Tune #121: The Auranaut - People Want To Be Needed

Nostalgia hit me again...

It is difficult to digest that 26 years have passed since the release of this track:

THE AURANAUT - PEOPLE WANT TO BE NEEDED

The driving force behind this track is Graham Dear, a British producer and DJ with a very rich resume in music production. Following an engineering training in the 80's and after performing production duties for various bands, he managed to secure recording deals with independent and major record labels. His first moderate success was the production of "It's My Life", a downtempo / soul song performed by Maureen Walsh and released in 1990 by Urban, a sublabel of Polydor.

During his early production todays, Graham Dear got acquainted with Richard Sullivan, a fellow engineer and producer. They both worked in the same production studio in London and decided to team up, forming Power Circle in 1991. Supported by Ayman Sawaf, owner of a private client recording facility at Burhill Park, the production duo had the opportunity to produce their first works on progressive house genre, following the zeitgeist of the period.

The collaboration between the guys lasted until 1996, when the separation was amicable in order to chase different music horizons. My personal favorite from the Power Circle era is the DJ Shakra remix for Garden of Eden, a remarkable example of early progressive house ethos (hypnotic, dubby baseline with the ethereal vocals). The solid production of this track has also been appreciated by the current electronic music community, with DJ play time by Maceo Plex and a re-release in 2021 by Renaissance, along with a new remix.

POWER CIRCLE - GARDEN OF EDEN (THE SHAKRA MIX)

However, the commercial success of the band was the track "A Little Love, A Little Life" and more specifically the acapella version. But how it this possible?

Aussie DJ Anthony Pappa used in his sets a white label mash-up, combining Offshore (Disco Citizens Mix) of Chicane with the acapella vocals of Louise Barton in the Power Circle track. What started out as a bootleg, resulted to an official release, called Offshore '97. The track reached #17 in the Charts and was included on several dance compilations.

CHICANE - OFFSHORE '97

Another great trivia of the original track is the fact that it made its way to be included in the soundtrack of film Love In Paris, a poor sequel of 9 1/2 weeks.

Since 1994 and onwards, Graham started to experiment with trance music and adopted "The Auranaut" moniker. His first release under this alias was Interactive, under Mr.C's label Plink Plonk. His releases (either original or remixes) until the start of the new century can be found in the sets of famous DJs of that era, championing progressive trance (Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Tiesto, Perry O' Neil).

Personally, his best works are today's track along with Yo-Yo (another progressive trance stunner). These are the kind of tracks that were caned back in the day by Oakie during the Essential tour series. Unfortunately, there was no chance to enjoy such tracks, as explained in previous post. Additionally, for anyone interested into the vocal monologue sample, it is taken from a British 60's movie "Sink the Bismarck!".

Graham Dear released in 2004 his first album, which mostly served as a compilation of his prior tracks (incl. People Want To Be Needed and Yo-Yo), under his joint label with Sullivan (Power Circle Records). Two additional albums followed (Divine Ordinance | 2006 and Under The Radar | 2013), but since then his tracks are lost...

Tune #120: IØN - You Are Not On The Earth As You Believe

Last Saturday I attended a live set curated by Mikael Delta, focused on his retrospective career, back from his early solo production days. His career is well-known both domestically and internationally, either via his involvement in the seminal electronic music group Stereo  Nova (as already mentioned in an earlier post) or by his solo works in several labels (R&S, Glasgow Underground, Distance, Klik Records). Multiple reviews about his productions and his music career in general can be found throughout the web with insightful content. The supporting act for the event was covered by Giannis Papaioannou, aka IØN. My attendance in the venue triggered an opportunity to share a little bit of background about his works.

Giannis Papaioannou's career started in early 80's, when he founded along with his classmates Spyros Faros and Vasilis Sorilos the darkwave band Rehearsed Dreams. A set of demos recorded between 1983 and 1984 were transformed to the long play Repulsion, which was released in 1985 by Creep Records, one of the first Greek indie labels. The album is very dark-oriented (death is the key topic influenced by the band's favorite poets at the time) and is the only official release until their disbandment. Many years later, previously unreleased material was circulated by Inner Ear (another major Greek indie label) in 2011, while Repulsion was remastered and re-released in 2013 by (also Greek) Geheimnis Records.

The next step for Giannis was the creation of label Elfish at the start of the next decade (1991), together with Makis Faros (brother of Spyros Faros), targeted to new electronic music forms from local and international acts. The first release of Elfish was Spider's Web – The Wonderful Weaver, an experimental rock LP, which was a product by the Faros brothers along with Giannis and Leonidas Papadakis. Under the label's umbrella, he collaborated with Makis again as Raw to produce 2 studio albums. Their first album called Land was released in late 1991, focused on ambient / experimental paths (utilizing haunting samplers, synths, e-bowed guitars and clarinets). The sophomore album City was released 3 years later (1994), having a totally different orientation with more rhythm and analog synthesizers, creating the atmosphere of an urban/industrial setting, along with the assistance of Coti K (another prominent figure in the Greek indie electronic scene) as a third member. The initial plans of the project was the creation of a trilogy with another album (Mind), which never came to light; Elfish was disbanded in 1996. 

From 1996 until today, he records and produces his solo works as IØN. After 11 studio albums in approx. 20 years across various labels, his sound has changed into different directions. Personally, I group them loosely in 3 categories:

1. The early years (1996 - 2002): The foundations were established with pure techno sounds
2. The Klik Records era (2003 - 2010): The two albums released, No Camera (2005) and You & Me (2009), have as common ground tech-house tracks, blended with minimal sounds that indicate the next direction
3. The Ambient - Dub Techno phase (2011 - today): The latest period can be characterized in the spectrum of ambient experimental compositions, along with dub techno elements

An also honorable mention would be his side-project Mechanimal, a collective of musicians and video artists, recording industrial post-punk tracks (with Freddie Faulkenberry & Angelica Vrettou as the most frequent collaborators). After 5 original studio albums and 1 remix album, the project showcases another aspect of Giannis Papaioannou music interpretations.

