Morgan Geist ≡ Unclassics (2004)

Morgan Geist
Unclassics
Genre Disco-House/Electronic/Down-Tempo

1. Untro
2. Discotheque - Disco Special
3. Zodiac - Pacific
4. Pluton & Humanoids - World Invaders
5. Unrhythm Trax - Humanoid Beat
6. Margueritas - Margherita (Hot Edit)
7. Eurofunk - Manshortage (Eli-173 Edit)
8. Victor - Go On Do It (Radio Version)
9. Plastic Mode - Baja Imperial
10. Dance Reaction - Disco Train (Morgan Geist Caboose Mix)
11. Purple Flash Orchestra - Freedom Now (Break Edit)
12. Purple Flash - We Can Make It
13. Gaz Nevada - Special Agent Man (Female Version)

Environ label head and one half of Metro Area, Morgan Geist drops his long awaited Unclassics mix, the culmination of the 12" reissue series of the same name. Focusing on obscure electrofunk & disco tracks from the late '70s and early 80s, the Unclassics 12"s have presented a tasty selection of rarities that have been influential to the Metro Area sound. This CD collects those initial singles alongside other complimentary tracks, all in a stellar mix. The mix winds its way through a late-night netherworld of post-disco weirdness inhabited by strange Italo and electro-disco tracks like Dischotheque's spacey mid-tempo "Disco Special(1)" and the nerdy electro-funk of Zodiac's "Pacific(2)" a dead-ringer for a Metro Area out-take. The oddball-beautiful synth-weirdness of Pluton & Humanoids "World Invaders(3)," Victor's proto-house "Go On Do It"(4), and an amazing Alexander Robotnik production about which I could write a book (for starters, the "rapped" lyrics are about, ahem, buttfucking a prostitute) make a for strong articulation of Geist's "unclassic" aesthetic. These are weird and beautiful synth-based dance tracks whose greatness lies in their resistance to the very idea of played-to-death "classics." Tracks like Purple Flash's lush and sublime "We Can Make It(5)" and Gaz Nevada's surreal "Special Agent Man" sound exactly like what you always imagined those ultra rare 12"s would sound like. And though some of these tracks are certainly a bit cheeky in their appeal, Geist's subtle mixing style and masterful track sequencing undercuts any hint of irony that could have potentially marred the proceedings. One of best mixes of the year, and absolutely essential for fans of Metro Area and leftfield disco music in general. 13 tracks in all; highly recommended.

--Turntable Lab

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Mr. Chop ≡ For Pete's Sake (2009)

Mr. Chop
For Pete's Sake
Genre Hip-Hop/Experimental/Jazz/Funk

1. For Pete's Sake
2. Good Life
3. Intermezzo 1
4. T.R.O.Y.
5. Intermezzo 2
6. Main Ingredient
7. Intermezzo 3
8. Mecca and the Soul Brother
9. Get On The Mic
10. Intermezzo 4
11. Straighten It Out
12. Intermezzo 5
13. Shut Em Down
14. Intermezzo 6
15. I Got A Love
16. The World Is Yours
17. Intermezzo 7

Mr. Chop, the multi-talented producer, engineer, guitar-reared multi-instrumentalist behind a host of releases on Now-Again and Jazzman Records, couldn't have foretold that the legendary rapper MF Doom would call him "the illest to grace the boards" after tapping into his otherworldly skills as co-producer/co-writer on a series of tracks on the recently released Born Like This album on Lex Records. Nor could he have foretold that Doom's praise would lead to an offer to rework psych funk, jazz and rock covers of producer Pete Rock's greatest beats. Nor could he have called that Pete Rock's long time collaborator, upon hearing the versions of "T.R.O.Y." and "Straighten It Out" would beg to record an album with him. But here he is, standing proudly behind 17 tracks that he recorded at his Cheshire, England-based Ape Studios with the likes of The Heliocentric's Malcolm Catto, Jake Ferguson and Mike Burnham that offer up a futuristic mixture of fuzzy psychedelia, funk, jazz and musique concrete informed by years of record collecting and Hip Hop studies. His is a unique take and has lead to an album that the heads will recognize by, say, the Tom Scott sax-line Pete Rock poached for "T.R.O.Y.," or a host of other sample-based calls and response that Chop has deconstructed into their component parts and reassembled again. But his is an album that will appeal to music lovers, regardless of their musical leaning, as a master-class in fuzzy, funky grooves. Package includes a Deluxe "mini LP" gatefold package including thick, cardboard "paste-on" silver foil sleeve.

