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 #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...

Label Realm: music haBits

Off to letter B:

Baroque Records was founded in 2000 by Keith McDonnel (Innate) and Mick Parks (member of Tilt and Parks & Wilson projects). Oriented towards the progressive side of EDM, it hosted the first releases of Leama and Andy Moor, with occasional appearances by Tilt and Quivver. The label continues to exist in digital format.

Barely Breaking Even started in 1993 as an idea of Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly, in order to promote parties in the local scene of UK. Three years later, the homonymous label was created, releasing compilation albums from various genres. While it is mostly known for comps by hip-hop DJs, my contact with the label was through the third installment of City 2 City series by DJ Deep (a brief review of a track included in this part may be found here), a tribute to Detroit/New York/Chicago house scene.

Bedrock is the alias of the progressive house/trance duo Nick Muir and John Digweed. They have produced several anthems under the alias, such as For What You Dream Of... (1993) and Heaven Scent (1999). In 1999, they established Bedrock Records, releasing high quality tracks by prominent artists. The golden age of Greek progressive house can be detected in the releases between 2000-2006, by Stelios Vassiloudis (Stel), John Douskos (Dousk) and George Pallikaris (G-Pal).
The high standards of the label are maintained till this very day, especially by Diggers' Live At series.

Black Hole Recordings was set up by Arny Bink and DJ Tiësto in 1997. In 2009, Tiësto sold his part of the company to Arny, making the latter the head honcho of the label. I was never a fan of Tiësto's DJ output (with some exceptions) and the Dutch "Supersaw" trance sound in general. However, the first releases (Magik/In Trance We Trust series) are very solid. The label continues releasing new material, under the supervision of Arny.

Bonzai Records is a seminal label that shaped the dance scene of Belgium since the early nineties, releasing material in Hardcore, Techno, Progressive Trance and Hard Trance. It was founded in 1992 by Christian Pieters (DJ Fly) as a sublabel of Lightning Records. On March 2003, the mother company faced hard times, as it went bankrupt. However, the Bonzai label was re-launched 2 months later under the Banshee Worx company, along with Marnik Braeckevelt (Marnix B), who served as A&R of Lightning Records, and DJs Yves Deruyter & Laurent Véronnez.
As an incurable proghead, I was mostly into the progressive sound of things, presented by Bonzai Progressive (one of the many Bonzai sublabels). Artists like Yves Deruyter, Laurent Véronnez (Airwave/Lolo/Velvet Girl), Mike Dierickx (Push/Plastic Boy/Solar Factor), Philippe Van Mullem, DJ Phi-Phi and Jurgen Leyers (DJ Fire) rocked the Belgian and European dance floors with their music!

Tune #90: Chris Raven - I Know You Love Me Too!

A few days ago I accidentally came across the original version of track I Know You Love Me Too! by German producer Chris Raven (Chris Raabe).

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (ORIGINAL MIX)


BIO (an "improvised" German to English translation, taken from this Facebook page)

Chris Raven was born in 1972. His first contact with electronic music can be traced back to the start of the 90's in Solingen, a German city. There, he established his first residency at the Orange Club. During his tenure at the club, he organised electronic music events with other known DJs, like Westbam, DJ Dick and Steve Mason. Soon, he attracted the attention of Adam & Eve records, for which he would be become the label DJ, with appearances at Berlin's Love Parade and Zürich's Street Parade. He continued to spin records not only in other places of Germany, but also in Holland and Belgium.

In 1996, he collaborated in the studio with Bart Van Der Zwaan and Dr Logatec (editor's note: For some reason, I am not sure if Dr Logatec is a different person or an alias of Chris Raabe) for the production of his first track named I Know You Love Me Too!, which was released one year later by Electronic, an EMI sublabel. The track gained so much popularity, that it was licensed by important EDM labels, like Bonzai Records in Belgium and Additive in England, while it was canned by superstar DJs of this era (Paul Oakenfold, Sasha & John Digweed), reaching as classic status among clubbers.

Between the period 1999-2003, 3 additional EPs followed:
- I Lost You (2000)
- Smegma / Nevermore (2001)
- Loss Of Memory (2003)

Along to his original productions, he was involved in remix duties for other artists. Major League - Wonder/Wonder Where You Are? (a collab between Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren) and Gaia - 4 Elements (project of AVB) are the most known to be mentioned.

