I was finally able to check out Side A on a tape machine at the university library, sat right next to the microfilm viewers. Things start off pretty tough with Kurtis Mantronix “Mad”, Cutty Ranks, Capleton and a particularly hard-edged cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bounty and Lady, but by the middle of this side things are about as far from aggressive as you could imagine. STN drops in some religious words from Harold Smith and clean soul from Clem Curtis and Lord Large. Such are the twists and turns on this side that in the second half there’s doom metal from Pentagram, as well as some psychadelia from GOD and Love. Yet despite the twists and turns, the side never feels disjointed. The mood changes from Mantronix through other bass driven music – Capleton, Yusk 2k, Barrington Spence – gradually getting older and more chilled out, until finally at Clem Curtis things turn around, and the jam at the end of “Stuck in a Wind Up” leads on to the guitar driven end of side A.
I drew an entirely un-musical, un-scientific graph of three of the elements I thought were prominent in the first side, swing, looseness and toughness:
As you can see, tuff-ness forms a nice “U” shape, with Clem Curtis marking the middle. The three elements combine in equal measure for track 5, Yush 2k’s “Fade Away”.
Side B’s title “Screamers and Howlers” is a little misleading. I was expecting a direct follow-on from the metal and rock from the end of “Stompers and Lurchers” but in fact the opener is “No Government” by Nicolette, a post trip hop piece. This is nicely followed by Shakleton’s “New Dawn” which makes me think once again of the sonic proximity of dubstep and trip-hop. The Eastern vibes of “New Dawn” are taken even further in Old and New Dreams' "Chairman Mau" and this is followed by possibly my favourite track of the tape “Sound of the Rain” by Death Chants. It features acoustic instruments, some wailing and morse code-esque electronic beeps, all combined in a intriguing fashion. After Death Chants, the tape runs through a near gamut of styles. Foot tappin’ blues from Sonny Terry, spiritual sounds in Lloyd Chalmer’s “Conversation with death” and Skinny Puppy screaming “I know where the monster is!”
It’s difficult to really do the tape justice in writing. Partly due to my lack of knowledge about many of the artists, partly because I’m crap at writing, but mostly because of the breadth it covers. There are individual tunes I’ll track down (Death Chants, Sonny Terry, Alan Vega), but mostly it’s the subtle cohesion and themes that make this mixtape work perfectly as a whole.
Side A – Stompers and Lerchers
Kurtis Mantronik – Mad (Bleeker Street Hip-Hop Forumla)
Cutty Ranks – Armed and Dangerous (Goldie’s Beef Bass Mix)
Capleton – God Mi Love
Bounty + Lady – Ain’t No Sunshine
Yush 2k – Fade Away
Barrington Spence – Go Deh Natty
Alton Ellis – Preacher
Harold Smith + His Majestic Choir – We Can All Walk a Little Bit Prouder
Clem Curtis + Lord Large – Stuck in a Wind Up
Gary Walker – No No No
Link Wray – Deusces Wild
GOD – Mo Pal
Pentagram – Nightmare Gown
Roky Erikson – The Creature With the Atom Brain
Love – Discharged
Side B – Screamers and Howlers
Nicolette – No Government (Plaid Mix)
Shackleton – New Dawn
Old New Dreams – Chairman Mao
Death Chants – Sound of the Rain
Sonny Terry – Lonesome Train
Lloyd Chalmers – A Conversation With Death
Skinny Puppy – Monster Radio Man
Alan Vega – Cry A Sea of Tears
23 Skidoo + Pharoah Sanders – Dawnin’
Resess – Study #1 for Symphony #1
(Review from Tox)
No comments:
Post a Comment