Besides his career in music, he has a very solid background in writing. He is a journalist since the early 90's, writing articles about the Internet for the Greek magazine 01. He has served as an editor in Chief for various magazines (01, Οξύ, Μen, Nitro Elite, Speed, Homme, Chronos Oro) and for a Greek TV show (Hackers). Currently, you can find his latest articles in the online mag OLAFAQ, covering various social topics.

Adhering to the convention of this blog, I have selected a track from one of his latest studio albums (This World Is Collapsing But I Still Love You), which was released in 2021. It belongs to the 3rd phase of this career (as stated above), which is the most mature in my humble opinion.

IØN – YOU ARE NOT ON THE EARTH AS YOU BELIEVE

Given his versatile background both in music and writing, I believe that he should be considered one of the most important figures of contemporary Greek electronic music. Thank you for your music IØN!

Tune #119: Stelios Vassiloudis - Entropy

I believe that I should have written a dedicated post about Stelios Vassiloudis a long time ago, but I guess better late than never.

Stelios Vassiloudis is a Greek electronic music producer and DJ, hailing from Athens. He has established a solid musical background at a very early age, given that he had started playing piano at 5 years old and had studied music theory along with other instruments. The first listening experiences from his parents music collection (ranging from The Beatles and Pink Floyd to Bach and Beethoven) and his studies at a music school have influenced him to evolve his style throughout the years.

His first productions can be found in the early 2000s, focused on progressive house (if you remember, it was the dominant electronic music genre of that era). His collaboration with Viton Mavropoulos to create Wooden Swordz (2004), a nod to the famous homonymous Greek rock band (Ξύλινα Σπαθιά) using a sample taken from the band's track "O Vasilias Tis Skonis", remains still a highlight in the history of Greek electronic dance music.

After this seminal release, he secured releases in various popular labels of that time (Audio Therapy, Electronic Elements, Armada, Renaissance, etc.) either as a producer or as a remixer; his remix on Arenok - Free Yourself is a representative example of his editing skills.

During the early years, Stelios Vassiloudis has adopted his alias Stel for his productions (a nickname still used for his late night DJ sets as Best Radio 92.6). In 2011 it was time to release with his original name the first studio album It Is What It Is, a splendid continous mixture of progressive and tech house with downtempo and ambient elements. The 2-CD album was released in Bedrock (the legendary label of John Digweed and Nick Muir) and has marked a long-standing collaboration until today.

Naturally, his works have been supported by prominent DJs (Sasha, John Digweed, Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug) and therefore he was granted the opportunity to travel in several places around the globe to perform as a DJ.

In 2022, his second album All Else Fails was released (in the equally seminal record label Balance) and personally this specific work showcased his evolution as a music producer. The shift from club-friendy tracks to an ambient and experimental orientation indicate his versatility in the music production. While I am not familiar with all of his works (in 2023 his third studio album was released by Bedrock), I would dare to say that he is one of my favorite contemporary artists in the field of electronic music.

So, which track is to be selected for today's post? I choose Entropy from his first album, because acoustically (for me) it represents the first ambient signs that would be more evident in his later works.

STELIOS VASSILOUDIS - ENTROPY

P.S. Wishing everyone a Happy 2025!

Some scattered thoughts on dipole of Paul Oakenfold & Andrew Weatherall

On Saturday I had the opportunity of listening to a DJ set by Paul Oakenfold, the former DJ superstar of the 90's and 00's. The feeling of nostalgia was intense, hearing again classic tunes (even in bastardized versions for my taste) and remembering a forgotten era. During the event I recalled somehow the DJ set by the late Andrew Weatherall, performed in Athens in 2019, one year before his unfortunate death from pulmonary embolism. His set was very eclectic, consisting of playful tracks with the beat constraint under 122 bpm.

It is strange how two Englishmen that started in the same period but followed extremely different paths (Greg Wilson's article describes this matter way better than I could ever articulate) influenced my taste for electronic music throughout the years.

I familiarized myself with the iconic Essential Mixes of Paul Oakenfold at the start of the new century, the time at which he reached the ultimate stardom. My brother had even bought the seminal Global Underground 007: New York CD; while the mixing can not be considered smooth, the diverse track selection is superb. For several years, Paul Oakenfold was my favorite DJ, blending tracks from ambient and drum & based to progressive house & goa trance.

Ten years later, I was deeply disillussioned with the direction of electronic music. As a former trance-head, I was not interested at all in the new genres that emerged and the marketeering approach of popular DJs. Luckily for me, I came across with the ALFOS sessions performed by Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston. Surely, I was aware of Sir Andrew's early work (incl. Primal Scream, Sabres Of Paradise, etc.), but to be honest, I never performed a deep dive to go into details. Adopting an "it's never too late" mindset, I started listening more to his early & more contemporary works and I appreciated his approach on music production & mixing. Furthermore, I started liking other genres such as leftfield, nu-disco & indie dance, which were seamlessy interchanged in his sets. 

Back to 2019, after the completion of his DJ set in Athens, I approached Mr. Weatherall and shook his hand, congratulating him for the quirky set. He was very kind to thank me for my feedback, giving me the impression of a simple and humble man, despite his enormous contribution to electronic music. I performed the same gesture to his partner in crime, Sean Johnston, when he played an ALFOS set in a mini club at the centre of Athens in 2022. I am sure that Sir Andrew would be very proud that Sean Johnson preserves the atmosphere of the sets when they performed together. 

