Hi guys,
I visited my old town of Leeds the other day, I moved away almost 20 years ago! I was amazed and impressed to find one of my favourite record shops from my youth still going.
I bought my fair share of early mix tapes and CD’s from Jumbo Records when I was a teenager so it really brough back memories to see that little had changed. It’s sad to see more and more brilliant independent shops like this disappearing for good. Naturally I had to buy something!
Disc 1 Jeremy Healy
Jeremy Healy’s mix is all over the place!
My opening statement could easily be misinterpreted but I mean it in the positive sense so I will explain. When this was new it was a big favourite of mine and back then with little else to compare it to I took it at face value. As EDM has matured and settled in to what it is today the early stuff really shows just how freestyle and loose everything was back then. There’s no way any DJ could get away with putting out a release like this these days!
JH has crammed in so many Genres in this mix it’s impossible to categorise! As I said this is a positive thing as it gives you in one disc a nostalgic trip through clubland in the mid 90’s I would say better than any of those cheesy retrospective cash cow TV ad compilations ever could, mainly because this mix is authentic and actually of the time, rather than looking back at it.
Starting off with anything by Leftfield is OK in my book and from there things change direction so fast I can’t keep track, from vocal house with ‘Who Keeps Changing Your Mind’ to dub rap with ‘Pump Up The Volume’ to tech sounding ‘La Luna’ this is a rapid fire set if ever there was one!
Highlights for me are track 8 ‘Bumper’ a moody trance track that got a lot of car time, track 13 ‘Legends Of The Dark Part2’ the best remix of ‘Renegade Master’ ever! Track 15. ‘The Phoenix’ just because it has this big room filling sound, then opens up into a beach party all of its own, it’s like dark chocolate with a strawberry fondant centre. Track 16 ‘Lock Up’ well that’s a proper oldie that’s reason enough.
Disc 2 Allister Whitehead
Well at least AH can restrain himself sticking with uplifting vocal (soul + choir in places) piano house pretty much throughout, it makes reviewing so much easier! Again I’m tempted to say ‘they don’t make ’em like that anymore’ but I can say that about most of the stuff on my blog, this set is a collection of the finest music of this type at that time I doubt you’d find a better example all in one place. 18 or so years has taken its toll though and some of the tracks which were perhaps once sophisticated and cutting edge are sounding a bit camp and cheesy now, but that’s not to take anything away from it, it’s not intended to compete with today’s stuff, just be warned if you do pick up a copy.
Daphne and Judy Cheeks still have it though, text book 90’s sound and really that’s what Electronica Restoration is all about!
It’s been a while since I listened to both of these discs back to back in full and it’s been an enjoyable couple of hours. Fantazia were putting out some good stuff and this was as good as anything, make no mistake this set is a classic release and one I’m glad I held on to, especially with second hand prices at a healthy £40 to £50 for a used copy (not mine though! not for sale!). Worth a shot if you can get a copy for sure.
Disc 1 Jeremy Healy
1. Open Up (Dervish Overdrive Mix) – Leftfield (Featuring John Lydon). Hard Hands/Leftfield
2. Who Keeps Changing Your Mind (Sure Is Pure Mix) – South Street Players. Ministry Of Sound Recordings
3. Pump Up The Volume (Club Around Sound Mix) – Greed. Stress Records
4. La Luna (Beat of the drum, Bang Bang) (Original Mix) – Patrick Prins. Effective Records
5. Degrees Of Passion (Bootleg Mix)*
6. The Gloom – Castle Trancelot. Slate Records
7. I’ll Be There (Clayden & Mac Mix) – Anthoney. Labello Dance
8. Bumper (Hard Knee Mix) – Chrome. Cleveland City Records
9. Dreams (Extended Mix) – Quench. Infectious Records
10. Dreamer (Jupiter 12″ Collision Mix) – Living Joy. Undiscovered Records. Licensed From MCA Records (UK)
11. Let The Rhythm Flow (Club Mix) – Diva Rhythms. Tripoli Wax
12. I Luv U Baby (The Dancing Divas Remix) – The Original. Courtesy of Ore Music
13. Legends Of The Dark Black-part 2 (Renegade Master Mix) – Wildchild. Hi Life Records. Licensed from Polygram Licensing Division
