Some photos of my Sweet/Sour tape, by paolo

I never put photos up earlier, so here they are

Review of Paolo's Sunshine Mix Tape, by Owen Griffiths

Paolo's Sunshine Mix from Glasgow- Vitamin D

Vitamin D side A

All right, I couldn’t resist a sneaky look at the track listing before slotting the tape in. Only recognised one name out of the corner of my eye and after a second or two decided to go at the tape completely blind. Makes things more interesting that way. Ideally with this tape swap I want to come across scenes I’m not familiar with, so this blend of (presumably current) slowish house/ techno/ tech house definitely fits the criteria. Not exactly a Theo Parrish level of sluggishness or his type of production style- something slightly different thanthat. I’ll state from the start that I didn’t find a lot of this dark natured music particularly summertime focussed- it belies tapes' name but that's not a criticism overall. So track by track:

A1. Weird beatless intro that surely samples a movie from the early days of colour cinematography; imagine the twisted court music of a 1950’s Macbeth feature film or the soundtrack to Ken Russell’s ‘The Devils’.

A2. Elgato is someone I remember from the Dubstep forum days. I’m probably committing a cardinal sin in Hardwax circles when I say ‘if I heard this record in a record shop’s headphones I wouldn’t buy it because the tune doesn’t  reallygo anywhere’. Super-repetitive for sure, but in the context of this tape it scrubs up well enough and I can understand why some people are happy to fork over 6.99 for it. Not a bad inclusion for Paolo’s set but a piece of plastic unlikely to find a place in my record box.

A3. I really like this one, properly atmospheric deep house tune that sounds great mixed out of the previous one. More of this kind of stuff please.

A4. Skilful blend into this appealing harmonic breakdown- doesn’t quite live up to it’s initial promise though, especially when it goes all techy in the second half.

A5. Big track that upwardly slides us out of the trough created by the rinsed out previous record. Proper late 80’s/ early ‘90’s US house but no doubt a recently produced bit of mimicry. Good.

A6. It appears that this is the illusive Dub Techno genre that everyone talks about but I’ve somehow managed to avoid up till now. Bit of a short filler track (presumably) designed as a bridge between this and the much more upbeat upcoming tune. Okay but too much of this stuff would be irritating.

A7. I could swear by that saxophone that this is a Marc Kinchen track (edit: it is). This is more my sphere of influence I suppose though it’s a good one I haven’t heard before- no doubt because it’s a Summer 2011 release rather than from nineteen ninety-whenever. Judging by the Defected records adverts that plague Youtube at the moment for their new DJ mixes the recent MK one seems uninspired- though that could just be the A&R people only showing clips of the radio friendly singles on the short adverts even though there’s plenty of other gems on the actual CD/ MP3 whatever. Apologies for my ramblings- it’s hard to get the bad taste out of my mouth looking at what Strictly Rhythm are playing at by gently pushing former production kings Mood II Swing towards making lowest common denominator Ibiza house, ie. the antithesis of what classic NYC house is all about. Whereas FXHE/ Omar S clearly don't give a fuck.

A8. The closest house gets to a Gatecrasher style euphoria hands in the air moment. Sensibly calms down before the high pitched keys causes the track to rise upwards out of the earth's atmosphere.

A9. A slightly soulless Todd Edwards sound a like fresh from the cutting house floor. Can’t hold a candle to vintage Todd of course, but a track in this vein is a welcome release for Summer 2013.

Vitamin D- side B

B1. Nice beatless intro track. I forgot to mention that all the tracks on side A are beatmatched. The tunes on this side are not. It’s not entirely clear whether this record is left over from the earlier set as a bridging track to the decidedly eclectic & more laid back second half. Perhaps the tape ran out too soon. But if we assume otherwise and pick up on that word eclectic…

B2… this one sums up the aesthetic very well. It’s some weird live band with a half-strangled woman singing a disturbing lullaby, alongside one of those repetitive guitar twangs that I’m guessing reggae musicians invented and refused to give up on. I must confess to being one of those few people who don’t know who Hype Williams is (isn’t he a millionaire hip hop producer? Edit: no he’s a video director) but I know Shangan as being one half of the notorious North Dublin Ballymun estate. Perhaps this studio hook up was a misguided experiment by some well meaning new age drugs councillor to get her class of poor junkies to describe their anxieties through the medium of experimental music. What was it the liberal teacher said in the film heathers- “Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make”. Incidentally this record has a short period of silence in the middle that had me twice rushing to my cheap ghetto blaster to make sure it wasn’t chewing up the tape.

B3. How I imagine a Kraftwerk LP sounds, really. I’m a bit ignorant on that count. Turns out that this is the Human League in art college mode, before they discovered catchy choruses. Had they waited ten years before making it they could’ve shrink-wrapped the twelve and punted it round Berwick Street stores pretending it was a hot US import from some precocious black producer from Chicago or Detroit.

B4. Teutonic sounding female vocals on a live sounding band. Not my favourite track from the tape. Has what seems like an exciting key change at the end that actually turns out to be…

B5. A perfectly clean segue into this track here. Not sure how to describe it really. Say no more

B6 Now this Faust record is a nice and cheerful indie ish thing that could arguably have been made anytime in the last forty years. Proper sunshine stuff at last. Though it seems like it was cued up at the fag end of the track, I would’ve appreciated hearing it in its entirety before it goes into the jingly jangly guitar feedback outro.

B7. Borderline fiddly dee music with hippyish overtones, perhaps found by Paolo digging through maw & da’s dusty twelves that have languished in the loft for years. The lyric comes correct with a chorus of “this morning I woke up”. It is safe to say that Sunshine has arrived.

B8. Picking up the pace with an uptempo ‘70’s guitar instrumental a la Fleetwood Mac. I mean that in a good way, not in an ironic hairstyle way. Clearly the peak hour track of this side of the tape as we’re coming up to the final furlong. This is the second time my wikipedia searches have turned up the work Krautrock. Not sure what to make of that given my ignorance of the style. Owen's’ opinion- “nice enough”. The Red Army Factions verdict- “Vapid imperialist music purveyed by the Fascist Pig State to anaesthetise the German youth to the existentialist Capatalist corruption that stunters their growth, swinehundt"”. I'll let you decide whose view is more accurate.

B9. A clean break and then a well-chosen punk tune to round things of. “Do we miss you, do yes we do. You’re father sends his regards to you. Will I write, well once in a while. I’ll send my love and a molotov cocktail too!” Late 70's cockney Punk at it's more accomplished.

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All in all I think this cassette has parallels with my own in that one side is definitely stronger than the other one. I’ve listened to side A half a dozen times (and will put it in again) but despite a few okay records the b-side can be a bit more of a chore- saying that I will make effort to get into it. Top marks for effort. Was this the kind of thing I expected from the Dissensus Tape swap? Fuck knows, because I didn't know what to expect really.

Sweet/sour tape review by paolo

I got my tape a few weeks ago. I have no idea who it's from but it's nicely packaged in gold chocolate-type packaging, like you'd find around a Galaxy bar or a Ferrero Rocher. One side is coloured pink with the word SWEET, the other side is coloured green with the word SOUR.

I've never reviewed anything before so I'm just going to go through it track by track and sum up at the end.

Sweet side

1. Lady singing a sad, wistful song over a 4:4 beat. This sort of sounds like something that you might hear in Starbucks or possibly on a moody advert for Apple, which I would normally hate this stuff but it actually works well. It's quite emotionally affecting. Off to a good start

2. Nice head-nodding house tune. Not exactly bedroom music but not a big dancefloor tune either. Would be good for doing housework to on a sunny day

3. Slightly more downbeat house tune, with bittersweet, yearning vocals and strings. Nice bassline

4. I think this is what would be called 'boogie'. I saw Krystal Klear DJ recently and this is like something he would play. It certainly is a sweet summer tune.

