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...

Tune #103: Effective Force ‎– Diamond Bullet

There are many electronic music labels that gained fame through their active years, but only a few can be considered landmarks in the history of electronic dance sound, paving the way for new boundaries in music culture. One is of them is undoubtedly MFS, an independent EDM label set up in 1990 by Mark Reeder, a legendary figure shaping the trance sound.

The label is mostly known for hosting artists such as Cosmic Baby (Harald Blüchel), Paul Van Dyk and Humate (Gerret Frerichs & Hans-Georg Schmidt). However, it is worth tracking down the first releases, in which the today's gem is found.

EFFECTIVE FORCE - DIAMOND BULLET (BEYOND JUDGEMENT)



Effective Force was the collaboration effort between Johnny Klimek and Paul Browse, two foreigners in Berlin city.

Johnny Klimek is an music composer and producer of Australian decent, born in 1962 in Melboure. At 21 year old age, he moved to Berlin, where he founded the pop rock band The Other Ones with his siblings Jayney and Alf. In 1987, he set up his own studio for his solo productions and remixes. During the first half of the 90's he was active in the Berlin underground electronic scene through his productions with Paul Browse. From 1997 until today he focused on film scoring and he is a frequent collaborator to composer Reinhold Heil and director Tom Tykwer (on films such as Run Lola Run and Cloud Atlas).

Paul Browse is also a music composer and producer, of different descent though. Born in 1959 in Sheffield, he was influenced at an early age by frequency modulation and the penetrating power of sound through the struggle of his deaf aunt and her hearing aid device. In 1980 he became a member of Clock DVA, an industrial, post-punk and EBM group, founded by Adolphus "Adi" Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. In 1989 he left England and the Sheffield-based band to start a new life in Berlin, in search of the city's underground. He extensively worked with Johnny Klimek under various aliases (System 01, 03, Effective Force as a duo and Holy Language along with Dr. Motte) until 1997, when Klimek followed a different direction in film scoring. His last traces in music production are found in 2004 (according to Discogs), questioning whether he is active or not.

The well-known production of the duo was Illuminate The Planet (1993) as Effective Force, not in its original version, but by the World Order Remixes of Paul Van Dyk and Dr. Motte. This post however pays homage to their second release under this alias; Diamond Bullet is a 4th tracker that indicates the dark and hypnotic feel of the early trance records. Heavily based on sampling, it blends perfectly with the Horror Monologue of Marlon Brando in film Apocalypse Now.

EFFECTIVE FORCE - DIAMOND BULLET (WILL IN POWER)


EFFECTIVE FORCE - DIAMOND BULLET (RITUAL)


EFFECTIVE FORCE - DIAMOND BULLET (NIGHTHAWK)


Electronic music needs guys like Johnny Klimek and Paul Browse back (unfortunately, a not likely scenario...)

Tune #97: Transform - Transformation

What I like most in early trance releases is the hypnotic deep melodies and beats. Primitive, yet innovative compositions create a trippy experience, set free from the formula that was adopted years later in the trance genre. One perfect example is Transformation by Transform!

TRANSFORM - TRANSFORMATION (CLUB MIX)


I was not aware of the track, until I found and bought the compilation Logic Trance 2, a collection of early 90's trance, techno and ambient compositions. The collection was curated by Logic Records, a German label set-up by Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti, commonly known as the production force behind Snap!. The label also served as the production home for Cosmic Baby (Harald Blüchel), after his first years in the legendary MFS.

Behind the Transform alias you can find German producers Ralf Hertwig and Tommi Eckart. Both of them have been active since the early eighties, being members of new wave/punk bands in Germany. Between the late 80's and early 90's, they were involved in various electronic music acts (Marathon, Pulse, Caesar, Time Unlimited), following the dance craze of acid music that emerged since the second summer of love. Their only collaboration occurred only for one officially released EP by Cyclotron, a short-lived label in Frankfurt.