--Unknown(accesshiphop.com)

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The Bravery ≡ Stir The Blood (2009)

The Bravery
Stir The Blood
Genre New Wave

1. Adored
2. Song For Jacob
3. Slow Poison
4. Hatefuck
5. I Am Your Skin
6. She's So Bendable
7. The Spectator
8. I Have Seen The Future
9. Red Hands and White Knuckles
10. Jack-O-Lantern Man
11. Sugar Pill

For those who fondly recall the bands of 1980s pop -- Im talking here about the Cure (Head on the Door era), Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, New Order, Souxie, and even Duran Duran, etc -- this CD will be pleasantly reminiscent of those greats. There is nothing especially new or innovative on this disc -- and there is no chart-crusher like "Swollen Summer" to keep your CD player on auto-repeat. But again, it is a solid effort, with numerous catchy and enjoyable songs (there is really only one dud that I have found). Worth buying. Worth listening to. But don't expect it to dominate your playlists the way their first may have.

--Matthew E. Taylor "MT!"(Amazon.com)

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Fear of Tigers ≡ Cossus Snufsigalonica (2009)

Fear of Tigers
Cossus Snufsigalonica
Genre Electro/Disco-House/Indie

1. Calling Your Name
2. Sirkka
3. The Rich Cry Too
4. Study Hard Drugs School
5. Cossus Snufsigalonica
6. Friday Night At Geek Club
7. The Adventures of Pippi Longstrump
8. What Did I Do?
9. Please Don't Leave
10. I Can Make The Pain Disappear

Finally it’s december 1st and the looooong awaited debut album from Fear of Tigers called ‘Cossus Snofsigalonica’ hit my email. From the powerful opening track ‘I Can Make the Pain Disappear’ to the wonderful Corona sampled title track to the end this feels like getting lightning struck by a absolute 90s compilation injected with indie-dance explosions from a imaginary electric paradise. This land is ruled by the king Fear of Tigers and weird creatures and party animals, literally, dance and sing along to his sets. Every night is party night, everybody is happy and all your dreams can come true. Pippi Longstrump is there, shaking her ass, and the Mumin guys are there, shaking their asses. Everybody is there, shaking their fucking asses. It’s a nu-disco fairytale that takes your adventurous mind to places you never could imagine.This is magic, and Fear of Tigers, you’re one of a kind.

--Unknown(deathelectro.com)

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Radio 4 ≡ Gotham! (2002)

Radio 4
Gotham!
Genre Dance-Punk/Indie Rock

1. Our Town
2. Start A Fire
3. Eyes Wide Open
4. Struggle
5. Calling All Enthusiasts
6. Save Your City
7. Speaking In Codes
8. Certain Tragedy
9. Red Lights
10. The Movies
11. End Of The Rope
12. Pipe Bombs
13. New Disco

This New York city band's newest offering, Gotham, is one of the most accessible politically minded albums there is. Radio 4 mixes disco grooves, post-punk guitar squeals, dub bass, and political rantings into beautiful and easily digestible concoctions. You'll find yourself humming along to the melodies with out even realizing the extremist political diatribes bubbling under the surface. Standouts include the opening track Our Town, with it's great little keyboards sounds haunting all the right moments, Calling All Enthusiasts, with it's funk guitar and Mick Jagger-esque vocals, and truly one of the best tracks of the year, Certain Tragedy, which is one of the greatest post-punk anthems ever. Buy this record and you will thank me.

