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CD Releases: October 2003 updated:10/12/2003

THE COOLIES The Coolies CD
(!!ssuxx!! Records)
File Under: NZ Music / Riot Girrrl / Punk / Rock
SUXX01
Wind the clock back a few years and you’ll find The Coolies cutting class to listen to Bikini Kill, Patti Smith and X-Ray Spex. After a protracted garage band upbringing they headed north to Auckland City, where they stormed on to the scene with trashy power rock, and soon fell into support slots with the Beastie Boys, Cat Power, and Rancid. A seven-inch release on Girl Alliance followed, but momentum seemed to fall away just as the world seemed to be softening toward those who take the rebel stance. While their regular bill sharers the Datsuns exploded, the Coolies quietly split, with a slot on Kill Rock Stars comp (alongside the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) looking like a nice epitaph to yet another coulda been story. Only that was never their style. They re-emerged in 2002 with a new dynamism, packing a sharper, sicker sound. Tina pared her guitar back to looping basslines or sheet noise, while Sjionel's Casio bleeps and bloops maintain momentum when all else is determinedly falling apart. New drummer Fei plays spare, stinging patterns that make it incontrovertibly clear that this is dance music, move or be moved, just not the way you been sold it of late. The new line-up's second show was supporting their NYC heroes the Dictators, a straight to dictaphone demo went to number one on bFM , and after a year of hammering the local boards, including a few killer shows with sister band the Mint Chicks, they began recording their debut album. Dragging Tex Houston out of self-imposed isolation to man the desk, they spent a fevered week whipping their set into studio shape. Intricacies that were lost in the wash in their live set grew to prominence, and new intros and codas were frantically constructed in down time. The unfamiliar pressure had its own rewards, though, and songs like Come to the Sabbath and Fake Letter are a blueprint for the under-explored mid-point between the Dead Boys and the Shangri-la’s, punk rock torch songs which mesh lovely with the polyrhythmic propulsion of Mix of All Good Things and D.I.Y., while Dance is their true heart: they don’t ask it; they demand it. While certain influences are apparent, the sound is unequivocally their own, that of three girls from the southside fixing to run things, taking the long road cuz it’s the only one they know. The Coolies is the culmination of seven years of frustration and false starts. At last there it is, The Coolies and they rock!

AZURE RAY Hold On Love CD
(Saddle Creek / Spunk)
File Under: Azure Ray /
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Whatever became of all the broken-hearted story tellers? Did being talked to by the TV for our entire childhood really kill our ability to talk back about how we really feel? If it wasn’t for those folks at Saddle Creek - producing soundtracks to the shy techno-trapped worlds of noughties indie-kids - the answer would be a doe-eyed, mumbled, 'yes'. But praise be to the Omaha music scene. Azure Ray ain’t the kinda band who run into your life, pin you down and thrust you about until you can’t sweat or scream anymore. This is something altogether much sweeter and sorta asexual. Not that everything comes down to primal urges, you understand. Hold on Love is the laid-bare type of record that wanders past you, all hair flowing in the breeze and knowing pouts; too much of a perfect stranger to ever want to get to know her. Distance is pleasure, but it’s also pain. Risk does not always equal happiness. This album is a collection of proper songs. Pianos that tip-toe on the Mazzy Star/Sparklehorse precipice and mourn for the days when Elton John wasn’t such a diva. Drums, which keep your head swaying in time. Strings and electronic twinges make up the rest of it, but it’s all about the willowy vocals. What else do you need to know? They’ve written songs with Moby and Conor Oberst. This is their fourth album. The Drinks We Drank Lastnight is bound to be on a Dawsons Creek soundtrack near you, soon. Everyone breaks wind in their sleep. If maudlin but beautiful, expertly crafted pop songs keep a room in your heart's hotel (under an assumed name, naturally), get with it, seek and caress.

PTY LTD You Should Be Like This More Often CD
(Chocolate Loveboat / Collision)
File Under: Dance / House
COLN012
If Brisbane-based house/funk group PTY LTD’S debut You Should Be Like This More Often is any indication of their potential, these guys should be around for quite a while. Consisting of Peter G (keys), Daniel Tainsh (drums and samples) and Tim Tainsh (vocals and bass). This Brisbane trio produce live sexy house with the added musical talents of friends, providing strings, trumpet, sax and vocal accompaniments. Their first release was on 12" and reached #1 on the American independent house charts. The two tracks have also been remixed by Chicago house legend Derrick Carter. You Should Be Like This More Often is a chilled, funky house ride. The track I Cannot Lie has a jazz sound, featuring Peter’s solo key arrangements. Throughout the album are the smooth, almost R&B/Prince sounding vocals of Tim and elements of soul. This album is splattered with diversity, yet manages to remain a distinct PTY LTD sound. You Should Be Like This More Often from sounds absolutely fantastic. A top shelf debut and when the sun decides to heat our little piece of the Earth. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a cruise to the beach, promising all a good time.