14. Music Is So Special (Let The Drums Speak MIx) – Jaydee. R & S Records
15. The Phoenix (Mother Remix) – God Within. Hardkiss/L’Attitude Records
16. Lock Up (Monolith Mix) – Zero B Ffreedom. Licensed from Polygram Licensing Division
17. Tall And Handsome (Jeremy Healy Remix) – Outrage. Effective Records
18. Weekend (Weekend Mix) – Todd Terry Project. Courtesy of Ore Music
19. Hallelujah (Live in Manchester) – Inner City. Network Records
*track 5. Do You Want It Right Now (Biti-pella Mix) – Degrees Of Motion. Ffrr Records. Licensed from Polygram Licensing Division. Passio – Gat Decor. SBS Productions
Disc 2 Allister Whitehead
1. I Found Love (Loveland Remix) – C & C Music Factory. Sony Music Entertainment (UK)
2. Change (Fathers Of Sound Classic Vocal Mix) – Daphne. Stress Records
3. Right And Exact – (Stonebridge Mix) – Chrissie Ward. Courtesy of XL Recordings
4. You Can Have It All (Rhymetime Club Mix) – Eve Gallagher. Cleveland City Records
5. I Believe (12″ Master) – Happy Clappers. Shindig Records
6. Happiness (Is Just Around The Bend) (Free Cheese Mix) – Brooklyn Poor & Needy. Airdog Recordings
7. Warm It Up (The Whole World’s Upside Down) (Mainstreet Mix) – Joy For Life. Stress Records
8. Satisfied (Take Me Higher) – H20 (featuring Billie). Rumour Records
9. Sweetest Day Of May (Greed Euphorik Club Mix) – Joe T. Vanilli Project. Positive Recordings
10. As Long As Your Good To Me (Love To Infinity’s Paradise Club Mix) Judy Cheeks. Positiva Recordings
11. Let No Man Put Asunder (Love To Infinity’s Yellow Cab Mix) – First Choice (featuring Rochellle Fleming). X-Clusive Records
12. Work It Out (Morales Classic Club Mix) – Shiva. ffrr Licensed from Polygram Licensing Division
I will start this post with an announcement – Electronica Restoration is One Year Old this week!
Yup, somehow I’ve managed to keep this up for a whole year already! I can’t believe how quick that has gone!. I should’ve planned an event, in fact this time next year if things are still looking good I might just do that, put on an ‘Electronica Restoration Summer Event’ or something, hmm… I will think about that, might need a few more followers first though 🙂
So to mark the occasion I thought I’d better pull out one of my big favourites, Hernan Cattaneo’s epic ‘Sequential’. Now this is how you put a mix CD together! Bought blind in a record shop (remember those?) on the strength of the Renaissance name, I resisted the temptation to listen to it straight away as it was intended as holiday music for two weeks in Greece coming up the following week.
O.K. so I had a bit of a listen to it but did manage to save it for the flight out. Often listening to a piece of music reminds you of where you were the first time you heard it and that was the plan with this and it worked, great music, great holiday. These CD’s got hammered the whole holiday and was constantly in the car for months when I got back!
The track selection on here is as good as I’ve ever heard anywhere, there are no fillers at all, and I really mean that. At worst the tracks are very good but the standout tracks are off the chart. The theme of both discs is melodic and progressive and there’s a lot of varied sounds. It’s a real treat if you’re tired of samey repetitive beats that seem to be doing the rounds at the moment, listening to this again as I write is refreshing after a glut of dissapointing new stuff I’ve had lately.
Paolo Mojo’s 1983 for me really steals the show on disc 1, there are a few versions in circulation but the best I think is the one on here. Even the examples on YouTube don’t seem to be quite the same and I have a remix of it on ‘Eric Pridz Presents Pryda’ which is unfortunately not quite as good as I’d hoped. Way Out West’s ‘Wonka’ is like nothing I’ve heard before or since, that used to get played… a lot!
On disc 2, it’s the same story, it’s all good! There’s a great selection of tracks, perhaps a bit deeper on disc 2 but very much in the same vein, melodic, progressive house what’s not to like? Nick Muir’s ‘I Feel Real’ hits the spot for me on disc 2, it’s like Sci-Fi Progressive House (could be a new sub-genre?) have a listen you’ll know what I mean.
I’ve bought most of Hernan’s other releases since this and for me nothing touches it for me, although the latest Masters Series came damn close.
