright curious. Still
recommended more than not as the songs still rate.
JAMES HARDWAY - Deeper Wider Smoother Shit LP on Recordings of Substance, UK
Given to me by a visiting Scottish friend, this advance cassette of the
full album by jungle's jazziest is a smooth listen. The beats are fast and
cut up, but the instrumentation is full on jazz: stand up basses, horns,
pianos, Ronny Jordan-ish guitar... really nifty. It does wear after a full
listen but the novelty has enough substance that I may keep going back to
it.
I've been really getting into the jazzy house stuff lately... I was really
happy with the Glen Underground remix of my '141 Revenge Street' for SSR in
Belgium, so I've been checking out his material and loving all of it. The
Atmosfear album on Peacefrog, the recent GU Essentials II 12" on Cajual,
and the new SJU Project on Defender all testify to Glen's disco/house/jazz
genius. The vibe is so mellow, yet driving, and the keyboard lines are
exceptional. Glen Underground is a must for those who like their jazz with
a healthy bit of house attached.
FAT JAZZY GROOVES #16 just came out and you should give it a listen as it
contains DJ BMF's track "Trippin", which is his absolute best track in my
opinion. A beat heavy jazz excursion with expertly placed hip hop drops and
vocal lines... check it out.
I caught Orbital 'in concert' last night (for research into this 'live
electronica' thing... jeez, the things I do for this list!). I've come to
the conclusion that in this sort of setting, the musician should be treated
as a DJ, whose primary goal is to make the crowd dance. Of course, humans
are conditioned that when someone is on stage, they should be watched, so
at first people just stood and watched the backs of synthesizers and mixing
boards while the Orbital guys' infamous lit headsets bounced up and down
above it all. This was all a bit distracting, and I found myself staring at
the stage in the beginning as well. However, this is powerful music, and
soon my crew and I were in a dancing frenzy, totally oblivious to the fact
that this was supposed to be a 'concert'. The rest of the audience was
luckily overtaken in this was as well. So, yes, it was pretty great but
Orbital pulled it off not through a stage show, but by the power of their
great tunes (like a good DJ, I suppose, eh? Except the tunes were their own
of course). Orbital did have some projections happening behind them, but
they were largely unnoticable though I did appreciate the enviornmental and
social messages transmitted at times.
I feel the music of Orbital is home in a crowded club environment, so it
translates well when performed in this setting. The music of say Photek or
maybe some of the Mo Wax artists would not translate at all I think. More
suited to, as Mark W said regarding something recently, "sitting on a sofa
smoking a spliff". Maybe there should be more sofas in clubs.
Lastly (finally, eh), I'm happily transmitting this from a computer set up
in the store. After many failures, blow ups, and system disasters, I guess
we're finally set up so we will be doing the Bad Mood mail order catalog
thing again soon (I know what you're thinking- but really, its gonna
happen). I'll keep everyone up to date on this. Give me a week or two.
Until all that, PEACE
michael donaldson
Q-BURNS ABSTRACT MESSAGE
P.O. Box 1909
Orlando FL 32802 USA
PH: (407) 420-4669
FX: (407) 246-0580