Great Thunderball!

September 15th, 2006 by Pete

cinescope

Looking ahead to October’s releases, ESL Music (Thievery Corporation’s label) will be releasing Thunderball’s latest, Cinescope. Washington DC’s Sid Barcelona and Steve Raskin are the force behind Thunderball. They excel at drum and bass, breakbeats, dub, and downtempo - all with a classic 70’s cinematic feel behind it.

They recruited Afrikaa Bambaataa for a couple of tracks, and Roots for another, so the boys have their connections. They spend their time performing DJ sets at various clubs, and also have a 8-piece band they pull together from time to time.

If you’re like me, once in a while you like to mix it up a little. This album puts that different little spin on things. Some tracks, you feel like you’re inside a blaxploitation film, others, you’re envisioning sexy young vixens dancing around you in a red, velvety, smoky lounge (like “Chicachiquita” below). Well, I guess I try to picture that with anything I listen to. * Excuse me, what’s that honey?? Haha! You know I’m only kidding! Okay, I’ll rephrase!! Jeez…. Ahem… right, so songs like “Chicachiquita” will elicit thoughts of your husband or wife or significant other dancing seductively around you in a red velvety lounge.

Thunderball: Chicachiquita (mp3)

Official Site | Buy Thunderball’s Music

Posted in Breaks, Electronic | 1 Comment »

Shriekback live at the Paradiso

August 20th, 2006 by Pete

shriekback

It’s an 80’s triple assault! First Journey, then Prince’s ‘88 aftershow, and now the circle is complete with a 1984 Amsterdam set by Shriekback. I posted a year ago about my fondness for their 1986 record ‘Big Night Music‘. This show comes a couple years before that release.

Made up primarily of Barry Andrews, Dave Allen, and Carl Marsh, this British group formed in 1982. Andrews was originaly in XTC, and Allen came from Gang of Four. Put together Allen’s strong presence on the bass, Andrews’ synthesizer and whispered vocals, Marsh’s rhythm guitar and more melodic vocals, and a mix of cool drum programming and live percussion, and you have a funky, ethereal, and very unique sound.

Shriekback got together again in 2004 after a long hiatus and recorded their 2005 release, ‘Cormorant’. You can hear a couple tracks from every one of their albums on their web site. When this Amsterdam show took place in October of 1984, they had an EP and an album under their belt (’Tench’ and ‘Jam Science’).

This is a short set, and I’m not sure if there was more to their set this evening or not, but it’s a neat glimpse into Shriekback’s world, circa 1984.

Shriekback
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam
August 10, 1984

1. Flayling
2. Hand On My Heart
3. Feelers
4. Mothloop II
5. White Out
6. Suck
7. My Spine (Is The Bassline)

Lineup:
Barry Andrews: keyboards, vocals
David Allen: bass, backing vocals
Carl Marsh: guitar, vocals
Martyn Barker: drums
Pedro Ortiz: percussion

Posted in Electronic, Funk, Pop | 3 Comments »

A Little Electrik Boogie

March 10th, 2006 by Pete

Ursula 1000

Thanks to the fine folks at Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, I got my hands on a copy of the upcoming release by Ursula 1000, which is basically NYC-based multi-instrumentalist and “mild-mannered” DJ Alex Gimeno. I’ve really enjoyed listening to the CD over the last couple of days. It’s an entertaining and fun listen, with break beats, electronic, old school, and funky rhythms pervading the eardrums. You’ll see what I mean by fun when you hear these two tracks.

“Kaboom!” is goofy, non-sensical pop-funk, and in my opinion a great album opener. With the Austin Powers-ish “Hello Baby”s and Izumi Ookawara belting out “wham wack zonk zing”s and “thud fizz plop ring”s.

“Electrik Boogie” harkens back to 80’s synthesizer funk. Alex definitely was listening to some of the same stuff I was: Prince, Zapp, Midnight Star. You’ll hear it…

Ursula 1000: Kaboom! (mp3) | Electrik Boogie (mp3) - from ‘Here Comes Tomorrow‘, set for a March 21st release. Pre-order it!

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Did somebody say Midnight Star?

Bonus: Midnight Star: Freak-a-Zoid (mp3) from ‘No Parking on the Dance Floor‘

Posted in Electronic, Funk | No Comments »

It’s Time for some Grebo

April 1st, 2005 by Pete


(flyer is from 1993)

Well I thought I’d dust off some old quality tuneage and rock the blogosphere with the sounds of Pop Will Eat Itself. I only have one of their releases - ’91’s ‘Cure for Sanity’ - but it was and remains a very high energy, entertaining, rock/pop/rap/dance hybrid. I even learned a new word tonight. The Poppies developed a new genre of “grimy and raunchy” music, called Grebo. You Brits out there, ya heard of Grebo? New on me. PWEI stayed active between 1987 and 1996, as far as album releases go.

But this is good stuff. Funky electronic sounds make for a pleasurable listening experience. Ladies and Gentlemen, Pop Will Eat Itself.

Pop Will Eat Itself: 88 Seconds…& Still Counting (mp3)
From: Cure for Sanity, 1991.

Posted in Electronic | No Comments »

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