Herbie Hancock

I treated myself to a USB turntable with some money I got for Christmas so I've been going through the bargain bins and charity shops trying to find some hidden vinyl gems then ripping to MP3.

I picked this Herbie Hancock 12" up earlier today for a couple of quid, mainly as the A-Side "You Bet Your Love" is one of my favourite disco tracks ever - this being a slightly extended disco version different to the ones I've heard before. I was interested by the flip too which I wasn't familiar and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Think Sly Stone's Thank You For The Music covered by Parliament for an idea of the sound:

Herbie Hancock - Ready or Not (Disco Version) : YouSendIt

I've just bought the original album from Ebay too, I'll be skint before the new year starts at this rate :)

Clouds Across The Moon

Here are a couple of 80's records I've picked up lately. Both are fairly cheesey, but that doesn't stop either of them being great. Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon has a beautiful chord progression and of course, I dig that whole space vibe! Produced by Richard A. Hewson, with vocals from his wife Liz; it became a top 10 hit back in 1985. I was initially attracted to the dub style Super Nova Mix but I'm starting to prefer the full vocal now. Great sleeve art too!

Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon.mp3
Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon (Super Nova Mix).mp3

Mr Telephone Man was released in 1984 by male vocal group New Edition, featuring a young Bobby Brown. Produced by Ray Parker Jr and and featuring some nice synth work, it's a straight up pop track about a girl ignoring a guys phone calls. Check out the cringe-worthy video. On the flip side is Delicious, a smooth slice of electro-soul with great chords and some nice vocal harmonies which are used to end the track accapella style.

New Edition - Delicious.mp3

Possible Worlds

I've been after this remix EP from The Shamen for years. I couldn't even find an mp3 of Possible Worlds - Stick, which I'm pleased to say still sounds fantastic at least 5 years since I last heard it and over 15 years since its release. Trippy, acid soaked early tech-house with lush synth pads, a nice rolling bassline and excellently programmed beats.

The Shamen - Possible Worlds (Stick).mp3

As a bonus, there are two decent mixes of Make It Mine on the second 12" from Moby. The Deep Mix is lovely floaty stuff but I think I'd prefer it without the vocals. The Dub Mix drops most of the vocals, but loses the deep and floaty feeling due to the more energetic beat, as used in Outlander - Vamp.

The Shamen - Make It Mine (Moby's Deep Mix).mp3
The Shamen - Make It Mine (Moby's Dub Mix).mp3

Metro Area 7

Metro Area 7 is finally with us and what a treat it is! Lead track Read My Mind features vocals from Philip Owusu (of Owusu & Hannibal fame) and strings from Kelley Polar. Taking inspiration from the 80's electronic disco style, the track is an upbeat and punchy song, sounding exactly like the sum of its parts. As you would expect from Morgan & Darshan, the production is immaculate. The beats are tight, the bass bounces beautifully, Polar's string arrangements are lush and Owusu's vocal works brilliantly over the synthetic groove. Available in vocal and instrumental flavours, as well as the RMM Special Dub - it's bound to please fans both old and new.

On the flip side, Metro Area go cosmic with the track Erodyne. The synthesisers really get a good workout here, with plenty of arpeggio's flying around, warm chord progressions and a couple of spaced out solo's. It's another exquisite slice of electronic disco and a natural progressions of the Metro Area sound. Available on 12" and mp3 (the Read My Mind instrumental is an exclusive digital track) from all good stores right now. Buy it, listen to it, love it; and hope another album isn't too many years down the line! You can stream the 4 original tracks in full at Boomkat. Below you will find a cheeky little re-edit I did this afternoon, taking sections from the vocal and the dub. Enjoy!

Metro Area - Read My Mind (acidbearboy supercombo edit) - Removed by request.

Happy Daymare

I'm not sure if I have mentioned rllmukfm yet, but it's a new internet radio station that a friend of mine has set up. It's not a 24 hour service, but you will find a selection of DJ's playing a variety of music most evenings throughout the week. Ben, Paul and myself all have regular shows, the details of which are on the website.

Probably my favourite show on the station is Friday's VGM (videogame music) session with Sabreman. I've always been a big fan of videogames and their soundtracks and he picks a fine selection of old chip-tunes, VGM remixes, plus some more recent stuff. His love of obscure Japanese remix/arrangement albums brought up this slice of jazz-funk goodness. A remix of the stage 6 music from the 1991 Konami shoot 'em up Xexex - yes, I'd never heard of it either! It's a mighty fine sax groove, with lovely chords and some excellent keyboard work - taken from the Perfect Selection album by Konami Kukeiha Club (check that sexy front cover!). I love finding great tracks like this in such unlikely places. Take a listen, suprise yourself!

Konami Kukeiha Club - Happy Daymare.mp3

Do it again, and again, and again......

This great track was recently brought to my attention by the consistently good Another Night On Earth blog, where it's Asso incarnation was posted as the b-side to the classic Don't Stop track. The tune was familiar of course, but I'd not heard the Steely Dan original for years so I hunted it down to make a comparison. The arrangements are suprisingly similar, the original having more of a bossa-nova shuffle to it than the disco groove of Asso's remake. Otherwise, the main difference is in the solo's - and this is where my preference is decided. The original opens the solo-section with a sitar, one instrument I'm really not keen on the sound of. Following this is some nice organ noodling, which I'm all for. However, Asso replace the sitar with what sounds like an electric guitar and we get a spaced out synth lead instead of the organ. This, coupled with the disco beat really hits the spot for me, making a good song great (although still not worth the $350 the Asso 12" goes for!).

Steely Dan - Do It Again.mp3

Asso - Do It Again.mp3 (ANOE)

Whilst searching for the original, I came across a couple of other versions, the first of which is from Smash Mouth. It has some nice swinging drums and a cool organ solo but I can't say I'm keen on the guys voice, which kinda ruins it really. The other version is a medley with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean from Italian producers Clubhouse. It doesn't do anything too flashy but ends up working suprisingly well.

Smash Mouth - Do It Again.mp3

Clubhouse - Do It Again / Billie Jean.mp3

The Loft

No, not The Loft, but my loft. I found some old records up there last week (not mine), most of which were bad - Phil Collins, Pointer Sisters, Miami Sound Machine etc. But this track by Eurythmics really caught my ear. It's the b-side to their Sexcrime single, taken from their soundtrack to Michael Radford's film of the George Orwell novel 1984. The beat is nice and slow and the combination of live and synthesized bass works really well, whilst still leaving plenty of room for you to find the groove between beats. The use of Annie's voice without her actually singing any lyrics is also well done. It's over all too quickly for my liking though and there is no sign of an extended mix as far as I can tell from searching Discogs.