5. Going a bit deeper here but still house. Features a glockenspiel and a voice saying 'you're searching' a lot. It's been pissing it down with rain all day but the sun comes out when this track is on (I don't think the two things are connected but it fits with the summertime vibes of this tape)

6. More boogie, this time with cut-up vocals about looking into my eyes. Still rolling along at about 110 bpm. Goes a bit piano house about halfway through

7. Tempo goes up slightly (I think). This one has a sort of dark yet funky bassline, a bit like 'I Feel Love' by Donna Summer. There's a woman saying the same thing over and over but I can't make out what it is

8. This is bouncy as hell. There's a big fat bassline and a really low voice talking with a high-pitched voice about something or other, and a bunch of people singing about how much they like techno funk. This would be great to dance to when drunk

9. More chilled but still funky. Somebody sings about electronic funk and how it can't be stopped, and there are also robot voices

10. Lipps Inc - Funky Town. This is the only track on the tape that I recognise and it's a belter. Amazing disco-pop, if you've never heard it

11. Eighties-sounding synthpop/house/electro tune, with big room vibes and a catchy synth line. Also someone saying 'move up, get down'

12. The start of something a bit more downbeat with sad-sounding piano that is cut off by the end of side one

Sour side

1. Sleazy electro funk, nice and slow. Carrying on where the first side left off, with  a lyric about hugging your brother from another town. Very eighties in a good way

2. Disco pop about having a high school crush with a catchy hook. Could be described as sultry

3. Boogie disco with a sample from 'The Hall of Mirrors' by Kraftwerk and French vocals. Still got the bouncy summertime vibes of the first side

4. More boogie but more house than disco, complete with vocals about the beat not stopping until the break of dawn

5. Upbeat house tune which just seems a bit nondescript/bland to be honest

6. This is better. Vocal classic-sounding acid tune with loads of energy, must be an excellent club track

7. Bouncy house tune with a big fat bassline and a deep vocal asking if I'm afraid of the boogie monster (I'm not)

8. Cool, almost garagey house track. Quite deep but maintains the bounciness

9. Big room tech-house stomper, which I'm not really feeling so much. Maybe just not in the right mood

10. Wicked hardcore tune to finish the tape. Has a guy singing about not speaking the language or understanding the words and awesome synth stabs. I feel I should recognise this for some reason but I don't. This perks me up a bit and gives me a wee adrenaline buzz


Overall, this is ninety minutes or so of choice summertime house/disco/boogie music which I imagine would be ace to dance to. Whoever mixed it is solid technically and allows each track to play out for a decent amount of time, which I like. Also exposed me to a bunch of music I'd never heard before because I don't listen to a lot of this sort of thing

The Noughties Cower Behind Me And Are Abased

I don't think anyone had sent me a cassette for about a decade when I received this FOUR YEARS AGO. Several years down the line I've started buying them again and they've plopped through the letterbox with reassuring regularity.

I shat myself when I saw the new Tape Swap on Dissensus. After a mild heart attack about not having reciprocated last time with a tape of my own it turns out that I had. Thank fuck. I don't want to get into Danny's bad books.

Also, incredibly, I managed to find the one (or at least I think it was this tape?) that Bassbeyondreason (if it was him?) sent me. It's a Maxell UR C90, which came wrapped in the cover of a Toyah single, which is still around here somewhere and regularly confuses the shit out of me when I am rifling through my sevens.

The cassette case has “hope you endure the music!” written on it in black felt tip pen. Which I have. Several times I think, but not for several years now. It's good – a proper “everything but the kitchen sink” affair which still has a slightly drunken aesthetic of its very own. I assume there was a track-listing but I suspect that this would have been on a piece of paper which has long since been recycled or perhaps lies hidden in a secret compartment of my former abode. So I shall do this review “blind” and promise not to use spotify and google or whatever.

   

SIDE ONE

(1) Starts off in fine style with some anarcho punk crud-fi business about not wanting to die in a nuclear holocaust. Good bass. Had finished before my laptop hard started up.

(2) Then some vintage disco funk. The daughter taps her pencil along to the drum break. Which is as close as you get to an endorsement in this house.

(3) Spoken word about some woman named Barbara losing weight. “What are you listening to Dad, it sounds like The Muppets?” 

(4) Yankee hardcore: “there's nothing wrong with being sensitive and looking like a dork”. A searing critique of jock culture? Kinda. I have to explain to the daughter that the vocal about treating women like shit is a parody of idiot men. Hmmph.

(5) FEEDBACK AND THRASH! GRUFF MALE VOICE INTONING ABOUT SOMETHING UNPLEASANT! Realm of grindcore, methinks! Good testosterone music. Followed by a slightly bizarre segue into...

(6) Harry Enfield's “Loadsamoney” novelty single from the Stock Aitken Waterman era. It's not very good, but seems recorded quite badly which makes it tonally interesting at least.

(7) “BLEEEEAAAAAAAGH!” More thrash. I was never really into all this but it still takes me back to my youth. Men with denim and lots of bad hair trying to persuade me that I will really like some album with cliched horror lettering on the cover. Good times. This one goes on too long though I reckon.

(8) Ska punk? We are truly taking the scenic route here! We should all unite, apparently. Why not? Seems to have keyboard horns - a pet hate of mine, but it's OK when the double speed skank kicks in. I suspect the curator of this tape has had as many drunken dances in seedy punk clubs as I have.

(9) Then some Vybz Kartel (?) on a repetitive gynaecological tip which I am really really hoping that the daughter doesn't hear. Awkward. Good tune though.

(10) More your anthemic balls-out epic rock with loooong intro. Great riff but terrible slurred rawk vocals.

 (11) Gospelly soulful funk. With a bit of distortion which I think is unintended but pretty crunchy and great nonetheless.

(12) Some folky christian hallelujah stuff. Yep. A bit stiff compared to the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” OST. Possibly because this is more modern and more european? It skips a bit, which might be Satan's influence.

(13) Nasty X-rated anti-social American punk about a security guard who calls up working girls on the job. “I watch topless dancers and I wonder if I have cancer”. Riiiiiiiiiight. Quite cool – exactly the kind of thing you want on a mixtape – I know there's a tonne of good USA punk out there but I'm fucked if I'm going to wade through it myself.

(14) A folksy reel, I guess you would call it. Good accelerations. I point out to junior that this is a weird tape. “Oh yeah, like none of your other stuff is weird, Dad...” Fair play. Oh hang on – this has sort of a breakbeat thing happening as well? “World” music alarm is twanging?!

(15) Screams and incoherent vocals. Japanese? The Boredoms or something? Ace. Lots of short bursts of noise. Then MOAR thrash. It's good to have some of this now and again, it certainly stops things getting too polite. It has also driven the daughter from the room, although the cat remains. This sounds like one of those seven inches which has 18 tracks on one side.

(16) Some kind of militant female chanting call and response.

(17) A female vocal intones “Free Jah Jah Children” and there is about 10 seconds of bassline. END OF SIDE ONE.

SIDE TWO 

(1) Kicks off with a song from the TV show Lassie which is all campy country and pretty great for an opener.

(2) We are then into some hey nonny nonny folk stuff with a female vocalist doing something “until she is sore” which is pretty great, in a Wickerman kind of way?

(3) An ace thrash cover of what I assume is a Wurzels song about cider? I went to a posh Hauschka and Johan Johannsson gig at the Barbican last year and the guy I was with bought me cider by mistake – I got a proper suburban teenage flashback off it. Mixtape novelty business! Someone knows my level...

(4) Next track is folksier again with more of a glam rock feel somewhere and a male vocal. Appears to be a penny whistle solo. Hmmm. Much of this track was obscured by my better half coming in having just finished her work and wanting a chat. I bet Simon Reynolds never gets that.

(5) Some proper vinyl clickery heralds the next track which takes us to... AFRIIIIIKKKKKKAAAA! Bhundu Boys twinkly guitars and maybe the sun will stay out tomorrow. Hard to know what these chaps are singing about but it's a million miles away from all that “Afro-Noise” dreck. It's got a long freakout at the end where the tempo ramps up. Proper.

