Review: Unknown Artist – Seldom Felt 1

Label: Seldom Felt
Catalog#: SELDOM FELT

Tracklist:

A: Untitled
B: Untitled

Rating: 5/5

Recommended!

“Seldom Felt is a brand new label with no set geographical location. The only place you can find them is on the dance floor. No minimal, no Ibiza, no sunrises, no ketamine, no Myspace, no repress.”

It’s just so simple and so direct – as dance music usually is at it’s best. From the distributors of Rubadub Records comes Seldom Felt, a label that focuses on what dance music really is about – the music.

Without any information about the artists on the tracks, all focus is on the music that’s pressed on this piece of marvellous wax.

The first track which is on the A side spans just under 6 minutes which means fast transitions in the mix, but what a track! It’s fierce chopped and destroyed synth line together with the uncompromizing groove makes this one a timeless piece of techno. Just try it in a dark club with just a smokemachine and a strobe and you’ll know what I mean.

The B side is also a killer with the heavy beats and simple synth stabs, and has more of a distinct power in the beats and a much darker image.

As the label tells us, tracks like these are seldom felt and hard to come by. To save a few years of crate digging you should really buy this if you can get hold of it.

Review: Rolando – Hiatus EP

Label: Delsin
Catalog#: 73DSRRLD1

Tracklist:

A: Where Were You? – Original Mix
B: Where Were You? – Dub Mix

Rating: 4/5

Rolando’s last release before Hiatus EP is the Jaguar Mixes EP on Underground Resistance – probably because of the Sony and BMG incidents that happened 8 years ago. Underground Resistance would not license the track to Sony so they decided to steal it instead and then push the negative publicity over to BMG. From what I know Sony and BMG wrote a letter of apology to Underground Resistance and the 430 West label but Rolando didn’t get his royalties for the Jaguar release on Sony.

“The original spiritual concept of soul in Rolando’s record is something you just can’t duplicate in a note by note cover” – Lenny Burden

After the release of Knights of the Jaguar EP on Underground Resistance, Rolando started the Los Hermanos project with two other producers which he was involved until 2005.

Since then it’s all been quiet – except for now.

A few days ago Hiatus EP was released on Delsin. Fusing the sound of The Knights of the Jaguar into a organ tech house number with a lot percussion and a steady house beat with the standards of 2008. The original mix on the A-side is a more direct track with an non stop beat and with a more distinct club image. The Dub mix (which is my favorite) is a more discreet and experimental track, removing the heavy percussion and focusing on a subtile kickdrum and reverbed ambient sounds. With the organ coming in slowly this one is a pure killer on a heavy soundsystem. This makes the Dub mix more timeless and breathtaking and at least for me, interesting.

Event : Metronom Premiere

This friday, me and my friends are playing at the premiere of a new club called Metronom. The location is at Stureplan and me and Gustaf will keep the music going at the bar.

Metronom is a club that focuses on quality electronic music and that’s what we will deliver. Since this is the premiere we need your support and you won’t regret coming. The guys behind this club has worked hard to bring you a quality club in central Stockholm – so show your support!

To come, you’ll need to RSVP to metronom@kolonirecords.com

I’ll see you there!

October 2008 Chart

1. F – Phase One  //  7even

2. Louis Guilliaume – Soulpoint 1 LP  //  Syncom Data

3. EQD – 001 (A-side)  //  Equalized

4. Marcel Dettmann – Plain  //  Beatstreet

5. Radio Slave – Tantakatan – The Drunken Shed Mix  //  Rekids

6. Oscar Mulero – Take Seven  //  Token

7. Monobox – Realm 02 – Substance Mix  //  Logistic

8. Unknown Artist – Injustice  //  Hate

9. Ramadanman – Core  //  Soul Jazz

10. Roman Lindau – Raumgestaltung  //  Fachwerk

Review: Unknown Artist – Pretty Boys Don’t Survive Upnorth

Label: HATE
Catalog#: HATE002

Tracklist:

A: Pretty Boys Don’t Survive Upnorth
B: Pretty Boys Don’t Survive Upnorth – GFTUA Mix

Rating: 4,5/5

Recommended!