Some people have commented that Sequential Vol.2 is better, and perhaps technically it is, but for me the original Sequential puts me straight back on Scala beach every time I hear it and there’s no arguing with that!
I know I will regret posting this picture one day, (er yeah, today?), but what the hell, here’s me listening to this very mix looking a little sun burnt and playing up for the camera, blame the ouzo!
Disc 1
1. Gui Boratto – Arquipelago
2. Petersky – F**k Them All (Oliviero & MOS For The Ladies Remix)
3. Trafik – Thought Line
4. Tommyboy & Mannel – Feel It (Tommyboy & Mannel’s Renaissance Sequential Remix)
5. Mikael Delta – Baboo
6. Dousk – Florence
7. Rocco Mundo & Onno – Je T’Aime (Love Dub For Hernan) Hernan Cattaneo & Martin Garcia Feat. Peter K – Two Sides Of A Story (Acapella)
8. Paolo Mojo 1983
9. Chris Llopis – Dize Moi (Rhythm Code Remix)
10. Randall Jones Present DJ’s Set You Free – With My Friends
11. Way Out West – Wonka
12. 16 Bit Lolita’s Feat. Jennifer Horne – Passing Lights
13. Phonique – For The Time Being Feat. Erlend Oye (Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks Exclusive Sequential Remix)
Disc 2
1. Bushwacka! – Beastman
2. Trisco – Fashionista
3. Union Jack – Two Full Moons And A Trout (Luke Chable Remix)
4. Derek Howell – Cram It Up Your Cram Hole Slam – Human (Acapella)
5. 16 Bit Lolita’s – Destiny
6. Marco Bailey – Fatal Attraction (Instrumental Mix)
7. Mehta & Riedel – Obsessions (Kered vs. The Namboombu People Remix)
8. Dan Welton – Lisopain (The Pushers Sublingual Dub)
9. Brisker & Magitman – Other Dye (Perry O’Neil Remix)
10. Nick Muir – I Feel Real (Hernan Cattaneo Edit)
11. Eddie F – Breather
12. Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks – Sirocco
I have a lot of trust in the Balance series, I’ve got a few now and not one of them is less than brilliant (although James Holden’s 005 mix from 2003 is really in a league of it’s own but that’s for another post). My faith in the Balance series is such that I know I’m going to be getting something special on each new release and Guy J’s product is perfectly in keeping with that track record, but…there’s a couple of little buts.
This really is a quality release from Balance, but with two minor faults so let’s deal with those right now:
1. The opening track, eh? hmm, not what I would’ve gone with myself. In my eyes (ears?) a mix should be like a film without pictures or a sound track to an unmade film. The intro really sets the scene for the whole film or in this case the opening track sets the scene for the whole mix and well, this just doesn’t. I want something to grab my attention, to reassure me that I haven’t just flushed 10 quid down the toilet and to be honest track one got me a little worried. If this CD was a book and track one was chapter one, I very much doubt I’d be reading any further, basically in my subjective opinion a mix CD should open like a James Bond film and suck you straight in with a bit of build and action and then quickly get down to business.
2. There’s only one disc! AAAHHHGGGHHH!
Once you over look these two niggles, you’re in for a real treat. I know I should be glad of any release but you just kinda get used to the traditional format of 2 discs, especially with Balance, it’s been like that forever and I just assumed it would be a 2 CD set so I didn’t think to check and I was a bit disapointed to only find one disc.
This is a stroll through a beautiful, intelligent and complex electronic landscape (I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s on the money) with a warm deep sound to it and in track 10. echomen’s ‘Perpetual’ I might have just found my own official ‘sound of summer 2013’. I’ve been following Guy J for a while now, popping up on Hernan Cattaneo’s ‘Sequential Vol.2’ with ‘Agent Blue (v. nice track 🙂 ) in 2007 and on John Digweed’s ‘Structures 2’ on the blissed out electronica mix with ‘Lamur Am mix’ (again v/nice track 🙂 ) and loads of others besides. In fact this mix could be a sister disc to John Digweed’s ‘Structure’s 2’ they seem to share that same glow.
If you’re a fan of the Balance series and/or of Guy J’s work then this is an essential release you can’t be without, or if you’ve never heard of Guy J or Balance before but appreciate a slightly slower, deeper sound to the run of the mill EDM, then I promise you will not be disappointed in this mix. Can’t wait for the next one.