(6) Then someone is gargling over bar-room bluesy rock. They are “lie-ing in a bed of fire” apparently which seems like a serious health and safety violation. This is exactly the sort of music I don't have any of. Nor do I want any of it, really, except perhaps as a soundtrack to some demented roadtrip?

(7) Boom! Hip-house techno redemption! With snare rolls! Hands in the air! And a bit of echo in the breakdown. This sounds like 90s and possibly German? That rather good midpoint between the Venga Boys and Happy Hardcore. FUN and not for the purists. (which is perhaps the over-arching philosophy of the tape). Some nice hoovery bits with breakbeats. First tune that I am tempted to find out what it is...

(8) Piano balladry? Why? WHY? “In the spiritual sky”? Like a hippy Elton John. “If you are so attached to the material world - it is hard to see the one you looooove” it seems. I can only imagine the look of utter ridicule I would get from the one I love if I mooted detaching ourselves from the material world.

(9) Some funky jazzy breakbeat electronica follows. With kung fu film vocal sample? We must be back in the 1990s again? Not a complaint from me – far from it! Little bit of wobble going on also. Fair takes me back innit. I'm impressed that all this stuff is completely new to me, man is doing good. Some fucked up bits on the vinyl it seems too. Proper. Goes on a bit long though.

(9) Some NOISE! Feedback and shit. Plodding rock submerged beneath it. Fab. Glitched up or maybe a jumping record? Possibly this is a mash up of an actual metal record and an experimental noise thing? Great idea. Doom! Sweat! An exhortation to “KILL! [something indistinguishable]”. This is what I hope Wolf Eyes would sound like, but I bet they don't.

(10) Cheesy disco, OBVIOUSLY. Oh actually it's a Sesame Street tune. GOLD. Not heard this one either, even though I grew up on Muppet Show LPs (and have encouraged my own offspring to do the same). Various characters over slap bass – what's not to like? Cuts short. END OF SIDE TWO.

Phew!

JOHN EDEN

Danny L's tape  

I must say I was chuffed to receive a really eclectic tape (despite taking the one-genre route for my own compilation) that still hangs together and provides a narrative of sorts. I’m glad to say Danny L pulled it off here. Luckily I happen to be a big fan, if not an obsessive collector of Blues, Reggae, Psyche-punk and folk so this tape really hit the spot and gave me what I wanted. I did fret about all this when deciding on what to do for my own tape. Usually when making a comp. for someone you’ll know a fair bit about the recipient’s tastes beforehand but this Dissensus Tape Swap thing was a bit more of a shot in the dark. There’s also something wickedly self-serving about making a mixtape that can backfire badly if you’re not careful. Ooh the pressure…
I'm not much of a writer, so I decided to pad this review out a little with a few relevant youtube links. Hopefully this hasn't violated the code of the Dissensus tape swap and Danny won't be too offended...

The first side serves as a nice illustration of the various and varied permutations of Rhythm n Blues music: Ska, rock n roll, rockabilly twang, urban sleaze-rock and garage psyche.
The tape kicks off with ‘Blue Monday’ by Louisiana bluesman Smiley Lewis, then into the laid back “Jack and Jill Shuffle” by the splendidly named Theophilus Beckford. This latter track’s offbeat piano skank is a clear precursor to Ska, and The Mellow Larks’ ’Time to pray’ is a great example of the Gospel influence in Reggae, long before the Rastafarian faith dominated the Island’s musical ethos.
It can be easy to underestimate the fundamental influence American Rhythm and Blues music has had on Jamaican music after the wild sonic innovations of Dub and Dancehall, but this is the stuff that rocked Jamaican sound systems for years until the island forged its own distinct sound. So it was nice to hear this stuff juxtaposed. Tracks like The Gaylads’ ‘Lady with the red dress on’, Andre Williams’ ’Pearl time’ and The Marathons’ ‘Peanut Butter’ all share a certain raw energy and sense of playfulness.

Hasil Adkins’ She Said was the only song on the tape I was really familiar with, and it’s a long-term favourite of mine. More wild and deranged than anything else at the time, and that’s saying a lot for Rockabilly. The Cramps knocked out a rockin’ version of this too and the rest of Side 1 is dedicated to the sort of scuzz rock that would have floated their boat.
There’s more demented rock n roll from a very strange sounding man named Homer Edison: a cautionary tale about the perils of that most foolish of teenage automobile-related kicks, the ‘Chickie Run’, illustrated nicely by this classic film clip:

Trouble is James Dean made it look cool didn’t he?

The moody twang of Duane Eddy‘s, ‘Stalkin’ is next. I’ve always loved this sort of guitar sound, drenched in reverb and tremelo, yet still crisp and cutting, sending a shiver down the spine. The production and arrangement on Duane Eddy’s records was superbly loud and crisp, the sax sound on here is almost obscene in its raunchiness. There, I’ve said it…sometimes I love a bit of raunchy sax! Ahem…
Arnand Schuabroeck ups the sleazometer next with the charmingly titled ‘Ratfucker’, sounding uncannily like Lou Reed. Its a compelling slice of New York trash-rock if a little off-putting in its nastiness. Armand sounds like a truly unpleasant man, but I enjoyed it nonetheless in the same way that I enjoy listening to Johnny Rotten singing ’Bodies’, or any number of gangster rappers and grime MCs digging in the dirt. Its perhaps slightly too beholden to Lou Reed to be truly great though.
Side one ends with a sequence of ’Nuggets’ style psyche-punk tunes, all in thrall to The Rolling Stones and The Who at their most amped up. The Misunderstood must have deafened themselves in the studio recording ‘Children of the Sun,’ so loud and raucous are the guitars and drums. Love it!
Morgen’s ‘Welcome to the Void’ and Colosseum‘s ‘The Kettle‘ (famously sampled by Norman cook) are no less hard rocking. This strand of Hard-psych is probably much more Rock than it is punk really, the sort of stuff that lead to Black Sabbath rather than The Stooges I reckon. Anyway, I couldn’t resist cranking these up to get the full effect, and they make a great end to side one.

So solid so far, but things started to get really interesting for me on Side 2. I was on much less familiar ground here. After another decent psych-rock track from Factory , came the spooky theme tune to the 70s Sci-fi TV series, The Tomorrow People. A long way before my time, but it’s the sort of thing I would have liked as a kid, and it’s a brilliantly evocative slice of Radiophonic uncanniness.

There’s insect related balladry next of course with ‘Lacewing’ by Chrysalis (according to the you tube blurb here Spider Barbour, the author of this song is now “a naturalist devoted to the lives of moths and butterflies.” funnily enough….). The flutes (or mellotron?) give this song a similar sort of vibe to ‘The Fool on the hill’. The melody is very pretty but it’s a terribly miserable song ; ‘Oh how I dread to go on…’. The next choice doesn’t let up on the misery either: Julie Felix’s version of Bert Jansch’s ‘Needle of Death’.
'Harrowing’ would be a lazy description of a song like ’Needle of Death’. While I quite like this song and Julie Felix’s cover version, I’m probably more conditioned to prefer the Lou Reed approach to this subject matter which seems much less simplistic and immediate than the sad eyed misery ballads of the folkies (I’m thinking of Neil Young’s “Needle and the damage done’ here. Always one of my least favourite Young songs). For those early sixties folk singers the loss of innocence is always mired in regret, rarely accompanied by euphoria and release. They can get a little wearing as a result and I’d probably reach for the fast forward button say, seven times out of ten when it gets to this track. Same goes for Lacewing I’m afraid…

You’ll be glad to hear that I cheered up immensely when I heard the next track; Annette Peacock’s ‘I’m the one’. The centrepiece of the tape for me, I was genuinely stunned when I heard it. After an ominous intro of mournful horns and free jazz drums, a sort of strange electronic cyber-chirrup suddenly enters and the song begins. Its difficult to describe but what followed put me in mind of some of the most far out and groovy music of the late 60s/early 70s: Sly Stone, Miles Davis, even The Beatles of ‘I Want You’ and ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun‘. Heavy, moody music, sweaty with desire. That weird electronic skronk that lifts the track into the realms of the truly strange turns out to be Annette’s (stunning) voice fed through an early synthesiser. Wow…