NICK HOLDER The Other Side CD/2x12"
(NRK Sound Division)
File Under: Nick Holder / House / Dance / NRK
NRKCD013/VNRKLP013
Nick Holder, Toronto’s quiet and retiring deep house specialist, returns to the fold after a two year sabbatical. The man behind one of Canada’s finest house imprints, DNH Records, is back with NRK with an absolute treat of a long player. The Other Side showcases Holder’s explorations into deep house, hip hop, r&b and reggae, along with various collaborators from the Toronto scene (rapper Reign, vocalists Jemeni, Sacha & JME and Master of Ceremonies Sankofa). Fans of Holder will easily warm to his downtempo moments as much as the rumbling latino percussion and deep chords of his housier material. The man who brought us the Pat Metheney sampling Summer Daze and Da Sambafrique is back to what he does best – the album features ten new tracks of all musical persuasions, from the lyrically challenging hip-hop of No More Dating DJ’s) to the slow swing and of the Zero 7-like Back Again to the Balearic house of Magic Carpet Ride. Nick Holder the man behind some of the tastiest deep house music around never fails to disappoint and as such this comes highly recommended.

THE BEST OF PAPERECODINGS Various 2CD
(Paperecordings)
File Under: Paper / House / Dance
PAPCD018
"We had no idea how to run a record label… we had a crap office and one fax machine and that was it, but we had all these faxes coming through from people like Danny Tenaglia, Norman Cook, Roger Sanchez and all these big name people who were creaming themselves about the records. We thought somebody was winding us up, we honestly thought it was a joke." Elliot Eastwick
For the past 10 years indie Manchester label, Paper Recordings have been one of British house music’s pioneers, this collection spans the last 9 years of Paper Recordings' high points. After all this time and with 100 12" releases under their belts the label has decided to call it a day, so this double CD is a fantastic way to finish on a high and a well worthy ‘keep sake’ for the labels many NZ fans. With many of the labels DJs making annual pilgrimages down under to wow us on the dancefloors the Paper posse and the label are held dear by so many in the NZ club scene. With tracks by the likes of Crazy Penis, Salt City Orchestra, Kenny Hawkes, New Phunk Theory, Harlem Zip Code, The Problem Kids and spans the labels history. The album features special artwork with feedback and reactions from famous DJs to their releases and comes with a bonus CD Offcuts mixed by Crazy Penis, this is a fantastic way to start or complete your Paper collection. Best Of Paper Robodisco tour in November.

ELECTRIC SOUL Various CD
(Electric Chair)
File Under: Dance / Funk / Soul
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"A cruise into the psychedelic soul sunset" Jockey Slut. Comp of the Month
Manchester duo, The Unabombers deliver the third instalment in the compilation series that reflects the vibe of their infamous northern parties. Unlike last year’s double disc epic, Saturday Night Sunday Morning, Electric Soul is a single CD package and rather than bottling the essence of the more up tempo monthly nights at the Music Box, it concentrates on the laid back soul vibes of the sporadic Electric Souls basement parties which the duo began back in 1998. So, if you’re expecting volume 3 of The Unabomber classics, you may be disappointed, but there are some welcome familiar sounds in the form of YBU’s sultry Soul Magic, the heavy Latino vibes of Metro Area’s Pina and Detroit Orchestra’s Think Twice. Add to the mix some pimpadelic disco funk (Manchester style), courtesy of Jersey Street’s Burnin’ and a production appearance from Only Child via his collaboration with Detroit’s Amp Fiddler, U Bring Me Vibes. And you’ve got Justin and Luke’s unique take on Unabombing diversions of the future, A deeply satisfying journey into psychedelic soul music from Electric Chair dudes the Unabombers. Described by Blues & Soul magazine as "one of the best real modern soul compilations of recent years", this is a treat for anyone who likes their music with muscle and brains.

TZU Dam Busters CDS
(Liberation)
File Under: Hip hop
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Australian hip hop outfit TZU was formed in 1999 as a side project combining members of Curse Ov Dialect and Pan, with the aim of stripping hip hop back to its essence. Dam Busters is one in-your-face song, with four very unique mixes. Equal measures of beats, guitars, and mesmerising lyrical styles. Cutting out the hype and glamour, no mess, no fuss, straight up good time, good rhyme, bad arse beats for your backyard barby! For fans of Jurassic 5, Blackalicious and De La Soul.

TREETOPS Lionheart CDEP
(Slanted)
File Under: pop / rock / indie rock
SLA001
Treetops are one of the most talked about Melbourne bands to emerge in recent years. Likened to everyone from classic pop and acoustic groups Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to more contemporary and electrically charged bands like Lemonheads and Weezer, they play a hypnotic brand of guitar pop. Lionheart is the follow up to their self released EP What’s The Matter Baby, which was an underground success across the ditch.