Eurythmics - I Did It Just The Same.mp3

You can order the album from Amazon. It's dirt cheap and supposedly a very good album, I shall investigate.

Spend Some Time

Once again I've suprised myself by picking out a real gem of a track from the charity shop racks with nothing but a bit of raw instinct. I'm certainly getting better at this digging game! The local British Heart Foundation shop has been good to me in the last couple of weeks. I've spent about £15 in there on old vinyl and nearly all of them have been really good. This track from Alton Edwards is probably my favourite. I love the chunky synth bassline, the crisp shuffling drums and the lovely chords. Even the cheesey little synthesized brass section makes me smile. It was released back in 1981 on Morgan Khan's Streetwave label. According to Discogs, Alton Edwards hasn't done much else, which is a shame as I'd definately like to hear more tracks like "I Just Wanna". I can't decide if I like the vocal or the instrumental best so here's both for you to enjoy.

Alton Edwards - I Just Wanna (Spend Some Time With You).mp3

Alton Edwards - I Just Wanna (Instrumental).mp3

Fileden links: Vocal | Instrumental

Attention Music Lovers

The recent closure of the music sharing website Oink has whipped up a storm of commotion from the music industry as well as music lovers from across the world. One of the most well written pieces on the subject was recently posted by Rob over at Demonbaby.

The article features a lot of things I agree with (record companies need to change their current business model, a legal archive style website like Oink needs to be created) and some things I don’t (all music should be free). But it is an insightful read which has provoked much thought from me today.

Also, this 2003 paper was linked from one of the comments on the above. It too is a very interesting read, highlighting some of the problems within the record industry and their reluctance and/or failiure to adapt to the changes in technology threatening their business model.

The big labels are only interested in your money, not the music. This is wrong. I urge everybody to support the music they love directly - give your money to the artists who make it and the independant labels that put it out there. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day; the love of music.

Overpowered

So, solo album number two from Roisin Murphy has arrived, with a much different outlook than her first. Where Ruby Blue was positioned as a lavish collection of music and art, Overpowered is brash, bold and very much pop. Like all pop albums theres a multitude of producers (Seiji, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Andy Cato, Richard X) and thus a diverse selection of styles. The disco-diva approach fits best and is well represented, but the toe-tipping into broken beat with 'Footprints', the Timbaland-esq bow-bow-digga 'Checkin' On Me' and the electro of 'Cry Baby' hint at potential future directions.



Current single 'Let Me Know' is pure 80's disco groove and borrows heavily from 1981's 'Sure Shot' by Tracy Weber.

Tracy Weber - Sure Shot (Alt.Link)

The fall-out of projects such as this, is the number of tracks that didn't make the album. The unreleased Calvin Harris track 'Off and On' seems to be quite an omission. As is Mark De Clive-Lowe produced 'Unlovable', which is relegated to a b-side on a maxi-cd single (and who buys cd singles?!)

Róisín Murphy -Unlovable (Alt.Link)

Popjustice has the whole album available for streaming, so go have a listen, and vote with your wallet. Available to buy everywhere. Amazon, Play... even Woolworths.

The Alan Parsons Project

Alan Parsons started work in an EMI tape duplication facility in the 60s and later become a recording engineer, working with artists such as The Beatles, The Hollies and Cockney Rebel. His engineering work on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" earned him a Grammy nomination in 1973. The Alan Parsons Project was a partnership between himself and songwriter Eric Woolfson, with each album using a variety of additional musicians and studio men.

Pyramid is probably the best album I've ever bought on a whim without knowing anything about it. Released back in 1978, it was the bands third album and was influenced by the then current fad of Pyramidology. The album itself is excellently produced (by Alan) and including a variety of musical styles and instruments. Also worth noting is the way the album works so well as a cohesive whole, with tracks linking nicely into and out of each other.

The opening pairing of "Voyager" and "What Goes Up..." (elements of both were used for the Quiet Village track "Pillow Talk") start the album wonderfully, flowing seamlessly as one. The remainder of the A side contains 3 nice pop/rock tracks; reminiscent of the Steely Dan sound of the period, but more edgy. The B side begins with the grandiose instrumental "In The Lap Of The Gods" - an epic (in style rather than length) and moody track with its choral and orchestral accompaniment. The production quality is really shown off here with the excellent balance of the many different parts playing at once. Hyper-Gamma-Spaces is another instrumental, this time very upbeat, with some excellent synthesizer and electric piano work taking a strong lead. The LP closes with the beautiful ballad "Shadow Of A Lonely Man", again featuring some wonderful orchestration. Although I find the vocalist to be a little weak in places, it really is an excellent song and a great way to close the album.

The Alan Parsons Project - In The Lap Of The Gods.mp3 (Zshare)

The Alan Parsons Project - Hyper-Gamma-Spaces.mp3 (Zshare)

Fileden alternative links:
In The Lap Of The Gods | Hyper-Gamma-Spaces

Who's Zoomin' Who?

I picked up this 1985 Aretha Franklin 12" from the Notting Hill Soul & Dance Exchange bargain basement by chance on a recent trip to London. Each time I've listened to it I've grown to like it more and more; it's a classic example of that electronic soul sound that was so popular during the 80's. Certain sections of the vocal track were used in an old Rave track and for days it was bugging me that I couldn't quite place it. Eventually, I discovered that it was Shock the Beats by Electric Choc - a piano led, breakbeat fuelled Italian house record from 1991. The music from this era is one of my favourites for Dance music. Although I was far too young to be out there dancing to any of it, it seemed to be devoid of any genres and bastard sub-genres, with DJ's like Slipmatt playing any music they could find to just make you feel good and dance. If these two tracks don't put a smile on your face, you're probably dead inside.

Aretha - Who's Zoomin' Who? (Dance Mix).mp3

Electric Choc - Shock the Beats (Piano Mix).mp3

Yourfilehost alternative links: Zoom | Shock

Ugly Edits

I've been picking a couple of these Theo Parrish Ugly Edits up from various places recently and it's all good stuff. Released as a series of 10 in ridiculously small quantities a few years back (good luck finding an original, hand-sprayed vinyl!), these are Theo's re-edits of disco, soul and house tracks.

