Oct 2000 - 12" reviews

From: Gen Kanai (gkanai@earthlink.net)
Date: Mon Oct 30 2000 - 19:35:04 MET

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    Friends,

    Here's what's spinning on my tables here in New Yawk Seedy...

    Taxi "people come runnin'" (Infracom)
    Every store I go to, people are clamoring for this record. It's the hot
    12" these days in the jazzy house/nu jazz genre. There's 3 remixes in
    addition to the original track on this single. I was drawn in by the
    promise of the "Dixon's alternative version1" (of Jazzanova fame) but I
    ended up liking the "needs rmx" more. Don't get me wrong- the Dixon remix
    is great and very much in the Jazzanova vein. Definitely worth checking out.

    Universal Funk "Roots" (Svek)
    This is a gorgeous tune! Wow...Svek really delivers a stunning 12" here
    with 2 remixes of "Roots." My favorite is the "vibes from the dark mix"
    and it's great beats and percussion with a simple but effective bassline
    over it, and a few vibraphone, trumpet, and piano solos on top to finish it
    off. It's a little on the slower side but it's just captivating. For some
    reason this track reminds me of beautiful sunsets in New York City with the
    famous skyline outlined by dark clouds and shades of blue, purple, red and
    orange. 

    Gabriel Rene "Pimp Rekker" (OM Records)
    Gabe is of course the mastermind behind the awesome 1999 "Don't You Cry"
    single that everyone has loved all over the jazzy house world. This new
    single is completely in a different style. Think 1970's funk meets
    drum'n'bass meets 70's cop show vibe. I'm not sure exactly how I'd work
    this into my regular set but I'm a Gabe fan whatever he does. I do hope
    that he goes back to the jazzy house sound sometime soon.

    The Rurals "Corker" (Loud Bit Records)
    This must be an older release because I thought that The Rurals were on
    Peng Records? Anyway, I like this one because it's vocal-less which is
    generally my preference. It has a touch of Frech House-ness (workin' the
    eqs within the track itself) but it's basically in the classic Rurals house
    music mold. 3 different remixes and even the original is slammin!

    Afro Medusa "Pasilda" (d:vision/Azuli)
    Ok, ok, I admit it. I like this catchy tune enough to buy different
    remixes of it. It's really a classic Latin house tune with the buildups
    and breakdowns and the vocals merging with the melodies. Nothing
    earthshaking here with respect to content or style, it's just a fun, really
    danceable house track. This particular release has 4 remixes and the awful
    cover photo (horrendous blowup of a tiny digital image and color way off.)

    Los Ladrones "Las Luces Del Norte" (Earthproject Music)
    http://www.earthproject.com
    While the original single is really nice uptempo and yet soft, the "Dave
    Warren's Open Air Dub" is the dancefloor mover. This one is has some nice
    flute riffs and nice vocals and would fit nicely into a Latin deep house mix.

    Damaged Sole "Damaged Sole" (Deep4Life Recordings)
    http://www.deep4life.com/
    Deep, minimal, slightly jazzy but not tech-y deep house. I don't know much
    about this label or this artist but it's very sparse musically but has the
    deep house beats that we sometimes love. They have an album coming out
    later in November that might be cool. Did I mention this was deep?

    Sven Van Hees "Tsunami (inside my soul)" (Life Enhancing Audio)
    This track has been EVERYWHERE on so many compilations (Transatlantik
    Lounging 2, Mixmag-Naked Ibiza, Comfort ZoneŽ, CHILLOUT2000, Served Chilled
    2, Beach House) no to mention Hees' own Gemini LP. It's a really
    chill/downtempo track with breathy female vocals and a dreamy
    atmosphere. Gorgeous record art too. Worthy of having just for the art
    which reminds me of 1960's bossa nova record albums.

    Best wishes and good luck vinyl hunting,

    Gen



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