l l l l
cover of ’God Save The Queen’. This isn't the best Motorheacl recoch (see Bomber), but it’s pretty close. Maybe my Saxon albums are worth something now. (Doug Johnstone)
ELECTRONIC
Frog Pocket
My Favourite (Mouthmoth) it a it it
It often seems that in every town in the world there is someone beavering away, producmg their own special brand of underground electronica. Frog Pocket prove Ayr is no exception stuttering beats, metallic percussion, swathes of mournful synth patches, and fluid guitar lines all combine to create often calming, often alarming, but alt-trays stimulating instrumental sOunds.
The boffins at Warp Records, espec ialiy Aphex Twrn, are one more familiar reference pornt, as are the more peculiar moments from TortOise, Stereolab and Mogwai. Not hugely groundbreaking perhaps, but Frog Pocket wander, stagger and occasionally sprint, to their own speCIal place (Mark Robertsom
Zan Lyons
Desolute (Foundry Recordings) ****a
Stick DJ Shadow in a half-lat crumlflzng studio With Photek, John ( arpenter, some decks and Adrian Slter'.\'c)c)(l's record collection. It could be murder Or it could sound like this a biac K as right slice of electrOnica that vibrates \\’itll genius.
Zan Lyons' dense orchestratons lll‘lllt‘d' key melodies that are disturbingly l?l)[)€(l apart by speaker-shaking drum 8. bass- are SO remarkably dark and st ary they Will take yOur breath assay Aphex Twin and Tricky are touchstones but not ldols, this is a One-off 'Suic icle' \‘~.’|ll make you shit your pants, Desolute" ‘.‘.'lll have you lighting every candle in the house and by the time y0u get to the truly remarkable 'Warring lac trons', you tsuli be weeping. A major work Bring on the darkness. (Paul Dale)
Various Artists Twice as Nice (Warner) fr it it
Britain's premier RBth club’s obligatory mix CD claims to encapsulate the story so far for UK garage and RBB,’ Thus Twice as Nice features both spanking new tracks as well as those that are a little more yellow rOund the edges A helping of stern hip hop lS also an ingredient in the mix
As you WOuld expect, all the big nanees of the moment, the likes o‘ Craig Daytd, Shola Ama, Busta Rhymes and stguo are hauled in, presumably to give pop pickers a peg on which to hang this compilation The heavyweights rub Shoulders With little knott'i) art.sts who offer more cheesy, (l(?ll\.’al.‘/(‘ numbers A bit of a mixed bag. (Dawn Kofiei
Armand Van Helden Killing Puritans (FFrr) a a fi. it
The follow-up to his c iitically acclaimed album 2Fritr/I‘t.>/1l/, the Manhattan Mauler bounces bac k from ropey remixes to testify that house can be hardcore, it car‘. even be punk. Noticeably toughened by his recent soondc lash bouts ‘Nlili latboy Slim, Van Helden has sourced early hOuse, hip hop, 80s synth and even heavy metal to come out fight;i.g with this new strain of headliuit
house. Mighty fierce on 'Watch Your Back' and ’l ittle Black Spiders’, the first single ’Koochy' gives Gary Numan's ‘Cars' an electro house injection and 'Hybrid/ features the rhyming bravado of Junior Sanchez. Don't let the funked-up hip hop intro oi the old skool breaks of 'Bi'eakdanceis Call' fool you, 'cause this album is really quite hard. (Catherine Bionileyl
HIP HOP Mike Ladd
Welcome To The Afterfuture (Ozone) it: at ‘3: it: All, the year 2000 that Will be the year hip hop comes of age, Dr Dre Will be the Biagadt-ie General and Eminem Will be classeu as serninal (iods preserve us. Mike ladcl 2s Indeed a tender mercy {acid s a Nuns York poet and rapper whose r-ataial iineage is more Gil Scott lleron thai ltipac, more last Poets than PtilJllt Enemy lnis is Ladd’s second aliii.in and it's little short of brilliant Cerebral hip hop that walks the walk is rare enough but to have some of the phatest breaks sealing the whole thing is astonishing Buy this album because it is better than any of us deserve. (Paul Dare)
Only Child
Satellites And Constellations (Grand Central) it at
Grand Central may be home to UK hip hop's ubei-tool but save the genuflections ‘l've Got A Right' is a promising start, a Sarah Vaughn vocal sampled in homage to the heart of rock and soul, but this is as close as Sate/lites Arid Constellations comes to the spir:tual or sexual. It's truly a dull affair, sziuChic. ltiiik sessions competing With a slit kness of production best left to the worst Ill swing—beat blandness. One would think ’When 6 Loves 9' might suggest some libido, but even Marvrn Gaye would have trouble encouraging this somnainbulistic little number to get up, get up, get up (Rodger Evans)
FUNK/WORLD Various Artists
Afiic'a Funk: Return to the Original Sound of 19703 Funky Africa (Harmless Recordings) 1: t t k t
In l‘Jb8 James Brown toured West Africa and brought consciousness- raising funk music to a new hungry audience lhe next year, Fela Ktiti, the Nigerianhorn Ja/x musician and founding father of ’Afi'o-beat' toured the States With his band
Hanin Elias is singled out as an expert electro techno terrorist
Koola Lobitos and during stays in los Angeles experienced a political awakening. This album is the product of the brief but fertile moment of cross pollination between two vital musical traditions spiced with the power of late 60s political radicalism. But it’s not the historical significance of this album that makes it of such importance. This muSIc: is as alive With all the fun and the passion it possessed on the day it was made Excellent. (Tim Abrahams)
JAZZ
Michel Camilo and Tomatito
Spain (Lola Records) it it it
Lola Records is a new label latlllc hed by film director Fernando Trueba (wzth distribution from Verve) This disc ht'iigs together the Dominican Jaz/ pianist Michel Camilo (who Will feature in the Glasgow Jazz Festival in July) and the Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito in a highly compatible duo, With Chick Corea’s classic 'Spain' serving as an elegant gateway into an album which explores the interface between genres (jazz, Latin, flamenco, classical) in impressive fashion Both players are virtuoso performers on their instruments, and prove highly adept at finding space in a dialogue which could easily have been cluttered, given the nature of those instruments.