Fast forward to today, I did not have to chance to interact with Paul Oakenfold after the set (I left earlier prior the completion of the event), but I assume that it could be not possible due to his stardom persona (and frankly I was not interested in it). 

After many years of listening to electronic music, I am certain that these two figures were essential for crafting and evolving my taste in music. Paul Oakenfold (although irrelevant for me today) would introduce me to dance tunes that would be club mega-hits at the time and Andrew Weatherall would broaden my mind to explore different styles and appreciate more tunes that are not necessarily club-oriented. For the above reasons, I thank them both!

I will conclude with the obvious co-production:

HAPPY MONDAYS - HALLELUJAH (CLUB MIX)

Tune #118: MLO - Wimborne

One of my favorite Youtube channels is undoubtedly Abstructure, featuring original and custom-made video clips of the 90's electronic music cosmos, focused mostly on techno & ambient genres. I often return to the channel for an audiovisual experience of Electrotete - I Love You. In search of hidden gems of that era, I came across the official video clip of track MLO - Wimborne:

MLO - WIMBORNE

MLO was a music partnership between British musicians Pete Smith & Jon Tye, who had first met in Exeter during the late 70's through rival punk bands. Following their wandering in several bands and the acid house explosion in late 80's, they composed track New Generation, adopting the use of breakbeats instead of the four-on-the-floor rhythm formula. The demo was sent to Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head honcho of Belgian techno label R&S Records, and the first release was materialized in 1993; fascinated by the outer space and coming across the Manua Loa Observatory, MLO was deemed as suitable choice referring to the spatial aspect of music and as shorthand for word Mellow.

One year later, the duo was employed to create their debut album Io, which served as a soundtrack for a film of the same name, shown as live accompaniment to Pink Floyd gigs of that period. The film & album name originates from the seventh moon of Jupiter (Ιώ), which is the most volcanically active entity of our solar system.

Smith & Tye had to deliver the album in a short period of two weeks inside one of the world's most advanced multi-media studios. In return for their involvement in some tracks of Icelandic singer Ragga, they had unlimited access to the studio equipment, toying with Korg PS 3300 and an Emulator 2.

Despite the tight timeline, the result was excellent, providing a dreamlike ambient experience in space.

Io was released in 1994 by Rising High Records of the late Caspar Pound, with whom Pete Smith had worked extensively in various projects, such as The Hypnotist, Temple of Acid and Rising High Collective. Due to disputes regarding track royalties, the collaboration with the label ended abruptly and a lot of tracks, which were intended as the continuation of the debut album, remained unreleased. An additional album was released in the same year under the catering of the now defunct UK label i.t.p. Recordings. The final works of MLO were published in 1996, before its dissolution.

Fortunately, Music From Memory label curated in 2021 the compilation Oumuamua, which features a collection of previously unreleased material for the project. For more details, you may the refer to the interview of Jon Tye regarding the compilation.

In order to experience the journey, you can listen Io in full below:

MLO - IO

Tune #117: Latitude - Es La Rosa

At the start of the 90's UK club scene was already experiencing the explosion of acid house, which was emerged at the Second Summer of Love in '88. Meanwhile, the first generation of progressive house tracks has begun to surface with the support of legendary labels such as Guerilla & Limbo Records, championed by producers William Orbit & Leftfield and played in clubs by Sasha & John Digweed, prior to their stardom. Tunes of the genre that have been also presented in the blog are the following:

• Leftfield - Space Shanty
• Quivver - Saxy Lady
• Evolution - Jaywalkin'

Early progressive house tracks had the mixture of elements for a chugging dancefloor filler; dubby / groovy basslines accompanied by spacey & atmospheric synths & long chords. Back to 1991, a hidden artifact of that era can be found:

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (PIANO MIX)

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (GUITAR MIX)

Latitude was a short-lived project of art students David Hill and Ellen McAuslan, based in London. The duo was one of the first signings for Nude Records, mostly known for releasing the first works of English alternative rock band Suede.

Their first release was a white label for the discographic company, possibly influenced by the rising popularity of progressive house. Es La Rosa is a balearic prog tune, presented in two different editions; A-side contains more vocals with a leading piano melody, while the B-side is dubbier combined with a lead guitar! Both versions contain the classic stabs which are easily recognizable in the music style.

A nice trivia for the track is that it was the first vinyl release for Sean Johnston (performing mixing duties), curator of the ALFOS events along with the late Andrew Weatherall. IMO, it shares similarities with the remix of the latter for Sly And Lovechild – The World According To Sly & Lovechild (1990).

Little information can be found on the Internet regarding the group and its members. Only available information at the moment is that Ellen McAuslan continues to work in the art business as an animator and art director. I wonder if the group members are aware of their contribution to the early progressive music; the way it should be!

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tune #116: Kano - Another Life

I always thought that italo-disco was a bit cheesy for my ears. On the other hand, italo tracks with space disco & electro elements... that's what I am talking about! Many examples fit in this category and one of them is certainly Kano - Another Life!

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)

Kano was an ensemble of Italian musicians and producers Luciano Ninzatti (guitars), Stefano Pulga (keyboards) and Mateo Bonsanto (production), established in Milan during late 70's. The production trio released 3 studio albums during the first half of the 80's, accompanied by vocalist Glen White in the last one. 

Kano's music can be characterized as a fusion of disco, funk and R&B elements, but the group were not always stuck on the commercial italo disco formula (cheesy music & vocals). During their initial steps, they made heavy use of repetitive loops & arpeggios by utilizing electronic drum machines, vocoders and overdubs. The first works were pivotal to the evolution of electronic dance music, whether it was hip hop, electro or house music.

