Backcatalog - Dr. Octagon, Murder By Death, ETC!ETC!/Diplo/Brillz

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Label: Dreamworks / Bulk Records
Released: 1996
Genre: Hip-Hop

Kool Kieth, DJ Q-Bert, and Dan The Automater were the two driving forces behind this album. It appeared quietly, went largely unnoticed by the mainstream, and almost faded into nothing. It was also hard to find for a while, I had to get by with a bootleg for years. Commercial lack of success didn't hamper its effect. Kool Kieth (as Dr. Octagon) set the stage for a whole new style of hip-hop.

It's influence rippled out for years, changing the face of the genre behind the scenes. Instrumentally it's low key, laid back beats, and subtly used scratches, are now classic hip-hop beats. Lyrically the freestyle of the rhyming and cadence of the flows is amazing, also a little mellow. Nothing on the album comes out as 'hard' or even 'heavy' - low key and even. Definitely an album I'm glad has been made into another print run and more easily found today. If you like hip-hop at any level you need to pick this up and give it a listen.

Murder By Death

Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing

Label: Eyeball Records
Released: 2002
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock

On a bit of a whim I contributed to Murder By Death's latest album, with that came a copy of their first album. Which is nice, since I'd heard of, but never heard, the group I like to start at the beginning when easily possible. Not entirely sure what to expect, I knew it was rock but not what flavor of rock.

Listening to this, I find it pleasant, but not great. It's a good rock album, bordering on folk rock, it sits well in the background. Nothing really stick out for me, it's just indie-rock music. Which isn't a bad thing, as I'm not really into 'alt' or 'indie' rock as a whole - or not enough to really pick out sounds and bands. It goes well in a big playlist. I'm looking forward to seeing what their new release is like to see how they've grown.

ETC!ETC! / Brillz / Diplo

Bueller

Label: Jeffree's
Released: August 2012
Genre: Electro

I picked this up rather randomly. Three DJs and Producers put together this three track single taking the theme from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (or Oh Yeah by Yello) and mixing it down as to be almost lost. You get the idea, and then it just veers off into generic electro-house with hip-hop vocals. Interesting, but not so much you need to go out and find it.

Week Of 6/19 - Trip Hop, Downtempo, EBM, Industrial, , Brazilian trad.

A mostly mellow week this time around, lots of lighter fair with just a dash of harder dance sounds thrown in to keep it lively...

New And Recent Releases:

Army Of The Universe
Kill The F* DJ
Label: Dim Mak Records
Released: 6/19 2012
Genre: Industrial, Electro

A digital only release from this Italian powerhouses, AOU has once more produced some seriously awesome music. The title track is a nearly harsh electro rhythm with EBM beats pounding away. The album remixes are still hard, though one of them gives a nearly classic rave-style treatment to the song which smacks a little or irony. The two other tracks on here are a good progression for AOU and their sound - a little more electro than their debut. And it's all good, I really hope a new full album comes out of these guys in the next year or so, their sound really is in that sweet zone of dance-club and rock-out.

Ayria
Hunger
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 6/19 2012
Genre: Darkwave, EBM

One track single from Ayria for her upcoming new release. A dancefloor ready number, nice and bouncy. Still with some dark undertones keeps it out of the pop- genre and prevents it from sinking into mediocrity. Definitely makes me look forward to the full album.

Adding To The Collection:

Alpha
The Impossible Thrill
Label: Astralwerks
Released: 2001
Genre: Trip-Hop

An old trip hop group, this album coming out as the genre was leaving dance-floor popularity behind. It's rather mediocre overall honestly. I do like that it switches between male and female vocals instead of sticking to just female trip-hop. Something Alpha was known for. But, they never really put the production team together to go the extra step. This album, in particular, actually starts to put me to sleep. Good for relaxing afternoon, but not much else. I think this is very out of print as well.

Kruder & Dorfmeister
The K&D Sessions™
Label: g-stoned
Released: 1998
Genre: Downtempo, DJ Mix

An old school DJ Mix, unlike a lot of mixes from the late 90s, this one falls on the downtempo side, delving into some trip hop and touches of dub. It's good, not as sleep inducing as Alpha is, but still mellow. This is the kind of thing that would play in the side-room (or chill-room) at a rave. You can still dance to it, but it's much slower, mellower. It's also a 2-CD mix, so this is a good one to put on and just let play out for a few hours of relaxtion. Not out of print, still moderately easy to find or order.

