Bagging Area/ Ban Ban Ton Ton Mix

For some time now Dr Rob, the man who runs the standard setting blog Ban Ban Ton Ton, a one stop shop for all things Balearic and otherwise, has been asking me to write reviews for him. Since the new year I've written some album reviews which I don't think I've linked here, so today's Sunday mix post pulls those reviews from the first half of 2023 together for those who might be interested in them, and provides a sampler in the form of a forty three minute long mix below. 

Ban Ban Ton Ton/ Bagging Area Guest Review Mix

• Jon Hassell: Neon Nights
• Konformer: Konformer
• Tolga Boyuk and Kenneth Bager: Betrayal
• TECWAA: I Terra Dub
• Roe Deers: Can't Remember
• Yargo: Marimba
• Sorcerer: Zero Return
• Eloah: Logan Ede

Jon Hassell was a pioneering New York based trumpeter/ composer. His Fourth World music fused primitivism and futurism in the late 70s and 80s and led him to work with Talking Heads, David Sylvian and Carl Craig among others. Psychogeography is a compilation of late 80s recordings combining avant- jazz, soundtracks, psychogeography, ambient music and Situationism, which sounds off- putting but is great fun. My review is here. 

Konformer are a three piece from Nuremburg, signed to Manchester's Jason Boardman's new label Before I Die. Five lovely synth- led cosmische instrumentals. Reviewed by me here and highly recommended (the album I mean not the review). 

Tolga Boyuk and Kenneth Bager wrote and recorded a soundtrack to a film that hasn't been shot yet, East Is North, in two days. Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and John Carpenter all feature as reference points. Read my review here. 

TECWAA is from York and has released an EP on New York's Throne Of Blood, a label on something of a hot streak. My review said something like 'sci fi, deep house, cinematic psychedelic dub'. Here. 

Roe Deers were one artist on a compilation put out by Parisienne label Lumiere Noir, twelve previously unreleased slices of 'deep and dark electronics'. Read my review here if you've got this far down.  

Yargo were a Manchester blues/ funk/ dub group who missed the boat in the late 80s Manchester boom but are fondly remembered. Their proto- house/ Latin B-side features on the new compilation from DJ Luke Una, E- cultura soul Vol. 2, a multi- artist tribute to late nights, dancing and the widest spread of music you can imagine. Eloah's Logan Ede comes from the same album, Brazilian soul from the late 1970s. My review is here. 

Sorcerer is from Califronia and his second album Bubble Funk is a blast of short, funky instrumentals celebrating skateboarding, cassette culture, home studios, 70s funk and Balearic pop. Reviewed here. 

I also reviewed Reinhard Vanbergen's Meditation On Modern Modes, an hour long ambient tour de force from Belgium's multi- instrumentalist but couldn't work any of the ten minute pieces onto the mix above. Read and listen here. 

Godless Ceremony

Islandman, a trio from Istanbul led by DJ and producer Tolga Boyuk, make music from an intersection of electronic/ dance  and Turkish folk, a melange of drums, percussion, chanting, flutes, strings, jazz, North Africa and whatever else they feel ready to throw into the pot. The latest release from them is a three track remix EP, the new versions coming courtesy of the hardest working man in cosmic chug, Sean Johnston. 

Following his remixes of Holy Youth Movement that hit an early 90s indie/ dance sweet spot, the three Hardway Bros remixes here  mine that seam even further, a blast of pure indie/ dance gold. The Hardway Bros remix kicks in with shimmering guitars, a wobbling synth part and a rhythm that sets the controls for the heart of the chug, with multi- tracked, blissed out vocals riding on top of seven minutes of sun dappled fun.

The Live at The SSL Dub opens with the same chiming guitar part but the bass and drums shift it somewhere else a little deeper and darker, the undertow of bass and FX churning away with the vocals ever more distant, with more and more echo.