The next three songs on the tape are all taken from musicals.  Haunting jazz with Jean Pace's 'Afro Blue' (here is John Coltrane’s version of it) and Mary Lou Williamson’s ‘The Devil is a Woman with a Red Dress on’, with its fantastically complex vocal arrangements. I’m feeling it…

An all time Children’s classic next with Inchworm, taken from the film Hans Christian Anderson. It’s beautifully sung and arranged, and educational too!
. . Funnily enough it turns out that John Coltrane also featured this song in his sets for years, and would have played it along with tunes like ‘Afro Blue’ and his classic version of ‘My Favourite things’. So there you go…

Some obscure 60s jangle-folk from Judy Henske comes next. ‘Charity’ is a pretty good song, lifted by a rousing chorus, picking up the pace a bit.
The selection takes a rather more bizarre turn with the English poet John Betjemen reading his own ‘Licorice fields at Pontefract’ over a sort of soft-psych backing track. It’s a little daft and whimsical for my tastes but it at least prompted me to read up a bit on John Betjemen, who I’ll admit I knew next to nothing about until now. Interesting chap…

Next, another familiar melody in an unfamiliar context with Paul Mauriat’s sitar-driven, orchestral version of the Supremes’ classic ‘You keep me hanging on’. Like the Tomorrow People theme, the arrangement features these great tremulous melody lines that seem to be a blur of horns, strings and human voices all singing in unison, in an echo chamber. At least that’s what it sounds like to me. Who knows?
(a completely irrelevant aside, but check out this video of the original in which at around 1.24 mins Diana Ross is momentarily possessed by the Devil! This really freaked me out… )

Fresh’s ‘Borstal Theme’ starts with a narration from an authentic sounding young Borstal tough before a big OTT rock opera piece of silliness kicks in. To be honest I’ve always disliked rock opera’s like Tommy or the Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow and this is definitely along those lines. (Apparently the ’Fresh out of Borstal’ concept album was inspired by a conversation with Pete Townsend).

By now I’m wanting to hear something more soulful and rootsy after all this weirdness so I’m happy that the tape ends with a couple of fine reggae selections, book ending the tape nicely. Glenn Miller (no, not that one…) is also known for making American style Soul records like this,
but this tape’s selection, 'Dungeon' is a lovely piece of rocksteady with those fantastic backing harmonies in the style of The Heptones.

Then the tape runs out halfway through the final, unlisted reggae number. I press eject and turn it over…

STN - “Up Against The Wall, Mum!”

First things first, the packaging and name of this tape are a little unsettling. The cover features a demonic-looking puppy and enclosed was a picture, I presume of STN, sporting a gas-mask and apparently “fucking suffocating” in a Morrison’s photobooth. In-keeping with the slightly disturbing art, the tape’s title, Up Against The Wall Mum, had me worried about the contents as particularly aggressive music is generally not one of my more preferred types. I had a while to dwell on this prior to listening, as tracking down a tape player proved more difficult than I had expected.



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)

IdleRich reviews Matt B

OK, well the other reviewers have done something more interesting than merely listing the songs and saying what they like about each but, in the absence of any clever ideas I’m going to do it the old fashioned and simple way. Got the cd through the door already knowing it was from Matt but not really sure what to expect except for a vague idea that he was a contributor to Woofer and therefore likely to be into reggae and other related music…. to my surprise however, after a spoken sample the tape kicks off with a couple of hard rocking tunes from Bitch Magnet and Fury. I really struggle with this kind of stuff I have to be honest and I don’t think either of these is going to be the one to reel me in. Of the two I much prefer the second, which is far more aggressive and raw with a desperate and on edge sounding vocal ramping up the excitement levels and competing with the pummelling drums to force its way into your head. It does what it wants to quickly and effectively making its predecessor seem bloated in comparison.
After these things take an immediate turn for the better; I’ve always enjoyed Captain Beefheart without feeling the need to track down all his stuff and the next track – Here I Am I Always Am – is new to me and also rather good. It’s catchy and filled with tempo changes and sticks in your head to the extent that I’ve often found myself humming it at random points of the day. The next track is an uncharacteristically (from what I’ve heard) hooky number from Albert Ayler – it’s quite similar to Beefheart but also somewhat odder with the way that bits unexpectedly drop out and the vocal is stuttered or just stops at one point. Love the all over the place drumming later on that sounds like some nutter whacking fuck out of some pots and pans…. but I think I’m noticing a pattern of sorts here now with tunes coming in pairs that are arguably similar. This continues with Patches by Clarence Carter and a disco tune from Barry White. I did some research here (did I cheat?) and apparently Patches was a big and “sentimental” hit for CC in the seventies but it’s new one to me. Well, it certainly is sentimental, it’s also fucking brilliant with a massive chorus and a great cheesy story of battles against poverty and adversity that has me almost in tears when I listen to it drunk and which I listen to many times when I’m drunk. I love this kind of stuff and this is great. Also enjoy the next one, a relatively restrained vocal performance from White over a slinky, multicoloured slice of disco. Not quite as good as its predecessor but a worthy follower I think.
OK, after the last pair we get a couple of more electronic things. The first – Cathart by Isan – sounds like it would fit easily on to a seventies electronic library (kind of reminded me of the Klaus Weiss one I put on the tape I made for Matt in fact, in feel and sound if not really in song structure) except rounded out to give you a full experience - instead of frustratingly finishing after 38 seconds and leaving you with the dawning realisation that the rest of the album is total bobbins which is the listening experience I associate with the average library track. It feels cold and sounds like a signal from outer space though probably not one to us, just something we might catch part of by accident as it passes through our galaxy and that we will never be able to understand. Yeah, I like it a lot.
Some of this feel is preserved for the next track - Shackleton remixed by Pole – except the sounds this is created from seem to be more earth bound, sonic detritus in fact, unwanted noises from machines that are designed for other purposes – which is a round about way of saying that the I’m pretty sure that the main instrument here is a photocopier fleshed out with a few more exotic bendy sounds as it nears the end. It’s got a kind of funky little groove to it with Pole’s trademark warm glitches on top, another very nice track.
And now some of the predicted reggae starts to show up beginning with LV feat Dandelion and a track called CCTV – an inspired follow up to the previous track as it keeps the same kind of low key groove going and uses a related sound palette, becoming more cinematic and slinky in feel as it continues until finally it’s replaced with another cinematic and ghostly (and wicked I should say) reggae tune from The Shanti-ites. Next more reggae and I don’t really need to say much about this track having already asked what it was on dissensus (it’s listed as “?” on the listing as it’s an uncredited b-side) and bought it – I will say that everyone who has been round my house when I’ve played it has asked what it was so it should be clear that it’s really good. Then some Lee Perry with a track that reminds me in a weird kind of way of Double Heart by Robert Rental, one of my all time favs – although it doesn’t really sound anything like it, must be something similar in the lyrics I suppose although it’s called Nuh Fe Run Down which doesn’t tie in too well either.
Then our selector obviously decided it was time for a change in pace, DJ Vadim feat Demolition Man with a hectic (or at least hectic compared to the last few tunes) slice of reggae hip-hop, good fun and with one really cool noise that keeps cropping up when you least expect it. The next track raises the energy levels higher still, K-Rock/Linda Lovelace “Brock Up, Mash Up” consists entirely of those lyrics in a brilliant/annoying high pitched voice over huge electronic bass and beats. It’s effervescent and another I find myself humming after just one listen. The next track I can’t quite read the title of but it could be Cancer Queen which would be good because it’s the name of a book I just read. Either way it’s made from a vocal loop and sirens and a wired bassline which crashes in every now and again for that added danceability factor, after a few listens it struck me what a funky track this is. Saying this is strikes me that one thing I ought to make clear in general about this tape is that I’d definitely like to hear a few of these tunes out – although probably not the next one, a reworking of the Penis Song from Monty Python over some breakbeat drumming with the odd bit of computerised stretching thrown in every now and again.
Two hip-hop tracks next – Murs first up and I’m not really feeling it that much I’m afraid. A powerful lyric is backed with a beat that’s not really interesting enough to engage you for the whole thing and the hodge-podge of samples doesn’t really grab me either. The next track from Mr Lif starts more interestingly but again doesn’t really keep that interest until the end.
Then Fairport Convention, a band I’ve never quite been able to make my mind up about. My friend played me some of their stuff that was nice but some of it is just plain annoying. This one – Angel Delight – is somewhere in the middle for my money. It certainly has an annoying edge to it but somehow survives that to make it a kind of marmite type pleasure. I need to listen to the lyrics more carefully to figure out even roughly what is going on in what appears to be a narrative but it seems to be something a little strange to say the least.
Then finally a track called Fucked Up, an appropriate ending to a great mix. An irreverent bit of exuberant punk swearing that sounds as though the band are enjoying it and you can’t be going too far wrong if you’ve got that coming through in your tunes. So overall, a really good mixture of styles with some killer selections (Isan, Clarence Carter, ? etc) and, inevitably, a few I wasn’t quite so keen on and which never takes itself too seriously – which is exactly what you’re hoping for when you sign up here, to find out about someone else’s tastes and what makes them click musically. I think I’ve had a good whistle-stop tour round part of Matt’s collection and I like it – sounds like it would be a good place to go and visit properly and spend more time in the bits I liked the best. Thanks a lot for this Matt and same to Dan for organising.

