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Rubber Biscuit posted:This is stupidly broad, but I'd like to further introduce myself with Deep House and classic acid house. Any suggestions for good compilations/mixes starting out? Well for the Acid House stuff you could do a lot worse than Soul Jazz Record's great little comp Acid: Can You Jack?. It came out a few years ago and includes some of the classic tunes along with some lesser heard ones, packed in with a nice wee booklet containing some history of the scene and interviews with the artists involved. Definitely recommended and bound to give you a solid base for further exploration. While I'm not too sure if it's still in print, it shouldn't be too difficult to track down.
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Mar 1, 2012 21:54
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Red Ryder posted:What's a good Spacemen 3 album to start with? The Perfect Prescription is a good one, but personally I'd start with what I think is their best and arguably the one that put them on the map, Playing With Fire. Their final LP Recurring is also really great, underrated and kinda half-forgotten about album, probably because of the band completely dissolving as it came out. And it's perfect if you're already a Spiritualized fan also most of Pierce's side is pretty much a proto-Lazer Guided Melodies. On saying all that, the quintessential Spacemen 3 album to me is the album that collects a bunch of their early demos - Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To. I just feel it better shows off the whole Spacemen 3 thing far more than what actually became their first two albums. It's not like the recorded tracks are radically different from what ended up on those LPs, but for some reason the whole thing seems better realised to me compared to the final album versions. Plus it's pretty much the worlds most perfect album title.
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Apr 17, 2012 10:08
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Rubber Biscuit posted:Where do I start with detroit techno? Any compilations I should be checking out? Not exactly the easiest of things since the Detroit stuff has been going for 25+ years now, with many many many different artists, styles and takes on it about. But you could go right back to the start and check out the compilation which really shone the light on the Detroit scene over here in the UK way back when, and that's the classic Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit. Now sadly it is long out of print, but it's not terribly hard to dig a copy up (at least in the UK). Virgin put out a second volume as well a year or so later but I've never heard that before.
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Apr 30, 2012 22:19
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Ras Het posted:That comp 28GBB mentioned is poo poo, go for retrospectives instead: Juan Atkins' 20 Years Metroplex, Derrick May's Innovator, Shake Shakir's Frictionalism are probably my favourites. For mixes, Robert Hood's Fabric mix is massif, as are Jeff Mill's Live at the Liquid Room and DJ Rolando's Aztek Mystic Mix. Boo! I always knew you couldn't appreciate a good ol' fashioned late 80s style megamix! And just to annoy I'll throw out two other general old comps instead of retrospectives (though the ones mentioned above are really good, especially the Metroplex one). Both feature a bundle of classic tracks. First up is Retro Techno - Detroit Definitive which was put out by Network Records way back when and actually got a repress a few years ago. If you ask me it's worth it just for Just Want Another Chance. And Reflective Records put out The Deepest Shade Of Techno Volume 1 and Volume 2, featuring mostly Detroit artists with a handful of UK folks in there for kicks. Actually speaking of retrospectives Clone recently issued the first volume of their Drexciya retrospective - Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller. A definite pick up.
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Apr 30, 2012 23:08
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NoiseNoiseNoise posted:Where should I start with dubstep ? I really don't know much beyond Skrillex, and he really didn't impress me. Well it's good you've got some taste at least. Though to be serious, there are worse things in this day and age than starting with GetDarker's compilation series This Is Dubstep (ignore the cheesy name). They've got what must be nearly half-dozen CDs out now, with the 2012 edition having launched a few months back. One reason I recommend them to someone who doesn't have a clue is because the whole GetDarker crew thing have been there pretty much since early days, so know what the score really is. They're no failed D&B act or dodgy Electro-House 2008 bandwagoneers. So they generally have a decent mix of all the different styles, from the darker half-step stuff to the more jump-up stuff and everything in between. They do have a lot of utter bollocks, vacuous pish in there though sadly (gently caress you Nero and Foreign Beggars, you're shite and you know you are) but the good generally outweighs the bad - well most of the time anyway. As usual it's a singles game - how it should be really - but without known exactly what you're interested in it can be a bit hard to narrow down some more. But like I said those comps do have a half-decent mix of styles so you can try use them to pin some likes down.
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May 3, 2012 18:36
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hatelull posted:Tangerine Dream? As shocking as it may seem I've never seen Risky Business, so I'm not really too sure what they did on that film. However in general with Tangerine Dream I'd start with the beginning of their Virgin years, with the albums Phaedra, Rubycon and Stratosfear. I've also heard good things about their live album Ricochet from that time period, but again I've heard it. Their later Virgin stuff (albums like Hyperborea) are also pretty decent, though not quite up there with the early work. I've not heard too much of their post-Virgin 1980s work, though from what I have heard while I could understand if someone said they were New Agey, to me they're just very very 80s synthy and hasn't exactly dated all too well. Speaking of soundtracks, I'd also check out their scores to the films Sorcerer and Thief which are both really good.
