Sunday, March 11, 2012

Masters Of The Universe

From the mind of 26 year old Dave Lee, already a skilful keyboardist, we get this true gem of UK Rave. It's full of e-tingle pianos and girlie "oh oh's" to keep you high - up there with Together's "Hardcore Uproar" as the perfect morning track. You could quite easily put 2 copies of this record on the decks and make a half hour mix that would go down a storm in 1990, but for most people, the 'Hyper-Spaced Mix' is enough. There is also a 1989 release that samples Loletta Holloway; "Check It Out" - but the vocal-free mixes here are to my mind vastly superior.

Dave Lee seemed to be doing quite a bit with Mark Ryder of Strictly Underground (legendary UK Hardcore label) at this time, and he'd also recorded some fine electro bleep techno for Sheffield's Warp Records in Energise's "Report To The Dancefloor".

Yet it would only be a year or two until Dave found his true home in disco led house, and a new moniker: Joey Negro. Thank fuck he came up via UK rave then - his stay was short, but it was momentous.

Discogs

A1 Space Talk (Hyper Spaced Mix)
B1 Space Talk (Spaced Out Mix)
B2 Space Talk (Inner Space Mix)
B3 Space Talk (Reprised Mix)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Noise Control - Modulator EP (1992)

Picked this up at a record fair years ago - one of those little German gems you chance upon occasionally. 'Tehniska Musika' is the big track, but 'Crust And Peace' is also a very cool, down tempo elastic number. As with many EP's of this period, everything is really just a variation of the same sound and themes - very cohesive if a little repetitious.
'Tehniska Musika' appears on Russell Hardcore's 4 hour mixtape here; I've got no idea what the German dude is saying, but it sounds a lot like '...bigger!". Great pre-psy trance.

Going out to Tricky - sorry it took so long to upload mate.

Discogs

A1   Tehniska Musika
A2   Knights On Quest
B1   Crust And Peace
B2   Resurrection


Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Old Skool Mixes wanted


OK kids, I've got a new radio show on Melbourne's only 100% Dance Music radio station: KISS 97.6 FM. Every Sunday I dig through the crates to play some true golden oldies from around 1990 (give or take).
I only have one rule, if I play it once, you won't hear it again. With 40,000 + tracks on my hard drive it would be wrong to just hit repeat...
Also, since it's on air Sunday mornings from 10.30am-12.00noon, I try and steer clear of banging techno and hoover rave - I'd much prefer to play some deep, bleepy techno or Balearic house really.

You can check out all the shows including their tracklistings and download links on the show's mixcloud page. Only 3 weeks in, but getting there...

Now, here's the thing.
As much as I am confident in my track selection (as only a true narcissist can be), I really do enjoy hearing other people's mixes. So as much as it is, I offer 27 minutes of air time on Kiss FM Melbourne to anyone who can provide me with a great old skool mix.

These are the rules:
1. your mix will be at least 27 minutes long; but anything longer will probably be cropped (so don't leave your best till last)
2. it will be comprised of music circa 1990 - give or take a few years
3. you will not play the same shite as me or any of my contemporaries does
4. it will not include such over-used classics as Gat Decor's "Passion" or Bizarre Inc's "Playing With Knives"
5. it will not include any shite by acts such as 2 Unlimited
6. it will be suitable for radio play on a Sunday morning (I know, the temptation to go all Satanic is strong, but you must be stronger)
7. your mix will be well composed, mastered, and pretty much just sound good from start to finish.
8. you are not playing for a dance floor so feel free to put in any track that works for you: ambient, electro, techno, house... the more different, kooky or out there the better. Refer to rules 1-7.
9. you will provide a link to a 320kb + file and track listing.
10. I will listen to everything, and play ALL the quality mixes on my show, even if I don't like them.

That's it really, get to the crates people...

And if you don't reside in Melbourne, you can always listen to Kiss online or on your phone. Just go here.

Frankie Bones live in the Midlands, 1990.

Look, this mix is available almost everywhere - all I've done is clean up the audio a little bit. But for anyone who was there - or anyone who wasn't but wants to know just how good a time we had in 1990, this is THE mix to listen to. Granted, the tracks are pretty much all good; granted, the mixing is not so good - Frankie was playing in a massive shed after all - but listen to his commentary. I'm not from the UK rave scene, but this is as close as I can remember to the carefree, party only vibe that existed back then (even if on the other side of the world).

Lots of stuff goes down during his set, and for the most part it is great.

Back in the sixties, there was a similar youth freedom movement, but for all the fun they had, there was also the dead fall of Vietnam, racial equality and bad acid to kill the vibe. In '89-90 (depending on geography), we had no war, we just wanted to get loose and party.

This mix is a soundtrack to THAT party.

22 years later : get on it.



Digital Download (from cassette)_ 256kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Tracklisting here

More about Amnesia House here