Until 2014, he was a regular DJ for Familiär Statt Populär parties held at Orange Club in Düsseldorf (editor's note: Likewise, I am not aware if it is the same club moved from Solingen to Düsseldorf or a new, different place). Mixing techno, prog and house music, he continues to mark his presence at the clubbing scene.

[End of "improvisation"]


Three remixes have accompanied the original version of today's track, all released in 1997. The version by Van Bellen is a multi-layered production: a 4x4 beat, a 303-esque acid bassline and the seductive vocals lead to the main hook, composing a banging dark progressive trance stomper.

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (VAN BELLEN REMIX)


The second remix is created by Bruce Norris. It is less sophisticated, but the emotional trance pads, which the version is based on, generate an uplifting feeling with greater emphasis on the vocal sample:

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (BRUCE NORRIS REMIX)


The last (and the lesser known) remix is provided by Dr. Logatec with the epic-like pads:

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (DR. LOGATEC REMIX)



I have in my possession the Additive vinyl, which features the Bruce Norris/Van Bellen remixes. Based on my current mood, I select the appropriate side of the vinyl!

Tune #87: KiNK - Cloud Generator

Dope Generator!

KINK - CLOUD GENERATOR


One of 2015's strongest releases was delivered by producer Strahil Velchev, hailing from the Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. Currently, he is considered one of the top live acts, a fact which is not strange for a synth and machine aficionado. However, his road to glory was not an easy one...

Mr. Velchev's musical background was shaped by the explosion of house & techno music of the early 90s, supported by pirate cassette tapes that circulated the country after the collapse of communism. His first attempt on music production started in 1999, performed on a simple computer system due to weak financial viability for more sophisticated hardware.

In 2001, he teamed up will fellow Bulgarians KEi, SuB & Ogonek, in order to create pBPM (porno bpm), aiming to push the boundaries of club culture and to promote the different genres of electronic dance music. One year later, a promo CD was released in Bulgaria, consisting of the first works of the group members.

The first production years (until 2005) were not fruitful for Strahil, since no label was interested in signing his tracks. This inactivity caused him to feel isolated from the wider techno culture, but it also fueled him for a more creative output in his future works.

In 2006, KiNK discovered that UK DJ and producer Neville Watson had included his track Same Old Thing in his DJ sets. As a result, the two guys communicated and exchanged tracks via social media, since they shared the same taste in music. Two years later, their first collaborative work Inside Out appeared in Hour House Is Your Rush Records. The funny thing about this story is that they did not actually met each other until 2010, in order to perform as a DJ duo in an electronic music event.

KiNK's greatest success to date is the today's post; Cloud Generator was created in an indeliberate manner during a rehearsal for a live show. The combination of a turntable loop and a bassline forged a strong techno track, which led to an EP release by German label Running Back in 2015. Needless to say that the influence from Laurent Garnier's trademark sound is evident throughout the track. Supported by notable DJs around the world (Laurent Garnier, Dixon, Andrew Weatherall & John Digweed to name a few), KiNK's sound has made its mark to the club scene. Besides Cloud Generator, the homonymous EP is worth listening, especially for the arpeggio of Pocket Piano's two versions, which creates a nostalgic tone.

A side-project of Strahil Velchev is Cyrillic (or Kirilik), which is more techno-oriented and limited in terms of gear; while KiNK live sets involves various digital, analog and DJ equipment, Cyrillic sound is based on a standard DJ setup. Hopefully, the current year will find the first release of his other alias!

Tune #82: Young American Primitive - Sunrise

Do you remember Greg Scanavino?

YOUNG AMERICAN PRIMITIVE - SUNRISE


Mostly known as Young American Primitive, Greg Scanavino was a member of the west coast breaks scene that emerged in the early nineties from the Bay Area. In 1992, he released his homonymous EP at ZoëMagik Records, a indie label that focused on the native electronic sound of San Francisco. The first album followed one year later, showcasing his initial musical ideas. His music appeared in several compilations and caught the eye (or ear!) of DJ superstars Sasha & Digweed, resulting to the inclusion of track These Waves in mix album Northern Exposure, released in 1996.

In the same year Geffen Records signed Scanavino for the production of his second album African Cosmopolitan. In late 1997, some promos were circulated but Geffen never officially released the album and apparently YAP parted ways with the company!