HIL ST. SOUL Copasetik & Cool CD
(Collision)
File Under: R&B / Soul
COLN010
Hilary Mwelwa, alias Hil St. Soul, has long been touted as one of UK R&B's brightest hopes. Few, however, could have anticipated the brilliance of her second album, Copasetic & Cool, which sees her graduate from the UK R&B scene to stand proud next to Beverley Knight as a world-class soul act. Favouring solid tunes, sexy struts and smouldering grooves instead of fashion conscious production, Copasetic & Cool pits Mwelwa squarely against America's rootsier R&B acts. Like a combination of Alicia Keys, Sunshine Anderson, India. Arie and Jill Scott's best, it's a staggering leap forward from her promising, but largely unfocused 1999 debut, Soul Organic. Pieces is a gorgeously heartbreaking end-of-the-affair ballad which, like the similarly sassy yet tragic Blue Tears, pairs her sweetly optimistic voice with a melody that just begs for tears. Meanwhile, she does elation with just as much style and grace. I've Got Me is a joyous gospel celebration of music and the human spirit, Alright is a roof-raising club track and the blissful All That unleashes a fiercely gyrating Arabian beat of hand bells, tablas and dogmatic bass thuds over which Mwelwa rejoices in her new-found love. With not even the faintest hint of filler, Copasetic & Cool is a truly flawless collection.

SLIGHTLY STOOPID Everything You Need CD
(Collision)
File Under: reggae / rock / rap / punk
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Slightly Stoopid strikes an engaging balance between reggae, rock and rap with this sun-drenched, laid-back album that suits the duo's California roots. The groove is downright UB-40-infectious on tunes like Everything You Need and Wicked Rebel. And the amusing Officer is perfectly conceived and executed. Like much of the album, it sounds like it was born in a haze of pot smoke and sun. Even when the group brushes with punk (Questionable) or rap (Runnin' with a Gun), it manages to do so without all the anger - and that makes for a refreshing change. This is one of those rare albums that truly evokes a season; for those with a taste for reggae, it's easy to imagine Everything You Need playing as the soundtrack for the summer of '03. There is no doubt that if you like Sublime these guys will not leave your CD changer for a long time.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN Dear Catastrophe Waitress CD
(Rough Trade/Spunk)
File Under: Indie pop / B&S
URA111
"Seductively charismatic and packed full of tunes" 8/10 NME
Named after a French children's TV programme about an annoying little boy and his Pyrenean mountain dog, cult Scottish pop outfit Belle and Sebastian have often seemed to embody the wilful infantilism for which the British indie scene is globally notorious. Yet they have also written and recorded songs of amazing sophistication and beauty, which would have stood out from the competition in any of the past five decades. So, four years ago, when some old-school TUC-style block voting by their ardent fan-base won Belle and Sebastian an unlikely Brit award, it seemed like a triumph of natural justice. On Dear Catastrophe Waitress the decision to team up with Dollar and Tatu producer Trevor Horn looked like a most surprising change. But this improbable coupling – between a producer celebrated for banishing the artists he's working with from the studio so that he can perfect his trademark multi-layered sound in their absence, and a band whose devotion to their own muse borders on infatuation – seems to have been entirely harmonious. From the whirlwind corporate romance of Step Into My Office, Baby ("She gave me some dictation, but my strength is in administration"), through the crazy pizzicato strings and snazzy muted trumpet of the title track, to the heroically explicit Thin Lizzy tribute of I'm a Cuckoo, this record bulges at the seams with delightful surprises. Highly recommended.

HANDSOME FAMILY Singing Bones CD
(Carrot Top/Spunk)
File Under: Alt. Country
URA109
"The Handsome Family - as funny as fu_k, as sweet as love, and as serious as death." Uncut
"Each song is like an abridged Flannery O'Connor story read aloud by Johnny Cash, hovering somewhere between the metaphysical and the mundane..." NME
Rennie and Brett Sparks are the oddest and most bizarre couple in alt.country or old-time country circles today. And god bless them for it! The Chicago couple who now call New Mexico home have continued to push the sound of the likes of early George Jones, Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell, and Marty Robbins with a style that is near impossible not to appreciate. And the tales in each song are fit for either a David Lynch or Coen brothers score. The group's last album Twilight spoke about animals, mothers and offspring drowning in cars, and other assorted eerie tales. Singing Bones is designed to rip holes in the veil between this world and the next. It should surely drive most listeners into a severely altered state in which even chicken bones at the bottom of a rubbish bin across the street will begin to sing. There are songs about haunted Wal-Marts, lovers who chase the fire in street lights, the madness of very deep holes, a lake that can only be visited in dreams, and the shadows that whisper inside a modern, office building. The Handsome Family is an acquired taste to be sure, but a delectable taste at that!

THE LIBERTINES Don’t look Back CDEP
(Rough Trade/Spunk)
File Under: Rock / The Libertines
URA117
Also Available: URA078 The Libertines - Up The Bracket
Though currently on tenterhooks, The Libertines have managed to release a single to mark the end of a blazin' northern summer and who knows, possibly even their short-lived career. Don't Look Back Into The Sun is a magical song that only shows this band has their best work in them if they can keep it together. Produced by former Suede axeman Bernard Butler. Containing an upbeat pace and an infectious chorus complete with the dumpster-style guitars, it's a true contender for rock song of the summer. And to make it worth the price of admission, included as bonus tracks is a re-recorded version of Death On The Stairs, that includes some newly added and much welcome backing vocals, as well as a demo of Tell The King, which betters the album version, with Pete Doherty and Carl Barat opting to make it a duet. Skint And Minted, a self-produced demo, seems to sum up the band's story to a tee, adding uncharacteristic JAMC feedback to balance the elegantly dirty quality of this hidden gem. Last but not least is Mockingbird an outtake from the album sessions with Mick Jones.