This re-edit from Volume 4 extends and repeats beyond all reasonable thinking, but as it's such a unstoppable monster of a groove, works so well. The 11 minutes fly by.

The Dells - Get On Down (Theo Parrish Re-Edit).mp3 (Alt. Link)

Hear more stuff like this as well as soul, funk, disco, hiphop and whatever else tickles my fancy, on my weekly shows on internet radio station RllmukFM, tune in (by clicking the link) 9.30 to 11pm UK Time [/plug]. All my fellow posters here have regular slots too, but I'll let them pimp those themselves ;)

Slight Return

Wow, it's been rather quiet around here lately. Sorry for the lack of updates to anybody who reads regularly. Six weeks though(!), time flies and all that. Anyway, I've been busy with work (dull), trying my hand on a new online radio station, as well as working with some great artists over at 24:Hours to promote their new music. I hope you've been keeping up with the latest stuff from Smith n Hack, Ultracity, Roland Sebastian Faber and Komarken. If not, head on over there and catch up.

As well as discovering the new, I've also been researching the old. A few trips here and there and a little extra disposable income have meant my record collection has expanded quicker than usual and I really should start posting some of the better stuff up here. I'll start with this little gem from prog rock come popsters Barclay James Harvest. Taken from their 1979 LP "Eyes of the Universe", I bought it based purely on the bands rather pretentious sounding name and the cool cover art (plus it was only 50p). Not a particularly good album for the most part, but the opening track below has a nice little groove to it. A mixture of pop melodies, guitar chords and some good synthesizer work. The arpeggios and steady 4/4 beat mean that one of those cheeky re-edit's will probably pop up at some point in the not too distant future. Get there first!

Barclay James Harvest - Love On The Line.mp3

Stars

I've had the oppurtunity to do a some digging in a few records shops over the last couple of weeks. I've picked up a lot of great bargains; mostly 70s and 80s funk, soul and disco stuff, but also a few other nice bits. I'd only read about this particular record the day before one of my shopping trips, so to find it in one of the dusty old boxes was a pleasant suprise.

I'd noticed a friend had been listening to a new version of the classic "Miura" by Metro Area, and so quickly headed to Google and searched for the Maelstrom re-edit (you can find it a lot easier by just heading over to 24:Hours blog). As well as finding the mp3, I also found a little more information about the original; that they had sampled the beat from an old 12" by Stars on 45. The beat features on both the ABBA Megamix(!) on the A-side as well as the Disco track "Stars Get Ready" on the B-Side.

Nearly 12 minutes of continuous ABBA covers over a disco beat was a bit much for me to take, but the "Stars Get Ready" track is actually quite nice - if a little cheesey. Although Morgan and Darshan can only have taken a very small section from it, it's quite easy to hear the similarity. I'm sure I don't need to post the original version of Miura, but if for some reason you don't already own a copy then you really should get round to buying the Metro Area LP or Metro Area 4 EP that it features on.

Stars on 45 - Stars Get Ready.mp3 (Zshare)

Stars on 45 - Stars Get Ready.mp3 (Yourfilehost)

Elektrons

I had an email this week about the Elektrons new single 'Get Up', featuring Soup from Jurassic 5 and vocalist Pete Simpson. I missed their last single ‘Dirty Basement’ (listen on Myspace) but the new one is hot. If we ever get a summer, it will be a great soundtrack to it! The video is a mixture of live shots and animation, including breakdancing, tentacles and robots! I've added the crappy quality YouTube version for convenience but there is also a high quality stream available, I highly recommend you watch that instead! Get the single from August 6th on Wall of Sound. The forthcoming album 'Red Light Don't Stop' is out August 28th. Check out their website for more goodies: http://www.Elektrons.net

This Is Not A Jazz Mix

A bunch of (mostly) late 70s and early 80s funk stuff I strung together last night. It's a little rough around the edges but then I don't work with vinyl a lot anymore. There are some cracking tunes to make up for it, a couple of which have been featured here previously. Running time is approximately 52 minutes. Tracklist:

Cadillac - Arturo
Kano - Dance School
The Chaplin Band - Angelina
General Caine - L.R.J. Pop (Remix Version)
Donald Byrd - Dance Band
Olympic Runners - Solar Heat
Hamilton Bohannon - Let's Start II Dance Again (Party Version)
House of 909 - The Blandford Superfly
Mandre - Solar Flight (Opus I)

acidbearboy - this is not a jazz mix.mp3

Rev. Louis Overstreet

It being the day of rest and all, I thought it was high time to share a couple of tracks from one of the more interesting albums in my collection - Live at the Powerhouse Church of God by Reverend Louis Overstreet. A live recording from 1960 of a raw and intense gospel sermon from the Rev. Overstreet, unlike virtually anything else I've heard before. His voice comes over like a great bluesman, deep and soulful constantly singing praise (listen to "Getting Richer" for a taste) whilst his raucous blues guitar playing is on the verge of turning into rock'n'roll at any point. It's the pure rhythm in the songs that always amazes me, as well as drums every track (no matter the pace) has the congregation clapping along creating a hazy, trancelike feel that you get completely lost in where it just builds and builds (Listen to "In the Morning (Holiness Dance)" for a perfect example).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - I'm Working on a Building (MP3).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - Getting Richer (MP3).

Rev. Louis Overstreet - In the Morning (Holiness Dance)(MP3).

It's not a varied album by any means, but that's not really the point; no matter your religious persuasion (and I'm as non-religious as they come), it's hard not to get completely swept up in the passion and energy on display.
There's a little piece about it at Emusic where it's described as the "probably the greatest gospel recording ever", high praise but richly deserved. Who said the devil had all the best tunes?

Buy Rev. Louis Overstreet - Live at the Powerhouse Church of God from Emusic

Buy from Amazon.com

Let No Man Jack Asunder

It only recently dawned on me that the acid house classic "Jack Your Body" by Steve 'Silk' Hurley, a number 1 hit at the start of 1987 in the UK, takes its main bassline riff from the equally, if not more-so classic "Let No Man Put Asunder" by First Choice. I've gone for the original 12" mix of Jack Your Body and a nice little Danny Krivit re-edit/medley of Let No Man.. featuring parts from the Frankie Knuckles, Walter Gibbons and Shep Pettibone remixes. Jack it up out there!