--Josh (Amazon.com)

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Ancient Astronauts ≡ We Are To Answer(2009)

Ancient Astronauts
We Are To Answer
Genre Trip-Hop/Electronic/Down-Tempo/Hip-Hop/Dub

1. From The Sky
2. I Came Running
3. Classic (With The Pharcyde)
4. Dark Green Rod (With Ulf Stricker)
5. A Hole To Swallow Us (With Phat Old Mamas)
6. Risin High (With Raashan Ahmad)
7. Lost In Marrakesh (With Entropik)
8. All Of The Things You Do (With Tippa Irie)
9. Everybody
10. Seventh Planet Skit
11. Oblivion (With Azeem & DJ Zeph)
12. Surfing The Silvatide (With Bajka)
13. Crescent Moon

The German hip hop duo of Kabanjak and Dogu from Cologne known as Ancient Astronauts have unleashed their album "We Are to Answer" to the masses. The group has called their album "a musical trip through the cosmos returning back to Earth with spacey flutes, intergalactic lyrics and earthy drum beats". Featuring break beats, funked out vibes and galactic grooves, the new album features collaborations with The Pharcyde, Phat Old Mamas, Raashan Ahmad, Entropik, Tippa Irie, DJ Zeph & Azeem and Bajka. The album kicks of with "From the Sky", establishing a vision of lifting off into the space as the deep grooves flows evenly throughout the track and DJ scratching coincides with the beats and giving us an atmospheric soundscape. The track then leads into the second track titled "I Came Running" which features an upbeat, melancholic groove. Track three titled "Classic" is a classic collaboration with Bootie Brown and Imani from the South Central LA alternative hip hop group The Pharcyde and Germany's Ancient Astronauts which brings back that old school hip hop flavor with flutes, bass and upbeat percussion. The fourth track "Dark Green Rod" features a collaboration with Germany's popular percussionist Ulf Stricker known for his acousting and electronic use of percussion, the collaboration brings that galactic vibe in perfect harmony with Stricker's frantic drums. Another solid track on the album! The fifth track "A Hole To Swallow Us" features a collaboration with Phat Old Mamas as we hear a jazzy beats with the beautiful vocals of Linn Sofie Andersen Hom and Nana Norgaard-Clausen who bring their heavenly vocals to the track. Track six brings us another well-done hip hop collaboration with New Jersey's Raashan Ahmad. Addictive flutes interchanging with deep bass grooves. A wonderful track! Entropik known for their melodic and soothing music teams up with Ancient Astronauts for track seven's "Lost in Marrakesh" and giving us that Moroccan feel with a repeating groove. Mesmerizing and addictive! With the various tracks on this album, it doesn't surprise me that the group would collaborate with British reggae artist Tippa Ire for track eight's "All of the Things You Do". Featuring an all reggae track but subtle galactic sounds roam throughout the track. For track nine titled "Everybody", the music goes towards 80's funky and giving the listener's another style of music to enjoy the album. Track ten is titled "Seventh Planet Skit" is a short instrumental track that features a good use of sound sampling with brass horns and percussion. Track eleven is titled "Oblivion" featuring a collaboration with Oakland hip hop artist Azeem and DJ Zeph. A deeper hip hop track showcasing Azeem's smooth delivery of his rhymes and Ancient Astronauts with DJ Zeph showcasing his cool beats and scratching throughout the track. Track twelve titled "Surfing the Silvatide" featuring poet and singer Bajka which has a reggae groove but given added depth through Bajka's poetic delivery of her lyrics. A solid track! The album ends with "Crescent Moon" as the ride to outerspace is filled with an addictive groove as a wide variety of sounds peacefully enter the soundscape of your mind. Overall, a smooth and relaxing track.
JUDGMENT CALL: I've listened to this album countless times for the last week. Ancient Astronauts was incredibly pleasing as the duo manages to stay close to their atmospheric vibe and intergalactic sounds but yet collaborating with a variety of artists with music that goes into the various territories of Hip Hop, Funk, Reggae, Electronic and more. Overall, "We Are to Answer" is a solid album featuring a wide range of ear pleasing, addictive and mesmerizing music. And "We Are to Answer" brings that stylishly, cool vibe of dreamy, whimsical soundscape to the listener and artistically through music, able to paint that image of an intergalactic ride through their music but also taking a variety of other artists for the ride and just showcasing creativity as a whole.