John Eden's magickal mystery tape

(Review by Bassbeyondreason)
This tape came with the tracklist inside another sealed envelope, with a recommendation of blind listening. Mr Eden will be pleased to know that I managed not to peek at the tracklist before listening (although I couldn't bring myself to throw away the envelope unopened). Side A was a solid mix of (mainly unfamiliar) roots reggae/one drop. I ended up playing it quite a bit while reading/resting/napping, and it worked well. Side B was the real treat though, with a lot of industrial and noise taking me back to my early teenage years, including a Consolidated song I haven't listened to in at least 7 years, so cheers for the flashback. Also had one of Stewart Home's musical efforts, which I was impressed by and will be investigating, plus some foreign punk band whose name I don't remember (and don't have the tracklist to hand), who were great and completely new to me. Roll on next swap!

IdleRich “Blank” cassette swap

This started so badly, my cassette deck falling at the first hurdle- that is, in making a tape. After eighteen years service (bought with my first ever grant cheque from Richer Sounds in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne), it finally gave up the ghost immediately I pressed the button with the red circle, first record cued up and ready to go.

So, my contribution became a one away CD- all data immediately erased- and meant that in order to play the tape compiled by Rich, I had to dig around in various boxes searching for my old cassette walkman. Which I failed to locate. Instead, I have been listening to it on a dictaphone which uses full size tapes (rather than the mini-ones that I used to tape Morecombe and Wise with and then listen to under the pillow at night).

However, it is possible that the poor audio reproduction qualities of the battery hungry Sony TCM-84V may not be a bad thing. This is because Rich’s tape seems to mine a seam of obscurities where the dust and accumulated resins present on the physical artefact actually enhance the overall listening experience.

This is of course, pure conjecture, as I have not researched or Googled any of the artists presented herein. That seemed wrong. I only briefly glanced at the track list, having read a nice note from the man himself. I only recognised a couple of names, Morricone being one. I think. I don’t have the bit of paper in front of me.

Overall, this excellent tape places me in a woozy state of mind, slightly concerned for the creators of the music, who it would seem, are trying to create classic pop/rock songs but somehow failing to due to some sort of mental derangement. Good.


Press play.

“Hello there, hello there…” a Pinky and Perky impersonator states over 1960s surf music, with added electronic overdubs. A bass throb punched in by a drunk. Frighteningly fast Morse Code signals- a panicked message from the future (or past).

This is followed by what sounds like library music with a French lounge God doing his best to get the girls. I wish I understood French. I’d love to see the TV programme this (may) come(s) from- all smart suits and Gitannes. It would, no doubt have a classic ‘Bad Trip’ episode.

[I may as well mention this now. I know next to nothing about 1) library music (beyond a Vibert compiled ‘Nuggets’ compilation and from memories of that, I’d put a fair bit of the music here into the genre. I've wanted to know more, but other things -reggae- have always got in the way), or 2) the rest of the stuff on the tape. So I, as with the above comments and those that follow, could be way off and/or hugely offensive. I’m listening in the dark here.]

An interlude with layers of effects. This time a ghost sings along with a looped bass/ piano/ drum trio funking it up in European fashion.

A Flute! Spaghetti Western guitars! A Triangle! Axelrod sounding? Nice.

Then the Clangers bang pots inna Konono No. 1 style. Is it any surprise that Rich started a thread on Dissensus about Psychedelic music? No.

An orchestra tunes up. A Tuba. Chanting. More overdubs- crowd noise, surf guitar, guttural utterances, construction site banging, blowing through a straw into a glasss of water. Church bells. A baby cries. A Rewind. You can still dance to it. A pretty remarkable feat.

Wonky deep soul. Men are bastards. But hey, come on in! I’m in a spin! I want your love.

The electronic wiggle thread reappears, this time over kosmiche wah-wahing, aided by a jazz drummer, feeling free. Scat singing! It works! Must be exhausting searching all this stuff out.

Rich loves that distorted bass sound too. I bet that break’s been sampled to fuck. I’m rocking in my chair. Woo Hoo!

By now, I’m fairly ashamed of my meagre CD- a lack of ‘WTF?’ obscurities; rather a Radio6 show without the talking. Apart from ‘The Penis Song’. At least it wasn’t all reggae.

A vocal number comes and goes. I was writing the above. A vain attempt to cover my back.

A change of pace. A couple of Disco/Funk numbers. Like wot DFA copied.

Bit of a skronk out at the end of the next one.

Fuck it, bung it all in. See what comes out. As long as the drummer keeps us on track. Which (s)he does. Jaunty horror business. The whipcrack a tad threatening.

A late night drive in a Citroen DS. Away from the city. Still got the F. Some Mellow Candle ‘wooing’ for emphasis. They escaped. But only just. Phew.

Drum machines and synths left to run. Good timing, My brain could do with time to consolidate.

Turn Over. Press Play.

Intros and outros are important, especially on tapes. (Better on tapes- you get four goes). On side two, we’re invited to the circus to see the Indian rubber boy, fat ladies, sword swallowers and snake charmers, amongst other things. Some acts multi-task others eat animals alive. A sense of Nick Cave overtaken by Ju-ju.

Some 1960s optimistic beat- pop. Seems a bit straight up after side one. The band members probably wore Winklepickers. Which- to me- are more interesting than the music playing:

“They [Winklepickers] attained some notoriety, when they first appeared, as a result of being worn in gang fights (sometimes by both sexes) though it seems that contemporary newspaper reports of such clashes were, as ever, sensationalised flights of the imagination on the part of bored journalists with nothing better to write about. In fact, although the Winklepicker looks lethal, it would be far more likely for damage to be caused to the delicately pointed shoe than to the opponent in any serious kicking incident…” (Wikipedia).

We get back on track. Someone’s having fun putting their voice through a barrage of effects. I hope it’s a love song, though I can’t tell. What was that Pink Floyd song that Ween copied? Something to do with weasels in a cave? Anyway, the vocal multi-tracking at the end of this song is like that.

More effect laden vocals, this time combined with electronica rather than a hammond. ‘Synth-pop’ would be too fluffy a term. Add some Krautrock. I wonder if Rich will like the ISAN tune I included on his comp? The singer here sounds a bit like Mark Gardener in the chorus. I’ve still got the Ride demo somewhere. On cassette, natch.

The next one could well be created by 1960s Haight-Ashbury types before going all Butthole Surfers covering ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ for a few bars. Is the tape player warbling? Wow? Flutter? Probably meant to sound like that. A brief piano outro? Crazy hippies.

