dance reviews

Rip It Up, Issue 248, 1 April 1998, Page 23

dance reviews

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JOHN B Visions (New Identity) John B is a 20 year old undergraduate, studying Genetics And Microbiology at Durham University, who has taken the drum and bass world by storm. Visions displays B as a master of drum and bass, and delivers what must be one of the top dance albums of the year, regardless of genre. Disc one of this double album, entitled 'Organic', is a collection of B's jazzy drum and bass artistry r Live brass, mixed with electronic strings and magnificently engineered drum programming, creates a soundscape of audible bliss. 'Synthetic', disc two, is a 60 minute digital mix of the dancefloor orientated tracks that have made B widely known around the world. 'Synthetic' features the dancefloor filler 'Secrets', an intensely moody track which thrust B into the spotlight early last year. Also here is the incredible 'Starburst', that pays homage to the talents of early electronic maestro 'Vangelis'. Sandwiched between those two tracks are a selection of fine drum and bass tracks which span the breadth of the spectrum, and B is at home in whatever drum and bass style he chooses to dabble in. With Visions, he has produced an amazing example of drum and bass excellence. TRYST Tryst (Alchemy) Tryst is a collaboration between New Zealand born vocalist Carrie Beehan and Berlin based producer Warner Poland. With their self titled, debut album they deliver an electronic record influenced by the sounds of drum and bass, trip hop, trance, electro, and pop. Poland appears to have a vast knowledge of the aforementioned dance music genres, and he blends these influences expertly on the album. Tryst is an album bursting with lush electronic noises and Beehan's moody vocals. It reminds me of the British dance/pop crossover bands Olive and Everything But the Girl, although Tryst have chosen a more experimental canvas, in that they explore more musical styles and have more of an underground dance edge to them. A very classy debut.

JOSH WINK Here Hear (Columbia)

Josh Wink, the man who created the monster acid stormer 'Higher State of Consciousness', returns with more distorted acid noise squelchers, which are bound to take the acid-heads to a new astral plane. Don't expect an album of constant frenetic activity, however, many of these tracks are below 100 bpms and roll along at a leisurely, almost serene pace. Two fine examples of this are 'Sixth Sense' and Tm on Fire', featuring the dreamy vocals of guests Ursula Rucker and Caroline Crawley, respectively. Elsewhere, guest vocals come courtesy of the less than dreamy Trent Reznor, adding a rough

distorted drawl to 'Black Bomb'. Wink's talent seems to lie in building and raising the intensity of a track, then toying with the energy levels throughout, beautifully crafting a sonic journey. Unfortunately, Here Hear doesn't boast a single track to match the intensity of 'Higher State of Consciousness', although 'Are You There...' attempts to come close.

All the same, Here Hear, won't disappoint those partial for 303 acidic squelches in light and dark form, with a few tasteful vocal contributions.

THE NOMAD Movement (Swarm)

A locally written and produced drum and bass album, which shows The Nomad has the technology, but may be lacking in fresh ideas ana sounds. Many of the ideas on Movement are interesting, but there are too many obvious sounds and samples contained within, giving it a feel of a cut-and-paste album. Sound after sound is seemingly copied straight from UK productions — largely without much new artistry or fresh ingredients added.

(Ninja Tune)

. On the positive side, the production and engineering . by Salmonella Dub's soundman Tiki is of the highest standard. It proves that New Zealand has the engineering and production skills of the major overseas players. But overall, composition wise, this is an average drum and bass album, one which simply failed to excite.

SMITH AND MIGHTY DJ Kicks (K 7 DJ Kicks is an impressive collection of Roots Reggae, Dub, and Drum and Bass, mixed and selected by Smith and Mighty. The album begins with a journey through contemporary reggae and dub, with the gorgeous sounds of horn blasts, keyboards, guitar phasing, incredible EQ work, delays, and sound effects providing an audible feast. Getting down to specifics, the album contains the Bacharach and David composition 'Walk On By', souped up for the late 90s with breakbeats and sonic effects. DJ Lynx's, 'Quite Frankly', is a powerful scratch-and-beat cut with an

dave roper

irresistible groove. Smith and Mighty's 'Anyone', that features Jackie Jackson on vocals, is a fresh moody track with slow hip-hop beats, and airy samples. And the More Rockers' 'Night Fall', with its speedy breakbeats and reggae vocals is another early highlight. The album moves into the faster breakbeat realm of current dub/reggaeinfluenced, jungle/drum and bass, produced by the likes of More Rockers and Gang Related. This is a sound collection, chosen and deftly mixed by- a team that know their shit. Highly recommended. DJ VADIM ' :

U.S.S.R. Reconstruction

Remix albums are often risky affairs, as it can be difficult to strike a balance between emphasising the sound of the remixer, and retaining the vision of the original artist. U.S.S.R. Reconstruction sees trip/hip hop DJ Vadim remixed by Kid Koala, Oval, the Herbaliser, Techno Animal, DJ Krush, and Clatterbox, amongst others, and finds a near perfect middle ground.

The reworkings and rearrangements range from traditional Ninja-styled neohip hop, to apocalyptic dark dub, to distorted drum and bass, and take Vadim onto another level of breakbeat excellence.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Psycho Trance 5 I Mixed by Daz Saund (Moonshine)

A surprisingly good mix of the underground sounds of Trance, as chosen by Daz Saund, a well known and sought after DJ/Producer on the European continent.

These tracks are on the darker and more obscure edge of the trance/techno genre, and features artists from quality labels'such as Missile, Soma, Tresor, and Plus 8. This is not 'trance pop', so all John Digweed and Sasha disciples should steer clear, unless you want to be enlightened into what else is available in this genre. Otherwise, for those who have been disenchanted by the seemingly pop-based trance of the last 12 months, Psycho Trance 5 may be a welcome relief.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Brassic Beats Vol. 3 (Skint)

This marks the hat-trick for the Skint label in their series of 'big beat' compilations. 'Big beat' is the term used for the dance juxtaposition of huge hip hop breaks, funky basslines, acid noise, and many a sample. Brassic Beats Vol. 3 boasts the heavy weight talents of the Lo-Fidelity All Stars, Fatboy Slim (the latest project from journeyman Norman Cook) with 'Everybody Loves a Filter', Bentley Rhythm Ace with 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'.

If you're after a competent big beat compilation which isn't too esoteric, then go for 8.8. Vol. 3. It's a fine stage one lesson in big beat.