P.S. Dear Guy J, in the very slim chance you see this post, keep up the amazing work, but for f$%* sake would you do me a favour and put out two discs next time!
1. dj yellow & the flowers and sea creatures – NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND guy j remix
2. roger martinez & secret cinema – MENTHOL RAGA guy j remix
3. henry saiz – SANTA FE guy j remix
4. AMP001 – MIGRANTS guy j remix
5. juan deminicis – ONCE UPON A TIME guy j remix
6. navar – PHASES OF GRIEF guy j remix
7. pavel petrov – FEVER guy j remix
w/ dj t featuring cari golden
CITY LIFE accepella | guy j edit
8. lanoiraude – WAITIN’ charles webster’s missive sounds mix | guy j remix
9. dactilar – DAY ONE guy j remix
10. echomen – PERPETUAL guy j remix
11. guy martzur – I’M YOUR COUNTRY guy j remix
12. way out west – KILLA guy j remix
13. robert babicz – DUBA guy j remix
I don’t buy albums. Like ever. But an exception got made with this one and what a great decision that was! Reading this blog as you are automatically qualifies you to agree with me that Michael Cassette has to be one of the most under promoted, highly talented artists out there and Temporarity is one hell of a business card.
I got turned on to Michael Cassette while browsing Beat Ports listings and came across ‘A Fox And A Shooting Star’ (shame that’s not included here) and then over time kept seeing the name and pretty much everything that got put out was awesome. So when I discovered ‘Ghost In The Machine’ and learned there was an album it was a no brainer purchase.
Michael Cassette’s sound is undoubtably 80’s and nothing could frame that feeling better than his version of the Jan Hammer classic ‘Crockett’s Theme’ worth the cover price for this alone!
There is one, perhaps two weaker tracks on here but I’m being picky, if you’re a fan of the Anjuna sound then this is an absolute must buy.
1. My Name Is Michael Cassette
2. Shadows Movement
3. Crockett’s Theme
4. Through The Windows
5. Magenta Sunset
6. Ghost In The Machine
7. Pangaea
8. Nevermore
9. Kilimanjaro
10. Carpe Diem
11. Zeppelin
12. Funeralia – Farewell To David
The Fabric series is unknown territory for me, this being my only purchase to date. I always get side tracked on to GU, Renaissance or Balance and so Fabric takes a back seat, if anyone has any recommendations let me know.
I broke my Fabric cherry on Tiefschwarz’s reputation and some positive Amazon review feedback and all in all it’s a pretty strong release but as another reviewer has said track one is a little annoying, once you’re past that most of the tunes get much better. The packaging made me happy, as those of you know this blog, boggo CD jewel cases look cheap and show no originality and do nothing to impress me. The card sleeve over a tin box with an inlay card and inner CD sleeve on this release makes me very happy!
The CD (and it is just one CD!) has quite a dark brooding theme to it so not exactly pool side peak summer listening, but it has it’s place, probably amongst my ‘night driving’ collection. The bulk of the tracks are good solid electronic pieces that are quite happy to bang out with only Sleeper Thief’s ‘Freefall’ and the excellent ‘The Hammer Of Thor’ by Riton as standout tracks.
If you were to chop off the first and last tracks (or swap them) then this would be a seriously good mix, that said I still like it and recommend it to those of you with a german dark trance/tech persuasion, but c’mon 2 CD’s are to be expected these days. It’s got to be something quite special to hold its own as a single disc, if it had a sister disc of the same quality then that would be a different matter.
