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The Bank Holiday Pre Game

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments

The last bank holiday weekend for the year is just around the corner. Sad times for many as it marks the beginning of the descent into winter. This ensuing doom normally results in everyone going big for the weekend, and as a result, people tend to cool off the weekend before. But as any good football team will tell you its all about the pre-season friendly to get you match fit for the onslaught. I mean you don’t want to be flaking out on day two of the bank holiday because you didn’t practice a two day bender the weekend before. That would just be embarrassing. So here are a few pre bank hol weekend friendlies to get you ready for the long weekend.

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Tags: Ben Pistor, Craig Richards, Dinky, Disco Bloodbath, Fabric, Gad Mizrahi, Half Baked, Jacques Renault, Jamie Jones, Lobster, Love Fever, Ricardo Villalobos, Rooflight, Slam, Terry Francis, The Gramaphone, Wolf and Lamb

Soma Compilation 2008 | Album Review

Saturday, December 6th, 2008 | Album Review, Music | No Comments

Soma helps us to reminisce about the past year with their annual Soma Compilation. It’s a pretty simple concept; Soma put the highlights of the past year on a small disc of plastic. If only life was as simple.

Unfortunately the compilation isn’t mixed. It would have been interesting to hear the full coloured spectrum of Soma mixed together in a multicoloured epic journey. Instead they’ve plumbed for the unmixed variety which in a way is useful for all the DJs out there catching up on tunes in one big go.

So what’s the track selection like? It’s a bit hit and miss, although it is more hit than miss. Prime examples being Adam Beyer’s mix of Slam’s Staccato Rave is a stuttered orgy of whirring noises; enough to kick start any CD, whilst Orlando Voorn’s remix is a beautiful unravelling track of blossoming electronic layers. On the other hand Robert Hood revives the Black Dog track Train by the Autobahn Pt2 by violently shaking it so all the reverberating synth stabs echo out at the pace and rhythm of a train. And new boys Xpansul and Massi DL have a jittery new school techno workout with their track Nerd Soul. So some great hits there.

Then there are the nearly hits. Mark Broom’s version of Lets Go Outside Girls Don’t Like Me isn’t a bad reinterpretation its just a bit too conservative whilst I think the Mr Copy remix would have been more interesting on this compilation. Also nearly a hit is Onionz remix of Funk D’Void’s Ginebra. Whilst raw and heavy with its spacious percussion and growling bassline its still doesn’t hit home for me.

Which brings us onto the not so great. There’s only really two tracks I’m not particularly feeling. First is Vector Lover’s Raumklang. Its spacey synths and excessive layers is just too flowery in its approach. This maybe a personal thing though as I’ve never been the biggest Vector Lovers fan. Second is the noisy Minerva by My Copy. Basically its too noisy with its wobbly alarm come buzz. Noisy is not necessarily a bad thing, its just this is clichéd noisy techno.

Apart from those two gripes this is not a bad package. It’s a great way to catch up on Soma tunes and pick up a good package if you don’t have many of the tracks on there.

Buy Soma Compilation 2008 on CD, MP3

Tracklist (Click for MP3 Release):
01. Slam – Staccato Rave (Adam Beyer Remix)
02. Octogen – The Journeyman (Orlando Voorn Remix)
03. Beroshima – Horizon (Funk D’Void’s Hope Remix)
04. Funk D’Void & Sian – Ginebra (Onionz Corrosion Remix)
05. The Black Dog- Train By The Autobhan Pt2 (DJ Remix By Robert Hood)
06. Vector Lovers – Raumklang
07. Let’s Go Outside – Girls Don’t Like Me (Mark Broom Remix)
08. Xpansul + Massi DL – Nerd Soul
09. Mr Copy – Minerva
10. Decimal – Eleanor
11. Harvey McKay – 69
12. Silicone Soul – The Pact (Bassline Dub)

Tags: Adam Beyer, Beroshima, Decimal, Funk D'Void, Harvey McKay, Let's Go Outside, Mark Broom, Massi DL, Mr Copy, Octogen, Orlando Voorn, Silicone Soul, Slam, Soma, The Black Dog, Vector Lovers, Xpansul