First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder (Danny Krivit Medley).mp3

Steve 'Silk' Hurley - Jack Your Body.mp3

Creatures of the Night

I always thought that the tracklisting and the cover art for this Radio Slave (aka Rekid, Quiet Village or boring old Matt Edwards) mix cd looked cool and so when I saw it in the sale over at Juno the other week (link) I thought I'd give it a go. Apart from a slight slump in the middle, the track selection and sequencing is really good. The mix starts out with the cheeky groove of Rub n Tug's remix of Sly Mongoose - Snakes and Ladders. The following track, Shit Robot - Wrong Galaxy is equally good; one half dirty electro, the other twinkling cosmic synths. Radio Slave's own remix of X-Press 2 - Kill 100 takes us towards deep vocal house territory. I'm not fussed on the tracks from Green Velvet and Senor Coconut but they're certainly not awful. The last few tracks more than make up for them though. Matt picks out a few old classics from the likes of Corey Hart, Joe Smooth and The Osmonds, then closes the mix with this little gem from Dennis Parker. You may recognise the chorus, it was sampled a few years back by Par-T-One on their club hit I'm So Crazy. The original track is so much better though!

Dennis Parker - Like An Eagle.mp3 (Zshare)

Dennis Parker - Like An Eagle.mp3 (YourFileHost)

The Chaplin Band

Another record I picked up in Barcelona, this time edging more towards the funky side of Disco rather than Italo. I can't find a lot of info on these guys though I'm afraid. According to Discogs, they were formed in 1976 by brothers Jo & John Bartles. The singer Jimmy Soulier (who penned Welcome to the Party) left in 1977 and was replaced by Walter Nita, who himself left only a year later. Anton Schlaecker and Jack Bartels joined the band in 1981, both of which are credited on Angelina, my favourite of the two tracks. Like Kano, this was also released on the local Spanish Hispavox label, licenced from the Dutch label Pierrot in 1982. Both tracks are taken from the LP Dancing On Townsquare. I love the cover art on this one!

The Chaplin Band - Welcome to the Party.mp3

The Chaplin Band - Angelina.mp3

Kano

Firstly, a quick apology for the lack of posts here lately. The last few weeks of university for me were pretty intense and I really wasn't listening to much new music. A few days after finishing, I headed out to Barcelona for Sonar 2007 with fellow Groover Paul. It was a great festival and a really nice break. I found a bit of time to do some record shopping while out there so I'll start by posting a couple of my purchases.



Kano were an Italian group that put out a bunch of Italo Disco and Electro Funk singles and LP's throughout the Eighties. I'm not hugely familiar with their work but have heard them mentioned many times before and have one of their tracks "Ikeya-Seki" from the excellent I:Robots compilation on Irma Records. The 12" I picked up in Barcelona was licenced from Full Time Records to the Spanish label HispaVox.

The opening notes of the "Another Life" were lifted by Lifelike & Kris Menance in their smash-hit "Discopolis" - which seems to have had the remix treatment by everybody and their dog since the original single-sided pressing on Alan Braxe's Vulture label in 2005. The Kano track features a nice chunky bassline and of course, plenty of synths! I'm sure the male vocals have also been sampled recently (the line "where were you when I was needing you" is so familiar). On the flip side is the bonus track "Dance School". Another vocal track, this time a little more mellow. Less Italo and more Funk or Soul sounding. Enjoy

Kano - Another Life.mp3

Kano - Dance School.mp3

Bumps

I read about this album a while ago on the Stones Throw website, was pretty intrigued then forgot all about it until this weekend when my lovely local street-date breaking Independent Record Store had it on the shelf. It's basically 3/5 of post-rock legends Tortoise (Dan Bitney, John Herndon and John McEntire) making a breakbeat record, and it's great - I've had it on loop pretty much since purchase.

Although there's some slower, more effect-heavy pieces (none of the tracks are longer than 2 minutes, mind, and most are about 30 seconds-1 minute), largely it's just the sound of Tortoise's indecently talented percussion players cutting loose and producing some mad drumbreaks. There's something about it which makes it sound like an Tortoise album, despite the largely different style - it might be McEntire's production or just my subconscious playing tricks, but there's definite echoes of their previous albums there for me.

Couple of samples:

Bumps - Biotic Discussion (MP3).

Bumps - OK!!! (MP3).

There's more samples at their Myspace and you can buy the album at Amazon and Boomkat (with an excellent little write-up too).

Sally Shapiro

Another day, another amazing piece of music. I really am being spoilt lately. Paul put me onto this track, he'll be along in a moment to moan that he found her first but I can't not share this! I stole a little info from Discogs, I love the last bit.

"Little is known about the person behind Sally Shapiro, whose real name is something else. So far she has been to shy to record a music video or to perform live. When once asked what she does other than singing, she replied: "I dance all nights long on small disco clubs and walk in the moonshine thinking about my love affairs."

Stream "I Know" from last.fm

Visit her last.fm profile page to hear three other tracks. A single is available to download from Bleep and the album is available on cd from both Amazon and Play.

Gavin @ MySpace

Sa-Ra Creative Partners

Celebrate - Sa-Ra finally have an album to their name. Last week The Hollywood Recordings, released on Babygrande Records, sees an end to their three year absence in a somewhat muted fashion.

It's clear that this is an album that is very very late. Much of the material is already familiar (Glorious, Rosebuds, Ladies Sing, Thrilla...), many of which are already considered classics.

So Special (Ft. Rozzi Daime) (Alt. Link)

So Special will be familiar to Sa-Ra devotees too. Leaked around 2004 the smooth summer vibe of So Special is pretty infectious and shows that Sa-Ra possess some pop sensibilities.

At it's best 'The Hollywood Recordings' invoke strong memories of N*E*R*D* debut 'In Search Of' mixed with Dilla smoothness and a touch of Madlib. At its worst it's Capone-N-Noreaga.

Fly Away (Ft. Erykah Badu & George Anne Muldrow) (Alt. Link)

Unbelievably this the first of two Sa-Ra albums to be released this summer: Black Fuzz is due out on a major label soon, which was originally due out last year on Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music label. Given past promises I remain pessimistic...

