How Can You Hate The 808?!

'Cause I certainly don't.

Happy #808 Day!

1) Spastik (12" Version By Richie Hawtin): Plastikman (1993)

2) Xtal (Album Version): Aphex Twin (1992)

3) Voodoo Ray (Original Mix): A Guy Called Gerald ft. Nicola Collier (1988)

4) (You Are My) All And All (Take Twelve) (Remix By Kurtis Mantronik): Joyce Sims (1986)

5) The Way You Move (Club Mix By Carlton Mahone, Jr.): Outkast ft. Sleepy Brown (2003)

6) It's Tricky (Album Version By Rick Rubin & Russell Simmons): Run-D.M.C. (1986)

7) Musique Non Stop (Album Version): Kraftwerk (1986)

8) French Kiss (The Songbird Sings Long Vocal Mix): Lil' Louis ft. Karlana Johnson & Shawn Christopher (1989)

1986: All And All EP: 4

1986: Electric Cafe: 7

1986: Raising Hell: 6

1988: Voodoo Ray EP: 3

1989: French Kiss EP: 8

1992: Selected Ambient Works 85-92: 2

1993: Spastik EP: 1

2003: Speakerboxxx / The Love Below: 5

How Can You Hate The 808?! (47:02) (GD) (M)

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Or, AFX with a video for Korg Funk5, directed by Nadia Lee Cohen.

As you might expect from Aphex Twin aka Richard D. James, aurally it's a bonkers track, coming in under four minutes and delivering the title's promise of Korg and funk.

Nadia creates an equally bonkers visual narrative involving a dancer (Nadia herself) repeatedly dying and replicating, travelling from a dance studio into the streets and navigating an array of colourful characters along the way.

Korg Funk5 is an old track, first emerging on the 14-track digital-only release Korg Trax+Tunings For Falling Asleep in 2017.

Korg Funk5 more recently popped up in December last year, simultaneously on the 5-track 12" & digital EP London 19.08.2023, and Music From The Merch Desk (2016 - 2023), a whopping 38-track collection for a mere 20 notes. 

You Can Touch It But It Will Still Not Fade

Side 2 of a cassette compilation, recorded 11th January 1998.

When I posted Side 1 in July 2022, I described it as "eight remixes that I was unlikely to ever hear down the local indie disco, but which in their own way, kick ass." Side 2 is all that, and more.

 

If there's a duff remix of Planet Telex by Radiohead, I've yet to hear it. The UNKLE remix was possibly the first one that I heard, tucked away on one of the CD singles for Just, and it remains my favourite. 

 

Likewise, K-Klass took New Order's Ruined In A Day and elevated it to a higher plain, surpassing the original to the extent that I'm pretty sure that this was the version the band 'performed' when they appeared on Top Of The Pops. Or, at least if it's not true, that's how I prefer to remember it.

Arab Strap's reworking of Don't Die Just Yet by David Holmes has appeared here before, as well as in a guest post that I did in January 2021 for The Vinyl Villain. Again, a remarkably strong bundle of remixes from Mogwai, Delakota and Holmes himself and Messrs. Moffat and Middleton.

Mixed in are some trip hop beats from Attica Blues vs. Lightning Seeds, a bit of drum 'n' bass from Tamsin Elliott vs. Faithless and Lush taken on a gothtronica excursion by Spooky. And then there's Beck, put through the aural equivalent of a meat grinder by Aphex Twin and somehow surviving. 

 

Closing on a funky but rather more sedate pace is Jon Carter, shrugging off his Monkey Mafia mantle to mix the Manics. Phat beats and a trumpet, what more could you want?