In 2001 he made a brief return to music production, in order to fulfill his remix duties for artists like Pole Folder, Anthony Pappa & Barry Gilbey. Additionally, he collaborated with east coast DJ Jimmy Van M & Terra Deva for the production of track Forget Time. Possibly frustrated by the strategic movies of large music companies and in search of artistic freedom, he created his own label YAPLAB Recordings in 2005, a joint venture with Jonathan Lisle, who worked as A&R manager for Bedrock records.

In 2010 he released via digital format the "lost" second album, which unfortunately did not share the same quality with his first one. His last traces are found in 2012, when he released the comp CD Continuing Transmission, which featured old & new material...

Back to the posted track: Sunrise is obviously part of the first album and represents the signature sound of YAP. The main synth melody accompanied with the driving minimal effects create a calming experience (best served when stranded in space).

Trivia: the vocal sample "You know what's worrying me Stu? No, Jory what's worrying you? Miss Christian, I never told her my name" is taken from the episode It Cralwed Out Of The Woodwork of the TV Show The Outer Limits (1963).

A pinch of Greek electronic music

As already stated in a previous blog post, progressive house & trance were blooming all around the world at the end of the previous century until the mid 00's. Sasha & John Digweed hammered the dance floor of Twilo in New York circa 1998-2001. The success of Global Underground mix CDs, which were circulating in music stores and P2P programs, championed the prog music to the masses (including myself). 

Meanwhile in Greece, there was only a handful of radio stations, which broadcast exclusively electronic music tracks. A personal favorite from my youth years was Liquid FM, although I should mention that I was never a fanatic radio listener. My first encounters with EDM were through Paul Oakenfold Essential mixes that existed in Napster.

Following the trend of prog music, mid 00's was also a fruitful period for Greek artists in the area of EDM. One of the first examples is George Pallikaris, a.k.a. G-Pal. Although he started with more tech and deep house sounds, he released his fifth EP in Bedrock Records (2001), showcasing his first takes on progressive house. Very soon, he developed from an rising artist into a popular DJ and producer, with successful releases, such as Ocean Of Blue (2002) and Ophra (2003).

At the same time, many young talents emerged in the scene, including Stelios Vassiloudis, Kosmas Efstratiou, Christian Cambas, Giannis Douskos and Nikos Galatsopoulos. All of them appeared in an essential Greek compilation CD, Local Underground, paving the way for progressive house music. The prog craze was everywhere. The most popular Greek radio station for electronic music, Best Radio 92.6, was musically oriented on this genre, while having the support of the affiliated label Klik Records. The dancefloors of the Greek night clubs were full of clubbers dancing to the tunes of this era.

EDM has surely changed a lot since then. Progressive house is not considered "hot" now, surrendering its place to other music genres, like deep/tech house and techno. Obviously, the same pattern applies in Greece. There is nothing wrong with that, cause it's all about good music, not music styles. However, I am very curious to listen to the upcoming album of Way Out West and how Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff (masters of progressive house) evolved through these years!

Tune #69: Hydrogen Rockers - Musica

Dark - Tribal - Pounding: Η συνταγή των κομματιών που χρησιμοποίησε κατά κόρον ο John Digweed στα DJ sets των '00s. Κλασικό παράδειγμα το Musica!

HYDROGEN ROCKERS - MUSICA (HYDROGEN DUB)


Τα "musica" (και όχι βιολογικά!) αδέρφια Paul Harris και Ben Harris μεγάλωσαν στην περιοχή του Kent, έχοντας όμως διαφορετικό υπόβαθρο. O Paul απέκτησε νωρίς το μικρόβιο της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής, όντας DJ από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του 90. Από την άλλη πλευρά, ο Ben ξεκίνησε να παίζει κιθάρα σε ένα indie rock συγκρότημα, μέσω του οποίου κατάφερε να βγάλει το πρώτο του demo και να ασχοληθεί με την ηχοληψία. Η τελευταία τον ώθησε πιο κοντά στον κόσμο της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής και στο άνοιγμα δισκοπωλείου στο Bromley του Kent.

Το δισκοπωλείο έμελλε να είναι το σημείο συνάντησης των 2 προσώπων. Η δημοτικότητα της house στα 90's συνέβαλε στην πώληση δίσκων του είδους σε εκκολαπτόμενους DJs, ένας από τους οποίους ήταν ο Paul. Το κοινό τους ενδιαφέρον στη μουσική είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την δημιουργία των Hydrogen Rockers. Έτσι, η πρώτη τους δουλειά με αυτό το alias ήταν ένα remake του κομματιού Blackout από τον Lil' Louis, η οποία κυκλοφόρησε το 2000.