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Jul 12, 2012 18:07
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i am a bee posted:Can I ask the same question from a different angle? I've been led to believe that they're a big influence on John Carpenter and stuff like Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrows's excellent 'Drokk' project, but I don't know where to start. Check my answer to that Tangerine Dream question as my opinion is still the same. Starting at the Virgin Records-era stuff is the best - and easiest - way if you ask me. Their first 3 albums for Virgin being some of their finest work in my opinion. So Phaedra, Rubycon and Stratosfear. Though actually I wonder if in this case you might actually be better off starting on Stratosfear, then working on to some of their later 70s/early 80s work. So after Stratosfear you have Force Majeure, Tangram, Exit and Hyperborea, which was their last record for Virgin. And that's not including a bunch of live albums and soundtracks like for Sorcerer and Thief. There's a definite change from say, Tangram onwards though. The music becomes a bit less sequenced, a bit less massive and spacey. More straight ahead with things like guitars and drums becoming a bit more prevalent. You start to get more kinda self-contained music, sometimes almost like soundtracks for non-existant films which may actually be exactly what you want. Only real downside is it can seem a bit dated nowadays but if you can work past that you're golden.
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Sep 2, 2012 18:51
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Sarkimedes posted:I don't think this has already come up in this thread, but if it has just shout at me a bit. Anyway, here goes: As mentioned above, the Substance compilation is probably the one you want to start with. I'd say New Order are probably the quintessential singles band, so having all the A/B-sides up to '87 in one place is sheer perfection. Just a shame it doesn't stretch up to the Technique period, which was hands down their best album. Anyway if you like what you hear on that I'd just go all out and pick up that original 80s four album run they had from Power, Corruption & Lies to Technique. Pretty much solid gold all the way. And yes I am saying you can skip their first album Movement. As decent as it is it's not quite fully formed. e: beaten
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Jan 18, 2013 17:00
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Red Ryder posted:Where do I start with Luna? Their first album Lunapark is probably the one closest to what Galaxie 500 was, but even then it's still a bit of a different beast. However I'd probably start with either their second album Bewitched, or Penthouse; I'd suggest the latter though Bewitched is also nice and the first one with new guitarist Sean Eden which makes a massive difference (though he first appeared on a couple of EPs before Bewitched). After Penthouse former Feelies drummer Stan Demeski left after which they never seemed to quite hit those highs, though the fourth album Pup Tent is actually really nice too and doesn't get enough love.
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Dec 16, 2013 19:41
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screaden posted:After hearing the GTA V score by Tangerine Dream, I went to listen to more because I was always kind of aware of their existence, but never really bothered to follow up, especially because sorting through their discography just seems like a futile task. And now with the recent passing of Edgar Freuse it seems like a good time to have a good crack. Anyone got any tips? Pretty much as above, though someone asked this question a couple years ago so I'll just pretty much say the same thing I did then. I always suggest to folk to start at the first three or so Virgin Records albums which are Phaedra, Rubycon and Stratosfear. To me those are the classic TD albums. Plus they're pretty easy to get as Virgin used to sell them on a budget price for years. Though I suppose now it's all digital downloads anyway so that doesn't matter so much. It was really after their album Tangram where TD started to change their sound slightly. Less obviously sequenced, and less cosmic and spacey. Albums like Exit, White Eagle and Hyperborea may interest you more as I always felt like they sounded more like the soundtrack work they had started to produce by then. So that might be a better place to start then if it's that side that's interesting you more. Plus their actual soundtrack work from the time was amazing, having scored the likes of Sorcerer, Thief and Risky Business. Never played GTA V but I can only imagine since they've approached TD to score the game it may sound more like that kind of work. As for the 80s stuff they did, well that's really not too well regarded. I've not heard everything they did then, but I've heard a lot and I actually really like a lot of the work they did then. However no denying that nowadays it can sound pretty dated, and it wouldn't be a stretch to call it cheesy at times even. I will always really love the Underwater Sunlight album though.
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Jan 28, 2015 19:47
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NTT posted:What the gently caress do I even do with Jamiroquai. I like Little L, but have no idea where to start on what's apparently an artist with 6 albums. I should say since you liked Little L try A Funk Odyssey, but truthfully after the first three records Jamiroquai really started to lose it in my opinion. In the later stuff Jay Kay seemed to take way too much control, as well as take way too much cocaine. Ditching the older funk influenced stuff for disco pastiches. Sacking the bass player and replacing him with a guy from a Jamiroquai tribute band was just a step too far. Anyway like I said, I'd stick to their first three albums, Emergency On Planet Earth, Return Of The Space Cowboy and Travelling Without Moving. While I'd say Emergency is their only true classic, try Travelling Without Moving first. It's a nice happy medium between their earlier and later sounds.