Think Global
Acoustic Brazil
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2008
Genre: Traditional Brazilian, Latin

The Think Global series are similar to the Rough Guides, though they tend to focus on larger regions, or have less focus musically. Acoustic Brazil pulls in from all kinds of sources. It's upbeat, but not loud, the don't just play lip service to the 'acoustic' part, most (or all I think) is unplugged. Some of them recorded just for this production. Lot's of different kinds of Latin styles mixed into this, with some more traditional styles specific to Brazil like Caipira (a 'country' style). Very good, not as chill as the trip-hop and downtempo entries, this stuff still moves around a bit. As a note, the Think Global series donates money to Oxfam International.

Hidden Tracks:
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra
Trout Hear Replica and Want It Back
Label: self-released
These are two more digital single tracks from Amanda Palmer and her new album given out to Kickstarter backers. While not yet available to the public, I wanted to give my thoughts on the upcoming album: it's going to be good. Not a rehash of her Dresden Dolls days, the sound has moved forward by borrowing from the past. Lots of 80s tints the songs here, each in a different way, without trying to Be 80s. I'll post links when her album becomes available for order, and naturally review the whole thing when I get it in my hands.

Next Week:
A Rough Guide to Morocco, an Adam Ant best of, several singles crossed my path (Art Brut, Sinsect, and Clutch), and a compilation from Metropolis Records. Listen Hard!

Week Of 12/13 - Metal, Psychadelic Rock, Jazz, Dubstep

Running a little late in the day... this week I take a look at the weird collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica, a late 00s band that sounds like a late 60s band, some dubstep, and future jazz.

New Releases:
Knife Party - 100% No Modern Talking
Label: Earstorm
Released: 12/12 2011
Genre: dubstep; electro-house
A digital only released I picked up off Beatport, a nice little electro-house/dubstep 4-track EP. Internet Friends is very house, a little spastic, and for a dance tune like this also funny. Destroy Them With Lazers continues the mayhem of the first track, less heavy house-bass kick and more dubstep drop and lots of electro thrown in to keep it up in the air. Track 3 is kind of dull by comparison, sort of plods on with the electro. Fire Hive, the final track, though is nearly pure dubstep madness, not as frantic as some releases lately, but still very energetic.

Adding To The Collection:
Lou Reed + Metallica - Lulu
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 11/1 2011
Genre: Metal; rock
This collaboration seems almost natural, like it should have happened years ago. Actually, it probably should have because this effort is a little weird. Not particularly musically challenging. Lou nearly speaks all the lines, like poetry instead of singing a song. Metallica, for their part, pretty much jams some banging tunes through out the whole thing. Some decent editing probably could have cut this monster down to one disc, instead of two. A seventy minute listen is all this needs, not a near ninety minute epic. It's just not That interesting. Though there are some really good songs on it. Pumping Blood and Little Dog are downright catchy, Mistress Dread is nice and dark. Overall though, you have to be a big fan of both artists to want this.

The Black Angels - Passover
Label: Light In The Attic
Released: 2006
Genre: Psychadelic Rock
The Black Angels have done something a lot of bands have tried to do since the 60s ended - recapture that rock sound it had so clearly created. Fuzzy guitars, blues rhythms, medium tempo, updeat and downbeat both, rock that sounded like it was trying to find itself. They also, in the process, created a very odd little Vietnam/Anti-War album that would also fit right into the late 1960s. They don't sound like a band trying to recreate the sound, they sound like a band playing the sound. All very dirty, bluesy, rock and roll. The one irony is the hidden track - a Jimmy Cliff cover of his song 'Vietnam' with new lyrics for the Iraq War, and it's just awful. It's a terrible modern rendition lacking all of Jimmy Cliff's timbre and style. It's also the only non-rock track, all acoustic. They should stick to the rock, because they're very good at it.

