El E’CTRONlCA HELL
NY Muscle (International Deejay Gigolos: 0000
DJ Hell is one of the superstars of the German scene. having helped create the electro- clash sound that fundamentally changed clubbing a few years back. A lot of eyes were
watching for this release.
six years in the making. for which he ntoved to New York to capture a new atmosphere and which features guest \.'oeals from Alan Vega (Surerder. Billie Ray Martin and Erlend Oye (Kings of Convenieneer. Grrmy and unrelenting at times H et No Man Jack"; rt also takes in \ague sou! (\Je l-legrette Even/thrng'i and icy minimalism ('l rn‘brsehe System'l. He” could so
easily srt back and rest on his Iaurels but here proves he's still willing to influence and innovate. (Henry Northmorei
JAZZ SKALPEL Skalpel
(Ninia Tunei COO.
lr‘arfi‘tfiswu‘; . O o,
Skalpel are Polish duo Maren Ciehy and Igor Pudlo. who have been knocking out neat lrttle ,rewels for some time and have already been nominated for a prestigirxrs Pas/porty Polrtyki award in Poland. They were armost entirely unkno‘xxn else-\.'./her(‘:. Until now. Thrs debut LP of cr:sp. classy Jax/ should stir the soul of anyone who delights :n subtie snares and any light» t:.".ger'e-(i instrumentatzori
over booming. bombastic
fodder. Reminiscent of DJ Food's more delerous
work. Vintage Carl
Craig Inner/one Orchestra (think ‘Bug in the Bassbrn'; and legendary drummer Francisco Mora. Skalpel includes the utterly sublime 'Seulpture' and bonkers breaks cut-up It's definitely Jazz. Jim. but not gurte as we know rt.
(Andrew Richardson,
SOUL .JA72 4I1EFK)
The Remix Album (Raw Canvasi 0000
It's been some trme srnee West London's trarlbla/rng duo released their de\.rastating re-build of Nu YOrrean
Soul Rotary Connections ‘I Am the Black Gold of the Sun'. even longer srnee Goldre's Metalhead/ delivered their gorgeous rework of (1 Hero's
‘Unrversal Love'. The widening gap only emphasises how timeless these recordings are. Assembling classic 4 Hero remixes of other stars (COurtney Pine. Ultra Nate. Yellow Magic Orchestra. Marcos Valle. Terry Callier. Goldie) and other groundbreaking talents' (Ja/zanova. DJ Sprnna. Bugz in the Attic. MAW. King Britt) remixes of the 4 Hero catalogue in a double CD. this albums an instant winner. The Bugr' banging broken beat treatment of scul favourite 'Hold it Down' is here. as is Britt's heavenly version of ‘9 By 9'. If you don't already own these tracks. you should do now. If you haven't heard them before. you'll be playing them to death by the end of the month. (Andrew Richardsonl
INUEROCK BEARSUIT
Cat Spectacular! (Fortuna Pop!) 00
Walking a tightrope between sharnbolic
white noise and twee Pam Ayres-style vocals. Peel favourites Bearsurt are an erratic. rf entertaining. prospect. Their debut looks set to provoke an equally polar reaction in anyone who crosses their path. and if you like Bis. this is right up your street. If not. avoid it like the plague. although the effervescent electronica instrumental ‘TSTM' and the odd endearrngly melodic moment wrden the appeal somewhat. Despite scoring pornts for its originality and sheer fearlessness (including a bonus for calling a track ‘Rodent Disco'l. Cat Spectacular! is at best an acquired taste. at worst a thoroughly headache-inducrng record.
(Emma Newlands;
Records
OLD SCHOOL COLDCUT Life:Styles (Harmlessi O...
Years before every grrnp with a bleached mohawk—mullet started putting out piss-poor 'eeleetic' mixes stuffed with supposedly life- definrng tunes. the turntable tag-team of Jonathan More and Matt Black — collectively known as Coldeut — were blending aerd ll()tlf§(}. (ltrt). lirr) li()r) ztri(l \.-/l‘.atever else took their fancy into rolling. surreal soundseapes that hauled club and DJ culture out of their creative eul—de—sacs. Their truly awesome 70 Minutes of Madness mix for the Journey by DJs series remains their masterpiece. but the scope of this tltltt‘lXOd compilation is similarly