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Apr 3, 2015 23:16
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Wheat Loaf posted:What's a good place to start for the Brand New Heavies? Check out Brother Sister, which probably has all their well known hits. Their first album (the one with the elephant on the cover) is actually the one I prefer, though is more instrumental rather than vocal. I'm sure Acid Jazz Records re-issued it not too long ago as well. It all gets a bit iffy post-Brother Sister. N'Dea Davenport leaves and the follow up LP - Shelter - is a bit spotty. After that I'd probably ignore them sadly (even when Davenport came back). The album they did with Nicole Russo suffered from having two great catchy singles stuck in a pile of mediocrity. BNH sadly fell into a bit of a generic 'Acid Jazz' trap, where they and Jamiroquai seemed to be what the genre should sound like to many, while it really was so much more than what they portrayed. I think Mike Cotton only had one LP out as The Mike Cotton Sound, though he and his band did have an album out in the early 70s called Satisfaction (the name of the band and the album), which was a kinda proggy psychedelic Jazzy fusion thing.
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Apr 4, 2015 19:16
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Ras Het posted:Out to Lunch is one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded, Far Cry is a classic on its own right and Out There is very good. The earlier albums aren't quite there yet. There's a lot of live albums around too - the Five Spot dates are classics, and I think a lot of the European recordings are quite good too. Definitely seconding Out to Lunch. I'd also recommend Iron Man as well as Conversations, both originally sourced from the same sessions I believe. Anyway both releases are super solid though I'd rank Iron Man the stronger of the two. Dolphy also does some fantastic work on Andrew Hill's Point of Departure album too while I think of it.
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May 4, 2017 21:37
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DasNeonLicht posted:I am not the biggest Cabaret Voltaire fan, but I have done a lot of listening to them over the past year, largely because of what a delight Code (1987) is. I approached them as a fan of EBM and darker dance music, and that album really hit the spot for me. I think their long-standing fans were a little upset because they were perceived as going pop (great interview where they push back against that — "disco sold out to us"), but I think anyone will agree that it's some of the finest, slickest industrial funk ever recorded. Pretty much this. Red Mecca is definitely the full stop on that early Cabs period. The culmanation of their early sound. All very late 70s reel-to-reel, analogue synthy, noisey and Dubby. If you're into that early Industrial Records/TG vibe, check out Red Mecca and the albums before (Mix Up, and Voice of America). I'm sure you'll love them. I'm also a big fan of their EP Three Mantras, which to me is the beginnings of where they would end up taking their sound post-Rough Trade. Afterwards the Cabs showed why they were so good with their willingness to enage with and mutate in more contemporary sounds, especially from black American dance music, such as Electro as well as showcasing their own mutant synth-pop aspects (it's easy to forget they came out the same scene as The Human League/Heaven 17-BEF etc). The Crackdown is their first post-Rough Trade album and is a nice transistion between their earlier sound. I always say to folk if you're coming in from the earlier Rough Trade stuff and are apprehensive about their later stuff, try The Crackdown first. Micro-Phonies which to me still probably remains their best work and definitely a must have. Like I said far more Electro influenced in the majority, with tracks like Sensoria being one of - if not the - best thing they every crafted and one of my favourite every sogs. Between the LP and the Drinking Gasoline EP that is peak Cabs for me. The Covenant, The Sword & The Arm of The Lord continues on that tip, though isn't quite as good to me, though I think that's more because it's coming in behind the fantastic Micro-Phonies. It's still a good album though and has some of their classics tunes such as I Want You. Code is really good, with all the positives mentioned above. It was produced by Adrian Sherwood, so if you know him and his production work of the time, as well as his On-U Sound Records and like what they do might be a nice pick up point. I'd probably say it's their slickest sounding album though, and definitely their grab at expanding their audience. Doesn't really succeed in that respects, but still really good. After that it really depends on how much you like House music and Techno. Again going back to the Cabs ability to tune in to black America with Groovy, Laidback & Nasty is very, very influenced by the late 80s Chicago House scene with folk like Marshall Jefferson producing the album. I still like the tunes but to be honest it's probably a bit of a mis-step as if they'd ust stayed home in Sheffield and soaked up more of the Bleep influence it'd probably shine out more nowadays and would't sound quite so date. Though on saying that a lot of it goes towards that angle what with Rob Gordon doing a lot of the mixing (especially the bonus 12" that came with the original LP release), and Richard H. Kirk's familiarity with that scene via his Sweet Exorcist outputs. Afterwards it all veers into very much proto-IDM kind of stuff with the albums Body & Soul (the last album Stephen Mallinder sang on), Plasticity, International Language and The Conversation. The latter few would easily fit on - and be a equal match to - Warp Records circa their Artificial Intelligence-era. So if you like things like early Aphex Twin, early Autechre, The Black Dog etc then check those out if you can find them. Actually Richard H. Kirk would release a couple LPs on Warp during this time which is well worth picking up. Actually as an aside if you like early Cabs check out Kirk's 1980 solo LP on Industrial Records Disposable Half-Truths
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Jun 20, 2018 10:25
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IUG posted:I've been trying to get more into TripHop, and was looking at the artist "Tricky". I looked at his Wikipedia page, and didn't find a real standout album. I was thinking of starting with Juxtapose, but that seems to have two other artists credited on the entire album. His best selling one was a soundtrack (?) album for a film. The only thing I have from him is "Excess" from that Queen of the Dead soundtrack album, and I just discovered he was a part of Massive Attack. What's the best album to start on, and to expand from after if I like it? As mentioned start with Maxinquaye, then grab Nearly God and finally Pre-Millenium Tension. And to be honest if you stop they're you're not going to miss out on anything major. And I say that as someone who's actually a Tricky fan, but grab those first three LPs and everything after is pretty much a variation of the theme. Massive Attack wise he was only on Blue Lines and Protection which are their best and a pick up.