While the EP was successful (with several releases and licensing from other labels), the two members did not join forces again for the production of new material. One interesting fact for the EP is that Resistance D (Pascal F.E.O.S. and Maik Maurice) assisted in the realization of the project, since they were credited as co-producers in the release.

Listening to Transformation, you can realize that the hypnotic groove and the trance pads accompanied by the haunted woman chants are sufficient for a solid early trance release. The origin of the vocal sample is not verified, but the voice is reminiscent of Jane Fonda's (possibly extracted from Barbarella film).

Finally, if you think that the woman chants are familiar, then you may have listened to classic trance track La by Marc Et Claude, with remixes by the big players of the trance era (Ferry Corsten, Taucher, Binary Finary, Lange, Van Bellen).

MARC ET CLAUDE - LA (ORIGINAL MIX)

Tune #22: Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar

Αν κάποιο τραγούδι μπορεί να κονταροχτυπηθεί με την Stella των Jam & Spoon για το απόλυτο κομμάτι της (balearic) trance, είναι το Cafe Del Mar από τους Energy 52...

ENERGY 52 - CAFE DEL MAR (DJ KID PAUL MIX)

ENERGY 52 - CAFE DEL MAR (COSMIC BABY'S IMPRESSION)

Οι Energy 52 ήταν μία εφήμερη συνεργασία των Γερμανών Cosmic Baby (aka Harald Blüchel) και Kid Paul (aka Paul Schmitz Moorman) . O Cosmic Baby είναι δημοφιλής DJ, ο οποίος ξεκίνησε τη μουσική του καριέρα το 1988 (σε ηλικία 25 χρονών) και έχει συνεργαστεί με παραγωγούς όπως ο Paul Van Dyk και ο Christopher von Deylen. Την ίδια χρονιά έκανε το ντεμπούτο του και ο Kid Paul, σε αρκετά μικρότερη ηλικία όμως (13 χρονών).

Οι Energy 52 δημιουργήθηκαν το 1991. Παρά τη μεγάλη τους διαφορά ηλικιακά (12 χρόνια), η συνεργασία τους είχε ως αποτέλεσμα το Cafe Del Mar, το οποίο είναι το πιο αναγνωρίσιμο τραγούδι στο χώρο της trance. Το γεγονός αυτό το μαρτυρά και η ύπαρξη των πολλαπλών remixes που έχουν κυκλοφορήσει, official και bootlegs (είναι άλλωστε το τραγούδι με τα περισσότερα remixes στην ιστορία της trance).

Το κομμάτι προφανώς πήρε το όνομά του από το ομώνυμο chill out bar της Ibiza. Όταν πρωτοκυκλοφόρησε (1993), δεν έτυχε τόσο μεγάλης αναγνώρισης. Ο καιρός της καταξίωσης ήρθε το 1996, όταν κυκλοφόρησε το πασίγνωστο remix από τους Three 'N' One. Αυτό το remix μαζί με αυτό του Michael Woods, αποτελούν ίσως τις καλύτερες ερμηνείες του Cafe Del Mar από άλλους καλλιτέχνες, καθώς το πρώτο πραγματικά απογείωσε το τραγούδι, ενώ το δεύτερο δημιούργησε μία εκπληκτική αίσθηση από pure ambience...

ENERGY 52 - CAFE DEL MAR (THREE 'N' ONE MIX)

ENERGY 52 - CAFE DEL MAR (MICHAEL WOODS REMIX)


Προσωπικά, τα Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar, Jam & Spoon - Stella, Humate - Love Stimulation και Chicane - Offshore (η σειρά τυχαία) είναι τα αγαπημένα μου τραγούδια από την trance (cliche αλλά μεγάλη αλήθεια...).

Υ.Γ.1: Απορώ πώς δεν αναρτήθηκε νωρίτερα το Cafe Del Mar...
Υ.Γ.2: Καλή χρονιά σε όλους και ευτυχισμένο το 2011!!!