1. Louderbach aka Troy Pierce – Grace (Anxiety), underl_ne
2. Claud Vonstroke – Whose Afraid Of Detroit?, dirtybird
3. Tiefschwarz – Damage (M.A.N.D.Y. Remix), fine
4. Theodor Zox – Extruder (Maetrik Remix), tic tac toe
5. Touane – Bassic, persona
6. Thomas Schumacher – Rotor, spiel zeug
7. Night On Earth – Rondell, kickboxer
8. Gummihz – A.A.K.N.Y., mobilee
9. Ichundu – Hey, souvenir
10. Jamie Jones – Amazon, freak n’ chic
11. Sleeper Thief – Freefall, 64 records
12. Depeche Mode – John The Revelator (Tiefschwarz Dub), mute
13. Riton – The Hammer Of Thor, souvenir
14. Kate Wax – Beetles And Spiders (Roman Flugel Remix), mental groove
A Renaissance 3CD set from the ‘Worldwide’ series, by three distinctive artists, on paper looks like a good deal but it’s not quite that simple. First of all the packaging is great, an open top box containing 3 individual sleeves which fold out to reveal the disc and additional information and artwork, very nice. After that though things go down hill…
The David Morales CD is very disco/garage as you’d probably expect but I just didn’t get on with it at all. I’d go as far to say that it has a bit of a camp sound to it and despite having maybe two or three good tracks on it that’s probably not enough to save it from never being listened to again! This is the worst Renaissance disc I’ve ever heard!
Dave Seaman comes to the rescue with disc 2 and things begin to look up. Not Dave’s best mix but still a good listen with enough interesting moments to keep you hooked throughout I had a feeling of returning to familiar territory after an hour of Morales. It’s a good mix, but that’s it, just ‘good’. You begin to expect more from the top names in the industry and this just isn’t quite there somehow.
The real star of the show is disc 3 by BT, I wasn’t expecting this mix to be as good as it is but it really saves this 3CD set from completely bombing. It would’ve made an excellent stand alone release but as it is here it feels like it’s carrying the other two along. Subphonics ‘Friendly Fire’ and Kaistars ‘The Promethean Groove’ really standout, ahhh the balance has been restored.
I don’t like writing negative reviews as I love the music and the people who make it but occasionally along comes a clanger and unfortunately this is one, get the BT mix if you can download it and maybe the Seaman mix if you like his stuff but the Morales mix I can’t recommend.
CD1 David Morales
1. Bini & Martini featuring Romina Johnson – Dancin’ With You
2. Preluxe featuring Clive Griffin – You’re The One For Me (Hustlers Convention Mix)
3. State Of Mind – Take Control (M&S Epic Klub Mix)
4. Hustlers Convention – Turn It Up (DJ Maurizio Mix)
5. Doug Willis – Feel The Funk
6. East West Connection – East West Club
7. The Heclectic featuring Latasha P. Jordan – Found A Cure (D’Ambrosio Classic Club Mix)
8. Mike Delgado presents The Upstairs Lounge – Byrd Man’s Revenge
9. Eddie Amador – House Music (The Beats Mix)
10. The New Hippie Movement featuring Bishop – What A Feeling (Cevin’s Feelin’ The Power Mix)
11. Wamdue Project – Where Do We Go? (Armands’ Last Hustle In Paris Mix)
12. Unkowledge presents Love Juice – Get On Up (Club Mix)
13. Bobby D’Ambrosio featuring Michelle Weeks – The Day (Classic Club Mix)
14. Kerri Chandler – Movin’ In
CD2 Dave Seaman
1. Banco De Gaia – Drunk As A Monk (Rabbit In The Moon Mix)
2. Danny Tenaglia – Elements – The Voice
3. Lo-Fidelity Allstars – Vision Incision (Incision In The Midfield Mix)
4. Dominion – Creation (Dub)
5. Dolls Head – It’s Over It’s Under (Brothers In Rhythm Mix)
6. Fifty-Fifty – Tonight I’m Dreaming
7. Freefall featuring Jan Johnston – Skydive
8. Hydro – Liquid Prayers (Starecase’s Aquabatics Mix)
9. Hybrid – Theme From Wide Angle
10. Garbage – Special (Brothers In Rhthym Mix)
11. Howie B – Angels Go Bald (Orginal Mix)
12. DJ Shadow – High Noon
CD3 BT
1. 2 Phat C**ts – Ride (Space Invaders Mix)
2. Deep Dish – Summer’s Over (Ali’s Club Mix)
3. Invisible Scream – Invisible
4. Hybrid – Snyper
5. Silicon Valley Def Stars – Believer (Thursday Club Mix)
6. Morgan King – I’m Free (William Orbit Mix)
7. DJ Rap – Bad Girl (BT Mix)
8. The Crystal Method – Coming Back (Light Mix Dub)
9. Subphonic – Friendly Fire
10. Kaistar – The Promethean Groove
11. Amoeba Assassin – Piledriver (The Hurricane Mix)
12. BT – Godspeed
Another much anticipated release for me by Nick Warren, regular followers may have seen the count down timer I had running up to the release of this over on the left column, it takes quite a lot to get me excited usually but for this I was literally counting the days!
