Music Reviews

Chunes

Reviews by DJ Seed & the Bridge

Squall 14, Autumn 1996, pg. 68.

The Electric Groove Temple

From the title ‘Sequence Me'’ you might imagine The Electric Groove Temple’s new CD was gonna turn out all formula midi-feed and just press go. But from the word off you realise this to be an erroneous assumption.

Instead this seriously recommended skien of funky house, groove and dub is spiced with jazzy overlays in a soundscape of shifting beats that never threatens loop boredom.

Much happiness is it to find that this band sound as good live as they do on their well produced studio album. As seen at various underground parties and caught by meself at this year’s Harvest Fayre, this outfit are a largely undiscovered treasure for anyone who likes their dance music to be musically interesting.

The Electric Groove Temple - ‘Sequence Me’ - CD £10 (includes P&P) from
Trichone Records, PO Box 2210, Reading RG2 0YY

Dub Merge

Also storming this year’s Harvest Fayre were the excellent Dub Merge, a West Midland’s dub funk’n’rap outfit.

Once again both live act and recorded offering are pukka, with their recent ‘Wake Up’ album packed full of phat bass lines and seriously wikid rapping. Whilst too many UK rappers regurgitate US ego rants, Dub Merge take stance with current UK issues onna politically conscious tip. Applying rapid fire funky verbals to their freedom fighter grooves, this band add a much awaited musical cutting edge to the meeting of the diatribes.

Dub Merge - ‘Wake Up’ - CD - £10 plus an A5 padded envelope and 50p stamp from
Dubmerge, ‘Woofin’, PO Box 12, Worcester, WR2 1YQ

Storm From The East

Imaginative dance requirements are also fulfilled by the Storm from the East jazz jungle compilation recently released on Moving Shadow records.

Remarkable as it may seem, the East in this case refers to Norfolk, with the entire rosta of junglists featured on this corking drum’n’bass comp hailing from the flatlands of East Anglia. And you’ll find few better examples of the emerging possibilities of the British jungle explosion than this album, complete with bass lines phat enough to suck. Come now E-Z Rollers and me favourite tune - Walk This Land though there’s a few to choose from.

Storm From The East
Moving Shadow PO Box 2251, London W1A 1YQ

Surge

With less beats and more ambience enters ‘Emergence’ from Surge, a new band on the small Diversity Recordings label. For anyone baulking at the potential wall paper boredom of the term ambiance, bear in mind that Surge’s music differs with layered imagination, periodically kicking up the soundscape with on yer marks get set go, beat take offs.

Surge - ‘Emergence’
Diversity Recordings, distributed by 3MV-Vital on 0171 378 8866

The Levellers

As you can read in the news pages, Luton tribal warriors, the Exodus Collective, inaugurated a new era of direct action by boogie boxing The Levellers new single in the middle of a full Luton Borough Council meeting over the summer. The single, put out as a four track live EP entitled ‘Exodus’, runs: “We the Collective with an open heart/We the solution should be respected” and was inspired by the stance of the Lutonite lions.

Originally released as an album track on their ‘Zeitgeist’ album, me thinks this is the best Leveller’s toon yet; with a driving bass line and a lyrical relevancy that puts yer neck hairs on end.

For fans of socially relevant lyrics, the fourth track on the CD is also well worth a mention. ‘PC Keen’ is named after the infamous PC Malcolm-too-Keene-by-half, overlord of the Operation Snapshot traveller surveillance operation.

The Levellers - ‘Exodus’
China Records 111, Frithville Gardens, London W12 7LG

Villan

Also in this issue’s review bag on the pukka folk music tip, comes the ‘Days of Pure Enjoyment’ cassette self-released by a musical duo called Villan. This is wicked guitar and fiddle music, a cascade of funky gypsy business and well recommended.

Villan - ‘Days Of Pure Enjoyment’
Gavin 0181 678 0050

Fila Brazilia

Just time for a quick mention for Fila Brazilia’s ‘Maim that Tune’ album recently released on Pork Recordings.

Sampled amidst the album’s inventive funked up trip-hop, is a glorious stand-up comedy sketch about the advertising industry. “If any one here is in advertising or marketing then kill yourself - no seriously, if you are then do. You are Satan’s spawn filling the world with vile and garbage, you’re fucked and you’re fucking us. And I know what they’re thinking now - they’re thinking I’m going for the anti-marketing dollar cos there’s a good comedy market there. But I say Stop putting the dollar sign on every godamn fucking thing on this planet.” Hear, here, I say, with music being the blood of rebellion; and commerce a chain that ties the tongue.

Fila Brazilia - ‘Maim that Tune’
Pork Recordings PO Box 18, Kingston Upon Hull, HU1 3YU