Dzihan And Kamien - Gran Riserva
Label: Six Degrees
Released: 2002
Genre: Future Jazz, House
Dzihan and Kamien are two artists that push electronic music really as far as they can by not being artists who create electronic music. This release is heavily jazz influenced, almost to the point of being a standard jazz record. But just enough other elements sneak in, other little bits and aspects from house and trip-hop, to keep it in a 'future jazz' style. Something different, something really good came out of the recording sessions for this. It's mellow, without being light, it's trip-hop without letting the beats take over. It's all amazing, but mostly background music, not dance music. Every time I find a D&K album I'm not quite sure what to expect, but every time I'm pleasantly surprised by it. Definitely worth tracking down if you have any interest in jazz that isn't quite jazz anymore.

Next week, more psychadelic rock, dubstep, house, and industrial. Until then, Listen Hard!

Week Of 11/29 - Reggae, Rock, Modern Classical, House, Electro, Industrial

This week is light and heavy, not much rolling down the middle. Intros are boring, onto the music.

New Releases:
Jimmy Cliff - Sacred Fire EP
Label: Collective Sounds
Released: 11/29 2011
Genre: Reggae
Jimmy Cliff is a reggae legend, with about four decades of music behind him. This little EP is five tracks of mostly covers (the Black Friday Record Store 12" is 6 tracks on Vinyl). He covers The Clash with two versions of Guns Of Brixton, opening and closing the EP. The first one is a nearly straight up Reggae protest song, you'd almost never guess it was a Punk Rock song, but given Reggae's close association with early Punk music in the UK this is unsurprising. The second version has much more bassline to it, more drums, it's a little deeper, both versions are excellent. Jimmy has one original song on here, which is a nice little ballad. And he also covers a Bob Dylan song - I've always held that Dylan is not great as a performer but is one hell of a song writer, and I think this proves it, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is great as a reggae song. But my favorite track (the second track on the CD version of the EP) is Jimmy's cover of Ruby Soho (originally by Rancid). It turns a moderately sad broken-heart punk song into a full on classic, it's just beautiful (and again outlines just how close Punk and Reggae really are to each other). This is an awesome CD, even at only five tracks.

Dave Clarke - Fabric 60 DJ mix
Label: Fabric
Released: November 2011
Genre: House, Electro
Fabric is a nightclub in London, every month it puts out either a DJ Mix or a Live Mix. This month was a DJ Mix from Dave Clarke. It's heavy, bassy, with electro undercurrents, and absolutely not a standard House mix. Dave eschews standard dance-house rhythms and club-cuts in favor of a more driving style. The opening tracks lay down a deep, heavy, bass line than doesn't really let up until about a third of the way into the mix, where more electro, and even a few goth-rock elements take over and carry it through to the end. Overall, a good mix, better than most, and a different from just about anything else. If you want a less thumpy and more rhythmic house mix this is a good choice.

Adding To The Collection:
Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
Label: Reprise
Released: 1996
Genre: Rock, Light Rock, Rockabilly
I am not a particularly big Chris Isaak fan, my wife is which is how this ended up in the collection. On the other hand I don't find him outright bad, he's very easy to listen to, has a good voice, and is generally good for a slow day. This album is very mellow, a little surf rock sneaks in, a lot of 1950s and 60s seems to sneak in too. This also has a cover of Only The Lonely - and I'm a huge Roy Orbison fan. For a moment when I first put this album on I almost thought Roy was singing the track, it took me a few seconds to realize that Chris has not only some good range, but can really do the song justice. I'd pick up this album for that cover song alone.

Sarah Brightman - Harem
Label: Angel
Released: 2003
Genre: Modern Classical, Rock
Sarah Brightman has a gorgeous voice, with amazing soaring ability to it (without getting into the ear splitting too high level). The music behind this album is fairly generic Arabian beats, nothing too clever was done on that front, the classical pieces behind it are likewise very good but also just background music. Sarah really is the primary instrument on this one, and I'm not actually sure I could pick out individual songs, but when I put it on to listen to the whole thing is just a delight. It's about an hour of audio enjoyment. The special edition version I have here has one bonus track and a DVD with some video footage - not actually adding a lot to the album honestly. It's near for collectors though.