Regardless, for long-term Sa-Ra fans 'The Hollywood Recordings' is outstanding value. For newcomers, it serves as the best introduction possible. I recommend picking it up on lovely double vinyl from Juno/Piccadilly or pop into your local independent (who tend to be selling for around a tenner).

Bogdan Irkuk aka BULGARI

If I'm posting up a video for Kelley Polar, it seems rude not to post up this one from Bogdan Irkuk aka BULGARI aswell. He recently released The Distant EP on the new Rollerboys Recordings out of Sweden and it's one of the best things I've heard for a long time. Side A of the vinyl contains his original tracks - The Distant Message, All Nite Store and Curare (shown above). All three of them are classy electro/disco grooves featuring some lovely chord progressions. On the B side are a couple of nice remixes - Arken does a great rework of The Distant Message, adding a few neat little touches without losing sight of the original. Plus the Rollerboys' own Yourhighness adds some thump to All Night Store.

You can listen to all the tracks on Myspace. The original versions are on Bogdan's page and the remixes are on the Rollerboys page (links below).

http://www.myspace.com/bogdanirkuk
http://www.myspace.com/rollerboysrecordings

Support this new label by ordering a copy of the EP on vinyl. Picadilly records are the UK stockist. Those of you outside the UK might want to order a copy from the Clone shop.

Gavin @ MySpace

New Kelley Polar!

I've been waiting a long time for some new material and his new EP Chrysanthemum is released today on Environ records. Sadly, the EP and hi-rez video are only available to purchase at iTunes for now, meaning I can't tell you much about the music. I do rather like the video by Marco Cibola though. Although the cosmic theme from Love Songs of the Hanging Garden seems to have gone, the music has retained his own unique style. You can also stream the track Chrysanthemum on his Myspace page. A vinyl release is coming later this month, as are digital downloads from other vendors.

Gavin @ Myspace

Kathy Diamond

I happened upon Kathy Diamond's album Miss Diamond to You this afternoon at Emusic and it has proven a treat; her retro-futuristic disco created by House Producer Maurice Fulton.

Kathy arguably isn't the strongest singer, her voice often lost against the thick, almost dubby music that Fulton cooks up and it's this excellent production that's the real draw for me: The mid-section of All Woman where the synth untangles out into a extended breakdown, the psyched-out organ solo on Over or the percussion heavy opening of Until the Sun Comes Down which feels chaotic and steady at the same time are all great musically.

I had trouble deciding on what to upload as a sample but settled on The Moment mainly for the slick slap-bass, extensive use of handclaps (ALWAYS a good look) and some blissful Italo-ish piano lines at the end. Download away:

Kathy Diamond - The Moment.mp3 (alt link)

Stream the track Over on her MySpace page.

It's not out until May on CD (pre-order from Play) but you can buy it digitally now at Emusic, along with her previous singles "Over" and "All Woman". I've cherry-picked my favourite tracks from the previews so haven't given the full album a listen but I love what I've heard so far.

More info (although not much!) on MySpace

Random Access Memory

I found this little beauty of a tune while listening to an old mix cd by Zdar from Cassius that came with a music magazine back in 2003. A pretty crap cd to be honest, but there were a couple of great tracks inbetween the awful mixing. This one from Bergheim 34 being the highlight. The single was taken from their second LP "It's Not For You, As It Is For Us", released in 2003 on Klang Elektronik. It's a fairly lo-fi affair with light drums, a soft but driving bassline and some lovely chord sequences from the synths. There was also a remix from Swayzak who added a little more energy to the track with some heavier drums. Personally though, I think this takes away much of the feeling of the original version.

Bergheim 34 - Random Access Memory

You can buy the track as well as the album it's taken from over at Bleep. They also have the Swayzak remix available.

Gavin @ MySpace

The Sun Can't Compare

I really don't need to write too many words about this song. It's a classic slice of acid house, despite only being released a couple of months ago. Its beauty lies in its simplicity. Buy the 12" single at Juno or Phonica today for the full length version, plus bonus track "You Rock Me" on the flip side.

Larry Heard presents Mr.White - The Sun Can't Compare.mp3

Gavin @ MySpace

Computer Dreams in a Silicon Soul

David Michael Cross is an alias of Edward 'DMX' Upton according to Discogs. The album Cold War was released on Tiga's Turbo sub-label White Leather in 2003, although the sleeve would have you believe it was actually released back in 1983 on Next Phase records. Have a read of the artist information on the Turbo website and decide for yourself. Either way, this is dark electro/synth-pop at it's finest. It could be lifted straight out of some Eighties apocalyptic zombie movie or something! Buy the album on CD/LP at the White Leather webstore.

David Michael Cross - Future Man.mp3

Infact, while we're on the subject, how about something from the classic soundtrack to Zombi 2 (Zombie Flesh Eaters in the UK) by Fabio Frizzi. The whole soundtrack is drenched in atmosphere, here is a remix of the main titles.

Fabio Frizzi - Zombi 2 Main Theme (remix).mp3

Check out my recent post over at 24 Hours for some more 80s electro.

Gavin @ MySpace

Cassettes!

I'm currently sat at home working on my final project for university, drinking tea and listening to lots of music. I find it difficult to decide what to put on some days, I'm a bit bored of my cd's at the moment and I don't like to listen to new music while working as I concentrate on it more than the work itself. So this week I dug out a few old essential mixes I had on cassette. There were some great sets during the first couple of months of 2000 from Mr.C, Parks & Wilson and Sasha. They really helped me develop my DJ style - moving away from the commercial house and trance I started out with and onto more progressive and tech-house sounds. I really enjoyed listening back to all three mixes even after all these years.

There were two tracks from Mr.C's mix that I always loved but could never find on vinyl. The lush Mystical Rhythm by Vince Watson was released on Alola records back in 1999 but still sounds fresh after all this time. Lovely, warm, soulful techno. The other track I was after was Burujha by Octave One, another melodic and deep techno groove.

Vince Watson - Mystical Rhythm.mp3

You can buy a higher bit rate version at Juno Download, I recommend you check out some of Vince's albums if you like this track. If anybody knows where I can buy Burujha please let me know, I couldn't find it on my usual sites.

Gavin @ Myspace

Nazi's, Star Wars & Electro

I bought this LP on the cheap some years ago now, not knowing anything about it. But how could I resist an album called "Generation Star Wars" that had Storm Troopers with the Nazi Swastika emblazoned on their helmets? For this reason, the first pressing was banned in Germany. The second pressing had the offending material removed and the 2000 reprint removed the Star Wars artwork altogether, I assume due to copywrite reasons.