Their debut song was the international hit "I'm Ready" (1980) with various releases worldwide, while its distinctive bassline was been sampled by various electronic music tracks throughout the years. The track was included in their first self-titled studio album, along with other compositions such as "It's A War", "Now Baby Now" and "Cosmic Voyager".

Three years later, the project released "Another Life", which was another successful single worldwide. The heavy use of synths (Prophet 5 for bassline, Yamaha DX7 for bells/chords and Minimoog for the lead melody) along with the soulful vocals of Glen White made the track a huge success! Just like their first single, it was sampled in various tracks; notable examples are Lifelike & Kris Menace - Discopolis and Junior Jack - Life.

Kano disbanded as a production team in the middle of the 80's. However, vocalist Glen White used the project name in some of his first solo releases, in which the original members did not participate. After a very long time (2021), Kano regrouped for the production of a new studio album, titled "No Cents... Go Funky!", mostly oriented in funky compositions (as the album name implies).

Last but not least, you may enjoy the official promo video of the track, as feature in German TV show "Formel Eins":

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (OFFICIAL PROMO VIDEO)

Tune #115: A Mountain Of Rimowa - No More

Two weeks ago I witnessed the ALFOS experience at a mini club located in the basement of Crust, a local pizzeria in Athens. The event was hosted by Deaf Ears Disco Cult, a local project by Greek DJs Christos Aggelopoulos and Thanasis Besinis, and featured the acid house veteran Sean Johnston, founder of A Love From Outer Space (ALFOS) collective, alongside the late Andrew Weatherall. Whoa, what a night to remember!

Sean Johnston was born in Bridlington and grew up in a rural area of East Riding. While in his late teens, he moved to Hull for studies. This is the city where he started his DJ career, promoting and hosting local night shows. In the spring of 1988 he travelled to London in order to follow a career in the music business. Working as booking agent, he attended various nights at London clubs and experienced the blow-up of the acid house scene.

One of the defining moments in his journey is undoubtedly the acquaintance with Andrew Weatherall through Jeff Barrett, the label manager of Heavenly Records, in the early 90's. In 1994 he released a single alongside sound engineers Jake Davies, Matt Nelmes & Rich Johnstone for Sabre of Paradise, a label established by Lord Sabre himself.

The origin of the ALFOS parties can be found in 2007, when Johnston gave Weatherall a car lift to Brighton. The latter listened to a CD mix made by the former, focused on slow-paced, nu-disco psychedelic sound. What had been initially created for personal entertainment purposes was materialized to commercially available compilation Watch The Ride (2008), which was well received by the audience. Following the compilation's success, fellow DJ Nathan Gregory Wilkins invited the duo to play music at The Drop, a new club in London, and consequently the first event was realized.

The musical manifesto of the ALFOS experience incorporates dance tracks laid out in many different guises, but never exceeding 122 bpm; a refined distillation of music genres, from progressive house & techno of the 90's to cosmic disco, krautrock and psychedelic electronic music.

Apart from his DJing duties, Sean Johnston has graced electronic dance music with his own productions & remixes, most notably under the Hardway Bros moniker. The project was initially created in co-operation with Jake Davies and Rich Johnstone and is currently run by Johnston solely.

Last but not least, one of his latest aliases can be found in the below YT video; A Mountain Of Rimowa with track No More (in original version and remix by Max Pask)

A MOUNTAIN OF RIMOWA - NO MORE (ORIGINAL MIX)

A MOUNTAIN OF RIMOWA - NO MORE (EACH OTHER REMIX)

Closing his DJ set at Crust, I shook hands with Sean Johnston and thanked him for bringing the ALFOS experience. It reminded me of the same vibes with Andrew Weatherall at SNFCC in 2019...

Tune #114: Omicron - Tranquility Base

When I was very young, I wondered why Greek artists do not have a presence in electronic music, whether it was for dancefloors or focused on more ambient paths. The fact is that I was unfamiliar with significant Greek music artists and their music in the 90's. At some point, my ignorance could be justified from the limited exposure of the genre to the mass media (as I little kid I did not have the means or the knowledge how the perform a dedicated search). Therefore, I discovered great music producers in the later years, when I had the time, resources and more important the passion to dig out obscure but inspiring music. 

One of the most interesting digging results is undoubtedly Savvas Ysatis. Influenced by the electronic music innovators Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre, he was absorbed by the beauty of the synthesizers and their endless possibilities. While in his mid-teens he moved from his birthplace (Athens) to New York in order to dedicate his life on electronic music composition. From 1993 until 1997 he developed a fruitful collaboration with Instinct Records, composing a plethora of tracks under various aliases. Through the label he met fellow composer Taylor Dupree and soon they started working their own original material together. Their partnership stood the test of time with many releases spanning different pseudonyms and different genres, from housey techno to ambient & IDM.

At the late 90's Ysatis returned to his birthplace to support and develop the electronic music scene of Greece. He wrote the track Mono + Mono with distinguished Greek DJ & producer Giannis Papaioannou (a.k.a. IØN), adopting the alias Volume One, and started the Allou project with vocalist Elias Aslanoglou, known for his tenure at alternative rock band Magic De Spell.

ΑΛΛΟΥ - ΩΡΑΙΑ ΜΕΡΑ

Since then, he released additional works for prominent labels, such as Plastic City & Tresor, while also collaborating with Taylor Dupree for production of new material for the latter's label 12k. One of his latest partnerships is with fellow Greek producer Fluxion (Konstantinos Soublis) as Soluce for the collaborative album Birth (2018).