A sax plays the ‘I want your soul’ melody from Aphex’s ‘Come to Daddy’. Or is it ‘I’m a man, yes I am, yes I am’? Don’t know who sung that. Anyway, the enjoyable drums/hammond/guitar combination continues.

Any attempt to guess the nation of origin of this one could well make me look like a racist twunt. The mystical Far East meets Dixieland jazz. That crass enough for you?

Do the Mashed Potato*! Inna echo chamber.
*No, that’s not the right dance- it should be the one where you put your hands on opposite knees and stuff.

Crikey, sexy girl wants to dance with me. Can’t say no.

Dr Bizarre likes his synths, but laughs evilly.

Then The Adventure Game meets Fat Boy Slim (sorry). Add vocoder.

Tape ends.


I’m exhausted doing all that.

So, a wicked cassette from areas of music I have at best a passing knowledge of and I didn’t know a single song in the entire 90 minutes. I don’t feel the need to dig much deeper with this sort of stuff, but that is in no way to demean of diminish the quality- I dread to think the amount of time Rich has spent trawling through dusty record shops searching out these gems. I’m just glad I now own a tape that I can use to quench a thirst I didn’t know I had, as and when required.

I believe Rich deejays, and if this is the sort of music he plays out, I’d heartily recommend an evening in his company.

Lots of love,

Matt B

Benny B's Garage Mixes

It was with some trepidation I opened the first package in this round of the Dissensus tape swap and noted that it was all Garage! Two mixes back to back, one 1997-98, the other from 2001-2003. Blimey - house music! It’s been so long! Soundtrack to my youth in a lot of ways… many a misspent night was spent bopping away googly-eyed to repetitive beats, from my late teens to my late 20s really. Going back earlier, I can remember listening to what was probably the first house music shows in London, Jazzy M (on errmmm… LWR?) and hearing the acid house on pirates. Early Trax singles found their way out to Ilford and used to nestle alongside Nu Groove, with Soul II Soul and Just Ice in my record boxes. These days however, house music has been washed out of life, alongside clubs, drugs and dancing sadly. None of the latter have gone completely but all are lot less frequent than they used to be. House music in the last few years has most regularly been heard as annoying, distant thump through floors and walls, prompting mucho bitching on my part if it happens to be my flat.

Anyway, as it’s a mix, I’m not going to do a track by track breakdown. I’m going to more write about my reactions and pull out a few tunes which stood out to me. I decided to listen to this tape while doing simple tasks like the washing up and cooking. Stuff where I like my brain to wander off. I must confess for the opening couple of songs on first listen I wasn’t feeling it – but gradually I began to warm up, as dormant parts of my brain came back on line. In a way, it felt like what I was doing was retraining my ears. Instead of looking for the various indefinable whatever-they-ares I normally go for, I felt I was tuning into something much simpler, and listening for something very different. Simple structures - drumsbeat/hi-hat, bass, various samples and mid tones sounds and stabs – and in these structures, the pleasures seemed to come out of tuning into the way these elements interplayed, listening for both the pleasures of repetition and the slight variations in tone and texture. I also found myself listening just to sound in itself a lot more, just simple noises that got me going. For instance, I particularly liked the bass sound on “Mr Maniac” by Genaside II - deep and resonant but still a bit cheap sounding and tinny, as if made by flatulent Metal Mickey. Another example of this is “Bad Boy” on Side 2 – loads of different sounds bouncing off each other – rolling bass, bruk up ragga samples, alongside other tones, stabs and clicks. Great tune. I may be getting weirdly overanalytical here (consequences of listening to dance music at home and writing about it maybe?) but it reminds me of dub – not so much how it sounds, but in the interplay of parts.

Another aspect for me was very much connotation – the connections and memories summoned up by these simple textures. I know that I like that bass soundd because of a couple of old UK house/hardcore records I used to know (I keep thinking Unique 3 but am not sure if this is right.). As I stood there, with my hands deep in suds, other pleasures came to mind. Not so much memories of clubbing, but synthaesthic impressions – dim red light, dry ice, just moving, spacing out, certain little fantasies I used to have while dancing. “Deep Inspiration” by Double 99 was a a particularly good example of this – just the simple keyboard riff reminded me of the idea/concept/impression of clubbing in NY the Paradise Garage. Not that I’ve ever been but I imbibed a ton of style magazine articles, pirate radio interviews and fragments of clubland history that this groove summons to mind.

On the subject of connotations, I will admit this cuts both ways. The four four beat in particular has negative connotations for me – years of hearing it, muffled, through next door neighbours wall etc meant, at moments, I'd have an adverse reaction. I almost felt I had to distract myself by listening to other elements in the mix. I’m sure this is also consequence of listening to the mixes on my crappy cheap stereo in the kitchen – I’m sure these beats aren’t meant to be just meant to be heard, but felt instead. A couple of tracks I found a bit boring for this reason – not enough extra going on - I think it might’ve been the Wesley J & Shimano ones?

Some other tracks that stood out for me – both the tracks by G.O.D. , they seemed to me heavier, with more of a jungle/ragga feel coming in. Lots of snapping kick drums and again farty UK basslines again. I liked “Lickle Rolla” as well for the breakbeaty feel and the ringtone bassline.

Alrighty, to sum up then - I’d say I enjoyed the mix the most, when I imagined myself dancing and let myself go into my impressions and memories of clubbing. There’s an edge of nostalgia for that stuff with me, the scent of sweat and amyl nitrate. Also, the more I listened to it, the more I like it – it’s not just about retuned ears here, there’s something hypnotic going on. Giving in to the repetition. Musically, I seem to lean towards the UK/ragga/jungle axis, which is unsurprising given my affection for reggae. I’m not sure if I’m the target audience for this kind of mix anymore but I really enjoyed it, and it’s been really interesting to reengage and think about the music in a way I never used to, though without the bursts of weekend hedonism, I can’t imagine getting fully back into it. Overall, then top stuff, and thanks a million.

DannyL

FLC - Round 4

A new round of the Ferrite Love Connection has been announced! To ensure that everybody who actually participates gets a tape, this time all tapes will be distributed from one central location. Sign-up here (ferriteloveconnection at gmail dot com) or over at the thread on dissensus. Check the thread for more info.

Deathwave

Received this tape through the post accompanied by a large cellophane food bag filled with sweeties. I devoured the gobstoppers and jellies while surveying the tape labelled ‘Deathwave: The Sound of One Hand Snapping’. Overjoyed at the free sugar and suspicious as to the anonymous sender’s luck with regards to the choice of bribe I placed the tape aside until review time and lit my spliff.

The first track is some crazy, indescribable music. One bit of sound in it reminded me of that rave hardcore vibe and then it drifted into something that sounded like Bladerunner Vangelis. After several minutes of listening I thought that whoever has put this together knows what they are doing as a soundscape began to form. Tracks are expertly faded together and the sound quality is good.

The music then changed to some funky electronic beat like I was now in the seventies. A synth layered in that connected this track with the previous and I sat back and chilled listening quietly for a moment. After a while glockenspiel and harpsichord elements broke the hypnotic beat and then kicked up into gear like some Akira dance. A male vocal joins the fray and now I’m tapping my foot along to a growling bass.

Wow, the first side ended with a skipping track that then got turned off at just the right moment. Impressive structuring. Flipped over to side two and the pace is kept up with a slamming guitar riff and fast pace drums. The music then goes quite dark and eventually we come to a sampled voice repeating the phrase “Please everybody if we haven’t done what we could’ve done we’ve tried”.

This is an intense mix. The second side drifts off into a group of songs that meld together despite their obvious differences. My tape player actually broke half way through this section and I had to stop the tape and turn everything off for a few minutes. There is a recurring fault which prevents me from using this machine much where it will start to add really loud static to whatever is playing. Switching it off for a few minutes and back on again will rectify it for an unknown period of time. Hopefully the end of the tape.