Released in 1994, this was the debut LP from Germany's Alec Empire, a member of Atari Teenage Riot and the founder of the labels Geist and Digital Hardcore Recordings. At the time, it sounded like a noisy mess to me. However, after another listen during a recent vinyl sort out, it appealed more to my now matured ears. It's a cold, harsh soundscape of white noise and distorted electronics, alongside some beautiful ambient synths. I've gone for the epic opener "Lash the 90ties", its long eerie intro eventually making way for some industrial breakbeats. I've also picked out one of the ambient pieces "Pussy Heroin". You can purchase the album on cd from Amazon. Good luck finding a copy on vinyl!

Alec Empire - Lash The 90ties.mp3

Alec Empire - Pussy Heroin.mp3

Gavin @ MySpace

I'm Serious As Cancer

Something a little different from last weeks breakbeats, but just as good. As I said in my previous post, I liked Rave Alert for it's track selection and here we have two big hits from 1992 in remixed form. The Shamen, along with The Prodigy, were probably my favourite act as a youngster. The sheer amount of material that was available though meant I never heard it all and this remix of Love Sex Intelligence by 'Evil' Eddie Richards wasn't on any their cd's I owned. Eddie ups the tempo a little, cuts up a section of the vocal and slaps it over a chunky 4/4 beat, swapping Mr.C's raps for some big stabs on the keyboard. Simple but effective!

The Shamen - LSI (Freaked Out V1.02).mp3

Next up is Rhythm Is A Dancer from Snap! A classic tune that surely needs no introduction. I always liked the way this remix from Dance 2 Trance (one half of which was Jam & Spoon's Jam El Mar) really smoothed out the original. The main riff is played using a mellow guitar sound and as with LSI, the rap is dropped. I should point out that I have nothing against cheesey 90's raps, infact I think I know most of the words to both of the originals!

Snap - Rhythm is a Dancer (Purple Hazed Mix).mp3

Gavin @ Myspace

Watch Out For The Rave Alert

I grabbed a classic compilation from my youth on the cheap from Amazon Marketplace this week. I can't remember if it was me or a friend that had it originally, but either way I've had a copy on cassette for some years now. Released by Telstar in 1992, the cover warned the listener that a rave attack was imminent and they weren't wrong. Apart from a couple of duffers it's a really solid selection of tracks. It's also nice that they aren't all nasty 3 minute radio edits. I'll spare you the cheesier stuff like Seasame's Treat and A Trip To Trumpton and sock it to you straight with a couple of breakbeat monsters. I'll be back with a couple more tracks from this album in another post.

Jonny L - Hurt You So.mp3
Acen - Trip II The Moon (The Darkside).mp3

Oh and before any of you trainspotters feel the urge to tell me that a certain breakdown is missing from the Acen track - I know, but I feel this version is all the better without those James Bond strings.

Gavin @ MySpace

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators

Good music has a way of finding you. Sometimes it has to bump into you a few times in order to register, but eventually it’ll get through. So it comes as a great surprise that I didn’t notice Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators sooner…

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – Feeling Free
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – Holdin’ On

I heard “Feeling Free” for the first time this month via a compilation, and it promptly knocked me for six. It’s effortlessly brilliant and bursting with soul. The album proves to be no different evoking memories of northern soul & motown classics at every turn. Just like ‘Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings’, looking to the past can be just as fresh as constantly moving forward.

The only track that has any hint of modernisation is “Holdin’ On” which, truth be told, I have real trouble categorising. It remains a favourite mainly due to some heavy organ work.

Nicole Willis hails from New York and started out as early member of Deee-Lite. Currently she lives in Finland with musical husband Jimi Tenor and recorded a number of solo albums before hooking up with the 10-strong Soul Investigators for this release.

“Keep Reachin Up” was released in Finland in 2005, but didn’t see wider distribution until 2006. Plenty have picked up on the release with “Feeling Free” gaining top position in Giles Petersons 2006 Listeners Poll.

However, it still seems to be poorly distributed in the UK with a direct purchase from Timmion or Amazon (or Marketplace) as your best choices.

Winners Don't Do Drugs

iDJ Magazine have a mixtape competition each month called Raw Talent. You send them a mix and if they like it they print your details; simple stuff really. I made a nice mix back in December, I really liked it and so did a few other people that heard it. Perhaps you heard it yourself, it's been on my blog for a while. Anyway, a mate of mine was a runner up at the time and suggested I send my effort in.

I hadn't heard anything from them and almost forgot about it to be honest, until I got an email from some guy in London this week asking if there was somewhere he could download the mix featured in the latest issue. I grabbed a copy of the magazine today and there is my ugly mug in print, along with some nice words about the mix. Result! Apparently, I've won a record bag or something, maybe a gig too (which is scary as I don't practise as much as I used to!).

Well this is just me blowing my own trumpet really but I don't win stuff often so I thought I'd make the most of it. You can read the piece from the magazine below as well as download the mix itself. I hope you like it.

View the magazine write-up

Download the mix

Tracklisting:

Carl Craig - Home Entertainment (version)
The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms (Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhmes Simetikon 002-06 Re-Edit)
Cosmo Vitelli - Delayer (Quiet Village Project Remix)
Claro Intelecto - Only Yesterday
Skatebaard - June Nights South of Siena
Lindstrom - The Contemporary Fix (Serious Symptoms Version)
Sebo K - Horizons
Ferrer & Sydenham Inc. - Timbuktu (Âme Original Mix)
Felix Laband - Whistling In Tongues (Todd Terje Remix)
The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing
Answering Service - Call Me Mr. Telephone (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas Remix)

Artwork from: http://stupidnick.deviantart.com/

Cheese & Lime

What an awesome sleeve! The artwork of Studio Graffiti graced all of the Lime album covers with the exception of their debut "Your Love". Lime II is another old LP that I picked up in Reading the other week, along with the Mandre albums I posted about previously. Quite different in style though, this is very upbeat, almost synth-pop style disco from 1982. It's pretty cheesey but I think it's great. Lime were Denis & Denyse Lepage, a middle-aged husband and wife duo from Montreal. Although the pair wrote and sung all of the tracks on the album, there was some confusion surrounding the groups identity at the time as they decided to hire two younger and more attractive singers, Joy Dorris & Chris Marsh, to perform their live shows. The group enjoyed great success in the club charts throughout the Eighties, spanning seven albums and numerous 12" singles and remixes. Head over to the Disco Museum for some more information. They suggest that the albums can be ordered on cd via Unidisc. Personally, I'll look forward to finding some more of their beautiful LP's in future digging sessions. Enjoy the music!