Τον Απρίλιο του επόμενου χρόνου εμφανίστηκε το Musica από την λονδρέζικη δισκογραφική εταιρεία Plastica των Enzo Amico και Johnny Orange. Το σκοτεινό bassline και τα φωνητικά της ισπανόφωνης Mayte κάνουν την διαφορά και παράγουν έναν tribal δυναμίτη! Το κομμάτι έγινε γνωστό στο μουσικό κοινό με την εμφάνισή του στο GU019 mix του John Digweed, το οποίο κυκλοφόρησε επίσης την ίδια χρονιά! To 2002 οι Deep Dish ζήτησαν από τους 2 παραγωγούς την δημιουργία νέων versions. Έτσι, στην Shinichi (θυγατρικό label της Yoshitoshi) κυκλοφόρησαν 2 νέα remixes των αρχικών vocal και dub versions.

Το 2001 κυκλοφόρησε επίσης η μεγαλύτερη επιτυχία των "Dirty Harries", η οποία είναι το Days Go By, σε συνεργασία με τον percussionist και τραγουδιστή Steve Smith, ο οποίος ήταν και αυτός κάτοικος της περιοχής του Kent. Η τριάδα δημιούργησε το σχήμα Dirty Vegas, το οποίο απαριθμεί μέχρι τις μέρες μας 4 studio albums. Η επιτυχία του Days Go By ήταν τόσο μεγάλη, ώστε η Mitsubishi το ζήτησε για να το χρησιμοποιήσει σε μία διαφήμιση του αυτοκινήτου Eclipse!

Tune #56: Van Bellen - Groovepalette

Ο Γερμανός Jörg Querner, γνωστός ως (Yoogie Van Bellen), ανήκει στην τρομερή φουρνιά της progressive trance μεταξύ τέλη 90's - αρχές 00's, μιας εποχής που παρήγαγε καταιγιστικά κομμάτια (όπως το Breeder - Tyrantanic που αναρτήθηκε παλαιότερα). Κινούμενο σε αυτά τα πλαίσια, το Music Miner παρουσιάζει το Soul Feel Groovepalette!

VAN BELLEN - GROOVEPALETTE


Το μουσικό υπόβαθρο του Yoogie περιλαμβάνει διάφορα ακούσματα, όπως οι πρωτοπόροι Pink Floyd, Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk (από τα 70s), disco και soul (από τα 80s), καθώς και italo dance και hip hop. Μεγάλη επιρροή σύμφωνα με τα λεγόμενά του αποτελεί το συγκρότημα Art Of Noise, ένα από τα πρώτα μουσικά σχήματα που χρησιμοποίησε το sampling σε pop μουσική.

Το DJing και η παραγωγή μουσικής ξεκίνησε σε ερασιτεχνικό στάδιο στο δεύτερο μισό της δεκαετίας του 80. Ολοκληρώντας τις επαγγελματικές του σπουδές το 1994, η χρονιά ορόσημο αποτέλεσε 3 χρόνια αργότερα, όταν συνεργάστηκε με τους Harry Kane & Andreas Bialek, οι οποίοι δεν είναι άλλοι από τους Nalin & Kane.

Στο label τους, Superfly, κυκλοφόρησε το 1997 η πρώτη παραγωγή του Van Bellen με την ονομασία Let Me Take You (On A Journey). Την ίδια χρόνια οι Nalin & Kane του δάνεισαν τον κομμάτι τους Talkin' About για remixing.

Το χρονικό διάστημα 1997 - 2004 αποτελεί την χρυσή εποχή για τον Yoogie, καθώς κυκλοφόρησαν κομμάτια όπως:

• Saint & Sinners - Pushin' Too Hard (σε συνεργασία με τον Wilfried Belz)
• Saint & Sinners - Pacific High
• Power Dove - September Soul (σε συνεργασία με τον John Johnson)
• Breeder - New York FM (remix)
• DJ Sakin & Friends - Protect Your Mind (remix)
• John Johnson - I Want Your (remix)

τα οποία χρησιμοποιήθηκαν κατά κόρον από τους Sasha & Digweed, προμοτάροντας τον ήχο της progressive trance.

