Friday, January 20, 2006

Funky Friday Dropping Leftfield Gems

renegade soundwave piano overlord the mekons a certain ratio

Renegade Soundwave - The Man Who Wouldn't Let Wax Wane
From 1995's The Next Chapter Of Dub, this was some of the last new material from the by-then duo. This is a tasty little bit of hip-hop, done in typically skanking RSW style - there's lots of dubbed out guitars, a nice breakbeat and plenty of echo. Nice.

Piano Overlord - Diplo Electric Manatee Final Mixdown
From last year's The Singles Collection 03-05, Piano Overlord is yet another of Scott Herren's aliases. You probably know him as Prefuse 73 or Savath & Savalas. Here he delivers leftfield hip hop rooted in organic drum and piano. That having been said, this track is a Diplo remix that brings the glitchy, old skool electro flavor and loads of spacey synths.

The Mekons featuring Lester Bangs - One Horse Town
From 1990's F.U.N.90 EP. Released at the height of the acid house/baggydelic era, it could be seen as the band's "dance" record. The beats of the era are here - Soul II Soul's breakbeat and that DNA variation of it all appear, and the production is slick. This track is a sprawling, psychedelic dance rock thing that features the rambling vocals of music journo icon Lester Bangs - "burn the stars and stripes". It also has some lovely Celtic sounding vocals, some hugely skronked out guitars, and it's all pinned down by a big beat and lots of ambient bits and bobs. A great track, a great EP.

A Certain Ratio - Touch
From the 2005 remastered and expanded reissue of I'd Like To See You Again. Originally released in 1982 on Factory Records, it was the band's last album. It saw then sounding a lot more like the NYC bands they were originally aping, and only garnered so-so reviews. I like it's slicker, electro style. This track kicks off the LP with much bass popping goodness. There are 5 extra tracks on this reissue, including the 7" and 12" versions of Knife Slits Water. Sweet.

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