I’m going to let you all into a little secret now, Nick Warren’s music is the real reason I started Electronica Restoration, it was originally going to be called something else and be just about his releases. I figured that would be a nice little project to work on but then it grew and grew in my mind until it became what you see before you now.
I told you I found some old boxes in my garage with some CD’s missing, what I didn’t tell you was the panic and horror of realising that, amongst others it was Nick warren’s Global Underground #28 Shanghai and Global Underground #24 Reykjavik that were missing! They eventually turned up, thankfully, as even the second hand prices on those two are astronomical!
With this release Nick Warren has put something together which is truly sublime. Disc 1 is slow and smooth, this moves between chill out and blissed out, there are some incredible atmospheres and soundscapes on here Tripswitch’s ‘Still Seas’ being my pick a real shame it’s only 1:36 long, also DFRNT’s El Spirito has that ‘otherness’ sound to it that fits well here. James Munro’s ‘Ambientworkx7’ is another favourite of mine from this set. This is a lock the front door, lights off, headphones on disc for sure!
Disc 2 changes direction slightly into a more traditional dance mix but keeps the quality and the ‘feel’ of the first disc, the two definitely compliment each other. SimpliCity’s ‘Singing Or Speaking’ stands out for me, there’s a quote in that track that you should recognise, I won’t spoil it for you though. Sam Waller’s ‘I Pointi Pointi’, David Calo’s ‘Moving To Myself’ has a warm and deeply hypnotic quality to it, Tom Glass’s ‘Welcome To The Sun’ is probably my most listened to track across both CD’s. The back end of Disc 2 melds back into the familiar territory of progressive house with some really stunning tracks, which after the already excellent track selection is an added bonus.
My only regret with this release is that I didn’t buy it through Renaissance directly and so missed out on a signed copy! If only Id’ve known! Nevermind, there’s always next time.
Anyway, enough hero worshiping for one review I think, there’s only one course of action for you to take now, buy it, play it, love it!
Disc 1
1. Aurtas – Introduction
2. DFRNT – Nocturn Part 1 (feat. Annabelle Guilhem)
3. Tripswitch – Still Seas
4. Pedro Aguia – The Voices In My Head
5. I Awake – Labryinth
6. SCSI-9 – Ellsworth Land
7. DFRNT – El Spirito (Beatless Version)
8. Circular – City Pulse
9. Cell – Take Off
10. Terje Seather – Oia
11. Nick Warren – Buenos Aires (Luis Bondio Dub)
12. Trip Switch – Sick Teckers
13. Nick Warren – Devil’s Elbow
14. Excession – Amblight
15. Audioglider – Summer Rainstorm
16. Levente – Naja Haje (Amibient Mix)
17. Bubble Club – The Goddess
18. James Munro – Ambientworkx7
19. Yppah – Blue Schwinn
Disc 2
1. Levente – Tunneling
2. Cristian R – Deimos
3. Darren Flecta – In Moments
4. Darin Epsilon – Shine The Light
5. Levente – Csillagok
6. SimpliCity – Singing Or Speaking
7. Doomwork – All About
8. Sam Waller – I Pointi Pointi
9. Cesar Lombardi and Luis Bondio – Toro
10. David Calo – Moving To Myself
11. Tom Glass – Welcome To The Sun
12. Nicholas Ruiz and Marko Zalezar – Choir
13. Miraculum – Constellation
14. Verche – Corals
This is the one I’ve been waiting for! It’s crazy for me to think I’ve loved these tracks so much for so long and have only just done something about it. As I mentioned in an earlier post I never actually owned this set but was leant it in 1995 (and yes, of course I returned it!) and instantly it burned itself into my mind as a key moment in my own music history. But try as I might I couldn’t get hold of a copy anywhere, thinking about it I should’ve contacted Stress Records directly and got myself a copy sorted.
Nevermind, it’s here now and making up for lost time. This set is so important because it’s the only time I’ve ever come across any disc with my all time favourite track Sunday Club’s ‘Paladian Dawn’ I’m quite certain there will never be another occasion in my life where music stops me in my tracks like hearing this for the first time did, an epic track by anyone’s standards.
