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

Surkin - Action Replay

My Surkin anticipation levels are rising but Action Replay isn’t the album I am waiting for. 'Action Replay' is a Japanese-only CD release that serves as a catch-up mini album of Surkin material. It’s filled with all the tracks from the (now sold-out) 12” releases plus a bunch of select remixes and alternative versions. There are two versions of Ghetto Obsession here – the original beta version and the reworked 2006 version. I really like this beta version though, which sounds a lot like the record being compressed and squeezed through a Game Boy speaker. It’s much more minimal and raw, and so much more to my tastes.

Surkin - Ghetto Obsession (beta version).mp3 (Alt. Link)

Elsewhere, J-Hood brings the sirens and synthesizers and sounds exactly like an old school rave track. It doesn’t feel particularly big or clever, but it is fun. However, my favourite is his reworking of Para One - Midnight Swim into a glitch ridden mess with builds and breaks beautifully, courtesy of yet more synths and sirens. It’s a pity more remixes didn’t make the disc as most sound typically Surkin in the cut-slice treatment to vocals.

Para One - Midnight Swim (Surking Drowning Mix).mp3 (Alt. Link)

Institubes is currently promising that ‘Action Replay’ will see a 12” LP release. Also Bleep should have it for download in the near future. At the moment, both 12” singles are available there.

Finally, Surkin has a couple of tour dates in the UK later this week; 5^th April at Fabric London and the 6^th April at Leeds Student Union as part of Adventures In The Beetroot Field.

Great line-up so get down if you can.