I consider a great idea to present in the current post one track from the early works of Savvas Ysatis; it is called Tranquility Base, taken from his first studio album Acrocosm under his Omicron moniker. The entire album is one of the finest examples of ambient/IDM music and the above track just provides a glimpse of a highly sensory experience that takes the listener to a unique ambient journey through cosmical areas!

OMICRON - TRANQUILITY BASE

Tune #113: Paradise 3001 - Several Huge Yellow Snaplike Somethings

If anyone follows the scene of electronic dance music, he/she could identify that the revival of old trance/progressive sound is evident during the last 2-3 years. I do not know if the current situation is caused by the lack of new styles that would fill the dancefloors, but I am very pleased for two reasons; the first one would be the production of new tracks that present similar vibes to the ones evoked of the old banging tunes from the 90's and the second one is the re-issue of forgotten obscure tracks that went under the radar.

One of the latter examples is the following:

PARADISE 3001 - SEVERAL HUGE SNAPLIKE YELLOW SOMETHINGS

Behind Paradise 3001 we can find the Dutchman Aad de Mooy. AdM started his involvement in music composition back in 1983, when he played guitar in various new wave bands. Fascinated by the endless possibilities of analogue syntherizers (Korg MS10) and drum machines (Roland TR606 & TR707), he has been engaged in electronic music production since 1989. He achieved international success in the club scene with his second D-Shake release Yaaaaaaaaaah / Techno Trance. Since then he adopted several pseudonyms across various music styles (Alex Cortiz, D-Shake, Time Warp, Flygang, Hallucination Generation, Cat Scanner, Dish Cuts, etc.). A supportive force in his journey was Go Bang! Records, an electronic dance label founded in 1990 by Ruud Jacobs which left its important mark in the rave history of the Netherlands. In parallel with music production, Aad de Mooy created video clips for tracks of his own and other producers (such as Kraze, Todd Terry, MC Extince) and curated a show on Amsterdam radio stations.

Today a track from his Paradise 3001 alias is presented with the perculiar title "Several Huge Snaplike Yellow Somethings". Under this pseudonym, 2 studio albums and multiple 12" singles have been released, lying mostly in the spectrum of ambient trance. However, the specific track is an absolute banger! A compilation of Paradise 3001 tracks (including also this tune) has been issued in 2020 by Banoffee Pies, a Bristol based record label founded in 2013.

Since 1998, Aad de Mooy rebooted himself and embraced his "Alex Cortiz" persona, focusing on lounge music compositions with more than 10 studio albums, leaving behind the wild days of killer grooves that rocked the clubs.

P.S. I recently acquired the book "Hypnotized: A journey through trance music 1990 - 2005", accompanied with a 3xLP compilation of the Dutch trance sound. I would strongly emphasize that Aad de Mooy undoubtedly deserves an acknowledgment for his contributions in the genre and the club scene in general. From my point of view, Paradise 3001 would be one of the best examples how Dutch trance should sound and not the mega-euphoric supersaw arpeggios imposed by the likes of Tiesto & Ferry Corsten at the turn of the millenium!

Label Realm: quIrky motIfs

ID&T is a music label established in 1992 by Dutchmen Irfan van Ewijk, Duncan Stutterheim & Theo Lelie (it is obvious that the acronym stands for the initials of the founders' first names).

The label's history originates from the first gabber party organized by the 3 guys in 1992 at Utrecht Conference Center, which was named "The Final Exam" and gathered 12.000 people. Due to the party's success, they organized more events such as Thunderdome, Mystery Land and Global Hardcore Nation. The popularity of trance genre at the end of the 90's led the label to change their sound focused on the emerging Dutch trance artists.

In 2005 the company went through a big change since it was acquired by Be Yourself Music, a label started by old ID&T employees. Nowadays, the company continues to throw big dance parties for the masses mainly in the Netherlands.

Instinct Records was a dance label set up in New York by Jared Hoffman (1989). The label gained popularity from its first signing, which was a then unknown artist called Richard Melville, better known later as Moby! Through Moby's work, the company released worldwide hit singles and launched sublabels as alliances with other companies (such as FAX USA to re-issue material from German label Fax +49-69/450464, This Is Acid Jazz to publish material from UK label Acid Jazz in North America). Additionally, the label introduced to the US market prominent artists (DJ Krush, Amon Tobin, DJ Cam & Ninja Tune acts) through its sublabel Shadow Records. The company's success lasted until 2002, when it was sold to Knitting Factory Records.

Internal was a sublabel of FFRR (Pete Tong's label), which was established in 1992 by Christian Tattersfield, the former Marketing Manager of London Records. It was the production home of significant electronic music artists of the 90's, like Orbital, CJ Bolland, Salt Tank & The Advent. In 1996 Tattersfield left the company to become the Head of BMG UK imprint. Since then, he established a successful executive career in the music business, since he was appointed CEO of Warner Music UK between 2009 - 2014. With his departure, the label ceased operations a little years after.

P.S. Happy New Year!!!

Tune #112: B.I.G. - Autumn Waves

Klik Records has been an influential Greek label that pushed the boundaries of Greek electronic dance music. The first five years of the label (2003 - 2008) were extremely productive with the solid releases composed by the best Greek producers of that era, such as Nikos Diamantopoulos, Ioannis Douskos (aka Dousk) and George Pallikaris (aka G-Pal). However, my favorite Klik release is undoubtedly Mindscapes, the seminal studio album by B.I.G.

B.I.G. (Believe In God) is the music project of brothers Dimos & Michalis Siavelis. The Siavelis bros were raised in Aigio, a town in Achaea, West Greece and they had been involved in music studies (including classical music) for more than 10 years. The turning point in their music journey was Dimos' attendance in Yamaha Music School and Michalis' DJing in summer clubs, both under the apprentice of prolific house producer & DJ Nikos Diamantopoulos.

