Tracks of the month: January 2017

This is an overview of the music that the 909 crew are feeling this month. Not focused on new releases, it serves as an insight to our musical journeys and the discoveries we make on the way. 

Boomerang – Na Zapadu Ništa Novo

RT: This is a gem released by a little known Yugoslavian band several light years ago (1982). The guitar hook is really reminiscent of 60’s psychedelic rock, and is absolutely killer. No idea what the guy is singing about but I don’t care, this is one of the better leftfield Funk songs you’ll find. Ilya Santana has made a really decent instrumental of it that is more DJ friendly, highly recommend!

I-F- Sloth

RT: From the super-rare The Brown Elbow Conspiracy EP, this is a murky, rancid and grotesque tune that deserves to be locked up and left in a dungeon. Some seriously amazing electro that is alarmingly dystopian and  would be an apt soundtrack for an alien invasion.

Helium- Try Me 

RT: I recently stumbled across this and bought it instantly. One of those house tracks that has absolutely everything: catchy, melodic, emotional, accessible. Proper classic 90’s European house, quite surprised that this isn’t more popular as it has everything to satisfy the masses. Big tip!

Wargames- Track 1

RT: Been seriously digging Intergalactic Gary recently and this has popped up in a few of his sets. Finding any information about the artist/collective or the EP itself is a complete myth, as it is a white label from an unknown  artist with the Wargames pseudonym. My copy has absolutely no information about it at all apart from the insignia on the record cover. The whole song is a complete madness, with drum patterns and delayed hi-hats flying all over the place. Then, out of nowhere, a distorted synth triumphantly rises over the pandemonium. Drop this, and its a declaration of war on the dancefloor.

The Other People Place- Moonlight Rendezvous 

RT: One of the defining songs from the magnum opus of electro LP’s. The Other People Place was a side-project of James Marcel Stinson, one half of aquatic overlords Drexciya, and was made one year before his death in 2002. I recently picked up the repress of this from Warp, which comes as a relief as before you would easily have to spend upwards of £150 to grab a copy. This song perhaps receives less attention than the anthemic Let Me Be Me or the weightier Running From Love , but it is my absolute favourite off this LP and I think it is quite simply exquisite. It manages to be desperately sad, yet vulnerably affirmative and nostalgic. This is the product of Stinson’s masterful production, and is far more refined and subtle here than in his raw and feral Drexciya cuts. It is delicate, beautifully mysterious and almost feels too personal to play out, but I will anyway.