Slam – Sci Fi Hi Fi Vol.5 Review

Monday, July 7th, 2008 | Album Review | 2 Comments

It’s been a long time coming but finally the purveyors of Scottish techno have finally released their own Sci Fi Hi Fi release. The Soma bosses follow quite a great line of DJs from Luciano to Ewarn Pearson and Alex Smoke, all of which have churned out some incredible mixes for the series. The most recent in the series was from Funk D’Void who tingled our senses with his new sound of deep and melodic house taking the series away from the predominate techno route. All tough acts to follow, Slam have decided to try and emulate their club sets and have even deemed this a tribute to their Return to Mono nights at the Sub Club in Glasgow. The CD features some of the bigger and older tracks that are popular at ‘Return to Mono’ as well as unreleased material from the duo which is forthcoming on their new and more experimental label Paragraph. The boys somehow condense a Slam DJ set/ night into 70 minutes, starting from the more restrained and minimal, building on a steady and gradual gradient to climactic peaks, a difficult thing to do in 70 minutes.

The CD begins slow and chuggy with Claro Intellecto’s ‘Kiss The Sky’ mix which effortlessly glides into Loco Dice’s mix of ‘Class’. The moody and restrained groove of both tracks sets a gentle precedence easing the first small steps in. The mix takes baby steps in progression. SiS’s ‘Organsa’ drives the mix to the next level with its organ bassline and looped hypnotic vocal stabs. As Slam slowly drip feeds the tension by each track, Beutkickneu3’s Tout Va Bien releases some pressure through its build of woodblock hits and bright synth trickles before allowing the percussive nature of Tanzmann’s ‘Keep On’ lifts you on to the next step up.

The consistently good new comer Prompt brings the mix into the main peaks with his track ‘Evolve’ which has been big for many DJs this year. Whilst on tracks from Decimal and Funkwerstatt, hypnotic electronic sounds ring out over steady and chunk techno beats all the time keeping a steady groove before dropping down into the mechanical blips and round basslines of Claude Von Strokes brilliant remix of Poxy Music’s ‘War Paint’.

Things take a turn down tripped out lane with Slam’s new track ‘What’s On Your Mind’ an eerie and raw Minus-esque track. Whilst Danton Eeprom’s ‘Face Control’ regresses you back to dark times with its synth sighs and brain infecting blips. Blips of the type that make you question whether you’re actually melting into the floor.

The final push to the summit gathers pace through the scaling and intensifying synths of Tigerskin’s ‘Push the Patton’ and the drilling percussion of Mauro Picotto’s ‘Flashing’ before ending on another Slam exclusive ‘City Destroyer’. Its layers of short synth loops and masses of reverb add a depth and darkness which ends the CD on a high of frenzied techno.

The way the CD progresses in small steps with its carefully programmed tracks make the mix enjoyable to listen to as a whole. It’s good to see that being upfront hasn’t prevailed and that Slam has taken the cream of their DJ sets to create a club styled set that represents them. Another fine addition to the Sci Fi Hi Fi series.

Slam – Sci Fi Hi Fi is out now. Buy on CD

Tracklist (Follow links to buy individual tracks):
01 Rom1F – PI Kiss The Sky (Claro Intelecto Remix)
02 Social Material – Class (Loco Dice Mix)
03 SIS – Orgsa
04 Plasmik – Pearls On A String
05 Matthias Meyer – Tout Va Bien Butkickneu3
06 Matthias Tanzmann – Keep On
07 Anderson Noise – Londrina (Daniel Carboni and Alessio Mareu Remix)
08 Jandroide – Grande Coracion
09 Prompt – Evolve (Original Mix)
10 Decimal – Eleanor
11 Funkwerkstatt – Sputnik
12 Poxy Music – War Paint (Claude Von Stroke Mix)
13 Slam – What’s On Your Mind?
14 Danton Eeprom – Face Control
15 D’Julz – Just So You Know (2000 and One Remix)
16 Cle – Nomads (Mathias Tanzmann Remix)
17 Tigerskin – Push The Patton
18 Mauro Picotto – Flashing
19 Slam – City Destroyer

Tags: Minimal, Sci Fi Hi Fi, Slam, Soma, techno