WEST STEEZ THE ALBUM Various CD
(833 Records)
File Under: NZ hip hop
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New hip hop label 833 Records bring you the West Steez compilation project, grouping established and up and coming West Auckland Hip hop artists along side famous Californian artists creating a seamless global alliance and a release that will be a bench mark for music and community in New Zealand and abroad. For the uninitiated, your 'steez' is your style. This is pure West styled music, a sound, or sounds that are synonymous with everything 833 Records, and producers of the project - live or have lived through. Everything about this project is 100% West orientated. Bringing forth artists like Spice 1, who has been honoured enough to release over 10 albums throughout a career spanning three decades. His legacy in Hip hop speaks for itself. Together with the new generation of West Side Soldiers featuring 833's own Carson. Named after the Carson Boys of West Auckland, Carson at age 11 has formulated and written a number of tracks, Bad People being the first of many for this rising star. Other talents to bless this project include the Inglewood's AllFrumTha I featuring Bad Azz from Long Beach, Meen Green, The WhoRidas, JT The Bigga Figga, Styles of Beyond, as well as 833's own roster set to shake up the local scene: 4th Element, Kritical Methods, Sativa Souls, Optymz Rhymes and the Rap/R&B phenomenon: N.D.V.J. Appearances from The Usual Suspects of Kelston, and others have bought the West Steez project full circle, introducing you - the listener - to the over and underground legacy and artistic unity that the West Side has to offer generations for years to come.

Track listing:

"From Hell To Heaven" - Optymz Rhymes

"Freedom of Choice" - Usual Suspects

"Everybody" - AllFrumTha I w/ Bad Azz

"F_ck The All" – MC Arme

"Kritical Methods" - Kritical Methods w/ MC Arme

"West Steez" - Sativa Souls w/ N.D.V.J

"Subterrainian Raw Rap" - 4th Element w/ Truce

"Party Fo Sho" – The Whoridas

"Bad To Be Bad" – Carson

"Capital Gain" - JT The Bigga Figga, Coz Pacino and Solitary 1

"Rounds Of Fire" – NZYME of the ESP MCs

"Birds Chirpin'" - Vic Vodka

"Hold Dem Roots" - N.D.V.J w/ Optymz Rhymes

"Styles Tips" - Styles of beyond

"Shake It" - Spice 1

"Don't Trip" - Meen Green and Marc Da Murdurah

SHANNON LYON Wandered CD
(Collision Records)
File Under: Shannon Lyon / a little bit folk… a little bit country
COLN005
Soulful country-folk troubadour Shannon Lyon. Recorded during an intense fortnight in August 2002 on a farm in Boekend, Holland, with a group of Dutch musicians, including actress/singer, Ellen ten Damme and pedal steel guitar player Harrie Brekelmans. After an extended stay in his adopted home of Holland (Lyon is a Kitchener, Ontario native), he’s back in Canada, but tales of his travels are woven into his songs. Some are mournful country ballads (In All Honesty), while others are up-tempo roots-rock numbers (Could You Be My Light) and cymbal-crashing mini-opuses (Sometimes It Hurts). Wandered is an excellent showcase of Lyon’s acoustic and vocal talents that will hopefully put him up with the likes of Blue Rodeo and Ryan Adams. Wandered continues to exhibit Lyon’s gift for writing honest, heartfelt songs that were evident on his last two albums: Dharma and Summer Blonde. With the recent success of other singer/songwriters like Ryan Adams, here’s hoping Wandered gives Lyon the wider audience his music deserves.

GUS GUS Attention CD
(Underwater)
File Under: Gus Gus / Dance
H2O020
Back in the days of Polydistortion and This is Normal, Gus Gus was a nine member artist collective that combined digital audio magic, dancebeats, dark vibes and an otherworldly glow from their Icelandic home. With the release of the band's latest disc, Attention, GG has slimmed down the line-up to four core members and moved their home base from the Arctic circle to sunny Barcelona. Attention continues the Gus Gus tradition of mind warp electronic inventions, but this time around the dramatic dark end minor grooves are replaced by more upbeat party loops. Unlike past tracks, this time Gusgus features vintage synth sounds swimming through heavy digital sequences and beats. Along with the retro synthesis comes a brand new singer named Earth. This girl's planetary emotion and subtle delivery fill the spaces where the boys just can't go. Gus Gus have retained all the major elements of what made their music so singular in the first place, allowing them to develop their sound and explore new musical grounds.