Dimos and Michalis have been influenced from various music artists, spanning different genres, such as rock (Dire Straits, Pink Floyd), ambient (Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis) and progressive house & trance (Yoogie Van Bellen, Faithless, Bill Hamel). The progressive sound era of the 90's inspired them to a great extent, which can be easily recognized in Mindscapes.

The studio album has been one of Klik Records' earliest releases (seventh), aligned with the company's ethos to publish timeless and classy productions. It was released in 2004 in a double CD format and it features 16 tracks, which are an eclectic blend of progressive house & ambient.

One of the album's highlights is certainly the well-known track A Promise, which has been included in several mix CDs and supported by famous DJs (Armin Van Buuren, Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren). However, the current post will present another personal favorite; the soothing Autumn Waves (which also features the mesmerizing words of Giota Nikolaou as per the former track):

B.I.G. - AUTUMN WAVES

B.I.G. should return to music production to provide us with gems like Mindscapes!

Tune #111: Evnus - Παγκόσμιος Πολίτης

EVNUS - ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ


Evnus was originally a hip hop duo, which was formed in 1996 by Dimitris Kottakis (as lyricist) and Nikos Golfis (as composer). Their collaboration lasted only for 4 years, when the latter decided to retire from the project. The pseudonym was maintained by Dimitris for his solo works. As a duo, Evnus produced 2 studio albums; Αναλογική Ανάμνηση (1996) and Μπερδεμένα Μας Τα Λες Φίλε (2000). Both of them were released by Warehouse Records, a small label / recording studio set up by Vangelis Zisis & Vangelis Louroutziatis.

In my opinion, Evnus were differentiated from the prominent hip hop groups of that era (Active Member, F.F.C., Terror X Crew, Goin' Through, etc.), focusing on feel-good vibe in their tracks, even if they shared a political content. Disclaimer: I do not put in the equation Imiskoumbria, because they are a league of their own!

A personal favorite from Evnus' first album was Παγκόσμιος Πολίτης (Universal Citizen); the heavy bass vocals of Dimitris and the jazzy hip hop composition of Nikos are utilized to create an amusing track.

♫ Είμαι ο παγκόσμιος πολίτης, είμαι της ζωής αλήτης... ♫

Concerning their current whereabouts, Dimitris Kottakis continues to produce occasionally new tracks as Evnus while living a peaceful life in his hometown Aegina, a popular weekend getaway destination for Athenians. On the other hand, Nikos Golfis is not visible in the social media...

Tune #110: Rammellzee vs K-Rob - Beat Bop

One of the most inspiring pieces of rap music.

RAMMELLZEE VS K-ROB - BEAT BOP
 

Beat Bop is the result from one of the most peculiar collaborations in music business. Three underground artists teamed up (or battled each other to be more precise) in order to create a hip hop track which sounded extremely different from the other songs of that era.

Jean Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was an prominent graffiti artist and painter, famous initially for his cryptic epigrams incorporating punk, hip hop music, street art and his neo-expressionist paintings (valued today at millions of dollars).

Rammellzee (1960-2010) was also an influential visual artist with natural sleekness in rapping (you can tell from the track..,). He has been credited to introducing avantgarde elements in hip hop music. Even his (legal) name is pure art, which is stylized as RAMMΣLLZΣΣ and has the following breakdown:

- RAM

- M for Magnitude

- Σ for Sigma (the summation operator)

- L for Longitude

- L for Latitude

- Z for z-bar

- Σ for Sigma

- Σ for Sigma

K-Rob was the youngest member of the project and a gifted graffiti artist and rapper. At the time the track was recorded, he was still in his teens. In 2004, he recorded with Ram the sequel (Beat Bop Part 2).

Some interesting trivia covering the history of the track are the following:

- The rapping in the song is a actually a rap battle, presenting the alternate realms of two personas: the  street corner pimp (by Rammellzee) and the school boy (by K-Rob)

- Basquiat initially wanted to provide also his vocal contribution to the track, only to be rejected by the other members. Actually, he delivered the artwork for the cover and label of the vinyl, while it is debatable whether he produced the track (Ram had claimed that he supplied only the money).

- Beat Bop was released by Tartown in 1983, which was a one-off label funded by Basquiat to produce 500 units. It was re-released in the same year by Profile Records, curated by Cory Robbins.

- Due to small amount of units, the original pressings are highly sought by the collectors at huge prices. Sotheby's has sold a sealed copy in an auction at 126K USD (unbelievable!).

For additional info about Beat Bop, this link shares the view of Ram, K-Rob, Cory Robbins and Al Diaz (early collaborator of Basquiat). 

As most of hip hop listeners, I came across Beat Bop via the Street Sounds Electro compilation. The main difference from the typical hip hop sounds is the arrangement scheme; slow tempo, absence of 4 on the floor beat at various points (if my ears do not mistake me) and heavy use of sound effects (echo and reverb).

To conclude, you may listen a live version of the track (K-Rob's verses):

Tune #109: E-Razor - Mantra

Though an overlooked tune, Mantra by E-Razor belongs to the best tunes of its genre.

E-RAZOR - MANTRA

E-Razor was a music project by Oliver Laib and Martin Eyerer. The partners in crime were frequent collaborators within 1997-2003, producing under various aliases, such as Dixon Hill, Nervouz Boys, Van Helsing, among others. They surely adopted the classic convention of 90's producers by using different pseudonyms according to the music genre they represented, whether it was trance, techno or minimal!

E-Razor alias focused on the hard trance sound, flavored with acidic elements and seamlessly interchanged with different styles of trance (progressive or goa). It was also their most successful project, featured on two Global Underground mixes (Mantra in GU:007 by Paul Oakenfold and India in GU:008 by Nick Warren) and licensed in several DJ mixes and compilations.