Lime - Come And Get Your Love.mp3

Lime - Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight.mp3

Gavin @ MySpace

A Tom Moulton Mix

I've been meaning to buy this 2006 Soul Jazz compilation for a while and only just got round to doing so, collating some of disco producer Tom Moulton's - originator of the 12" single, amongst other things - best mixes.

Developing longer mixes mainly as a way to keep people dancing to a song longer than the standard 3 minute singles would allow (although to me it improves them for pure listening - virtually all my favourite Disco tracks are 5 minutes plus), many of the mixes on the compilation are promo-only or unreleased versions from his remix ouvre of around 4000 (!!) tracks (according to this interview with the man). With so much material to choose from, hopefully Part 2 will be on the way soon.

Choosing a sample track was a challenge due to the quality of the compilation, but I love the extended instrumental section (a Moulton trademark) in Dreamworld:

Don Downing - Dreamworld (Tom Moulton Mix)(MP3) : Alt Link

You can buy A Tom Moulton Mix and hear more audio samples at Soul Jazz and Amazon.

Space Jazz

I picked up a nice selection of old vinyl last week on a shopping trip to Reading, including two rather good funk albums by Mandre. Not a lot of info on the sleeves but I've gathered what I can online. Mandre was a group, and fictitious persona, of Andre Lewis, an instrumentalist who played and recorded with artists such as Grant Green, The Who, LaBelle, Earth Wind and Fire, Frank Zappa. Huey Lewis, Edwin Starr, Charles Wilson and the Gap Band, Sly Stone, Bobby Womack and Johnny Guitar Watson. He was also a tester of Roland products and was one of the first musicians to record with the infamous Roland TR-808 drum machine (featured in the second track linked below).

The first (self-titled) LP came out in 1977 on Motown Records and featured a mixture of Funk, Disco and some more Jazzy elements. It was mostly vocal tracks, including a great cover of Frank Zappa's "Dirty Love", but the standout track for me was the instrumental "Solar Flight" with its sweet synth solo's and a cracking bassline. The cover art (above) is also fantastic, very Daft Punk as somebody pointed out to me.

Mandre - Solar Flight (Opus I).mp3

Mandre - M3000 (Opus VI).mp3

The follow-up entitled "M3000" had a boring sleeve, but at least the music remained decent. The opening track of the same name kicks in with some space effects and a fast electronic arpeggio bassline, shortly followed by some TR-808 beats. Pretty impressive for 1979 I'm sure you'll agree. The tune continues in a similar vein to Solar Flight, with a Space Jazz kinda vibe to it. The rest of the album is not quite as strong as the debut, heading in more of a P-Funk direction, but it's certainly worth a listen if you can find a copy.

Gavin @ MySpace

Lefties Soul Connection

Last week has been a hectic one having just got back from Amsterdam. It was an enjoyable few days that saw me take in the sights and sounds and I afforded myself some time to do some record shopping. I thought it'd be nice to pick up something from the local music scene and "Lefties Soul Connection - Hutspot" came recommended.

Lefties Soul Connection - Sling Shot
Lefties Soul Connection - It's Your Thing / Hey Pocky A-Way

Not unknown to me (I mentioned their cover of Organ Donor in a previous post) the Lefties are an Amsterdam based funk band. The album is full of spark and there is a certain "liveliness" that I often don't get from groups of a similar ilk. Also in a somewhat unique move, the band tends to eschew covers preferring instead to create original jams. Old tricks do seem present throughout and workouts like "Sling Shot" sound like they could have come from almost any one of the groups from the 60's/70's. "It's Your Thing" obviously, is.

On my final day in Amsterdam I checked the sleeve notes to see that the record shop photographed on the cover is actually in Amsterdam. A short walk and I end up outside Wax Well Records and quickly take the picture shown above. If you look in the shop window you can see the Lefties album along with other classic albums.

Buy "Hutspot" from Juno(LP) or Melting Pot(CD/LP)

This Is Not Another Trilogy

I love an album that just comes straight out with an amazing track from the off. The fact that this particular album has ten more excellent tracks following it is a treat indeed. I'm talking about "Just Another Story" from Jamiroquai's second album: The Return of the Space Cowboy [1994]. The opening chords on the rhodes are oh so smooth, little Moogs bubble away in the background, the drums start a light but urgent shuffle and of course the bassline is pure funk. Sweet melody lines come in from the synth lead and JK begins his story. After the opening section, a new groove emerges and the rest of the band get their chance to play. The DJ slips in some well timed cuts and the percussion is tight and perfectly placed. Later, the lead guitar starts to jam amd the brass section get to do their thing. Things eventually break down to a flute solo and the tune mellows out for a while before building up to the climax.

Jamiroquai - Just Another Story.mp3

A bold opener from a band who were obviously very confident in their sound. There are so many things going on throughout the duration of the track, but never is the music overbearing or cluttered; this was a band who were totally in tune with each other. Much as I like their new brand of poppy disco, I find it slightly dissapointing that they have pretty much left this jazz-funk sound behind. The first two albums will always be classics to me, the later albums merely being 'good' with a couple of classic tracks scattered throughout them.

Buy it at Amazon if you don't already own a copy.

Gavin @ MySpace

Fly

Just going through some promo stuff and I came across this, some nice jazzy lounge style and deep house sounds. Very smooth and well produced. I'm feeling lazy so I'll just copy and paste some of the album notes:

"This amazing debut and self title album is born out of a wonderful relationship these two excellent producers and musicians have realised in their time together. It is music without extravagance or embellishment, everything kept as simple and as sweet as possible, yet the songs simply soar."

