a parallel mechanic
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Articles by a parallel mechanic:
Richard Dorfmeister – Presents a Different Drummer Selection
Though it may be a gimmick to market this Different Drummer showcase as a Richard Dorfmeister remix album, it’s certainly not a bad idea to get the stamp of approval from the universe’s most accomplished downtempo producer. And though the shiny sticker on the CD package says “Different Drummer Releases Selected and Remixed by Richard …
Dreamy, dubby, and *gasp* housey…
Unless I’m on drugs or with a girlie that loves to dance (unfortunately both rare situations by the way), I can’t get down to “funkee house muzak,” it just doesn’t get me off. So when I heard that the new Tosca album was a bit more housey than their prior releases, …
Na-na-na-na-na-nice…like beans & rice…
Put out by the German label Best Seven, who blessed us with the “Dub Infusions” and “More Dub Infusions” compilations, “Studio Don” is an excellent debut LP from former Rockers Hi-Fi producer Glyn (bigga) Bush. Though it took my southern-Californian arse a few months to even realize that this record was on …
Crispy, funky organic beats and treats from the Bay Area..
As smooth as it sounds, even if it is your favorite genre, you cannot listen to studio-only produced downtempo and hip hop all the time. That is why the music from the eight piece ensemble V.U. (which stands for ‘Variable Unit’) is a breath of fresh …
Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon
Thievery’s tempo has slowed down and for the most part steered away from the bossa nova&house vibe which were the more prevalent themes on their 2000 “Mirror Conspiracy” release. Not that the bossa nova stylings weren’t appealing and fresh at the time, but this whole “nu jazz” movement has been played out a bit too …
Nightmares on Wax – Mind Elevation
So I’m reading the review of ‘Mind Elevation’ in MIXER magazine and they write: “If you liked [N.O.W.’s 1995 release] ‘Carboot Soul’ then you probably won’t like the new album.” Then again, MIXER had P. Diddy on its cover claiming that he “invented the remix” (take that, Al Gore!), so what the hell does MIXER …
Survey says…good album! Shadow manages to maintain his style from his 1996 “Entroducing….” release without sounding dated. Shadow fans will not be disappointed.
Here’s a track-by-track size-up:
1. Letter from Home – This is kind of random. Apparently, this was the way to communicate with a loved one over long distance back in the day. Just another …
When the “The Low End Theory” album dropped in 1991, A Tribe Called Quest showed the hip hop world that you could have street cred, intellectual stimuli, and dance floor bangers and still come correct. People who thought rap was only about Kid’n Play’s high top fades or Rob Base’s redundant anthems began to see …
Baldwin Brothers – Cooking with Lasers
Fuzzy breakbeats AM Gold style.
“Cooking With Lasers” would not necessarily be my first choice for a living room listening selection. But I would definitely take this album on a wild’n crazy road trip with the boyz. Those sexy Baldwin Brothers. Here’s what they might have said they did:
‘That’s Right’ – This is quintessential highway driving …
Desmond Williams – Delights from the Garden
Hi-fi riddums from the Jamacian Garden…
Before releasing this record, Desmond Williams had already made a name for himself in downtempo circles by playing bass, guitar, and keyboards on Thievery Corporation’s 2000 masterpiece ‘The Mirror Conspiracy.’ He is also credited as the main sound engineer for that entire album. In ‘Delights of the Garden,’ Desmond took …
Hip-HOP.
No Restric-TION.
‘Hinterland’ is an eclectic (to the extreme) menagerie of heavy hip-hop beats on the English trip-hop tip. The album hits you like a watered down Massive Attack, but this isn’t meant to be a slight on Aim. The space created in the songs allows for jazzy instrumentation (guitars, piano, horns, and xylophone) to flourish …