 

1) Planet Telex (Karma Sunra Mix By UNKLE): Radiohead (1995)

2) You Showed Me (Attica Blues Vocal Mix) (Cover of The Turtles): Lightning Seeds (1997)

3) Richard's Hairpiece (Remix Of "Devil's Haircut" By Aphex Twin): Beck (1997)

4) Ruined In A Day (Reunited In A Day Remix By K-Klass): New Order (1993)

5) Reverence (Tamsin's Re-Fix By Tamsin Elliott): Faithless (1996) 

6) The Holiday Girl (Don't Die Just Yet) (Remixed By Arab Strap): David Holmes (1997)

7) Undertow (Spooky Remix By Charlie May & Duncan Forbes): Lush (1994)

8) Kevin Carter (Busts Loose) (Remixed By Jon Carter): Manic Street Preachers (1996)

 

1993: Ruined In A Day EP: 4 

1994: Hypocrite EP: 7

1995: Just EP: 1 

1996: Kevin Carter EP: 8

1996: Reverence / Irreverence (ltd 2x CD): 5 

1997: Don't Die Just Yet EP: 6

1997: The New Pollution EP: 3

1997: You Showed Me EP: 2

 

Side Two (46:02) (KF) (Mega)

Side One avaialble here

A Quiet Glade In A Burning Forest

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded sometime around 1997, featuring the music of Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton in a variety of guises, but mainly Global Communication.

 

First off however is one of their remixes as Reload. The 147 Take of In Mind by Slowdive appeared on Side 1 and was recently highlighted in a typically great post by Swiss Adam over at Bagging Area. Their remix of On by Aphex Twin is a close second as my favourite remix that Mark and Tom did as Reload, but then the song is a thing of beauty to begin with so how could they possibly go wrong?

Next up is Link, one of Mark Pritchard's many, many solo projects. This remix of Arcadian by Global Communication originally appeared on Warp Records compilation Artificial Intelligence II, running to just under ten minutes. In order to squeeze it into a C90 side, I crudely faded it out halfway through. Unlikely Side 1, where I restored the minimal cut to a track, I've kept this one in to maintain the original sequencing and running time.

The Grid aka Dave Ball and Richard Norris were enjoying much-deserved success with a brace of UK hit singles, Texas Cowboys reaching #21 in October 1993 and then Swamp Thing crashing in at #11 in June 1994, peaking at #3 a month later, spending a total of 12 weeks in the Top 20. Rollercoaster didn't enjoy quite such a chart run, entering at #19 in September 1994, then #22, #42, #70 and out of the Top 100 by mid-October. It's an underrated single and contained a hidden gem in Global Communication's ambient reworking of the song. I say 'hidden' but the remix was that good that it appeared on several compilations, including Survival 2000 and respective 'best of' remix collections by Global Communication and The Grid *

 

Epsilon Phase is the closing track on Mark and Tom's radical overhaul of Chapterhouse's Blood Music album, originally released as a limited edition double CD in 1993. I discovered the Global Communication CD all on its own in the secondhand trough at Replay Records in Bristol and bought it without hesitation. It was roughly another ten years before I bought and heard the parent album by Chapterhouse for the first time!

 

Nav Katze (translates as 'Nervous Cat') were a Tokyo-based female rock group who released music between 1987 and 1997. Initially a trio, by 1994, Nav Katze were Miwako Yamaguchi and Naoko Iimura, with male producer Yuji Sugiyama as unofficial third member. Wild Horse appeared on the first of two remix compilations titled Never Mind The Distortion, in a beautiful 15-minute journey with Global Communication, easing in with synth washes and snatches of vocal before heading into more percussive territory in the latter stages. Like much of Mark Pritchard and Tom MIddleton's music from the early/mid-1990s, Wild Horse should have been all over like-minded compilations of the time but according to Discogs seems to be relatively rare.

 

* I realised when researching and writing this post that tracks 3 to 5 of this selection are the exact same sequence as the last three tracks on the aforementioned Remotion: The Global Communication Remix Album from 1995. I bought the compilation for my girlfriend at the time but I have no recollection whether I was so inspired by the running order that I was compelled to replicate it for my mixtape or if I was simply being a lazy git. Probably a bit of both and definitely no coincidence!