LEWIS TAYLOR Stoned Part 1 CD
(Slow Reality)
File Under: Lewis Taylor / rock / soul
SRCD01
Critical adulation wasn't enough to stop Lewis Taylor getting dumped by his record label, despite a cult following as fanatically devoted as the Spanish Inquisition was to the Pope it seemed his brand of brooding psychedelic soul wasn't grabbing enough punters to satisfy his evil corporate masters. Now free from their bondage and recording independently he's, surprisingly, made his most commercial album to date with his usual volcanic Marvin-meets-Hendrix jams taking a bit of a back seat to some poppy blue-eyed soul that wouldn't sound out of place on a Hall & Oates album. Born and bred in North London, the son of divorced Jewish parents has been making his unique blend of rock and soul since his debut, self-titled solo album back in 1996. After his second LP Lewis II, his deal with Island fizzled out and now for his third album Stoned Part 1, he has taken the onus on himself and released it through his own imprint, Slow Reality – an anagram of Lewis Taylor. Lewis is a musician’s musician. He writes, produces and plays every instrument himself, and has been labelled a musical genius by some of Britain’s most influential press. He has extremely famous fans, ranging from David Bowie, Ronan Keating and Elton John to D’Angelo, Timbaland and Q-Tip. His music is unlike any other, mixing weird rock guitar sounds with the most unbelievably gorgeous harmonies that your ears will ever be blessed enough to hear. Nobody does it like this. In fact, nobody does this at all. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to adequately describe such Lewis Taylor’s music, and the only way to really do it justice is to pick up the record for yourself. So, to all the fans of traditional soul, neo-soul and urban music, Lewis Taylor is an undiscovered gem just awaiting your ears.

DUBTRIBE SOUND SYSTEM Baggage CD
(Defected)
File Under: Dubtribe Sound System / House / Dance
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Throughout the 1990s Dubtribe Sound System established a devoted following amid the US West Coast house scene and down here in little ol New Zealand because of its live performances (here DJ visits), record releases, and self-operated label, Imperial Dub Recordings. Comprised of Sunshine and Moonbeam Jones, the male-female duo met in San Francisco's thriving early-'90s house scene and soon after began making music together as Dubtribe. The duo's debut full-length, Sound System (1994), became a huge success, leading the duo to began touring extensively, making its name more as a touring act than a recording one, in fact. Despite the relentless touring, Dubtribe did continue to release a steady output of music, mostly 12" EPs on its self-operated label, Imperial Dub Recordings. In 1999 the duo approached mainstream crossover success with Bryant Street, a high-profile album for Jive Electro released during the height of the late-'90s house boom. In 2001, Dubtribe released Do It Now, its most popular dancefloor track to date and is included on Baggage. Baggage is a suitably spaced out album to get horizontal to, or a record to turn to when you're after a bit of chilled, deep house. The picture is mostly cool keyboards, deep beats and warm, funky bass hooks the tap insistently at the part of your brain that remembers such tunes. A good record to massage a hangover with or start your night with. Recommended.

Q BURNS ABSTRACT METHOD Re-Routed To Europe CD
(Collision Records)
File Under: Q Burns / House / Dance / Remix
COLN014
Orlando, Florida native Michael Donaldson aka Q-Burns Abstract Message, who takes his unique name from the damage that DJ’s do to their records (as in cue burn), released his widely acclaimed album Invisible Airline back in 2001. Many of his colleagues are underground house producers and DJ’s who wanted to remix his work, so instead of putting out a whole bunch of 12"’s Donaldson created a new album from them and re-titled it Re-Routed To Europe. As with the original, Re-Routed To Europe contains a huge range of styles that opens the project up to all audiences. Kicking off with Thunderball’s trance-like mix of Dreamland, the style quickly switches up to US house vocalist Lisa Shaw’s Shame (who features on eight of the eleven tracks here), which gets an electro-style work over from Swedish house producer Hakan Lidbo. Theo’s mix of Drifting Off brings the energy down a notch, with his minimal melancholy mix that highlight’s Shaw’s vocals, while Atakama gives it more of a breaks feel, with chilled out keys and a lighter mood. The other track that gets two make-overs is Differently. Funky Transport give it a hard-house vibe, with spacey blips and world-music type percussion all over it. Neon Heights, however, flip it and deliver a more trance-styled mix with driving kicks and weird vocal effects. Other highlights include the hard-yet-minimal house of King Britt’s mix of Innocent, Tetris’s quasi-hip hop Hey! Star City with it’s funk, jazz and electronic elements all coming together brilliantly. This Time sounds like something straight out of the ‘80’s with a very electro vibe, and Doctorolive’s Imprisoned Glitch brings the breaks over nice little hip hop vocal samples, a very funky bassline and a variety of strange sounds. Re-Routed To Europe is a great release, and just in time for our impending summer. Sure to rock both the clubs and the car stereos, this LP is bound to receive many, many spins as the temperature begins to climb.