--Dennis A. Amith (kndy)(Amazon.com)

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Freeland ≡ Cope (2009)

Freeland
Cope
Genre Electro/Breakbeat/Dance/Club

1. Do You
2. Under Control
3. Strange Things
4. Bring It
5. Mancry
6. Borderline
7. Rock On
8. Silent Speaking
9. Best Fish Tacos In Ensenda
10. Only A Fool
11. Morning Sun
12. Wish I Was Here

Freeland will release 'CopeT', his first artist album in six years, on his own independent label Marine Parade. Like his 2003 solo album debut 'Now & Them' and its uncompromising worldwide smash 'We Want Your Soul', Freeland's much-anticipated latest traffics in the unexpected-electro beats banging enough to fill dancefloors, yet twisted with sounds and collaborations from uncharted waters. Indeed, 'CopeT' ultimately proves a genre-smashing, era-defining call to arms on par with Leftfield's 'Leftism', Prodigy's 'Fat Of The Land', Daft Punk's 'Discovery' and Justice's +, defying expectations of what an electronic album should and could be.

--Unknown(Amazon.com)

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Ima Robot ≡ Ima Robot (2003)

Ima Robot
Ima Robot
Genre Alternative Rock/New Wave/Indie Rock

1. Dynomite
2. Song #1
3. Alive
4. Scream
5. A Is For Action
6. Dirty Life
7. Let's Talk Turkey
8. Philosophofee
9. 12=3 (Here Come The Doctors)
10. Here Comes The Bomb
11. What Are We Made From

What is this world coming to? What is wrong with today's music patrons? What is it, I ask you? There must be something wrong. And, do you want to know what I think that it is? I think that today's young music 'fans' are all media-brainwashed, uninterested, unopinionated minions. Tell me that I'm wrong. You can't. If I were wrong, then you wouldn't come upon a huge poster advertising D12's new 'album' in the front of the Sam Goody store as you journey to the I's to find the last remaining copy of this incredible album, which you will buy for $20, since it won't be on sale. If I were wrong, then I wouldn't have some idiot standing next to me at the 'MTV Campus Invasion Tour,' waiting for the recycled, almost-dead sounds of Hoobastank (and, to a lessor extent, Lostprophets), and shouting "get off the stage!" to this groundbreaking band as they put on a disturbing-yet-great show. Yes, people these days don't want anything new. They don't want artists to expand on musical genres, they want artists to grab hold of them and stretch them thinner and thinner. It's like when a person hires another painter to fininsh painting the world's largest house, because the painter working on it before got too old, and instead of using new paint, the new painter just throws some paint thinner on the paint and then spreads it around the wall, hoping that it would expand the paint slightly. (Okay, that was kind of a weird example.) But, you get what I'm saying. And, there's one more thing that you should understand: This band rocks. This album opens with the single 'Dynomite.' This is a cool song, and a great way to get things going. Also, at about 2:20 in length, this song helps set the pace for the entire album. Song, No. 1 is also a great number, and helps reassure that the album's gonna break more ground than a Garden Claw and the tracks won't be recursions of 'Dynomite' or of 80's new wave (which is what they often get accused of.) From here, it's pretty much smooth sailing, from the electro-punkish acid downpour "Here Come The Bombs" to the frantic chimes of "A is For Action," to the phenomenal sing-along anthem "Alive." This album's only real flaw is that it's over far too soon, only a little over a half hour in length (and only if you include the ten-or-so minutes of silence before the well-placed hidden track "Black Jettas," a song that you'll be thanking your lucky stars you won't really have to count against this band.) As with all great bands, though, the album is only half the experience. You haven't experienced Ima Robot unless you've seen the live show. They have so much energy, and they use the coolest of antics, including the bassist's ability to play a bass with-- get this-- another bass. I was fortunate enough to see them at the MTV Campus Invasion Tour, which I mentioned earlier, and I will see them again this summer on the Van's Warped Tour. However, as you will note, both of these venues kind of counteract with Ima Robot's style. They shouldn've booked them on the Lollapalooza tour, in my opinion, especially since this year's looking kind of dry. Ima Robot is to 80's new wave like Tim Burton's '89 Batman flick is to the 60's TV show: You could see it as a rehash, but you'd be dumb to deny the brilliance and the potenial of it all, a work of art that could have existed even if the 'original' did not. And if anyone who wrote Ima Robot off as a 'retro band' had actually listened to 80's new wave, they would know that Ima Robot are very new, very now, and playing music for the future, not the past.

