From lwtcdi Sent Wed, Dec 10th 1997, 02:26
Hi all, It's been very very good week for records, IMO, so I thought it wise to actually review some of them for once, instead of being lazy. So here goes... DJ Suv - Freebeat EP [Full Cycle] DJ Suv finally proves his worth, going fully solo for the first time (his track on the Versatility comp excepted), and weighing in with a release of serious quality. This release features four tracks "Everybody Plays The Same", "Free By Four", "Output" and "Standby On Stage". The former two are done in 3/4 time! Yes, that's drum and bass in 3/4!! Madness, sheer madness. I must admit, despite the Full Cycle automatic seal of quality, I was expecting it to sound like Waltzing Matilda or something, but it's not just a gimmick - the experiments on offer here actually do work. How DJ's are supposed to mix with it sensibly I have no idea (and I have tried - it's easy to get the beats in, and alongside a 4/4 track the beats do link up every x amount of bars, but it will mess with your head a little and more practise is needed from me before I can get between the records convincingly), but it shows that Full Cycle are aiming their individual sounds in many different directions. The sound of Suv is dark in places, but not typically dark. He manages to mix the old style breaks of Full Cycle with similar deep atmospherics to Krust's newer stuff while never sacrificing his sound to any particular previously known sound. On "Everybody Plays The Same", a simple bassline moves in for the kill early while behind it all are firm breaks with ever varied programming. You wont find any lazy 'boom-chix-boom-chix' programming on here. The drums are layered in complex and challenging manner, building and changing within sections. Suv is very much a manipulator of sound. The changes are not always obvious, but they are there, whether in the constantly shift atmospherics (a trait which he seems to share with Krust), or the frentic drum manipulations and treatments he employs throughout. "Free By Four" is probably the most simpistic thing on here as far as overall feel is concerned. Using cinematic sliced up string combinations and rasping groaning bass manipulations as a basis, Suv takes it deep, moving from 3/4 to 4/4 half way through, just to freak you out. As it shifts time signatures the emphasis is taken from atmosphere to groove, shifting up a gear to a more urgent, pacey rhythm which uses the same elements to express something wholly different. "Output" is the most dancefloor orientated thing on here. If you have some fuck off speakers or sub-woofers with huge bass then this track will suit you well, as the bass on here is deep, rising up through the track in a variety of differently filtered manners. Freaky noises are all over this track like a rash, and the overall effect is one of paranoid headnodding. "Radiation level normal" says the sample, but you'll be getting your geiger counter out just to make sure after hearing this. Overall, it's deep, hard and classic... The final track on offer, "Stand By On Stage" uses piercing high-pitched almost metallic sounds as both the main melodic and rhythmic interest, creating something a little different again. Filtered undersea breaks swim around in the background before the main loop is unleashed to worm its way into your mind. And worm away it does, until a voice coming through on feedbacky microphone announces the track title, and the whole thing moves into a mid-section of pure drum and bass. Slowly but surely, back come the metalic bits along with plenty of other cut up atmospherics and noise as an added extra. Little else happens, but little needs to when you have a groove as deeply locked as this one. Another absolute winner. Faultless. Suvs tracks are perhaps not as immediately accessable as some of the Full Cycle (& related) output, but they are very rewarding in the long run, revealing new touches every time you hear them. Being a doublepack a la Krust's 'Genentic Manipulation EP' the feel of this release is one of quality futuristic drum and bass made for the dancefloor and the home in roughly equal parts. On the whole, it's a totally impressive release, proving that Suv is neither the workhorse of the Full Cycle crew, nor the least interesting producer of the four, just that he's held back long enough to craft a sound that is true to himself and puts most dark drum and bass producers to shame, and a sound which is not short on ideas and a strong attitude of experimentation. Those of you who heard New Forms and laughed, sell it on and use the proceeds to buy this and see if you are still laughing then. This is the closest Reprazent/Full Cycle have come yet to a sound which has something major to offer to an IDM audience. DJ Suv - the Autechre of breakbeat, check him out... Cybotron feat. Dillinja - Light Years/Revelations [Prototype] When I bought this, I thought it was something I hadn't heard before, but in fact it has been doing the rounds in DJ's boxes for a while now. If memory serves it does sound a little similar to Dillinja's 'Silver Blade' from the Prototype years compilation, but this is no bad thing. His best release of the year and IMO, better than his last one, Acid Trak, which was extremely good, but with the emphasis being on extreme, in that it just destroys any record you care to play either side of it with true sensory overload. But then it was on the Pain label! An evil record, indeed! Light Years as the title suggests, has got the light and dark sides much more equally balanced, with soft short analogue sounds forming a sugar coating over the twisted breaks and squidgy-bass. As always with Dillinja tunes, the drop is the focus, with the deep intro falling into drum funk and pummelling bass combinations to die for. On the whole it still sticks with his trademark sound but pushes the envelope just enough to keep my intest, while still keeping it raw. Get your hoovers out for the flip, a less interesting excursion into darkness which may go down well with your serious Ed Rush freaks. Doesn't do that much for me that hasn't been done before. The break is the same one you will find on the Boymerang mix of Plug, but it is bolstered a third of the way through with the trademark Dillinja EQed breaks. A welcome return for these old beauties, but there is little variation in the rest of the track to make it of real interest bar a couple of pseudo-scarey interludes, with great swathes of atmospheric sounds being deployed in a similar manner to the sound Nico has made all his own. DJ Krust - Warhead (Steppa Mix) [V Recordings] You'll know why it's called the steppa mix if you hear it. It's one huge huge bass groove which sucks in everything around it. You will not escape! A teasing selection of drums and sweeping analogue noises form the long intro, building and shrinking up and down until finally the whoomping military bass hits. If you like your drum and bass complicated and Photek-esque, this might not be for you. Some have called it boring, some have called it the least interesting thing Krust has done of late, but this is a V track and as such is all about taking care of dancefloor business. This is drum and bass in the pure sense of the word - true minimalism - but every element is there for a very very good reason to hit you in the gut and induce body movement, which it all does relentlessly well. No headphones for this one - this is track you need to feel... The flip Check Dis Out has bigger less clipped drums, floating blips for the intro, a selection of piercing sirens and some wobbly bass to be reckoned with. Not quite of equal quality to the A-Side, but up there all the same, keeping the more hip-hop influenced Krust sound up at the forefront with his more typical (of late) future bound apocalyptic armageddon sound. So there we have it. Three records, all of them easily among the best this year. It just goes to show that for '97 the best may be yet to come. It aint over 'til it's over, and all that... Until next time... Gb. np - Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life -- £ "LWTCDi" Advent Madness - A New Feature Every Day... http://www.homeusers/prestel.co.uk/lwtcdi/all/ £ "VIRTUAL JUKEBOX" Still online. Weekly transmissions imminent... http://www.homeusers/prestel.co.uk/lwtcdi/all/4musjuke.htm