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| Damn you, summer! |
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 If only this weather wasn't so good, if only, if only...
Summertime makes it incredibly difficult to sit inside at a computer and hammer out music reviews, it really does. Just ask poor J', who's been spending a good deal of his time migrating from residence to residence (er, hence his current lack of output). And the vacations just won't stop, if I have any say in it. Mmm... music festivals...
So, another pair of reviews to touch upon here. The latest release from Solar Fields -Movements- came out way back in the winter, but it really is much more of a summer album, so I decided to check it out at this late stage instead. Also, another 'summery' release, in the form an Ashtech/Polcari collaboration titled Meditronica. Click below to check 'em.
Meditronica - Meditronica
Solar Fields - Movements
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| Going for broke. |
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Financially broke, that is. Gads, but is being a music junkie ever an expensive habit. Constantly buying new music, paying premiums for old classics, club-hopping and festival funtimes, not to mention all that travel/shipping cost. Who'd have thought the 'free music' era could be so costly?
In the meantime, there's a couple reviews to touch upon here. I checked out Laurent Garnier's latest offering, Tales Of A Kleptomaniac. Also checked out is Louderbach's sophomore effort, Autumn, apparently intentionally released either a half-year too early or a half-year too late. In addition to these album reviews, J' decided to do some event reviews, as he managed to catch three perennial acts all in one week: 2 Many DJs, Orbital, and Sasha. While that may not be as wicked awesome as seeing Neil F'n Young and Banco F'n de Gaia on the same day at Glastonbury (*cough*), it's still right up there nonetheless. Click here to check out his reviews.
Laurent Garnier - Tales Of A Kleptomaniac
Louderbach - Autumn
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| J' is back. |
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He took his sweet time though, didn't he? Oh, sure, he can use that whole 'college' excuse all he wants, but all our readers know this is where he belongs, right? Right!
In addition to that bit of good news, we've also managed to get caught-up on our backlog. Included amongst this is J's look at the debut Anjuandeep compilation, plus a single from newcomer Ilya Mosolov titled Lights Of Paradise. Also, I scoped out the latest long-player from Josh Wink, When A Banana Was Just A Banana.
Having gotten through that, we've managed to get some reviews of fresh material too: Ed Rush & Optical's Travel The Galaxy, and Richard Durand's Always The Sun. Holy crap! That's five reviews in this update! It's nice to get on a roll, eh?
Above & Beyond - Anjunadeep 01
Richard Durand - Always The Sun
Ed Rush & Optical - Travel The Galaxy
Ilya Mosolov - Lights of Paradise EP
Josh Wink - When A Banana Was Just A Banana
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| Playoff dumps. |
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| Playoff excitement! |
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Hoo y'ah! Both NHL and NBA Playoffs have been absolutely thrilling so far, eh? 58-point blowout by Denver on New Orleans. Carolina scoring two goals on Martin Brodeur in the final 90 seconds of Game 7 against New Jersey. An intense series between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics, which has seen two overtimes, a double-overtime, and now a TRIPLE-OVERTIME!! The 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks upsetting the best regular season team San Jose Sharks. Houston Rockets finally making it out of the first round (long-time admitted Houston fan). And, of course, my home team Vancouver Canucks still undefeated in these playoffs. Good times, eh?
Huh? What do you mean you don't care? What are you, not from North America or some- Oh, you're not. Well, sorry for not talking about soccer all that much, but who cares about that sport anyway? Huh? Oh, everyone in the world but America/Canada does. Er... um... how about I just get to these reviews, shall I?
Scholastic endeavors are pretty much wrapped up, so you can expect a larger recap next time. For now, however, a couple reviews made their way into the archives as April came to a close. I checked out James Zabiela's contribution to the long running Renaissance: Masters Series, and also had a listen to the new full-length album of Mark Pritchard's latest project, Harmonic 313. Click below to have a read of 'em.
Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence
Renaissance: The Masters Series Part 12 - Mixed by James Zabiela
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| Playoffs! |
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Yeah, just as one distraction finally ends (college), another starts right up (NHL playoffs). Actually, this normally wouldn't TOO much of a distraction, but since my home team's standing a decent chance of a long Cup run, it most likely means extended periods of hockey hallelujahs.
Meanwhile, there's a couple reviews to mention that have made our way into the archives this past month. Tom Jenkinsen -aka: Squarepusher- released a mini-album called Numbers Lucent, which should please fans of his 90s output. Also, we have a review of the latest edition of the Balance series, this being the 14th, and featuring Dutch DJ/Producer Joris Voorn.
Balance 014: Joris Voorn
Squarepusher - Numbers Lucent
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| No mo' time, so many mo' problems'... |
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Yep, we're a little sluggish at the moment for new reviews. Things are crunch time for our scholastic endeavors, so I'm afraid everyone will have to be a bit more patient as we get through the grind with papers due and tests to study for. Trust us, there's a decent amount of backlog ready to go under the knife -we're just going to need the spare time to get to it all. Well, either that, or consume gratuitous amounts of Powerthirst!
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| I couldn't hold on. |
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I almost did it. Almost! A whole fall/winter without getting sick once. But no, just a measly week before spring's about to start, up starts the raw throat. But that's the only bit of bad news for me -let's get to some good news.
Everyone who's kept tabs on our forums probably noticed a newcomer in our ranks. Some may know him as Christoph, but here he's known as xquest, and he's submitted his first review, the new release from 16 Bit Lolita's, Warung Brazil. Also, I checked out Ferry Corsten's latest album, Twice In A Blue Moon, and J' checked out Vibrasphere's latest album, Lungs Of Life. Yes, sirs, only the latest here!
16 Bit Lolita's - Warung Brazil 01
Ferry Corsten - Twice In A Blue Moon
Vibrasphere - Lungs Of Life
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| February Couldn't End Quick Enough |
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Not a good month. Not a good month at all. Oh, sure, it started just fine. That's how February always gets ya', though. Lulls you into a false sense of security, and before you know it...
Ah, it don't matter. You're here to check out what we've covered going into March, not get wrapped up in my toils.
So three reviews here. I checked out a couple DJ mix releases, one of techno from mainstay Joey Beltram, the other of psy trance from John '00' Fleming. Also, J' got his hands on the new album from The Prodigy, Invaders Must Die. Have they managed to recapture some of that old magic that made them such stars in the 90s? Click below to find out.
Joey Beltram - Lost In New York: Harthouse DJ Mix Series Vol. 1
The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
Psy Trance Euphoria 2 - Mixed by John '00' Fleming
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| Not an owner of a lonely heart! |
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