Record Reviews (09/07/22)
Ali Berger - Nonsight Vision [Trackland]
One of my most-played tracks of this year so far, ‘Sun’ leads off Ali Berger’s first EP of 2022 with a compelling set of syncopated elements - mutating reverbing pad, stepping kick, techno hats - that orbit each other for the whole track. When that big warm bass and cute filtered vocal sample come in they complete the funky picture. I’ve dropped this in the opening 20 minutes of pretty much every big set this year and it always soothes my nerves and gets my hips moving.
‘Wave Chords’ and the title track (present in three variations) are more down the line techno tracks, the latter pushing a fresh 138bpm but still sounding pretty airy. My other pick of the EP, though, is ‘09 Fusion’, which keeps flipping back and forth between what sounds like two different tracks in a way that just works. This is optimistic, thoughtful and above all danceable house music made by a real head (check this recent interview).
I hear Ali tore up Nowadays before Tony Humphries last weekend so I’m hoping I get a chance to see his DJ+machines thing soon - any European bookers out there?
Ewan Jansen - Behind The Times (Part 3): Hello Stranger [Self-released]
This is the third part in a series of archival releases by Ewan Jansen, who’s been mining his extensive collection of unreleased tracks extracted from DAT, Minidisc & CDr masters. These vocal-heavy tunes were all composed in his teens and early twenties - 1995-2004 for those counting - and maybe it’s just me narrativising but they seem to have a youthful sound to them: curious, exploratory, carefree. That timeframe is also instructive here, as there’s an almost dance pop-through-nu disco leaning to some of these tunes: check ‘To Dance’, ‘Sleepwalking’, ‘Everybody Using Their Feet’, ‘You Look Good In Soul’ for a handful.
I’m not a Jansen completist by any means (sorry Ewan! but you have made rather a lot of music), so I don’t know how many extended solos like on opener ‘Final Show’, or naive but winning vocals like on ‘Catchup’, have made it into his more recent work. But here these elements pop and fizz and as I listen through the album each track makes me think “this would work at the good kind of party” - the good kind of party being the kind that takes all sorts, as long as it grooves.
Most of us know that Ewan is a highly musical producer, but it’s a thrill to hear him stretching out like this in a way that on more recent releases has perhaps become a bit more streamlined. So, Ewan, when can we expect an out-and-out pop album?
VA - World Life Balance [Cheap Fast Worldwide]
Minimalist Bell-like two-step (‘Deep Dive’ and ‘Waiting For Pippo’) is joined by densely-textured psychedelic downtempo (‘The Sun’) on the A. On-trend mid-130bpm tech house (‘Gravityisalwaysattractive’) gives way to bucolic ambient (‘Verzwitschert Richard’) and an entirely unexpected kraut-rock-meets-post-punk vamp (‘Boots’, complete with wonderful video) on the B.
This record has been put together by a collective who seem to be looking just beyond the horizon for something otherwise overlooked. That it has “something for everyone” is true and should be celebrated, but this achievement has a slightly bitter edge given the way the current vinyl distribution market rewards conformity. Never mind, World Life Balance is defiantly uncommercial, revealing the sharp irony in the name of the label. There is nothing cheap or fast about this package, but it does deserve to be heard widely. I hope more people take note.