 

On a completely unrelated note, after 2 years, 2 months and 18 days and 685 posts, I've received my first takedown notice via Mega. It was for my recent posting of Django Django and was submitted by one of those companies that appear to specialise in actively finding and shutting down any potential infringements. I'm wondering whether my uncharacteristic decision to include the artist's name in the post and MP3 title made it easier for the bots to home in this particular Dubhed selection. 

 

Anyway, Box and Mega links have now been removed from the offending post and, in a bit of housekeeping, I'm now running a tighter ship on how long links stay up in general. Whenever I post the corresponding side of a mixtape that's appeared previously, I'll continue to add new Box and Mega links to the older post.

 

1) On (Reload Mix): Aphex Twin (1993)

2) Arcadian (Remix By Global Communication) (Edit): Link (1994)

3) Rollercoaster (The Global Communication Yellow Submarine Re-Take): The Grid (1994)

4) Epsilon Phase (Retranslated By Global Communication): Chapterhouse (1994)

5) Wild Horse (Global Mix Communication): Nav Katze (1994)

1993: Blood Music: Pentamerous Metamorphosis: 4

1993: On EP: 1

1994: Artificial Intelligence II: 2

1994: Never Mind The Distortion: 5

1994: Rollercoaster EP: 3

Side Two (45:55) (Box) (Mega)

Side One here

Boxing Day

Too obvious?
 

1) Boxes: The Naturals (2007)

2) Call Box (1-2-3): Wall Of Voodoo (1981)

3) Heart-Shaped Box: Nirvana (1993)

4) Beast Box: Luxuria (1990)

5) Boxing Day: AFX (2006)

6) Hasj Box: Olav Brekke Mathisen (2003)

7) Glory Box / Toy Box (Remix): Portishead (1994)

8) Lanhydrock, Cornwall / The Old Music Box Playing In The Nursery (Produced by Jarvis Cocker): National Trust (2010)

9) The Box (Part Four): Orbital ft. Grant Fulton & Alison Goldfrapp (1996)

10) Pillar Box Red (Album Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): The The (2002)

 

Boxing Day (36:54) (KF) (Mega)

The Naturals on Howling Owl Records

Call Box (1-2-3) (Official Video): Wall Of Voodoo

Heart-Shaped Box (Official Video): Nirvana 

Beast Box (Official Video): Luxuria

Boxing Day (YouTube): AFX

Hasj Box (YouTube): Olav Brekke Mathisen

Glory Box (Official Video): Portishead

Lanhydrock on the National Trust website 

The Box (Official Video): Orbital ft. Tilda Swinton

Pillar Box Red (Official Video): The The

Viewed From Outside

Back to the future...The Future Sound Of London, that is. This is a 30-minute mix by Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain, tying in with Record Store Day 2016. It was originally broadcast in the closing segment of The 6 Mix With Nemone on BBC 6 Music on Saturday 16th April 2016, roughly 1.30am or thereabouts. Nine tracks from 1991 to 1994, including B12 (as Redcell), Reload (aka Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton), Luke Slater (as Morganistic) and closing with an (at the time) unreleased FSOL track.

 

1) Papua New Guinea (12" Original): The Future Sound Of London (Papua New Guinea EP, 1991)
2) Mad Monks On Zinc (Original Mix): Holy Ghost Inc. (Mad Monks On Zinc EP, 1991)
3) Schottkey 7th Path: Aphex Twin (Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 1992)
4) Paradroid: Redcell (Redcell EP, 1992)
5) Go To Sleep: Laurent Garnier (A Bout De Souffle EP, 1993)
6) Le Soleil Et La Mer (Original Mix/Album Version): Reload (Auto Reload EP: Volume 2 / A Collection Of Short Stories, 1993)
7) In The Shadow (Original Version): Morganistic (In The Shadow EP, 1992)
8) Basscadet (Bcdtmx): Autechre (Basscad,EP, 1994)
9) Viewed From Outside: The Future Sound Of London (1994) (Ramblings Vol. 1 EP, 2017 / Music For 3 Books, 2021)

Nemone's Electric Ladyland Mix: The Future Sound Of London (29:59)

In The Middle Of This Contagious World

If I were a stickler for observing anniversaries, I'll have just missed the boat with this mix, as it was originally transmitted on NTS Radio on 22 June 2019. This is legendary producer Adrian Sherwood giving the Warp Records label an ON-U Sound rinse. 30 years of brilliance in 40 minutes. 