A cute piece of music has just broken the long previous section. Sounding like whistling birds in a crystal lake. A dramatic end approaches and my sender does not disappoint with a beautiful alien Indian ambient track that suddenly cuts off to finish.

Overall, I was impressed. Technically superb, expertly structured and with a strong set of tracks, I was entertained and amazed without getting bored. However, what shone most was the obvious time and effort invested in this tape and for me that is what really made it stand out.

Around The World at 33 1/3

In line with the traditions of the Dissensus Tape Swap this review is late. Apologies for that. Nevertheless, on with the music…

Being one of the more music obsessed of my friends, and having plenty of time on my hands, I’m more used to being the giver than the receiver when it comes to mixtapes, so it was nice to get this CD through the post the other month and listen to someone else’s compilation.


The tape’s title “Around the World at 33 1/3” pretty much sums up the breadth of music contained on the maxed out CD-R. A quick glance at the tracklisting revealed very few artists I was familiar with, short of The Beach Boys, Love, Lee Perry and Gal Costa, and to be honest I wouldn’t have expected any less from a Dissensian. Yet far from being an educational chore this is a lively trip through music from at least four, possibly five, continents, each track featuring a different language from the previous.


I’m not overly familiar with many of the styles of music on “Around the World…” and hence I’m hesitant to put genre tags to the contents, but safe to say it features film soundtracks from both Holly and Bollywood (David Shire and R.D. Burman), Krautrock (Krokodil), Jazz (Rufus Harley) and plenty of others. A common theme is the generally upbeat tone and all the tunes are very listenable. I’ve stuck this tape on pretty regularly for pure enjoyment over the last couple of months and it makes a good pottering record. I’ve found myself singing along to languages I don’t even understand on more than one occasion which is a good sign.

In terms of compilation, it flows well and sounds like it’s been recorded live straight off of vinyl. I’d like to imagine Peter Gunn surrounded by record sleeves, rifling through to pick out tunes as the previous one plays. In actual fact, the smooth progression and careful ebb of the atmosphere possibly belies more careful planning than the hastily written tracklisting suggests.

If I had to pick out favourite tracks, the Rufus Harley tune 8 Miles High is a definite stand-out. Even amongst the plethora of styles, this bag-pipe jazz tune sticks out a mile. There’s also a heavily funk infused Chinese tune with no name (“I can’t read Chinese”) which caught my attention and on a more laid-back tip a prog track, which I think is Insane by Mantis, which, well, goes insane at the end. The nameless Lee Perry tune is suitably space-out too.

So I guess "Around the World at 33 1/3" is the mixtape ideal - edutainment in the best possible sense. Beyond that its an enjoyable mixtape that's stayed close to my CD player since I received it and doesn't look like it'll be moving any time soon.

COMING VERY SOON....

If you made a tape and included a letter apologising for the Korean track that skipped, don't worry, review is coming very soon...delays caused by massive redundancy swoop at work that's shaken everything up, having to resolve a fraud case with the bank and general mishaps and mayhem, which hasn't given me enough time to do the tape justice...so hang tight, it'll be here soon....

Loads of Hardcore!

I’ve never got a mixtape in the post before. I wasn’t even aware that people used the internet for this sort of thing, although it should really have been obvious from the outset. I mean, as soon as those scientists had finished transmitting large parcels of data all over the north-eastern United States way back in the early days, the next thing they did must have been swapping mixtapes, right? Or something. Anyway, I had no idea what might be contained within the brown paper envelope that arrived in my letterbox. Could be anything, really, which is kind of the point. Turns out it was CD. A CD with ‘Illegal Rave’ written on it in magic marker. The cover was a basic plastic sleeve with a tantalisingly incomplete flyer inside. One side of the flyer informed me that from 9pm to 6am every Friday night, something went on at a place called ‘Milwaukees’. The other side of the flyer had a picture of a large crowd gathered behind a steel fence, as well as one of two guys clearly having quite a nice time, thanks very much. So I put the disc in my CD player and pushed the button. A voice springs out of the speakers…

Bloke A: “You got any hardcore?”
Bloke B: “ Whazzat mate, sorry?
Bloke A: “I said, you got any hardcore?”
Bloke B: “Hardcore?! Yeah sure, we got loads of hardcore! We got Reinforced Records, Moving Shadow Records, Strictly Underground Records….what you want, mate, c’mon, what you want?
Bloke A: “Have you got Trip to Trumpton?”

A-ha! So it’s hardcore! I’d been having what you might call tantalising brushes with this thing that people called hardcore for some time now, but I’d never actually managed to get around to listening to any, apart from lots of half-remembered pitched-up Kylie vocals and huge kick-drums in the closing stages of raves. I wasn’t sure I was going to like a whole CD full of that kind of thing. Thankfully, this wasn’t anything of the sort. This was completely mental. The music poured into the room, covered in a thick layer of static. Piano rolls, huge wobbly bass. Ropey mixing, weird pitch-shifts. Rhythms all piling in on top of each other. Bloody brilliant. I hadn’t heard anything this exciting in ages. I mean, it didn’t sound that great. This wasn’t yer hi-fi, buddy. It wasn’t melodically complex or even particularly ordered. It wasn’t conforming to a set of boundaries outside those imposed by the technology used to make the music, or if it was it made a very good job of hiding the fact. No, this was pure, unbridled, noisy energy and it sounded like dancing! It sounded like good times on the dancefloor with all your best friends and those guys standing in the queue at Milwaukees. The disc went on for about an hour, and the lack of track markers meant that there was no going back if I wanted to hear the end. The end came halfway through a really neat build-up, but I suppose that’s kind of appropriate, if a little bit disappointing.

So thanks, mysterious Londoner. It’s not every day you get to hear just over an hour of fresh, oddly resonant music that gets you dancing around your living room like a man possessed. I’ll be seeking out some more of this kind of thing, for sure.

SUPERSTAR DJS FUCK OFF! - From LDN to the Chi

I have so much Ferrite Love I cannot even describe how excited I was to receive my tape in the mail. And even better -- it came from the UK! Part of the reason I hang around Dissensus is to soak up all the lovely Brit vibes, so this rubbed my Anglophilic pleasure zones right before I opened the package! I did face some not-insubstantial disappointment, however, after ripping into the envelope -- in violation of established rules and long-held customs, the tape was not decorated!

However, in the charitable spirit of international mix exchange, I will dub this a deliberate aesthetic choice, and actually, now that I think about it, quite appropriate for the rough-around-the-edges contents contained therein.

I was further delighted by the tracklisting, handscrawled on a piece of notebook paper: I recognized barely any of the artists and NONE of the songs. Exactly why I got into this business. And the flippant description! I knew this would be something special.

I will refrain from narrating the entire contents, but I'll do my best to describe the music: PUNK AS FUCK without an overwhelming amount of punk. Really, the mixture of reggae, punk, jungle/breakcore, with the odd bit of grime/bhangra/pub chant made me think "AUTHENTIC UK CULTURAL PRODUCT" many times, and I said as much to my friends if they happened to be in the car with me: "Yeah, you know, I got this tape from North London... got connections on the interweb doncha know..." If I were a mixtape archaeologist (and Xenu willing, I will be some day), I'd say the fella who recorded this (on his "battered, 14-year old aiwa tape deck") is between 30 and 40 years of age, of Irish extraction but currently living in London (and probably a bit bitter about it), peppers his diction with liberal doses of "fuck" and "cunt," can drink me under the table, and has a box of 7-inches in his closet that pisses on my entire record collection from a great height. Some indications of at least one poorly made amateur tattoo from his teen years, but an all around clever guy. Apologies if I'm off the mark, this is practice.