Unwoman - Knowledge Scars
Label: self-released
Released: 2002
Genre: Industrial, Dark Ambient
This is Unwoman's first official full release from the early 2000s. It's very raw, not overly produced, and does not have a lot of clutter. The sound ranges from an industrial tone to what was a signature Goth/Darkwave sound from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The whole thing is structured nicely, and you can see that she has a lot of room to grow into. Her cello doesn't feature overly much on this one, it's just as much that as it is standard industrial/darkwave synths and drum machines. Overall, not a bad album to have on hand. The one track I'm on the fence about is Freedom From Religion - it's an early track to be sampling George Bush, but after nearly a decade of the industrial scene sampling his speeches and quotes it sounds dated, and a little tired. The song structures are light, not overly done, and feels a lot like a one-woman production from top to bottom.

Bonus Track:
Dire Disorder - Let's Get Naughty (Dire Disorder Remix)
Label: self-released (soundcloud)
Released: 2011
Genre: Moombahton
Dire Disorder takes Jessie And The Toy Boy's club track "Let's Get Naughty" and turns it into a full on slow heavy Moombahton track. This is all low bass, slow groove, kind of dancefloor hit. Pure fun, and extremely danceable. I love the low basslines and slower rhythms of Moombahton and this track delivers it excellently. Nice little cut from the clubs made even better.

Next Week - a Psychobilly Christmas Album, a 2-Disc Dubstep compilation with some really weird cover productions, and the new albums from Korn (mixing Dubstep and Metal) and The Black Keys (pure blues-rock awesomeness).

Listen Hard!

Week Of 7/12 - House, Electro, Blues, Industrial, Shamisen

Finally starting to put a serious dent in the music the wife gifted me, still not quite halfway through it all though! This weeks new release is a Juno Reactor remix album; some more Yoshida Brothers and Said Mrad are added, an old Apoptygma Berzerk single, and a Delta Blues compilation. Good week for some upbeat stuff here, lots of high energy.

New Releases:
Juno Reactor - Inside The Reactor
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 7/12 2011
Genre: House, Club, Electronica
Juno Reactor have always been pushing the electronica genre, they aren't quite house, but that's the closest I can really get to describing their music without a generic "it's all electronica..." The remix album here pulls from all over to remix various JR tracks, Midival Punditz and Bombay Dub Orchestra were the two I both immediately recognized and looked forward to hearing the most, two bing names in modern London dance club music, blending in their Indian roots. Everything here does justice to Juno Reactor, but they aren't just clubbier versions of their tracks, some really good stuff was done with this. They even snuck in a 'lost' mix from early on. It bounces, and booms, and it's a good addition for Juno Reactor fans.

Adding To The Collection:
Apoptygma Berzerk - Love To Blame
Label: Gun Records
Released: 2006
Genre: Gothic Rock
Apoptygma Berzerk don't sit still, but they do tend to hover around the Industrial and Goth music scenes. A lot of their early music was heavily influence by Depeche Mode and was the beginnings of Darkwave and Coldwave gothic music. This, in the mid-2000s, is not that. The single is really solid Gothic Rock, with guitar hooks, dark imagery that is neither downtempo nor overly hard. Like a lot of good gothic-rock there's a lot of punk-rock in it, no exception here. It's only a 4 track single, with a bonus video, but it's a solid little number.

Said Mrad - Electroriental
Label: Platinum Records
Released: 2009
Genre: House, Arabic
Said Mrad may just be the leader of Arabic-House, taking good old Chicago and London beats and mixing in liberal amounts of Arabic sounds. This album doesn't hold back, and belongs in a dance club from top to bottom. There's even some traditional songs mixed skillfully in. Not much to add on except that the US needs this guy over here to expand our idea of Dance Music.

Yoshida Brothers - III
Label: Domo Records
Released: 2006
Genre: Shamisen, Rock
More from Japan, the Shamisen is an awesome instrument. This album mixes in a lot more Rock rhythm than their other stuff. All of it's high energy, kickin' music. As I sat listening to this on random intermixed with the previous albums I realized just how much these guys would kick ass if they mixed in some bass with their sound. Even without it, though, they rock out nicely.

