From Aaron S. Gregory Sent Fri, Feb 13th 1998, 05:07
From Aaron S. Gregory Sent Fri, Feb 13th 1998, 05:07
hey there boys and girls. some night reading to consider. some new, some sorta new. ALL relevant. enjoy---- asg * * * Third Eye Foundation/V/Vm - [Split EP] - Fat Cat (006) 12" First off, let's review some simple instructions you need to be aware of: for stormy conditions, give Third Eye Foundation a whirl -- and for a complete mental rearrangement, please flip the record over. Thank you. In what seems to be nifty trend these days, Fat Cat brings forth a split EP of devilish proportions. Third Eye draws first blood with the remix of KS Collective's There is No End Sight, a two-part lession in what it takes to shake the bolts off an Avantgardism compilation or maybe just end up on volume 3 of said series -- who knows? Regardless, the first part of this twelve minute excursion takes its course through some rumbly breaks, frenzied effects and downright dastardly grooves that could have Mick Harris and his Possible crew cringing in their knickers. Nothing extraordinary breakbeatwise -- but it gets fairly stormy -- waterproof shoes recommended. But then the noodleworks kick in (i.e. part two) -- serene, slothy, ambient riffs reminiscient of Electroscope's spacerock sounds or Broadcast's finer instrumental moments take us to an outro made up of vocal samples and mulled wine. Lovely. On the flip come those outlandish lads of Manchester, V/Vm. Off are their Butcher Claus costumes, for they have traded them in for their old nuclear reactor jumpsuits and raw, searing recording tactics that made the Up-Link Data Transmission effort one of pure, industrial wonder. Like an ad in the personals, the tracks unfold their differences and hide their undesirable secrets. Lumberjack WLTM may (figuratively) be the purest of the lot with its anodized complexion, militaristic drums and (smearing) distortion -- all together provide more than ample drama to open the 17 minutes of aural destruction that V/Vm are to levy on this side. Female Pig Herder, with its pelting percussion and a melody that could have made RDJ very proud is equally brilliant. Even the occasional noise squelch or video game smart bomb cannot shake my attention. This is great stuff. Looks unimportant, Poss. Romance resembles a team of army tanks stuck in the mud, trying to shoot their way out -- murky, noisy stuff. Will Travel, North West continues the militia feel but on a more subdued level, droning to the side's conclusion. In short, gollashes recommened for side one, steel-toed boots for the flip. A nice slice of sound. Lowfish/David Kristian - Drum Machine EP - Suction (002) 12" Coming off their gold medal performance of the first split EP, the Suction crew are back with a vengeance featuring more lo-fi peculiarities and strong beat workouts from Gregory De Rocher (aka Lowfish) and David Kristian. Lowfish -- we know what he's about -- he can kick some lo-fi dust up in your face to make you tell the truth! But Mr. Kristian -- well, he's like a box of chocaltes -- ya never know what you're gonna get. Off-kilter jungle? (i.e. Ectopic Beat) Minimal analogue disturbances (i.e. Cricklewood?) Something new/old? Well, as with the first EP, the Suction crew do things their way -- the democratic way -- taking turns kicking off each side. Kristian fires first and fires hard with a loud and messy, blunt-edged breakbeat monster known as Vitreous. As if the (drum?) machines are rebelling, the percussion tracks (all 4? 5? of them) seem to rule the sound waves -- truly raucous stuff. Once the initial mayhem ends, Lowfish cleans things up a bit with Fachinblap, which features some evil droning and drum breaks. Quality stuff. This flip side brings much more of the same brilliance as the first. Lowfish does a nice downtempo rendition of what the crunchiest Funkstorung breakbeat would sound like with a bassline that winds and warps its way 180 degrees -- interesting indeed. Kristian finishes things off with a fine Aphexian melody and accompanying breakbeat. Regardless of when these Kristian tracks were actually produced is not the issue here -- they're wicked as fuck. As far as I can tell, there's only more thing to tell you -- go out and buy this slab, some big headphones and a bullet-proof vest -- you're gonna need it campers. H.S.O. - H.S.Overload EP - Drop Beat (004) 12" At last, some more output from that outstanding Oakland label, Drop Beat. And the fourth issue does not disappoint. Things get going and get groovy right from the get-go with Goose Bump, complete with a swirly, jivey bassline that -- true -- could have fallen on either of the latest Boymerang or Fauna Flash albums, but who cares?! The breaks, the programming, the samples, the jazzy interludes -- this is some fine jungle butter if you ask me. The b-side unfolds a couple of tunes -- the first of which (Monadnock) has Tom J's influence all over it. The bassline seems a tad overstated, but the mad-as-hell breakbeats are definitely Squarepushian by design. Stretch Strength caps the effort of with a pounding intro and some filmic ambience, and it builds from there. There's a definite techno/synth element which -- again -- has me thinking Jenkinson (with the way he uses that 303 sometimes) for some reason. Overall, the EP is a fine effort -- not as mentally stimulating -- or disturbing for that matter -- as the Downpour EP (also on Drop Beat), but a consistent 3 tracker to consider. If you like the way Tom J works, check it out.