Στην ίδια κατεύθυνση κυμαίνεται και το Soul Feel, το οποίο κυκλοφόρησε το 2000 στο βρετανικό label Beak Recordings. Την επόμενη χρονιά το κομμάτι συμπεριλήφθηκε στο Bedrock DJ Mix του Jimmy Van M, κάνοντας το ευρύτερα γνωστό στο κοινό της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής.

Πραγματοποιώντας ένα διάλειμμα μεταξύ 2005 - 2011, ο Jörg Querner επέστρεψε στη δράση με μουσικές στο φάσμα της progressive house. Μπορεί αυτές να μην προσεγγίζουν τα πρότυπα της χρυσής εποχής, αλλά ένα είναι σίγουρο: o Van Bellen έχει στο παλμαρέ του μία πληθώρα από σπουδαίες δουλειές και θα έπρεπε να τυγχάνει μεγαλύτερης αναγνώρισης...

Tune #39: Circulation - Turquoise

Σε προηγούμενη ανάρτηση είχα αναφερθεί στην τωρινή μόδα της deep house / tech-house. Ήρθε η ώρα να δώσω και ένα παράδειγμα, στο οποίο η tech-house προσφέρει ένα πραγματικά δυνατό κομμάτι:

CIRCULATION - TURQUOISE (ORIGINAL MIX)


Οι Circulation είναι οι Βρετανοί Matthew Jackson και Paul Davis. Γνωρίστηκαν το 1996 σε ένα δισκοπωλείο και από το 1998 κυκλοφόρησαν οι πρώτες του παραγωγές με αυτό το ψευδώνυμο. Είναι ιδιαίτερα γνωστοί για τα "χρωματιστά" κομμάτια τους, καθώς αυτά έχουν ονοματιστεί σύμφωνα με διάφορες αποχρώσεις. Τα περισσότερα από αυτά κυκλοφόρησαν μέσω των 2 studio albums τους, Colours (2000) και Colours 2 (2003), τα οποία αποτελούν ορόσημα της tech-house. Αυτό βέβαια δεν σημαίνει ότι οι παραγωγές τους περιορίζονται στο συγκεκριμένο μουσικό είδος, αφού τα κομμάτια τους είναι επιτυχημένα μείγματα από ambient, groovy, funky και techy γνωρίσματα.

Η μουσική τους έγινε σύντομα γνωστή στα αυτιά φημισμένων DJs (Sasha, John Digweed, Danny Howells, Steve Lawler), οπότε ήταν αναμενόμενο να ακουστεί σε πολυάριθμα sets. Βέβαια, και οι live εμφανίσεις των ίδιων των Circulation ήταν ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέρουσες (όπως το Essential Mix της 01/04/2002).

Το 2005 φαίνεται ότι ο Matt Jackson αποχώρησε από το σχήμα, οπότε το alias συνεχίστηκε (κυρίως σε remixes άλλων κομματιών) από τον Paul Davis.

Το Turquoise είναι το πιο γνωστό κομμάτι των Circulation (έχει άλλωστε τα περισσότερα releases). Κυκλοφόρησε αρχικά το 1999 σε βινύλιο, ενώ το 2000 αποτέλεσε τμήμα του πρώτου τους album. Η μουσική του δίνει την αίσθηση ενός παγωμένου τοπίου, το οποίο είναι ταυτόχρονα ήρεμο, βαθύ και σκοτεινό.

Το 2012 ανακατασκευάστηκε ως remix από τον tech-house παραγωγό Guy J. Η εκδοχή αυτή μπορεί να φαίνεται πιο φρέσκια και συμβατή με τα δεδομένα της σημερινής εποχής, αλλά δεν φτάνει σε καμία περίπτωση τoν υψηλό πήχη της original version...

CIRCULATION - TURQUOISE (GUY J REMIX)


Συνοψίζοντας, ένα πράγμα μπορούμε να πούμε με σιγουριά: αν τα χρώματα είχαν φωνή, αυτή θα ήταν τα κομμάτια των Circulation!

Tune #37: Blue Amazon - And Then The Rain Falls

Λένε "Όσο ζεις μαθαίνεις." και έχουν δίκιο. Πριν ένα μήνα αγόρασα μία "χούφτα" CDs, ένα από τα οποία ήταν το Javelin από Βlue Amazon. Μέσα σε αυτό το album βρίσκεται το τραγούδι And Then The Rain Falls...