Rough Guide To The Delta Blues
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2002
Genre: Blues
I like the blues, I really can't get enough of it. And this is a whole collection of a lot of old gems, and some new stuff. The only complaint is that some of the source material was definitely taken from old 78s and 45s and there's a lot of sound artifacts, or off balance recordings here. They could have done a better job bringing the levels up and cleaning up the sound. On the other hand, with all that the old blues music sounds like you are moving back a century to when recordings were rare, and people had to gather together to listen to music. Truly remarkable works of art in here.

Bonus Track:
Ostfront - Fleisch
Label: Out Of Line
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial
With my last order from the label they sent out a one-track promo sampler from new group Ostfront. Definitely part of the New Deutch-Hart movement of industrial-rock. EBM with heavy guitars. It's not a bad little track, and I think I'll be picking up the full album down the line to get more of them.

And that's the week in music. Next week, to down-shift from all this dance music, is mostly trip-hop and ambient. But it can't all be downtempo and some Rockabilly snuck past the guards.

Week Of 7/5 - Bluegrass, Electro, Industrial

Late post - away on vacation over the weekend, I think I may move new posts to Tuesdays, same day I load new music I review the previous weeks selection. The new release this time around is actually old and new; Accessory "Underbeat" was released in Germany in June, but isn't due out in the US until August. Actual new releases for the week were slim and not interesting to me.

New Releases:
Accessory - Underbeat
Label: Out Of Line (Germany) / Metropolis (US)
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial
The German release is a 2 Disc set, the second disc is some extra tracks and remixes. The Digital version of the US release contains the second disc. The album is solid EBM and dance industrial hits. Not nearly as heavy as many of the German artists in the Industrial scene that normally come over from Germany. The whole thing is club cut from start to finish, everything here is designed for the dance floor. The second disc is where things actually get interesting - there's a cover of Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues" which proves that if you want to turn any song into a heavy dance track give it to the Germans. It is, to be honest, a great cover of the song.

Face The Beat Vol. 1
Label: Side-Line Magazine
Released: 7/3 2011
Genre: Industrial, Darkwave, Eurobeat, EBM
This 55 Track compilation was released for free on Facebook (hence the title). It contains 55 Tracks from signed, unsigned, standard and new acts. Across the board. There are a few real gems hidden in this compilation, and a few tracks that are well saturated in the scene. There's very little underlying theme here other than everyone on it is putting out music right now, this is not a compilation looking back at the scene, but looking forward at it. It's definitely worth picking up in my opinion - you could always use a bit more dance music in your life.

Adding To The Collection:
Said Mrad - Greatest Dance Hits
Label: EMI Music Arabia
Released: 2009
Genre: House, Arabic-House
Said Mrad is one of the leading DJs in the Arabic countries, fusing House with Arabic rhythms and sounds. This is a greatest hits compilation, making it a pretty good starting point for anyone wanting to add a bit of near-eastern flair to the dance floor. It is, under it all, straight house DJ music, though original tracks and not a DJ Mix set. The Arabian flair, and I'm not well versed enough in their traditional sounds to specify further, makes it a pretty cool set to toss in with your normal house mix.

Rough Guide To Bluegrass
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2001
Genre: Bluegrass
Bluegrass, the start of Americana, or Roots-Americana. A little country, a little folk, a little blues, some gospel. All mixed liberally in the Appalachian Mountains for a very unique American Music. This collection gathers some of the contemporaries of the genre and some of the traditional musicians and throws them into a single 21-track mix. Like all Rough Guides this is just a jumping off point to gather artists in the genre and pursue them individually. This compilation tends to have a lean towards the gospel end of the Bluegrass genre, though.

Bonus Track:
Caustic & Be My Enemy - Oxyacetylene
Label: none
Released: 7/1 2011
Genre: Industrial
Caustic and By My Enemy played a cover of this track live, and afterwards decided they needed to do a full production of this Cubanate classic. So they did, and released it into the world for free. It's a near straight cut cover track, nothing too extra added to it, though Caustic's vocals are much harsher and deeper than the originals.