MASTER H Thirteen CD/2x12"
(Soma Recordings)
File Under: Dance / Soma / House
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Master H is a Parisian named Hassen, raised on a staple diet of house and techno inspired by the likes of Laurent Garnier et al. His magical single, C'est La Vie, is typical of the feel-good disco-influences that underpin much of the foundations to this collection. Less is more with subtle sampled loops, warm strings, sparse vocal snippets and guitar and brass that are as contemporary as they are timeless. For the real disco kids Mayflower smacks of vintage Sylvester, with falsettos buried just beneath the surface, while F Word works on the dynamics of the 'funk' noun, not a similarly sounding verb! Songs, in the traditional sense, are thin on the ground. However, Thirteen (a co-production with label mates Silicone Soul) sounds not unlike a homage to Kool & The Gang's steering string arrangement's on Open Sesame. It proves a preamble to the rousing Don't Stop featuring the soulful tones of Louise Marshall (she of Silicone Soul's Right On single success). Thirteen, is a refreshing combination of melody, chewy funk and edgy deep-house grooves that show frequent splashes of pop accessibility.

CIRCULATION Colours Two CD
(Circulation)
File Under: Circulation / Dance / Tech house
CMPCD002
Some songs were created to be listened to whilst travelling alone: Circulation's Terracotta is one of them. A warm slice of gently meandering electronica, it provides a surprisingly reflective intro to Paul Davis and Matt Jackson's new LP, the long awaited follow up to 1999s Colours. Since they formed in the mid-nineties, Circulation seem to have become one of those dance outfits that seem to do no wrong. Their music which ranges from sinewy techno and twisted tech-house to disco-influenced tunes and trippy ambience (sometimes all in the same record). Colours Two is hence highly anticipated not only by Circulation fans, but also by others intrigued by the hype. Like its similarly named predecessor this album collects tracks from the legendary colour coded back-catalogue of Circulation twelves. After luring us in with their ethereal opener, the chaps begin to re-introduce us to the more muscular side of their repertoire with tracks like the relatively starchy Chocolate, the enormous and immediately gratifying Neutral, and the slightly gentler Khaki, which allows a few chinks of light to penetrate the dark, druggy atmosphere. By now we are reminded exactly what Circulation excel at: creating driven beatscapes and decorating them with thin, surrealist veils of electronica until the balance is utterly compelling. Their rhythmic beef tugs persistently at your feet while at the same time the veiny, psychedelic swirls massage your head; before you realise it you’re in deep, sucked into a state of ecstatic reverie. For the most part they are more hypnotic than Paul McKenna and more colourful than Prince. It's safe to say that Circulation live up to the hype - and a whole lot more.

BUG POWDER A Compilation Of Mantis Recordings CD
(Mantis / Collision)
File Under: House / Dance
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Mantis Recordings began as a creation on the side of everyday life by Andy Mac and Martin Iveson (Atjazz) in 1996. Today their list of talent includes Brooks, Kirma, and Phil Parnell. Celebrating the organic quality of electronica that comes from Mantis is the compilation Bug Powder. Where eloquence meets quirkiness (Round, Mr Nuts, It’s Complete), jazz meets the circuit board (Gris Gris, Day 2001) and house engages and soothes (Day 2001, Wind & Sea), Bug Powder is a wonderful representation of the talent that exists behind the walls of Mantis Recording studios. For those who are looking for a label that consistently produces music from technically agile and highly imaginative artists then get onto Mantis Recordings. Fabulous.

CHANNEL 2 A Compilation Of Output Recordings CD
(Output)
File Under: Electroclash / disco punk / future bizness
OPRCD50
Output Recordings unleash Channel 2 featuring some of the most outstanding records of 2002 and exclusive new releases for 2003. Unquestionably at the forefront of electronic innovation, Trevor Jackson's label is going from strength to strength by acting as a magnet to some of the most creative musicians the world over. Channel 2 gives you some of the past couple of years biggest underground club hits as well as some exciting gems. Includes Blackstrobe Me & Madonna -- Update Single of the Week, LCD Soundsystem Losing My Edge. Exclusive full length version of The Rapture Olioplus tracks from 7 Hurtz, Manhead, Colder, Volga Select, DK7, Grand National, Playgroup, Rekindle, and Circle Square. It's not about a particular sound here, only strong ideas and sheer talent. Often fusing the technology of dance with more traditional instruments, these acts are working hard at giving music an interesting future.

AUTECHRE All Tomorrows Parties 3.0 2CD
(All Tomorrows Parties)
File Under: ATP / Festivals we don’t get to go to L
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The "All Tomorrow's Parties" compilation series features a selection of artists that will be appeared at the annual ATP festival, now in its fourth year. This year Autechre were the curators of the sold out event, and they select a 19 track double CD that features a whopping 13 unreleased tracks. Disc One is loaded with hip hop and abstract electronica from peeps such as Jim O'Rourke, Push Button Objects, Public Enemy, Gescom and O.S.T. It also contains 2 unreleased Kool Keith remixes. Disc Two is more focused on techno and electronica, including an exclusive version of the Carl Craig classic Please Stand By under the guise of BFC. It also features music from Anthony Shakir, Autechre, Baby Ford, Mark Broom, Bola, Pita, Hecker and Disjecta. In all, there is some good stuff on here for everybody. All Tomorrow’s Parties 3.0 is beguiling, infectious and infuriating in equal measures. A unique mix of pretension and invention in one double CD package, stunning in other words.