BLUE AMAZON - AND THEN THE RAIN FALLS (BLUE AMAZON ORIGINAL MIX)


Το μουσικό project Blue Amazon δημιουργήθηκε  το 1993 στο West Yorkshire του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου από τον Lee Softley και τον James Reid. Οι δυο τους γνωρίστηκαν στο studio ήχου "Beaumont St", που βρίσκεται στο Huddersfield. O James εργαζόταν εκεί ως τεχνικός ήχου για ντόπιους καλλιτέχνες, ενώ ο Lee εργαζόταν ως DJ στην περιοχή και πειραματιζόταν με την ηχογράφηση στο studio. Περισσότερα για την ιστορία του group υπάρχουν εδώ. Το 2000 ο James
αποχώρησε λόγω σοβαρών (προσωπικών και καλλιτεχνικών) διαφωνιών και έτσι το σχήμα συνεχίστηκε εξ ολοκλήρου από τον Lee.

Η μουσική τους αναδεικνύει την πρωτόλεια μορφή της progressive house, η οποία χαρακτηριζόταν από μία μουσική πρόοδο (progression) ανάμεσα σε μελωδίες και μπασογραμμές. Ο όρος επινοήθηκε το 1992 από τον συντάκτη Dom Phillips του περιοδικού Mixmag. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, τα κομμάτια τους ανήκουν στην εξέλιξη της prog house, που ονομάστηκε (πάλι από Dom Phillips) epic house λόγω της μεγάλης διάρκειας των κομματιών (άνω των 10 λεπτών), για τη δημιουργία μίας επικής ατμόσφαιρας.

Η progressive house ήταν πολύ δημοφιλής στην πρώτη πενταετία των 90's. Ειδικότερα, το 1992 άνοιξε στο Mansfield το γνωστό πλέον Renaissance, στο οποίο ήταν DJs οι Sasha & John Digweed, παγιώνοντας το μουσικό είδος στη συνείδηση των clubbers της εποχής. Ειδική μνεία (ίσως και σε ξεχωριστή δημοσίευση) πρέπει να γίνει στο Renaissance: The Mix Collection (1994) από τους ίδιους DJs, ένα 3-CD-mix-compilation που αντανακλούσε τα ακούσματα εκείνης της περιόδου.

Επηρεασμένοι από την τάση της εποχής, ο Softley και ο Reid κυκλοφόρησαν ως Blue Amazon το 1993 το πρώτο τους EP (Hyper Sleep) στην (άγνωστη) Creative Records. Η ανάδειξη τους ως prog house act έγινε τα επόμενα χρόνια, όταν κυκλοφόρησαν τις μουσικές ιδέες τους στο prog label Jackpot. Υπό την ομπρέλα αυτού του label κυκλοφόρησε και το μοναδικό τους studio album The Javelin (1997).

Χαρακτηριστικό τραγούδι του album είναι το And Then The Rain Falls, το οποίο ακολουθεί την προαναφερθείσα φόρμουλα της epic house (αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι είναι εναλλακτική εκδοχή από την original). Η διάρκεια του είναι κοντά στα 15 λεπτά, τα οποία είναι αρκετά για να κάνουν το τραγούδι επικό, συνδυασμένα με deep dub basslines και μελωδίες πιάνου. Φυσικά, αξιοσημείωτα είναι και τα φωνητικά της Vicky Webb...

ΒLUE AMAZON - AND THEN THE RAIN FALLS (JAVELIN MIX)


Είναι γεγονός ότι μέσα στα 00's οι παραγωγές του Lee Softley δεν έπιασαν τα υψηλά στάνταρ των 90's. Δύο βασικοί παράγοντες που ίσως συντέλεσαν σε αυτό είναι οι εξής:

1. Η trance έγινε το νέο δημοφιλές είδος της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής στα τέλη των 90's - αρχές των 00's.
2. H progressive house άλλαξε προσανατολισμό στις αρχές των 00's, καθώς έγινε πιο minimal, techy και επηρεάστηκε αρκετά από την IDM. Αποτέλεσμα αυτής της κίνησης ήταν το mcprog (περισσότερα για αυτό κίνημα σε επόμενη ανάρτηση)...