Anyway, the MUSIC! Most of it I enjoyed greatly -- I've always believed track selection is 90% of what makes a good mix, and this one had it in spades. In fact, within days I had downloaded Lee Perry's "Dubbing Psycho Thriller," Z-Factor's "Fast Cars" (I am going to kill many a mixtape with this no-wave gem, don't let my secret out), and Salma Agha's sublime Bollywood funk, "Sote Sote Adhi Raat." Side A is practically perfect, except that the Resonance FM Midnight Sex Chat bit at the beginning is too unintelligible and basically sounds like someone watching television in the next room. My no-count friends (aka DRUNKS) also loved the punk songs and the overall working class atmosphere the tape provided for the Nissan, as frequently my car trips include too much gay dance music and too much rap in incomprehensible languages. The Slaughter and the Dogs track went over particularly well with this crowd.

Where my friends and I differed was on the prevalence of pub sing-a-longs and other Irish folky bits on Side B, and that's because I'm a nancyboy without a drop of Irish blood in my body. I fast-forward through the John Cooper Clarke every time. Give me more of the Tuff To The Bone, it makes me feel well hard (you see what this British culture does to me). HOWEVER, I forgive the tape all minor sins on established anthropological grounds -- I am not such a philistine that I can't recognize EXCLUSIVE AUTHENTIC CULTURAL PRODUCT when I hear it, and I continue to keep this tape close at hand. I just hope its Spartan decor doesn't let it get lost in my pile of FAR INFERIOR mixtapes which I have similarly neglected to label. Good sequencing, consistent volume, and shit-hot track selection makes this a treasured artifact in my music collection, exotic origins notwithstanding. And I'd trade your tape recorder over mine in a hot minute.

“All you freaky ass ho’s from the north to the south,
stick out your tongue
and get these balls up in your mouth”

DJ Deeon – Gimme Head

One thing that may always be a mystery too me is why girls seem to absolutely love Ghettotech. Lyrically it’s some of the most vulgar and misogynistic music there is; but hell when it comes time to drop ones booty to the floor it seems it’s ‘the dirtier the better’ as a rule. I’m sure not complaining though cause it certainly raises the temperature of a dancefloor on a Saturday night and really, I think we all know to take this with a pretty big grain of salt(no matter what Dj Assault’s true intentions are…). But I digress, for this is no ghettotech mix (although I just happen to know and love all 3 tracks here and only a few others on the rest of the tape), no it’s 18 songs and 45 minutes of relentless, energetic, eclectic, bass-heavy and sweat inducing peak-time tunes.

I’d go through each tune but I’d run the risk of sounding like an ignorant fool so I’ll stick with the 8 that I know for sure and gloss over the one’s that caught my ear that I don’t know. The three aforementioned Ghettotech songs help gets things warmed up, first with Aaron Carl’s seductive 21 positions, mmm I love sexy girls singing about dirty things…mmm that bassline, oo yeaaa…ahem. Next we have the previously quoted Gimme Head by DJ Deeon, hmm wonder what this songs about (songs got an undeniable beat though)…and then, a classic, Assault’s Dick by the Pound. This is the second Ghettotech song I ever heard, I know its second because it’s the song after Ass’N’Titties on Mr Mutha Fukha. I love this song because of the back and forth vocals which are strangely…err…do I dare say, charming?! (now that is not the right word…). Next up is a pretty epic female fronted Baile Funk track which I haven’t a clue about but if the author of this tape wants to spill the beans, you know...I’d appreciate it and stuff.


The next song is Dexplicit feat. Nana – Lost Control (wideboys booty juice mix) a bassline tune I didn’t know at all when I first got this tape, but the past month I’ve been poking my nose around the web(or mainly just Continuum’s blog and the Dissensus thread) and happened upon it completely by accident. It’s actually a pretty great song for some reason I can’t really put my finger on. In a genre where every song sounds the same, it’s one of the few songs that sounds different, but really it doesn’t sound different at all…ugh I have no idea how to describe this song, but I just know I like it(and pretty much everything else Dexplicit has a hand in).

The next song is by the mighty Blaqstarr (who I wish would release a whole lot more since everything he’s done is golden to my ears). All the girls around the world is simply a great B-more track, the signature stuttering beat, the androgynous vocal beckoning the girls to the dancefloor and the wonderful little descending guitar sample floating in the background holding everything together; pure bliss(yes that’s all it takes for me to achieve bliss). We then segue into another song I’m a big fan of, Akon’s Don’t Matter (Calypso remix). I’m assuming pretty much everyone’s heard the original, yea this version’s better, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

There really is only one song on here that I can say I’m not a fan of. I don’t know who it’s by but it’s some weird reggaeton song sampling Europe’s Final Countdown. Yea the song’s the sample and some drums and some shouting in Spanish over it…meh. A couple of songs later tough Mr. (or Mrs.??) DJ makes me completely forget that hiccup and drops a song my roommate would always play when we were passing the bong around, but I was always too mashed to remember who it was. Anyways it queued up a whole lot of nostalgia (ah the nostalgia of two years past) and the first time I heard it on the tape I was so surprised I think I almost cried and I rewound it 3 or 4 times. Anyways I scrambled to finally figure out who the hell made this wonderfully bizarre politically charged Calypso tinged track. I guess it was a song called Wanted (Dead or Alive) by Manhattan Transfer originally, who I admittedly don’t really know anything about, but the version on this tape is a cover I think cause the beats a bit heavier, the vocalist’s different and there’s these bleeping noises over the top. The version I downloaded is good but not as good as the one on the tape.

Ok the next two songs gave me a shit eating grin because they were incredibly stupid (in absolutely the best way imaginable). The first is a fiery Baile Funk track, which is a genre which is always wacky. It opens up sampling the theme from Star Wars, queue angry Brazilian rapping and heavy bass, nuff said, awesome track. The next is a sped up dubbed out mix of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. This song does inexplicable things to people on the dancefloor, great great great track and if I don’t find out who did this song soon my life will be left incomplete. Anyways the tape pretty much winds itself up with the Cutty Ranks song A Who Seh Meh Dun(Wake De Man) which is a real pleasant end of the night tune ideal for those end of party L’s when everyone that’s not important has already left.

O’ I guess I should say at this point the A side to this tape is completely inaudible, maybe that’s why it’s called Is That All There Is? It’s quite alright I tested this one side at a house party a bit ago and you can’t give a better review to a party mix than to have 20+ people dropping it and making it sweat. That wraps up my horribly written slapdash review. Peace.

NOW REVIEW MY TAPE PLEASE!!

First???

My tape arrived much later than Herr Lepper had planned, months and months after I sent my tape out. My first problem was finding something to play it on. My old tape deck had died for the second time. I dug around in my attic and found an old Walkman.

I knew quite a few of the artists on the tape: Jap Noise exponents Ghost, blind beatnik jazzbo Moondog, Norwegian Art-Metal band Noxagt, UK Folk super-group Pentangle, obscure bruised American Folkster Jack Rose, US Indie Rock Comets on Fire (is that right?) and apocalyptic gimp Charles Manson. I think that gives quite a good idea of the flavour of the tape itself. It was quite a gnarly, depressing compilation of burnt-out sonics. There was however a very distinct palette that was being used and it was refreshing to not have to listen to any modern electronic beats, even if one track a kind of Avant-Undie thingummy with that Will Oldham’s cousin doing nasal rapping over occluded beats did make a showing.

Given the provided artwork and the Northern England postcode I guessed, or rather imagined, that the compiler was once at something like Liverpool Art School. For my own part, and perhaps in direct contradiction to my last comments, I wondered how it was possible to make such a tape without a greater allusion to the dominant drive of 1990s music, dance. It was like that decade had never happened, though I’m sure many people are glad it has been brushed under the carpet. There was something markedly un-deconstructed about all the tracks, and that's always a quality I enjoy.

What struck me most however was the wonderful rich treacly sonics of my old Walkman. I subsequently made the pledge to move back to cassettes on a grander scale. If I had a tape-deck in my hatchback it wouldn’t keep getting broken into! There are some marvellous old tape decks, Nakamichis and Tandbergs, and using one would mean I’d keep a pure analogue pipeline from my old records. The mix-tape as a vehicle
can’t be beat can it?

The tapes are in the mail!

Watch this space for reviews in early January.

Third Time Lucky!

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