THE BLEEDERS A Bleeding Heart EP CDEP
(1157 Records)
File Under: NZ Punk
1157010
"The Bleeders bring it straightest, but that's no diss. They've got something boiling inside 'em that needs getting out." Real Groove
Boasting a line up of musicians all of whom have had vast experience as part of the New Zealand Punk / Hardcore scene in such acts as, DSM, Evil Priest, Malcontent, Smooth Jimmies, Kid Nuisance & AOV. The Bleeders bring together a innovative sound, drawing influence from Punk, Hardcore & Rock. With the attitude of "If we don’t do it for ourselves, no one will" has seen them playing a string of dates around the Auckland and lower North Island, as well as securing international support slots for Epitaph & Fat Wreck recording artists Hot Water Music and Strung Out as well as The Ataris (Sony) and the Hope Conspiracy (EVR). In July of 2003 The Bleeders entered York Street recording studios and recorded their debut for 1157 Records A Bleeding Heart EP. Engineered by Steve Roberts. The Bleeders were also announced winners of the Space Coca-Cola Launch pad competition, which will see them, complete a video for the single A Bleeding Heart which premiered on Tv2's Space Friday 26th September. October will see The Bleeders back on the road with a full national tour in support (for dates check the tours page).

MOODYMANN Silence In The Secret Garden CD/2x12"
(Peacefrog)
File Under: Moodymann / House / Dance / Legend!
PFG036CD/VPFG036
Silence In The Secret Garden is the first album for three years from Moodymann, one of the world's most innovative and sought after producers. Moodymann (born Kenny Dixon Jr.) is a Detroit legend ranked alongside such revered and diverse producers as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Carl Craig, and Mike Banks. One of the few electronic dance music producers whose albums exist for other places than just the dance floor, Moodymann has universal appeal to all fans of black music, with influences from jazz, hip hop, r&b, house, and techno all to be found in his productions. Silence In The Secret Garden is another intensely personal and spiritual journey to the heart and soul of black music. From the relentless dark minimalism of the title track Silence In The Secret Garden, to the irresistible R&B flavoured morphing funk of Yesterdays Party… this album will both surprise and inspire you. Of course the album is also packed full of Kenny’s trademark soulful deep jazzy house, with the pure unadulterated beauty of Sweet Yesterday standing out and once again confirming Kenny’s place among such influential artists as Marvin Gaye and Carl Craig. Clubbier and more accessible in parts than the Moody one’s usual fair, this album should consolidate Kenny’s position as one the world’s premier electronic dance producers while crossing over to uninitiated. Any good then? What do you think – its amazing!!!!

CHICKEN LIPS Body Music – Nite:Life 015 CD/2x12"
(NRK Sound Division)
File Under: Chicken Lips / Nite:Life / Dance
NRKMX015/VNRKMXV015
NRK’s respected house music compilation series, takes a turn towards electo-breaks, calling on tidy duo, Chicken Lips. DJ/producers Andy Meecham (Meecham also records as Sir Drew) and Dean Meredith first shot to fame as pop/rave duo Bizarre Inc. but since cat suits weaned in popularity, they’ve moved on to musical pastures new. Having remixed the likes of Underworld, FC Kahuna and Playgroup and making waves in the breaks scene with their unique skew on the beats. Starting off with the breaks and collapsing into a dirty swamp of funky electro beats and swells, it’s all here from the dub reverberations of F.I.T.S. vs. The Idjuts Deborah Dub to Ewan Pearson’s remix of Playgroup Make It Happen and Freaks’ 80s retro cut Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? As well as taking in tracks from Crazy Penis, Scoper & Bubba, The Fader Flippers and more. As with all of NRK’s Nite:Life series, this is a mix CD that you’ll be playing for a very long time to come. Total class!

REEL PEOPLE Second Guess CD
(Papa Records)
File Under: House / Nathan Haines
PAPACD001
Reel People are officially comprised of Papa Records boss Oli Lazarus, engineer Tom Davidson and Restless Soulster Mike Patto. A sneaky peek at the liner notes of their debut LP reveals, however, that this is no three-man party. Guest producers DJ Spinna, Phil Asher, Afronaught and Seiji leap immediately off the page, pretty much guaranteeing a dope selection of beats. Live musicians like our own sax-man Nathan Haines and Neville Malcolm (Horace Andy, Marlena Shaw) are equally as promising. And the choice of featured vocalists - Vanessa Freeman, Krim, Peter Nelson and Dyanna Fearon amongst others seems considered to say the least. Can't Stop along with other tracks on this album such as Second Guess and Light - revisits that older acid jazz stomping ground in a cool and phuturistic way, toughening up the sounds and creating a punchier mood that compliments the accomplished musicianship. There are noodles, yes, but nothing that would make Herbie Hancock look twice. Around these uptempo, floor-bound jazz-outs are scattered a wealth of less euphoric songs that range confidently between sultry, rim-shot soul (Back 2 Base), punchy hip hop (the Spinna-produced Positive Over Negative and Steppin') and some great mid-tempo cuts (Washing Away). Despite Dyanna Fearon (if her surname sounds familiar, it should: she's the niece of Galaxy star Phil Fearon) appearing on no less than five tracks, she sounds surprisingly non-ubiquitous. This is thanks to the inherent diversity of the adventure overall. Soul music is of course the common thread, but Reel People ultimately show here how versatile that genre can be. Recommended.