What makes Mantra a trance masterpiece is how the deep bass is interchanged with the melancholic piano pads. Though it is a hard trance composition, it creates a feeling of calmness. Mantra was released as a single (with Yeti on the B-side) in 1997 by Technogold, a German label which re-released mostly techno and trance classics between 1997-2003.

So, what are they up to now?

Oliver Laib (often confused with fellow German Oliver Lieb) still works as a producer, but for other artists. On the other hand, Martin Eyerer is a successful label owner of Kling Klong (along with Rainer Weichhold) and a versatile composer of electronic dance music, extending his rich heritage for more than 25 years!

Tune #108: Underworld - Born Slippy

At first glance, you may believe that this post is related with the classic bomb called Born Slippy. Well, that is not exactly the case. The track that you have in mind is the NUXX version, which was and still is honored in either massive party events or local parties held in houses. I was always amazed by the catholic acceptance of this track, especially by non-listeners of electronic dance music (yeah, I know that Trainspotting movie is the reason, but its popularity is anyway remarkable).

A common misconception regarding Born Slippy is that the NUXX version is considered the original one (of course I was also a victim of this false impression). I guess that all started after the release of Trainspotting (1996), one year after the release of the track. Born Slippy was released as a single in 1995 by Junior Boy's Own. The A-side of the single is the actual original version, as presented below:

UNDERWORLD - BORN SLIPPY (ORIGINAL VERSION)

As you can listen, the composition shares no similarities with the well-known version; absence of vocals, different pounding beats and a never-ending melody are the key components that produce a techno-flavored breakbeat track, which is an absolute banger. 

It's a pity that the original version does not enjoy considerable recognition by the advocates of electronic music. However, Underworld have been compensated with commercial and artistic success with Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994), one of the most influential studio albums in electronic dance music.

Underworld exists as a group from the late 80's, led by Karl Hyde & Rick Smith and focused on synth-pop music. Partnered with DJ Darren Emerson in 1991, they changed their sound to a techno-ish dance approach and achieved huge success ever since. In 2000, Emerson retired from the group in order to spare time to DJ all over the world and run his independent label (Underwater Records). The group continues as a duo, alive and kicking with astonishing live performances.

If I am not mistaken, they were scheduled to perform in Greece the past July, but the corresponding music festival was cancelled (COVID-19 had  different plans). Their latest Greek (non-)presence was in 2007 and certainly not a pleasant one, since Rick Smith was injured by a brick! 

Let us hope their next performance would be bloodless!

Tune #107: Mama - Dancing Wheels

Following the appreciation for electro aesthetic music of Greece (as per previous post), today's track follows the same 80's vibes:

MAMA - DANCING WHEELS

"Δεν κατάλαβα, γιατί μας την βγαίνετε έτσι άγαρμπα;"

Mama is an alias of Manolis Zografakis, an electronic music producer with Cretan heritage. His first encounter with music was in 2000, when he was a guitar player for punk rock band Squareheads. Amazed by the unlimited boundaries of electronic music, he began composing his first tracks varying different styles (from tech-house to downtempo electronica). In the meantime, he performed as a DJ in several nightclubs of Athens. In 2006, he drew the attention of Greek label The Sound Of Everything, which curated the Hellectronic compilation, featuring the newcomers in electronic and dance scene of Greece. Mama contributed to the compilation with his track Have A Nice Trip. 

Two years later, the label released his first studio album called Blue. While the album presents in general a deep-house orientation, several elements from other music genres are blended together (minimal techno, IDM, tech-house and progressive house) to create a diverse output, which was well received by the public.

At the same period (according to Manolis), he composed two electro-flavored tracks for a new EP (1985 and Dancing Wheels), heavily inspired by the 80's culture (traces for his nostalgia can also be found in album track For The 80's). The EP was previously unreleased, until he uploaded the two tracks a few months ago in his Bandcamp page. The second track (presented today) includes rough electro beats & cold basslines, combined with vocal excerpts from Greek 80's movie "Όταν Οι Ρόδες Χορεύουν" ("When Wheels Dance" -> "Dancing Wheels"). Even the video clip, which features edited scenes from the movie, transforms the naive style of the direct-to-video film to a dark punk motion picture.

Unfortunately, Manolis Zografakis has not released any new material (at least under this alias). During the last years he has been focused on Digital Marketing and Creative Strategy through his main project Broke In London. However, his latest audiovisual touch is a neat example of the 80's revival music.

Tune #106: ΦΩΝΟΠΤΙΚΟΝ - Απόδραση

During the last years, the resurgence of the electro/synthwave music is eminent in Greece. Music projects like ΗΧΟΤΟΠίΑ and Blakaut have produced interesting albums, blending electronic music with vocal samples from old Greek films. In my opinion, one of the driving forces for this electro shift is Stefanos Konstantidis, a veteran Greek producer/mix engineer, known since the 90's through his aliases DJ Stefan & Electroware. 

Stefanos' engagement with music started in 1990, participating in the indie rock group Groove Machine. Since then, he has released several releases and remixes, demonstrating his craftsmanship both as a composer and producer. His musical background is diverse since he has studied classical piano & harmony at the National Music Conservatoire and he enhanced his technical knowledge attending Philippos Nakas School in Greece & Berklee School of Music in USA. Following his engineering duties at DSP Lab, a recording studio in Athens, he established his own (named Fabrika Studio) along with Nassos Sopilis & Dimitri Papaioannou.

