Recently there was some new releases over at the SID shop. Of interest were the new UR and Red Planet 7″ records. J.T. from the 313 mailing list reviewed them, and now I really want them!
Click more for the full lowdown!
UR -Actuator 7″ (UR7-058 )
ohhhh yeah!! ‘actuator’ is just mad mike doing his best electro, great dark catchy bassline, synth bees hovering around, and this synth that sounds like some drexciyans talking underwater, so alien and just dope…a really nice solo too, and i’m not always digging mad mike’s solos..this one is more catchy and not just virtuosic…just great electro coming off sort of like a blend of the older u.r. electro like ‘electronic warfare’ and the newer hitech funk stuff..the b-side is by “the mechanic”, titled ‘solenoid’…it’s strange. it’s a bit to the rave-y side, with this dry enveloped pulsewave sound (kinda classic rave sound), jackin claps, but also some nice drexciya-ish sawtooth-y notes..overall it’s a little too strange and loopy/bangin for my taste, and that ravey sound gets on my nerves, but it’s still sort of an interesting song..
Red Planet – Tobacco Ties 7″ (RP7-12)
‘tobacco ties’ is built around a deep but somewhat trancey chord riff, very simple and repetitive…but then the stabbing strings and bassline are quickly added, is all very repetitive and simple, but very soulful progressions ala los hermanos / jaguar / aguila…some nice subtle touches, some wigged-out little synth undertones, against my wishes (i really think it’s too trancey..) i get this song caught in my head already. i’m liking it more and more. BUT the b-side kills it! this 7″ is definitely essential for
‘space walker’ ohh yeah!! just a slammin beat with beautiful bellish tones bouncing and squeaking around…it actually reminds me a lot of something convextion has done…great sound design, very minimala nd spacey, and way deep and funky and detroit…
Aztec Mystic – Aguila 12″ (UR-059)
dope! definitely a good follow-up to jaguar, not as catchy maybe, but like someone said, is “massive”. i love the simple bassline (sounds like a tango or something), and the super smooth loose-tight filtery bits…the strings are pretty over the top but hard to resist, like jaguar. not a whole lot to say, it’s a hit for sure i’d say..a little bit more of a house sound, and a latin sound, than jaguar..orlando does ‘the fix mix’ on the b-side, and ohhhh man it is just beautiful. he adds a more techno touch to it with the
addition of some subtle sounds, re-arranges the strings and makes them less “massive”, adds some lovely horn samples..even the birdy sound from sueno latino whoo haha, and takes about 4 minutes before dropping the beat..throws some reverse edits in, builds up, takes it back down and then back up…and those horns…ahhh! orlando tears it up!…this record is definitely two
a-sides!
Aquanauts – Spawn 12″ (UR-060)
runout has a message from tyree stinson!..james’ bro definitely has the aqua gene..’spawn (genetic continuation mix)’ sounds sorta like wavejumper era drexciya, and sorta like ‘electronic warfare’ (esp that sinister bassline..), and comes complete with submarine pings and some sliding “alert” (i dunno) tones…pretty simple but very analog and very drex…excellent!! afterwards there’s some bonus beats which are real nice too. ‘relentless (expect no mercy mix)’ is a jam, with an angry thick bassline grinding along, and some jazzy chords stabbing out a nice catchy rhythm…some wigged out lead synth solo is added which at first is maybe too wiggedout and sounding like somebody playing a monosynth with the guitar-grip attached if y’know what i mean (van halen!), but then it turns into a nice bouncy twisted little melody, very mad mike, and some big thick strings are added…really nice, maybe more mad mike than drexciyan, but really dope jam..aside from that solo going overboard for a moment
Aquanauts – Relentless (Expect No Mercy mix) 7″ (UR7-060)
nice! the 7″ mix of ‘relentless’ removes that over-the-top bit of solo, and plays around with the twisted melody a bit more..on the flip is “bubble beats”, which is a simple electro beat with some bubbling noises. a few echo-ing screechy/horny notes are added and a couple more sounds to the beat..it doesn’t really go anywhere, and is nothing amazing, is just some nice bubble beats! not as dope as the old drexciyan beat tracks, but nice all the same…
Fix – Diligent (IGNTR-01)
dayyyummm orlando is feeling it…’diligent’ is just bad-mf-ass techno, very melodic, delicate, but deep and catchy…dusty snares gently urging things along, chunky bass notes, lovely melody/refrain, deep but unobtrusive resonant strings, all very attentively arranged, and changing/evolving throughout the song…definitely some of the very best stuff i have heard from orlando..just has that feeling, really detroit, sounding a bit like juan maybe..whew! the b-side, ‘target untraceable’ is produced alongside m.i.a. from ur. it starts simply, with some soulful nocturnal sounding organny stabs (reminds a bit of suburban knight..), after a minute or two drops a nice opened-up electro beat with some flanging percussion and some nice melodic bits that swim and echo around in the mix…very deep, more abstract..actually reminds a bit of nwaq’s ‘the magnificent’, hmm i can already imagine mixing the two!..anyways…out of all these new submerge records i picked up, i think this is the best…just a great, great record!
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