Sounds of the summer part 2

In what is becoming something of a regular feature on this here website, here are my thoughts on some more records that have been exciting me over the past few weeks: I was never a good trainspotter because I couldn't and still can't undestand the thrill people got from having every record by a certain producer or a particular label in their collection. Catalogue numbers interest me almost as little as train timetables, so owning a rare pressing of an old release is irrelevant. I'm sure I have a few valuable records in my collection -  one being 'The Journey Home' by Drexciya on Warp (although it's possible there has been a re-pressing) - but it never really meant much to me. I am far too interested in what the sounds are like than who has made them, and that facelessness, that possibility that this music could be made by anyone, was one of the things that endeared me to techno music in the first place. This is all a roundabout way of saying that I don't really have much idea who is behind Morphosis's 'Dark Myths of Phoenicia Part 2' on Morphine Doser, but it doesn't really matter. I played this record out last Saturday and its layered rush of electronic textures sounded ridiculously powerful over a sound system, compared to the previous record (to spare any blushes, I won't say who it was). Maybe it's the mastering, but the beats and snares really pack a punch. It's the perfect combination that so many house/techno producer strive for, the earthy rawness combined with the dreamstate melodies, but so few achieve. Speaking of lofty achievements, I notice that Claro Intelecto is bookending his 'Warehouse Sessions' series with a fifth and final installment. 'Hunt You Down' is the track for me, a return to the cavernous bass sounds that launched the series, but this time laced with cheeswire percussion. It sounds deceptively mellow at home, but assumes a much more powerful persona at higher volumes.

Speaking of emotions and identities, Cassy Britton has just released her second EP on her own label. While it doesn't signal a radical departure from her previous releases on Perlon and Beatstreet etc, it does see her consolidate and perfect her style. The basslines are tougher and meatier and her tendency towards stripped back, jacking rhythms remain, but the centrepiece, as usual, is that voice. Maybe it's because there are so few proper vocalists in electronic dance music -  I'm not counting samples of Martin Luther King, snippets of guys saying 'I go deep', girls screaming 'higher' or something similar, or worst of all those ridiculous pitchbent, hiccuping Minus 'techno vocals' - or it's just because her smoky, bluesy tones are just so distinctive and always hint at a traumatic chapter in her life: on 'Night To Remember' she was singing about 'the night I got changed', here, on 'April' (I think), she sings what sounds like 'love me, leave me, everybody want me'. I could be alone here, but her vocals and their velied message, combined with her new-old school compositions are utterly seductive. Finally, Shed had yet to make an impression on me -  until he remixed Substance's 'Relish'. Forget about the other versions, it's the main one that takes precedence, with a chord sequence that builds and filters to form such an all-encompassing arc that it threatens to overpower the solid beats and razor-sharp percussion on which it is built. Can't wait for for his debut album...

Comments

[Kenny]

Love that new Claro 12 too. Haven't heard that shed rmx yet but i own a few of his twelves, really like them. "Go on my son" was especially good. The lead track gets all the kudos but the flipside is nearly better, the bass is so heavy its hard to play without turning it down. heavy, sparse stuff.

[clom]

That Shed remix is absolutely fantastic, got it at the weekend along with great remix of Luke Hess' "Believe and Receive".

I love the new Terrence Dixon ep too.

[Brophy]

Hey Clom, which Dixon EP? There are a few out at the moment...

[clom]

point of view on finest blend.
although "climb" is pretty good too.