Incredibly it also features my other long standing favourite Desert ‘Moods’ a haunting piano track well thought out (apart from the ear splitting sine sweep on the intro keep the volume down for that bit!), a very personal, special track to me at least. The last of the ‘big three’ as I call them on here is Brothers Love Dubs ‘Mighty Ming’ another amazing track, watch for the break down just before the 4 minute mark, awesome.
To this day Dave Seaman and Nick Warren are in my top 5 favourite DJ’s and I’m slowly buying up a lot of their older stuff, having just bought Dave Seaman’s Global Underground 39 Lithuania and Nick Warren’s freshly released Renaissance Masters Series Part 18. On DJ Culture 2 these two share the progressive house sound both distinctive but with their own stamp on each mix. Alister Whitehead’s mix takes a slightly different direction into deeper house with a disco twist, it’s good but my least liked of the three mixes.
Naturally I would recommend this set, but it is more of a history lesson than entertainment, I love it because it connects me to a time when I was just discovering these sounds but it might now be lost on the casual listener.
The packaging on this CD has some very distinctive triangular damage on the cover, maybe it was once yours? It’s gone to a good home.
DJ Culture 1 is virtually impossible to get hold of now but I will keep an eye out for it.
Disc 1 Dave Seaman
1. Sunday Club – Paladian Dawn
2. Reefa! – Inner Fantasy (Incensed Mix)
3. Balouga Boys Vs. Blue Amazon – Gobstopper Soundclash
4. Tabasco – Fixed & Addicted (Dub Mix)
5. Chris & James – Fox Force Five (Play Boys Fully Loaded Dub/Big C’s Break Of Dawn Mix)
6. Claudio Coccoluto – One Love Mix
7. Desert – Moods (Club Mix)
8. Daphne – Change (Fathers Of Sound Sunday AM Dub/Brothers In Rhythm Mix)
9. Coyote – For The Night
10. Route 66 – Revolution (Pappa & Gomez Remix)
11. Chris & James – Ying & Yang
12. Eurythmics – Here Comes The Rain Again (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)
Disc 2 Allister Whitehead
1. Kathy Brown – Can’t Play Around (Big Bump Mix)
2. Daphne – Change (Fathers Of Sound Classic Vocal Mix)
3. Anthony White – Love Me Tonight (Jimmy Gomez Rocks The Joint)
4. Gerideau – Back To Love (Association Remix)
5. Kathy Brown – Turn Me Out (Hardcorey Pump Mix)
6. Joy For Life – Warm It Up (Dub Mix)
7. Full Intention – Tell Me (Vocal Mix)
8. Full Intention – I Miss You
9. Brothers Love Dubs – Ming’s Incredible Disco Machine
10. Alex Neri – Planet Funk (Saxapella)
11. Hustlers Convention – Get Yourself Together (Extended Disco Groovathon)
12. Rusty – Everything Is Gonna Change (Sasha’s Vocal Mix)
13. Brothers In Rhythm – Forever And A Day (Play Boys Mix)
14. Brothers Love Dubs – Mighty Ming (Original Club Mix)
Disc 3 Nick Warren
1. Desert – Moods (Club Mix)
2. Alex Neri – Planet Funk (Chris & James Remix)
3. Tabasco – Fired & Addicted
4. Dubstar – Stars (Way Out West Remix)
5. Markus Schulz presents Spastik Plastic – Engine No.9
6. Alex Natale – Angel Pie
7. Chris & James – Calm Down (King Size remix)
8. Sunday Club – Archive Nova
9. Anthony White – Love Me Tonight (Way Out West Remix)
10. Reefa! -Decadance (Scope Remix)
11. Kamasutra – Censored (Way Out West Remix)
12. Route 66 – Revolution (Nick Hook’s Wobbly Dub Mix)
What comes after ‘Classic’? As always I play the mixes while I write the reviews and this set got me thinking, if these were club classics back in ’94 so what are they now nearly 20 years on? Super Classics? Or maybe, using the car vernacular have they become ‘Vintage’ tracks? Who knows? All that matters is that the Classic label is well justified, these discs are bang on target!
