From lwtcdi Sent Thu, Oct 23rd 1997, 18:55
From lwtcdi Sent Thu, Oct 23rd 1997, 18:55
I was wondering if anyone could "enlighten" me on any of these and maybe give a mini-review or quick summary? TEK9 - It's Not What You Think It Is >Shit hot downtempo record from Dego of 4 Hero. Thoroughly blows away >Nightmares on Wax, most NinjaTune stuff, most Mo'Wax stuff, etc. Comes >with a bonus disc of older Tek 9 jungle tracks. Highly recommended. >>I can't disagree with this more strongly..... I gave "It's not..." >>several listens, but found the tracks lifeless beatfodder. Nightmares on >>Wax's "Smoker's Delight" on the otherhand is one of my favorite >>downtempo trip hop records of all time. It's just so damn cool... I think it's a pretty good LP, on the whole. Lifeless beatfodder is a bit nasty. This has more traditional hip-hop beats in a headnodding style along with a couple of drum and bass tracks for good measure. NOW is maybe a little better as an album, but if you get Tek 9 one with the bonus disk then this will probably more than make up for it (I bought the vinyl so I don't know what it's like). >BTW, was the new 4 Hero album released this week? Yes, I have it here. It's pretty good, if not the amazing thing that it could've been. 4 Hero - Earth Pioneers Tracks 1.Hal's Children Minimal tech-step jungle made with drum machines sounds and analogue blips. Half way through some huge clatter dustbin drums burst in. It's a bit like Danny Breaks' distorted almost unlistenable darkcore drum messes. Does little for the tracks duration and wont be much use to DJ's (no interesting structure, hooks or groove to speak of) or home listeners (cos it's a bit boring). All in all it's a bit all over the place and trying too hard to be 'experimental'. They seem to want to put themselves outside drum and bass and be considered as artists in their own right. Well with this they're probably doing just that, but who'll want to listen to it, I don't know. A bit shoddy really... 2.2030 Grand River A short track credited to their Nu Era alias. Nice techno steel drum type affair which is cut far too short (about 1 min in length). 3.Planetaria (A Theme From A Dream) The best thing on here, but only if you like their new classical drum and bass approach a la their Nu Yorican Soul remix. Sweet double bass, strings, are all put to the forefront, creating something which has little to do with drum and bass at all. It's a bit coffee table, but at least their trying something a bit different. To put proper strings and instruments on a drum and bass track takes balls, if only because it costs a shit load of money and you risk making a total mess of it and it sounding awful. The drums are light, as expected, but this isn't about being dark or abrasive, therefore the strictly No-U-Turn posse are best to stay a long way away. 4.Dauntless Anyone who heard Quatrain on the Jacobs Optical Stairway LP, or Song For Europe on the Nicolette album will recognise the drums on this one. But the track is anything like these two and more like the first track on here. Distorted and filtered fat squidy bass rasps bring us back into Danny Breaks territory. Nothing happens for an age, until a simple Guy Called Gerald style melody is brought in, showing that their hardcore roots are still their and they still enjoy playing a one note sample up and down the keyboard. Looped bits of vocal only compound this, but don't make for anything particularly astounding or new. It's alright, but perhaps 'pointless' would be a more apt, if a little harsh, title. 5.Loveless featuring Ursula Rucker Unfortunately, I've heard this one to death on the 21st Century Soul promo 12", so it's not as impressive as it should be. Still one of the best tracks of the year though, doing a similar thing to Planetaria except slightly more pacey, and with poetry over the top (yes, I know, but it's not as bad as it sounds). 6.Loveless Instrumental Like it says. *** So, not their best work, and pretty boring if you've already got Loveless, but otherwise reccomended if you like their new string and bass oriented sound. Despite having not had a record out for ages, this EP is as patchy as some of their older stuff. Gb.