After reading the pressrelease, you know what it’s all about:

“The majority of the material on this label is previously unreleased, original junglist hardcore dating back to 1991-1994 from producers who wish to remain anonymous. A carload full of dubplates and DAT tapes full of unreleased material was handed over to the label at Sowerby bridge in Yorkshire sometime in 2008. The material (several hundred original tracks) has been gradually catalogued, with a few tracks already planned for release this year. HATE is a Modern Love project and the label might also feature occasional new versions from different producers. All HATE transmissions will be limited to 300 stamped copies.”

The guys behind Boomkat and Modern Love have started a new label with focus on dubstep-ish hardcore junglist grooves. And it is exactly as cool as it sounds.

Ripping beats with an old school rave synth combined with a killer bassline with heavy percussion and a vocal sample telling us that pretty boys does in fact not survive upnorth. As the artists behind this are from the same area as my father I’m ready to agree.

The A-side which holds the original mix is dated back to 1993 with the B-side being mixed in the summer of 2008, I prefer the latter actually, but both sides are pure killer tracks and mainly the arrangement differ.

If you can get hold of it, don’t hold out – this one’s highly recommended!

Review: Various Artists – In Order To Dance

Label: R & S Records
Catalog#: RS0802CD

Tracklist:

CD1:

1. Aphex Twin – Analogue Bubblebath
2. Golden Girls – Kinetic – Orbital Remix
3. Jaydee – Plastic Dreams
4. Radical Rob – Monkey Wah
5. Capricorn – 20 Hz
6. Joey Beltram – Energy Flash
7. Outlander – Vamp
8. Human Resource – Dominator
9. Aphex Twin – Digeridoo
10. Second Phase – Mentasm
11. CJ Bolland – Carmargue
12. Model 500 – I Wanna Be There

CD2:

1. Outlander – Vamp – Prins Thomas Diskomix
2. Capricorn – 20 Hz – Optimo Edit
3. Jaydee – Plastic Dreams – Audion Can’t Go Home Mix
4. Sonic Solution – Music – Paul Woolford Remix
5. Second Phase – Mentasm – Redshape CTX Mix
6. Human Resource – Dominator – Hervé Remix
7. CJ Bolland – Horsepower – Boys Noize Remix
8. Golden Girls – Kinetic – Tom Middleton 2008 Remix

Rating: 3/5

 

R & S Records has already released two vinyl samplers from their upcoming two CD compilation, which is out in a few days. The first CD includes classics such as Beltram’s ‘Energy Flash’, ‘Plastic Dreams’ by Jaydee and a lot more. All the tracks on the first disc are ones that R & S released on vinyl all the way back from 1991 and earlier.

If you are a CD dj it’s nice to have most of the classic tracks from R & S’ catalogue in a digital format and mastered for CD, and it’s a good chance to catch up on some great tunes if you haven’t followed R & S’ releases over the years.

The second disc contains remixes on some of the tracks on the first CD plus a remix on Sonic Solution – ‘Music’. This is of course not a new approach on compilations, but a very thoughtful idea and very good in theory.

Although I must contradict in reality.

As for the selection of remix artists it seems very good when you look solely at the tracklist, but only Audion’s remix of ‘Plastic Dreams’ and Redshape’s take on ‘Mentasm’ gets my feet moving. Selecting Hervé, Boys Noize and Paul Woolford as remixers on three of the tracks just seems as a part of the plan to sell a few more copies. Although their takes on the tracks are very well what you would expect from them and they shouldn’t dissapoint fans of them respectively. I must say I would rather see more fitting remixers that doesn’t feel so absent from R & S Records wall-of-sound and previous records. Prins Thomas as a remixer is a quite of a long shot for a label that releases mainly house and techno and they should get credit for at least trying to do something different, but still they only get the job half-done.

The first CD can only get 5 out of 5 because of all the classics, but if you are into getting the remixes I would recommend the vinyl samplers instead or buying separate tracks on either Boomkat or Beatport.

Hello

Welcome to The Futurist.

The Futurist is a blog that focuses on written articles and reviews on events, music and artists that are a part of the present and probably the future as well.

Every article on The Futurist will be linked to my interest in electronic music, mainly electronic dance music. I want to share with you, the reader, what I know and what I think you should check out.

For now, my reviews will only contain texts and images – but I will try soon enough to put up an mp3 flash player for you to check out the tracks that I write about and recommend.

As this page is a small project of mine, I’ll try to keep a high standard and give you what you want and probably need.

First review coming up soon!