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Jul 2, 2019 17:59
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hifi posted:Think this is legitimately one of the best threads to come out of SA First up, big up any of the ol' UKB thread crew in the area! They know the score. Consistently laying waste with superior taste. Ishkur may be good for a laugh, but in my non-professional opinion it still total poo poo, taken from a poo poo viewpoint of some random American guy in the early 00s who seemed to know everything by the rack they were placed in the Virgin Megastore. Actually you'd probably have more look rifling through the racks at the Virgin Megastore then you would with Ishkur. The early 00s version of someone using the term EDM. If they use it seriously you can't trust 'em! To be slightly serious for a brief second, one positive thing I will say about Ishkur's Guide at least, is that I will give them credit that they've always at least had some sections detailing some of the influences stretching back to the 50s/60s/70s. Whether exactly correct, or with the right music attached to them or whatever. theflyingexecutive posted:Thanks for all the helpful and varied opinions! I definitely want to dig into the roots and history of electronic music but do it from the music first before jumping into a book or really long thread. Is there a millennial Ken Burns for electronic music? There's been many, many different books and documentaries about various different sounds, scenes and genres throughout the years. You've hit the problem though of what constitutes a starting point and what you consider the lineage of a sound. The North American experience was vastly different to what we had here in the UK, to what they had in continental Europe. Hell, the New York City experience is way different to what 99% of cities in America would've experienced in terms of dance music. We're now at 40+ years of dance music history so this has become a very busy and complicated beast. Anyway, if you're looking at it dance music 'history', and don't mind looking at it from a UK/Europe end of thing, where if you roughly (not accurately) decide that okay, if we think of what we now have a modern dance music as a development from House and then Acid House off that (myself and many, many others will disagree but for this purpose...), an old compilation I always recommend is BCM Record's old classic The History of the House Sound of Chicago that was put out way, way back in '88/89. Originally a 12xLP boxset, it got a couple extra discs to cover some of the post-'Second Summer of Love' developments. You'll never find the original CD copies cheap, and the LP boxset while a bit cheaper suffer from sticking 4-5 tracks on a single side. Anyway, luckily you can still either get it from your fav dodgy music download site, or as it's the year 2024 some dude on Youtube has created a playlist of all the individual songs. Or most of them anyway from what I can see at first glance. The only issue with this playlist is well, it's a continuous playlist. Breaking it down by individual LP/CD which each had their own appropriate title might make it a bit more understandable. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAT4BYuk_sA9XQD5pOSQ-CETlPwSeZZHf&si=TqHOZVNEJLxjeFhZ Now the reason I love this old comp and why I recommend it, is it was one of the few - at least up until fairly recently - that put in tunes from pre-House/post-American 'death' of disco era with your Jazz-Funk/Boogie/Italo-Disco/New York dance music scene etc etc. The first two plates covering those tunes. Then it goes into early Trax/DJ International/Underground label releases as well as a bunch of other Chicago (or Chicago-adjacent anyway) releases. Then it works it way through early UK/European House artists, the Acid stuff, what was Deep House when it originally came about, touching into Detroit stuff etc. It's not perfect, it's a relic of its era but one I always recommend. Nothing pops out of nowhere, or develops in a total sterile environment. Dance music was and is a continuous development and amalgamations of various scenes, sounds, peoples and cultures (largely of black music) dating back 40/50 year plus now. Some absolutely heavenly stuff has appeared over the years, and some absolutely loving diabolical music has also been made. Being extremely biased here, since the death of the old UK Bass thread the bad far, far outweighs the good on NMD.
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Mar 4, 2024 12:26
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