NINA NASTASIA Dogs CD
(Socialist Records)
File Under: Nina Nastasia
SRNN0012CD
Also available: Run To Ruin (URA099)
Nina Nastasia's Dogs was originally released on tiny indie label Socialist, back in 1999. This album revealed her masterful technique in telling stories. The Los Angeles-born but New York-based troubadour whispers tunes soaked in subdued, interior aching (not unlike Nico) and wraps them in understated arrangements for country/folk ensemble. The lyrics are epigrams (Underground) rather than chronicles, the music recalls nursery rhymes (Judy's In The Sandbox, A Dog's Life) rather than ponderous folk tales. The overall feeling is dark (even macabre in Roadkill) rather than bright, ominous (Too Much In Between, Nobody Knew Her) rather than entertaining. We have a very limited number of this hard to find album available.

EMERSON & MUTINY Underwater Episode 2 2CD
(Underwater)
File Under: Dance
H2O026
Ever since joining Underworld in 1990 to bring the band some much needed dance floor expertise, Darren Emerson has operated at the top end of global dance scene and its unsurprising that as mainstream club culture continues to contract, his own indie label Underwater prospers. Always a DJ who's appreciated musical elements beyond just the needs of the dance floor, he's applied his taste to A&Ring his label, in the process signing tracks with something else. And the proof comes on CD 1 of Episode 2, which sees Darren mixing up 10 Underwater releases including standout anthems The Push (Paul Jackson's moody, Jaguar style masterpiece) and Tony Senghore's equally brilliant Whaddup (an electro stormer). In between, he mixes in Sam La More's Takin' Hold, a couple from Sharam Jay and Random House's Longing to deliver a highly listenable selection of dirty acid house songs. CD 2 sees regular Underwater types Mutiny in the mix, widening the net to mix up Kurtis Mantronik's much hyped single 77 Strings (Chamonix) alongside a couple of their own tunes and other club hits from the likes of Kid Crème, Robbie Rivera and Dereck Carter.

JAMES ZABIELA Sound In Motion 2CD
(Hooj Tunes)
File Under: dance
HOOJCDLP016
At the age of 23, after a globetrotting couple of years, James Zabiela commits his talents to a new mix CD. The theme of the album is the Zabiela sound. Having been immersed in house culture since his pre teens thanks to a dad who worked in a Southampton record shop in the early 90s and came home with armfuls of LFO, Guerrilla, Joey Beltram and the like. James' unique, post-millennial blend of bleeps, breaks and house won him the Muzik mag Bedroom Bedlam comp in 2000, before bringing him to the to the attention of Sasha, Lee Burridge and John Digweed. If you listen carefully you'll hear the lad abusing Pioneer’s CDJ1000s like a junior Jeff Mills for the post-Technics generation - scratches, loops, reverses etc, but that’s not what Sound in Motion is about - just a natural by-product of a young, seriously technical DJ let loose on some heavyweight new technology. The jerky rhythms and blurred boundaries between breaks and four four are a Zabiela signature, but more importantly, in a listening context, so is his quiet determination to keep the melody constantly drifting in and out of the mix. Nothing too dramatic, just an ever ready supply of sparse, spacey riffs and submerged codas to dust the pulsing beats with texture and atmosphere, creating in the process a finely balanced combination of listening experience and DJ mix CD. All mixed 100% live, of course, something that Zabiela was adamant about. No Pro-Tools tomfoolery here. Featuring tracks by Sunday Brunch, Dave Robertson, Echomen, Bushwacka!, Mr Negative and the obligatory more.

HOOJ PRESENTS Le Future Le Funk 2CD
(Hooj Tunes)
File Under: dance
HOOJCDLP015
Owner of Hooj tunes, Red Jerry, steps up once again to follow up his Nu Progressive Era, Further and Form & Function mixes. His sound has evolved a long way from the edgy electronic thump of Nu Progressive Era and finds itself heading down the very fashionable deep house, punky house and 80's influence house. From the new wave clicks and space disco of Brooks, Nathan Drew Larsen and Danmass, the 21st century p-funk of Chicken Lips and Sir Drew, from LRD's take on the current NY/DFA sound to Röyksopp's immaculate electro-pop and Metro Area's robo-soul, from Velcro Fastener's retro futurism, to Black Strobes futuristic retroism, and with the likes of the now duly recognised Ewan Pearson, Swayzak, Swag and Soul Mekanik all representing, Le Future Le Funk is a signpost marked "this way forward" along what can seem a dark and confused road at the moment. It really is a showcase of the way the house sound is ever changing.

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