Download "Skip" (mp3)

Download "Fairytale" (mp3)
from "Fly"
by Fly
Jupiter Recordings

• Buy at RealNetworks / Rhapsody
• Buy at GroupieTunes

Let's Party Like It's 1999

Something old today, as it's been a while since we looked back instead of forward here at Groovin' You. A seminal classic from Sasha (aka Alexander Coe), the man who made the progressive sound famous - together with long time DJ partner John Digweed. As well as a bunch of remixes for various artists, he has put out a small but high quality selection of work under his own name. It's often said that his production skills are not up to scratch and that the reason his output sounds so good is due to the people he collaborates with (producers such as Charlie May, Junkie XL, James Holden, Darren Emerson). Regardless, pretty much all the music released with Sasha's name on it does the trick for me.

Incase you are wondering why there is a picture of a PSOne game with todays post, well Sasha wrote half the music on the soundtrack (with Charlie May, natch). Five of the six tracks were original work, but he also included the title track to his 1999 Xpander EP. A pretty genre defining tune, it was perfect for cruising round a futuristic race course at ridiculous speeds. Having sat in a dark room finding the zone last night, I can confirm that neither the game or the music has lost any of its charm in the last 6 or so years. Enjoy:

Sasha - Xpander (YSI)

Sasha - Xpander (zShare)

The rest of the EP was also excellent, from the trance tinged 'Belfunk', the dirty breaks and bass of 'Rabbitweed' and the classic ambient dub of 'Baja'. Sasha's debut LP 'Airdrawndagger' which followed in 2002 is one of my favourite albums of all time. Many dismissed it upon release, probably expecting something more squarely aimed at the dancefloor. But for me (for home listening especially) I think it all sits together perfectly. If you enjoy electronic music, I really can't recommend it enough. Both the Xpander EP and the Airdrawndagger LP are currently available at fairly reasonable prices on Amazon Marketplace.

Gavin @ MySpace

Aidos

I discovered Aidos' album "Dans une apologie beate du show business generalize" completely by chance the other week but the album has really grabbed me. Produced entirely by a French musician, Raoul Canivet, on his laptop it has a sound somewhere between standard electronica and dark instrumental hiphop. It works well as an album, with glitchier tracks like "Etrange Ete" and "Dix Mille Degress" slightly reminiscent of Prefuse 73 or even Jan Jelinek, sitting nicely against the bassier, almost rave of "Celestial" and "Down".

The two tracks below are a pretty fair representation of the full record, the Sixtoo-ish skittery beats and rumbling bass of "A Venir" and the Gallic-flavoured boom-bap "Amertune". According to Last.Fm, I'm the only person in the world to have heard his music (!) but hopefully that'll soon change:

Download "Amertume" (mp3)

Download "A venir" (mp3)

from "Dans une apologie beate du show business generalize"
by Aidos
Pencilbrain Records

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic

Rodion

I picked up a cool new EP today by a couple of guys called Rodion, released on the Gomma record label out of Germany. I can't find a lot of info about them but apparently they are from Rome and Discogs lists this as their first and only release. The music is nice and chunky, with some crazy retro videogame sounding synths and pumping arpeggio basslines. You can take a listen to all 3 tracks from the EP over on their MySpace page. "J Bunka" is my personal favourite. Buy this mp3 release online at Clickgroove.

Gavin @ MySpace

Dub Style

I can't get enough of Trentemoller at the moment. His LP "The Last Resort" has been on heavy rotation since I got it at the start of December. With each listen it just gets better and better. The whole thing is full of beautiful textures, all layered on top of each other with some soft warm bass tones beneath them. The dubby sound of Chameleon, Evil Dub and in particular Nightwalker caught my attention. Buy the CD at Play.com

Trentemoller - Nightwalker (YSI)

These dub style sounds reminded me of a track from a few years back by a Swedish producer and a DJ named Jeff Bennett. It's considerably tougher, but retains the dub like bassline and echo chamber effects. This track is the b-side to his 2001 single "Undertaken", released on Episode records out of Germany. He has since gone on to release material on Poker Flat, Eukatech, Morris Audio and Plastic City as well as his own Kung Fu Dub label.

Jeff Bennett - Re-Taken (Zshare)

Gavin @ MySpace

Willy Baxter Update

After posting about this fellow the other day, I've since had a little chat with him via myspace. He seems like a nice chap and kindly gave me a link to a site with some of his mp3's for download. There are two of the tracks from his MySpace page and two other tracks that I'd not heard before. They are similar in both style and quality to the previous material so head on over and grab them for yourselves. LINK

Gavin @ MySpace

Mmm Melting Pot

Coming out right at the tail end of 2006, Melting Pot's latest compilation "More MPM Sound" is a collection of their 12" releases this year on a nice handy CD format. Jammed full of funk, soul & hip-hop but mainly of the breaks variety. It's very hard to pick any standouts because there is such quality right across the board. Melting Pot do tend to seek out and pick up on the more interesting artists out there.

A-KO - Chicago
Kutiman - No Groove Where I Come From
Breakout - Planet Rock

A good example is A-KO. An 18yr old crate-digger from Grimes, Iowa who has been gathering momentum through internet word of mouth. He puts together remixes, bedroom-style, and in process he keeps all the lovely imperfections kept in tact. "Chicago" is a perfect mix of old samples and new sounds, sans needless over-production.

Kutiman provides us with a nice Afrobeat workout on "No Groove Where I Come From". Great Stevie Wonder styled organ work which builds into a lovely soul jam before gliding off into space.

My highlight though is the Breakout reworking of Africa Bambaataa's “Planet Rock". Energetic and thrilling, and although I struggle to hear the original (I concede I'm rubbish at sample-spotting) it hits just as hard.

There are other reworkings on this compilation too, including "The Mexican" and DJ Shadows "Organ Donor" (which is meant to be hyphy re-remix but I just hear the funk!).

All in all, almost too chilled for winter.

"More MPM Sound" is available at Juno or directly from Melting Pot Music on your format of choice (CD/LP).

Willy Baxter

I only found this guy on MySpace yesterday so I can't tell you much about him really. He is from Helsinki, Finland and is a friend of Kelley Polar (in the MySpace sense, I don't think they know each other personally) and I guess you could say that there is some similarity in their music. Like KP, Baxter's songs are all full of great melodies and there are all sort of cool sounds coming from his synths. I'm not convinced with the vocals in some places but they certainly aren't enough to deter from the otherwise great music. Let's hope he continues to produce more songs and eventually find a record deal. No mp3's I'm afraid so you'll have to listen over at his profile. Start with "Goin Soon" and "In Between" although all 4 tracks are well worth a listen.

Gavin @ MySpace