Balkan Express is a 2002 effort with a driving groove which earns it its name. The track has a very clean, unprocessed quality and would probably benefit from either further post-production or just plain old loudness(!), so keep that in mind when listening.
The Culprit is a circa 2003, loopy, funky techno jam inspired by the sounds of Joey Beltram and DJ CZR. A few labels nearly picked this one up, but at the time I had no other productions which would make good record companions, so for that and probably other random reasons it never made it out. Its loop-based structure makes it fun to play and useful DJ tool, so I’m making it available here, in original wave format.
Almost entirely sample based (I believe the only played part was the bass) its got a retro vibe dominated by the thick, filtered groove. Have a listen and download it below.
Incognito is an old housey track. It was produced in 2002 and almost got released on New York’s Gotham Grooves label shortly after the release of Funk Matter EP (which came up a couple of months ago in this post), but I forget why it never made it out. The artwork on the left was being considered as well at the time.
Anyhow, much like Funk Matter, Incognito is a sample-based, up-tempo jam and features some nice bells in the background. Wav download is provided.
Exclusive:<
For the first time on on this blog (if my memory serves me right), I’m posting a few key samples used on a track so you can mess with them, if you’d like:
Open Source has that B-side feel. Coming through are some of my early Goa/Psy-trance influences mixed with the more usual tribal techno vibe. The spacing of the heavy low-end vs. elements in the higher range works well and leaves enough room for the flyby’s in the middle.
This is another track which features a sample from the movie Event Horizon – not just because I liked that movie and the sound of it, but because it was probably the only movie I ever ripped the audio from for this purpose. (I maintain that I’m NOT a big fan of movie samples in tracks, but yeah, I know. Whatever.)
I have no clue why this track is called Open Source. Do you?
Btw, the photo above is of a Mars landscape and was one of the 35 Mars photos featured in today’s Boston Globe. I’m guessing that these photos are “open source” since they ought to belong to mankind as a whole.
I’m being perfectly honest when I tell you that I don’t remember when this track was produced or even that it was. I came across it on an old CD of my productions and it was (and remains) unmarked. So here it is, a rareuntitled track and I must say that I don’t dislike it. Its a raw track that sort of resembles Clusterfuck and Fake House, both of which were featured here recently.
Far Off Course is a weird, crossover track from 2001. It starts out with some broken beats and then morphs into a smooth driving adventure.
The focus throughout is on percussion (at the time I came across some weird tube sounding samples that resemble something from the Blue Man Group soundtrack, and I used them when arranging the drums on this track), aside from which the only melodic passages are creamy stabs and evolving pads which emerge half way into the track and drive it to the end.
While the track is not easy to categorize and fit into a concise set I always liked it and am happy to present it here. Enjoy.
Fake House is a rare house track of the bunch. It sort of caught me by surprise and took all of about 4 hours to arrange. It has a very raw, sample-based vibe which makes it a fun track to play (and play with) in an early or late set.
The creamy bass line was played on the Nord Lead keyboard, and is joined by a reversed electric piano riff and a couple of other mangled samples. The main beat was summed and reversed in a couple of breaks to add to the odd feel.
We’re going way back to 1999 for one of the first Alek Biotic live mixes: Funkin. A disco house set, Funkin features a few classics from the period, most notably Knights of The Jaguar by Aztec Mystic (aka DJ Rolando). A flurry of remixes followed the release of Jaguar, but Funkin features the original which I’m happy to stay I still have on vinyl (2 copies, in fact). Also present is one of my favorite Basement Jaxx jams, Miracles Keep On Playin’ (Red Alert Remix), often heard in my sets around this time.
The mood of the mix toughens up in the second half with a couple of tracks from Timo Maas, Joey Beltran’s Arena and ending up with Adam Beyer’s remix of The Real Jazz – a sick crossover track and a personal favorite. (The original version of Krome and Dahlback’s The Real Jazz appears on the mix The Hook Up Service, completed in early 2009 and featured on this blog.)
There were lots of copies of this CD going around and it actually got quite a few plays. According to unconfirmed reports it even reached cafes on the Adriatic and Mediterranean coasts. I worked on a follow-up tentatively titled Stylin which followed the same vibe but was never officially released. I’ll see if I can dig it up and make it available here in the future.
Track List:
Ramon Lafour & Tim J – Pluck Funkin’
Techhouse Phenomena – Pure Science
Aztec Mystic – Knights of the Jaguar
Funky Derrick – Keep It Up (Third Earth Mix)
Mile High Club – Pill Pipeline
Mastermind – Free To Do Whatever
Basement Jaxx – Miracles Keep On Playin’ (Red Alert Mix)
Mr. Spring – Blax Trax 1
Armin Van Buuren – Free (Olav Basoski’s Bodycheck Mix)
Funk Function – Empress Zero
Timo Maas – Eclipse
Jan Driver – Drive By
Joey Beltram – Arena
Timo Maas – Riding On The Storm
Thomas Krome – Real Jazz (Adam Beyer Remix)
August 28, 2009 / admin / Comments Off on Exclusive: Upstanding Citizens present Funkadelic Sexy
Unless you’re really in-the-know, it may come as a surprise that Upstanding Citizens is a project of old buddies Rus Deep (Mr. Preverted Groove himself) and Alek Biotic. But even if you were familiar with the duo and their track Cannibal Carnival featured on Rus and David Sambor’s 2003 CD Sounds Under New York, the only way you could have heard the follow up Funkadelic Sexy would have been during a Rus Deep or Alek Biotic live set. But even then you wouldn’t have known it.
Well, here it is now, to set things straight.
Recorded in Alek’s Brooklyn studio in late 2003 and mastered shortly after, the track features the vintage Rus Deep tear-down and re-build, with the classic NYC Progressive House vibe. Once again, original Wav file is included.