(idm) Recoreviews, pt 27...

From Lance C McGannon
Sent Mon, Dec 15th 1997, 06:25

Now back to some reviews...

. Daniel Ibbotson: New Stories cd (Reel)
The New Stories sampler 12" released last month was a real
treat with it's robotic jazzfunk housey stylings. It left 
me eagerly anticipated the subsequent album. Now that the
album is out it doesn't disappoint. Twelve tracks of funky
jazzy housey electronica that sound like a Morgan Geist, 
Ian O'Brien and Herbert collaboration. Several standouts
to mention with Jazz by Design, Skyscraper Trees and Super 
Hi Resolution 1 & 2. As with all albums i felt there were
a few filler tracks but as a whole this was a solid album
that lazy jazzfunk house fiends will relish. 8/10
 
. Midnight Funk Association: white label 12" (SER 506)
Mark Broom & Dave Hill take a break from their Repeat, Rue
East and Pure Plastic guises to serve up two cuts of some 
deeply funky MoWax-styled electronica. The a-side starts
off with a few gunshots then proceeds into a bassy uptempo
triphop number that sounds a lot like faster dj shadow. The 
b-side doesn't improve things much with another triphop
track this time with a guitar sample as the staple melody
giving it an unappealing chemical brothers sounds. I guess
for a funky triphop 12" this release isn't too bad but it
is nowhere near the usual high quality release that broom &
hill are known for. It's by far the worst of the Midnight
Funk Association tracks i've heard. Avoid this 12". 4/10

. Morgan Geist: Pushed 12" (Multiplex)
Yet another new Morgan Geist release this time on the 
Multiplex label out of Denmark. Three tracks in all 
including a remix by Mark Broom all in the groovy electro-
house style of his recent Clear album. The title track, 
Pushed, is an excellent upbeat funky electro number over 
smooth strings. The off-kilter melodies, bleeps and beats
are offset nicely by the intermittent lush strings. The
next track, Room 120-4, a much faster number that in-
corporates the electro and house elements as the first
tracks with the same appealing end result. The final
track is the Mark Broom remix of Pushed. Mark retools
Pushed into a long building tech-house track very much
in the Ferox vein. A delightful 12" that fans of the
recent Clear lp will be very happy with. 8/10

. Dilemma: Chip Tunes cd (Irdial)
The newest full length on the legendary Irdial label 
showcasing the quirky techno-electronica talents of Ken 
the Streetfighter who released a well-recieved 12" earlier 
this year on the Irdial sublabel, Colette. Many of these 
tracks have a hard electo-techno feel especially with all 
the computer-esque sounds that also reminds me of The 
Exciting World of Octagon album that came out last on the 
Electron Industries label. Other tracks on this release
have a very quirky electronica feel similar the Mariopaint 
release or early Aqua Regia. All seven of these tracks are 
very entertain and very "Irdial." Highly recommended. 9/10

. W-Moon: Strong Nature 12" (I-220)
More dubby basic channel-styled techno from Tomoki 
Tsukamoto out of Japan. W-Moon, who has previous releases 
on G/Swim, Metrojuice, and Eukatech, have really mastered
the sound that Basic Channel, Maurizio and Chain Reaction 
have been gifting us with. His tracks all have that 
enveloping BC feel while still having a sound of their
own. Tracks on this ep that really wow are the gritty 
pounding "Tayphoon" and the and he gurgling percussive
"Mountain Bumm" but all are pleasing to the ear. If you
love really good Basic Channel/Chain Reation material then
this 12" is definitely for you. W-Moon is fast becoming a 
favorite producer of mine. 9/10

. Steve O'Sullivan: Version x3 12" (Rework)
The man behind the excellent Bluespirit, Ephebe & Green 
label 12"s is back with three tracks quality techno. The a-
side is an dubby BCish number with a deep bassline but no
real percussion. The b1 is an excellent tech-house number
very much in the style of Steve's Ephebe releases. The b2
is a lock groove in the pounding dubby techno style. The
b3 is more of a straightforward techno pounder but very 
much in a good way. Once again Steve O'Sullivan doesn't
disappoint. 8/10


BTW: Don't forget our Inaudible netcast every Wednesday
from 9-11 pm Eastern Standard Time. Hear John C (Bent Crayon) 
and I spin two hours of the music we speak so highly of...

The show will be accessible by visiting http://www.wcsb.org
every Wednesday from 9-11 pm EST. The show will be broad-
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During the Inaudible show we will be giving away promo 12"s 
and cds so yet another reason to tune in.

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-->-Lance---
p.o. box 450715
westlake, ohio 44145
united states