Stefanos has also followed the experimental side of music as a member of Drog_A_Tek, a collective that was established in 2001 in Athens. Besides him, the group included throughout the years the following members:

- Giorgos Konstantinidis (Voltnoi Brege)

- Dimitris Emmanouil (Paranormale)

- Makis Kentepozidis (Quetempo)

- Thaleia Ioannidou (S.T.M.C.)

- Antonis Vlastos (Monochrome)

- Kostas Pantelis (Koke Nunu Fossa)

His latest solo alias is ΦΩΝόΠΤΙΚΟΝ, which is inspired by the space-punk philosophy of retro science-fiction films. Today's track is one of his latest compositions, named Απόδραση (i.e. Escape), influenced by the cult classic film Escape From New York:

ΦΩΝΟΠΤΙΚΟΝ - ΑΠΟΔΡΑΣΗ

Bonus track: The Electroware remix of TXC - Η Γεύση Του Μένους is a classic!

Label Realm: progHead memoirs

Letter H is filled with nostalgia, as it features strictly labels from the 90's!

Hard Hands was the home for production duo Leftfield, the purveyors of progressive house music! It was established in 1992 by Neil Barnes & Paul Daley. Their first releases were featured in short-lived label Outer Rhythm. The closure of the company was the starting point for the creation of Hard Hands label, under which two seminal studio albums were released (Leftism - Rhythm And Stealth).

It is certainly one of my favorite record labels of all time. Harthouse was set-up in 1992 by Heinz Roth, Matthias Hoffman & Sven Väth in Offenbach. From 1992 until 1997 it was sub-label of Eye Q Records (the former focused on harder & more minimalistic sound, while the latter hosted more commercial releases). Undoubtedly, it defined the "Sound Of Frankfurt", which was a harder but danceable version of Trance; Hard House or Harthouse. As per Eye Q, the music producers Ralf Hildenbeutel, Matthias Hoffman & Steffen Britzke (along with the artistic force of Papa Sven) were responsible under various aliases for several techno-infused trance tracks, some of which are considered classics nowadays. The popularity of the label led to the creation of foreign departments; Harthouse UK in England, distributed by Rising High (of the late Caspar Pound) and Harthouse America in US, licensed through Moonshine Music. In 1997, the mother company faced hard times, since Sven Väth left the label due to artistic discrepancies and a few months later it went bankrupt. One year later, the company rights were acquired by UCMG, while in 2004 the company was absorbed by Daredo Media. In 2017, the company UCM.ONE took over the label and all rights from Daredo. In my opinion, all the acquisitions should be credited to Joachim Keil, since he was associated with all three companies at some point. The last years the label hosts the trance veterans D3R (Der Dritte Raum).

Meet the Hoojman! Hooj Records was launched in 1991 by Jerry Dickens (aka Red Jerry) and Phil Howells (who left the label after its 4th release). The label is mostly known for several progressive house & trance classics, although it featured throughout the years several music genres (latin balearic sound, tribal house, deep tech house & electro disco tracks). The success of the company in the European dance scene was suspended in 2003 due to bankruptcy. In 2006 the company returned under the same management as Lost Language; the latter was initially a trance offshoot label of Hooj. However, the label company was dissolved in 2010. Four years later, Hooj Choons re-emerged for licensing rights of the back catalog. The iconic logo of the company, the Hoojman, was conceived by Phil's girlfriend at the time, as Red Jerry has mentioned in one of his latest interviews.

Heat Recordings is a London-based label with its first release traced back to 1996. During the second half of the 90's it licensed releases for Moonman (one of Ferry Corsten's early aliases) and Mothers Pride (Andy Cocup of the Groove Armada fame and Anselm Guise). The Big C remix of Mothers Pride - Floribunda remains one of the most epic tracks I have ever heard!

Hi Life Recordings was an imprint of Polydor Records from 1995 until 2000. While the label was mostly known for releasing Fatboy Slim's remix of Wildchild - Renegade Master, which sold numerous physical copies, I learned the label through Nick Bracegirdle's early remixes; his rework on BBG - Just Be Tonight is still memorable.

Tune #105: Rabbit In The Moon - Deeper

Rabbit In The Moon is an American electronic music group that was established in 1992 by David Christophere (Confucius), Steven R. McClure (DJ Monk) and Steve Eachon (Bunny). The group represented the Florida breaks scene of the 90's along with DJs Kimball Collins & Chris Fortier.

RITM rose to prominence with the dancefloor classic O.B.E. (Out-Of-Body Experience), which was released in 1993 by Hallucination, an indie label set-up by Confucius & Monk for releasing their output. The track was later featured in various DJ mix CDs (with Northern Exposure being the most important one) and was also licensed to west coast label Hardkiss (East meets West) with new remixes. After 1994, they broke the American barriers and reached the European electronic music scene, performing remix duties for Orbital, Goldie, Cosmic Baby and Sarah McLachlan. Additionally, they collaborated with German group Humate (then consisted of Gerret Frerichs & Patrick Kjonberg) for the 4-tracker Hemispheres E.P. The success of the EP produced an additional release with remixes for one of the tracks-hemispheres (East).

Today's track is a B-side taken from a purple-tinted vinyl, released by Hallucination in limited edition. Deeper is a hypnotic breakbeat track that includes the representative breaks sound of RITM. Firstly exposed to it via Chicane's comp CD, it is certainly not a track to pass through. A nice trivia of Deeper is that it features a slowed down sample of Kate Bush vocals, taken from her song And Dream Of Sheep.

RABBIT IN THE MOON - DEEPER

In 2002 Monk leaves the group, which continues to exist till this day as duo (Confucius & Bunny). While I am not familiar with their latest sound, it seems that their live performances are very intense and cinematic, a sight worth seeing!

P.S. I'm weak so let me sleep and dream of sheep...