Brandon Block’s mix has been a long standing favourite of mine for years, nearly every track selected for this mix is a stand-out, seriously. There’s the odd straggler but all in all this is a big chunk of what I call ‘proper house’ from the Golden age (should that be Classic Age?) of House Music. Plenty of piano house to keep me happy and a distinctive ‘sound’ that a lot of the tracks from this era shared, love it!
My favourites and recommendations:
Made In Two Minutes
Not Forgotten
The 10th Planet (Ashley Beedle Mix, it was bound to be good)
Choc the Beat
Temperature Rising
What You Need
and of course Shine On
Luv Dup’s Mix brings a funkier and deeper edge to the 3 CD set including an excellent version of Tony Di Bart’s ‘The Real Thing’ although that might just me forgetting how good that track is! Luv Dup’s own track ‘Good Time’ sums up the whole mix nicely in one track.
My favourites and recommendations:
Jump
Deep Inside
Get Off Your High Horse (wow)
Positive NRG
Mighty Ming (a classic amongst classics?)
I Trance You (also on Billy Nasty’s JDJ Mix 1 a truly great track)
Ha! How could I have forgotten about Mike Cosford’s opening track for disc 3? I mention piano so much on this blog I’m beginning to think maybe I should learn to play the damn thing! The opening track is just plain showing off! Amazing stuff. Check out the Mark Simmons remix on YouTube.
My favourites and recommendations:
Soul Roots
Hideaway
Stoneage
Peace and Joy
Funk and Drive
Disc 1 Brandon Block
1. Take Me Away (Pinned Up Mix) – True Faith
2. Made In Two Minutes (Rave Mix) – Bug Khan & The Plastic Jam
3. The Last Rhythm (Club Mix) – The Last Rhythm
4. Not Forgotten (Hard Hands Mix) – Leftfield
5. Go (Woodtick Mix) – Moby
6. On Ya Way (Original Mix) – Helicopter
7. The 10th Planet (Ashley Beedle Mix) – Strings Of Life
8. Choc The Beat – (Piano Mix) – Electric Choc
9. Temperature Rising (Bigger and Better Mix) – PKA
10. The Hunter (Original Herbal Club Mix) – Herbal Infusion
11. Move Your Body – (Original Mix) – X~Pansions
12 What You Need (Luv Dup’s Sat At Home Mix) – Soft House Co.
13. Shine On – Degrees Of Motion
14. Right Before My Eyes (House Vocal Mix) – Patti Day
Disc 2 Luv Dup
1. Jump (Original Mix) – Funkatarium
2. Ain’t No Love (Original Mix) – Sub Sub
3. Deep Inside (Original Mix) – Hard Drive
4. Alex Party (Saturday Night Party Mix) – Alex Party
5. The Real Thing (Dance Mix) – Tony Di Bart
6. Good Time (Luv Dup Mix) – Luv Dup
7. Get Off Your High Horse – (Original Mix) – Rollo Goes Camping
8. Don’t You Want Me (Original Mix) – Felix
9. Positive NRG (Original Mix) – Country & Western
10. Rapture (Original Mix) – Soul Odyssey
11. High And Dry – (Original Mix) Havanna
12. Mighty Ming (Original Mix) – Brothers Love Dubs
13. I Trance You (Original Mix) – Gypsy
14. Someday (Diesel & Ether Mix) – Eddy
Disc 3 Mike Cosford
1. Soul Roots (Original Mix) – Edward’s World
2. From The DAT Vol1 (Ultra Flava Mix) – Farley & Heller Project
3. Son Of Wilmot (Original Mix) – The MIghty DubKats!
4. Hideaway (Deep Dish Mix) – De’Lacy
5. Higher State Of Consciousness (Tweekin’ Acid Funk Mix) – Wink
6. Stoneage (Original Mix) – Floorjam
7. Let The Music Lift You Up (Full On Vocal Mix) – Loveland
8. Hey Mr. DJ (Stab Mix) – Screen II
9. Mooncat (Bonesy’s Hand & Spear Mix) – The Shaker
10. Cry India (Ark Anthem Mix) – Umboza
11. Play This House (Aquarius Teased & Pleased Mix) – BB Club
12. Horny As Funk (Hard As Phunk Mix) – Soapy
13. Peace And Joy – (Original Mix) – Soundstationhttps://electronicarestoration.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
14. Funk And Drive – (Non-stop Floor Edit) – Elevatorman
Was this really as far back as ’94?
Electronica Restoration 