The title of today's post is a line from track 2, Licking An Orchid by Yves Tumor, originally released in 2018, the words seem especially appropriate in the present time. 

1) Wilmot: The Sabres Of Paradise (1994)
2) Licking An Orchid: Yves Tumor ft. James K (2018)
3) Flip Ya Lid: Nightmares On Wax (2006)
4) Nikels And Dimes: GonjaSufi (2012)
5) Auntie's Harp: Flying Lotus (2008)
6) Leyendecker: Battles (2007)
7) Dutty Bounce: Harmonic 313 (2012)
8) Alberto Balsalm: Aphex Twin (1995)
9) We'll Take It: Oneohtrix Point Never ft. Anohni & James Blake (2012)
10) Blood And Form: Mount Kimbie (2013)
11) Now Is The Time: Nightmares On Wax (2013)
12) Lion: Harmonic 313 (2012)
13) Simon From Sydney: LFO (1991)
14) Clonk's Coming: Sweet Exorcist (1991)
15) Pen Expers: Autechre (2001)

Warp vs. On-U Sound Mix: Adrian Sherwood (39:57)

 

Hawkesbury Upton Top Ranking

I posted this homemade, slipshod DJ Mix on my Mixcloud page just over a year ago, in the early weeks of the first UK lockdown. We're currently in the latter stages of lockdown #3, and starting to re-engage with the world. Seems like a good time to give this another airing...

 

1.1) Is That You Mo-Dean? (Harpapella) (Remix By Moby): The B-52’s (1992)
1.2) Constancy: The The (2017)
1.3) A Long Hard Lazy Apprenticeship: The The (2017)
2) She's A Rainbow (Right Foot Yellow Mix By Fluke): World Of Twist (1991)
3) The Happy Song (Radio Edit): The Aliens (2007)
4) Children Of The Revolution: T.Rex (1972)
5) Ball Of Confusion (7” Mix): Love & Rockets (1987)
6) Triple Rhythm Stick (Beastie Boys vs. Ian Dury & The Blockheads): Go Home Productions (2006)
7) Lucky Number (Slavic Dance Version/Khayem Re-Edit): Lene Lovich (1978)
8) Good Times (Acapella): Chic (1979)
9) Rock With You (Feel That Heat) (Luxxury Edit): Michael Jackson (2016)
10) Everyday People: Sly & The Family Stone (1969)
11) Hey Mug (Outkast vs. The Streets): IDC (2005)
12) Elegant Chaos: Julian Cope (1984)
13.1) From Gardens Where We Feel Secure: Virginia Astley (1983)
13.2) Dub Be Good To Me (Acapella): Beats International (1990)
14) For A Reason (Single Mix): Dreadzone (2008)
15) Snobbery And Decay (That's Entertainment!): Act (1987)
16) My Own Way (Short Version): Duran Duran (1981)
17.1) Avril 14th (Album Version): Aphex Twin (2001)
17.2) I’m Not Tired: The The (2017)
17.3) Lying On My Side: The The (2017)
18) Be Thankful For What You've Got (Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne) (ft. Tony Bryan): Massive Attack (1992)
19) Happiness (Quiet Village Remix By Matt Edwards & Joel Martin): Jonathan Jeremiah (2009)
20) Easter Song (Album Version): A Man Called Adam (1998)

 

And these were the inspirations for the mix title:

 

Hawkesbury Upton  

Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking (1977)