--the 1 and only(Amazon.com)

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VA ≡ Funky House Party (2009)

VA
Funky House Party
Genre Techno/House/Dance/Club

CD1

1. DJ Antoine - Underneath (Daddys Groove Rework)
2. Spencer hill - Housebeat (Radio Mix)
3. Dave darell - Children (Club Radio Mix)
4. Steve Mac - Paddys Revenge
5. Meck feat. Dino - So Strong (Inpetto Edit)
6. Arno Cost - Souvenir
7. Mischa Daniels feat. Crown - Another Place (Maximal D essed Remix)
8. Axwell Dirty South feat. Rudy - Open Your Heart
9. Till West Tim Royko - Its Not Over (Tadio Mix)
10. The Frenchmakers feat. Andrea Britton - Miracle (Dub Radio Ed)
11. Norman Doray - Krystal
12. Ian Oliver - Skankin (Radio Mix)
13. Boogie Pimps - Gang Bang
14. Avantgarde - Get Down (Again In 2008) (Johnny Crockett Remix)
15. Anna Grace - You Make Me Feel
16. Eddie Thoneick - Whatcha Want (DJ Antoine vs Yoko Remix)
17. Superfunk - Ragga MC (Jeremy Sylvester Radio Mix)
18. Stonebridge Wawa - Let It Go (Stonebridge Remix)
19. DJ Antoine - Stop (DJ Antoine vs Yoko English Big Room Radio Mix)
20. Andrew Spencer vs Lazard - Here Without You (2-4 Grooves Radio Mix)

CD2

1. Steve Angello Sebastian Ingrosso - Partouze
2. Micha Moor Tim Royko - I Like That (Patric La Funk Remix Ed)
3. Musetta - Red Star (Michael Casette Remix)
4. Novy vs Eniac - Superstar (Eniac 2008 Radio Mix)
5. MC Roby Robb - Where Is The Party (Finger Kadel English Mix)
6. Dariush feat. Ellie Jackson - Flowers (Spinnin Elements Radio Mix)
7. Jeremy Sylvester - Keep It Hot Yall (Doc Phatt Radio Mix)
8. Nebu - Amanece (Radio Mix)
9. Swen Weber - The Pusher (Chris Reece Radio Remix)
10. DJelicious Loulou Players - Rock Da Beat (DJ Delicious Ra)
11. Patric La Funk - Restless (Tim Weeks Remix)
12. Maverick Azin -Let The Freak Out (Gold Ryan Tapesh Remix)
13. Marco G DJ Kal feat. Troy Carter - Party On (Radio Mix)
14. Notourious Mot - Rollin Trough My Hood (Tim Verba Eemix)
15. Synchro Jva - Dancin (Remaniax Remix)
16. Leisure Groove feat. Joe Killington - Untrue (Sunloverz Remix)
17. Exit Osaka - Hold On (Original Mix) 03:32
18. Dj Antoine vs Mad Mark - Turn Me On (Original Radio Mix)
19. DJ Delicious Eric Smax Pres. Lane Cryspo - All I Gave 2 U
20. Coco Fay - Hold You Back (Club Mix Edit)

Asobi Seksu ≡ Rewolf (2009)

Asobi Seksu
Rewolf
Genre Dream Pop/Shoegazing

1. Breathe Into Glass (at Olympic Studios)
2. Walk on the Moon (at Olympic Studios)
3. Meh No Mae (at Olympic Studios)
4. New Years (at Olympic Studios)
5. Blind Little Rain (at Olympic Studios)
6. Bossa (at Olympic Studios)
7. Suzanne (at Olympic Studios)
8. Gliss (at Olympic Studios)
9. Familiar Light (at Olympic Studios)
10. Thursday (at Olympic Studios)

One of the last albums ever recorded at London’s renowned Olympic Studios (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who), Rewolf finds Asobi Seksu’s core duo—vocalist Yuki Chikudate and guitarist James Hanna—affording listeners a fresh take on songs spanning the band’s career. Here, Asobi Seksu replaces its sonic layer of guitars with beautiful new arrangements achieved through the use of mostly acoustic instruments.

--Unknown

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