BURIAL // ROUGH SLEEPER [TRUANT EP, 2012]

Tracklist:

Yesman • Elevator • Weedkiller • Straylight • More Of You • Sticks • Easy • No Other • Face Up • Frustratin

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Today's compilation:

Basic Laws Vol. 1 2001 Deep House / Broken Beat

Got four brilliantly deep and lush dance tracks here that were originally released as exclusives back in 2001 on the small, yet still operational Italian label, Neroli, whose tagline on this debut 12-inch of theirs was "sexy house for the whole family."

Now, I'm not sure that I know *exactly* what that means, but this whole record is nonetheless smooth and sleek as hell, packed with wonderfully thick and built-up atmospheric grooves whose kick-drums sometimes pound and throb with a little bit of softness 😌.

And while all of these tunes are quite good, I think the best one among them is undoubtedly the first one, Nubian Mindz' "Can't Wait," which is by a guy named Colin Lindo, who had actually previously been a drum n bass artist on the elite Reinforced Records as Alpha Omega, but then decided to diversify his output.

What Lindo really seems to exemplify with this track of his here is just how artistic deep house really has the capability of being. A lot of people seem to regard deep house as more of a vibes-based type of genre and something that's satisfying as looped-up ambiance, but this is a song that advances far past some of those limiting categorizations, because "Can't Wait" isn't just one of those dime-a-dozen, super chill beats that you study to; it's really something that deserves to be put on a pedestal and requires your full, undivided attention in order for you to fully appreciate its truly mesmerizing beauty 😋. And can you believe that it had been missing from YouTube up until just about two weeks ago too?!? 😯 Insane!

And the rest of these tracks are on the same exact type of wavelength as "Can't Wait" too, but I really don't think that any of them are quite as transcendent, because as far as deep and soul-piercing electronic music of any kind goes, what Lindo managed to do with that tune in particular is really damn near perfect.

Highlights:

Nubian Mindz - "Can't Wait" Stephane A - "Distant Planet" Domu - "The Long Way Up" Chateau Flight - "Pergola"

Upsammy - Green Lung from: Upsammy - Germ In A Population Of Buildings (Pan, 2023)

Lesser -Excommunicate The Cult Of The Live Band 12"

Lesser was part of

Lesser was part of that Late 90's early 2000's intersection between Electronic music, Noise and Leftfield Experimentalism music (See ZipperSpy, Kid 606 Etc.) Released on Vinyl communication in 1996 and is worth a listen.

Get Welcome to the American Experience a Cd that contains the tracks from Excommunicate The Cult Of The Live Band plus other tracks from my Google Drive HERE

Low Fidelity Jet-Set Orchestra - Searching For a Bit of Popularity -Modal Shopping Guide

LCSM "Likwid Continual Space Motion" - EP2

IG Culture returns to Amsterdam's Super-Sonic Jazz for a second album as Likwid Continual Space Motion later in 2024. This upfront album sampler contains a taster of what's coming up. Featuring Tyrone Isaac Stuart and Allysha Joy. Written, produced & arranged by IG Culture Keys: Dwayne 'Wonky Logic' Kilvington Bass: Luke Wynter Drums: Benjamin Appiah Trombone: Nathaniel Cross Tenor sax: Deji Ijishakan Vocals: Allysha Joy Bars: Tyrone Isaac Stuart Keys: IG Culture Artwork by Machine from an original idea by IG Culture

(2004, Victor, VICL-61543) Song is taken from Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade (2005, PS2)

JLIN // SPEED OF DARKNESS [AKOMA, MAR 2024]

Tracklist:

Space Above Us • Lines Between Us • Heartstrings • Octahedron

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ Youtube

Today's compilation:

Hed Kandi: Serve Chilled 3 2001 Downtempo / Bossa Nova / Broken Beat

Man, I am just in such constant awe over how quality these Hedkandi releases always are. I mean, I honestly couldn't tell you what their comps are sounding like these days—and they've been owned by Ministry of Sound since 2006 anyway—but back at the turn of the millennium, when they were on their own as an independent UK-based entity that was mostly specializing in glamorously chill and soulful house music, this label really just could not find a way to ever miss. Every single dispatch just seemed to come with an unwavering commitment to a certain sleek-sounding, contemporary underground, and by the time you were done listening to one of these things, it would always put into perspective just how vast and sonically diverse this whole little-known world that they were sampling from truly was. And it would also leave you scratching your head as to why the American music cognoscenti largely chose to ignore it all too ❓❕

Now, Hedkandi is known especially for its array of house comps, but something else that they've also kept a close and keen eye on since jump is chillout. In fact, the label's second ever release was the initial installment in their Serve Chilled series, and this 2001 third volume from that same series, as had been their standard, is pretty damn exquisite too. This is a double-disc that delivers a bunch of different and luxuriant strains of downtempo, but two types that it really seems to hone in on especially is a British-born vocal kind that features a soft and quiet, often reflective lead female vocal (think Portishead or Massive Attack's "Teardrop," which was fronted by none other than Elisabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins), and the other is just sublimely loungey bossa nova vibes 😌.

So let's get a prime example of each, shall we? For that UK vocal stuff, we have Rae & Christian's beautiful "Not Just Anybody," a quintessentially silky-smooth, submerse-yourself-in-the-bathtub kind of chill pill that features Mark Rae's very own cousin, Kate Rogers, on vocals. Just purely blissful escapism here, and with some wet trumpet between some of Rogers' singing too. An absolutely phenomenal song.

And for the bossa nova, it's hard to pick just one here, but "Jelba," by the UK's Russ Gabriel, is a track that might lull you into a full daze. It takes a little bit of time to start to fully unwind, but eventually it hits some extra sweet spots by combining its highly rhythmic bossa elements with extremely mellow keys and a cycle of things like electric guitar, panned-right acoustic guitar, and a bunch of percussion too. Breezy and pure instrumental joy 😊.

So, yet another terrific offering here from the one and only Hedkandi empire, before it had really managed to grow out all of its own tentacles. A few tracks here and there seem to go for a little bit more of a mass appeal, and as a result, end up missing the mark, but for the vast majority of these two discs, you can really expect nothing short of truly vintage y2k-era Hedkandi greatness 👍.

Highlights:

CD1:

Fac 15 - "Stay With Me Til Dawn (Kumharas Sunset)" Chris Coco - "Gemini" Urban Dwellers - "Le Croisic (Chris Coco's Silver Stars mix)" Illumination - "Somewhere Out There" Organic Audio - "Always the Sun" Badmarsh & Shri - "Day by Day" Rae & Christian feat. Kate Rogers - "Not Just Anybody" Aware - "No Belongings" Ski Oakenfull feat. Nina Madhoo - "On My Way" FUG - "Ready for Us"

CD2:

Zimpala - "To the Bass" Los Ladrones - "La séptima ola" S-Tone Inc. - "Arejar" The Menheads - "Barabeu" Cantoma - "Pandajaro" Racoon feat. Rose Max - "Sensaçao" Russ Gabriel - "Jelba" Chichi Peralta - "Un día más (Matty's II Deep Allstar mix)" Butterfinger - "Wanna Go Somewhere and Chill?" Atjazz - "Harmony" Afro-Mystik - "Infinite Rhythm"

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