(Kenny Mathieson)
Joe Locke Beauty Burning (Sirocco Jazz) it t it: I:
The New York-based vrbes player Joe Locke has been a favourite in Scotland ever srnce drummer Bill Kyle farst brought him over in the mid-80s. Then a relatively unknown name, he has developed into one of the leading practitioners of the instrument in Jazz, and this polished album provrdes a showcase for the range of his talents, from gorgeous ballads and lithe mid- tempo strolls to the high-octane complexrties of ’Rasputainian Dance' His collaborators, pianist Frank Kimborough and a great rhythm team of Ray Drumrnond and Jeff ‘Tain' Watts, are all top drawer New York leaders in their own right, while Paul Bollenback adds gunar on three cuts.
(Kenny Mathieson)
STAR RATINGS
1r i at * * Unmissable t it * it Very ood t ‘k a: Wort a shot i 1* Below average fir You’ve been warned
record reviews MUSIC
Dance Singles Round Up
It's always good to see the locals do well, so it's nc) surprise Yush Vs Beatfreekz is the work of among others, A J and Joseph Malil. of Blacka’ni/ed fame lheir four—track ’Yush 2K EF” is filled with storming iitstr'iiitxental hip hop played for funk and 60s S()tlll(lll'(li’l~ kic ks. Essential. (Yt.isli *ivktin Lgaaily pleasing is Quinn's latest platter ‘lhe Next Time' (White label *‘kt‘k *l where the one—time llardliody lrrint«.'.oinari goes for a hill on lil",i ioiis : huth house moment, looped ‘.\llll her unique V()r .il llllt‘ and replete ‘.‘.«’llll a clutcn of defer table it"lllT-t'S This has huge hit \‘~.’l'lll('ll all oxei it ‘.‘.lll‘. big felt pens and c iayciri. lop stuff
Not everything c at; Le perfect, but Procryptix c time c lose 'Bieak ln A 950's Shadov.‘ S’lll * it it is stripped (loath, l':t;t,tl‘, lowclon hip hop Whlc h deserves lr‘ he played from the rooftops of h-iiiuings everywhere Chris Lowe stiihhy bump ’Btickt'lii/lin' (Bron: ***i Is an aboxe «i.’('.'(i(l(' hip hop track ‘.'./h:c li ioc l s for ii hit but ultiiiiateh; fails to ignite Team Demolition late l)".‘l’.t'l Liz": 'Tearri‘-.‘v.'oik l)l'itll" haige *irirl but this r ouri r.a.c- l,'i't‘i'l i:ppc-tl straight from jiirassa ‘s's copyhook, such is the siiisslaiit‘, i'i ulllt‘
US traric er BT has bet-i at this long before the (t'l'c’l irisl‘t"! kids gr)! into then notelty liai‘te tiisi. l)reaiiiing' tlleadspac t' * kit» is as strong as anything he's l):(l(li.: ed, ‘.'.|lll a
Sc ieiice
sensatioi.al .ocal tract that wouldn't beout of placer it a l.lcl\‘>l.l(;/§\ll(l(k track llot so hot luit ’clllllt’ funky is Those 2's '(7et Wit Led' ii’ostiva *‘k‘ki Despite i‘aving more breakdowns tl‘aii trancey epic that to the (llt‘lltll'tls
Mike Delgado's 'la/fiinarira' (Nuphonit *iri tot:- r‘ireriu table to really excite ‘.‘.’lll‘i his salsa house business ltillli‘t,‘ to move Despite being cheesy Mystic 3's ‘Soit‘tthing's (30mg ()n' (Ruliii’ ttt. i-ihs everything tip the iiglt‘. xiii, With its disco house stomp ar‘:l t‘i' 'oys
lllti [As/x. llk cl
«.‘tJlll appeal mostly
remixes so funky they sf‘rl‘llil he sporting afros and riellitottoins
Hawke’s 'Stac lay liti'iipet Sunburn ***i and Mike and Charlie’s ’l Get Live' (Regal *‘k‘ki'r trait: out more bi‘eakbeat marines», and lat Boy Slim improves ort ill-u ti", duo , in: its .'.’.th a moody rei='.:x Hanin Elias tiltt a With venom, blister and elec tro
techno terrorisrii i('l'.l.:lit ;es or: ii:
Flames l P' (l)lll\’ i i-i . ‘, hat this 's no bad thing Prime beats are ~.'.lia. STS i .‘is and
he's \A'illlllq to share 'Sz-‘Jeii \eafs (Oheye Records *i *t‘ is rot about those stratery iiiarziinais h :7 still packs a nasty nip sricmitl ,ou il'. and steal his sardines Seven tiac ks of st ratch- tastlc, elec tro hip hop n‘agi; contemplate the .'.()ll(l tttto.igl‘. the use of hasslines thic kei than a ‘.'.lldl(‘ omelette and heats to tease the soles and soul Sia's 'laken lo! (iiaiited (long lost Brother it‘k‘ki takes Prokovrrnfl ’h‘oviitvti (\r-r (hops heals at‘il a liiir1-.*‘,'etl .tical
Juliet] .lllll
track on top Soiiiitis \llt‘t“)‘,, out is, in truth, atria/inc; ‘l‘.l\ill\ lx‘oliertsonl
THE UST 51