Tuesday, April 28, 2009

AGCD016 (RE-ISSUE) - Harry Salsava "Journey Through The Deep"

This project was originally stored on what was an old site merely streaming this classic mix CD 'Journey Through The Deep'. Now, I've managed to find the mp3 file of it and have stored it on the archive forever...

http://www.archive.org/details/HarrySalsava-JourneyThroughTheDeep

001 TACKLEHEID - "Co Co Maca Stick"
002 CHRIS COCO ft. PETER GREEN - "Albatross" (King Britt Scuba Mix)
003 FURRY PHREAKS - "Lament For A Dead Computer" (Part Two)
004 BLU MAR TEN - "Numbers"
005 KARMASTRY - "El Chakra"
006 MOMENTS OF SOUL - "Delicious" (Dub)
007 SMOKESTACK - "Radio Chamber"
008 Q-BURNS ABSTRACT MESSAGE - "Innocent" (Magik Johnson Guilty Mix)
009 DADDY J & THE FACE - "Electric City"
010 ABICAH SOUL PROJECT - "The Young Are The Future"
011 ELITE FORCE - "Tribe Vibe" (Dub)
012 JOHN DAHLBACK - "Parkdancer"

For those that want to read the original blogspace notes from last-year's post, here is a direct link:
http://audiogourmet.blogspot.com/2008/07/agcd016-harry-salsava-journey-through.html

AGCD032 - Harry Salsava "TechHouse Demo Mix, April 2009"


It has literally been months if not over a year since I've been able to record a mix CD that I feel satisfied with sharing. I've only just bought the hardware/software to be able to record the output from my mixer and I'm still getting to grips with it.
This mix here is 45 minutes of Tech-House/Techno and is packed with some B-sides, personal classics and recent purchases. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my mixer is ancient and less than adequate, a couple of the mixes are slightly off. What's worse, is that I've not quite worked out how to rid that dreadful feedback/hum that you can hear at the start...so that will be something I plan to work on for future mixes.

In the meantime, since I like the records in this mix very much and they are reasonably well put together, I've decided to include it as an Audio Gourmet CD release.

I do plan on making future CDs that are much tidier and of better quality, but for now here is something to get to grips with in the meantime:

http://www.archive.org/details/HarrySalsava-TechhouseDemoMixApril2009

TRACKLIST:
001 Mountain People "Mountain 005.2"
002 C-Soul "Verbal Competition"
003 HippE "Chunky Tool"
004 Tigerskin "Push The Patton"
005 Kriece "Nozomi"
006 Martin Woerner "Sun Dried"
007 Dan Berkson and James What "Onika"
008 SLG "Sleepless"
009 Shlomi Aber "Sekur"
010 Kriece and Basek "Submission"

Friday, April 24, 2009

MDAC006 - Monthly Discerning Audio Chart, April 2009

This month saw the release of my Soluable Jazz Session mix CD, which I'd bought a lot of music for. It'd be all to easy to just compile a chart featuring all of those excellent tracks...but that would just be lazy. I've been listening to plenty of other records this month and so I've taken a bit of time on this sunny Friday afternoon to talk you through some of the stand-out pieces from my record collection this April...

LUALLAN CARDONA & MATT BALZAN - Go Deep
I was drawn to this since I've got a bit of Balzan's material in my collection...and this one's something different from him as he joins forces with Luallan Cardona. It's more up-tempo than his usual work, deep dreamy synths swell over some simple House beats. The real treat is when it takes a break half-way through to reveal that lazy guitar section which is set at half-time...

KEMETIC JUST - Highways and Mindwaves
There was a small record shop that I used to frequent as a young lad, in Peterborough. On reflection it wasn't particularly brilliant, but given that it was only down the road and I was young and impressionable - it sufficed. There is not a lot of music I bought back then that I still listen to nowadays, since my tastes have differed somewhat. Yet this record here is something different; I've been listening to this soulful House cut since 2002 and still don't get tired of it! An absolute classic in my record collection.

OSBOURNE - Hydragilm Exit
I've been looking into the sounds of Osbourne, and much of it seems to be of a more 'electro' disposition - which is something that I tend to steer clear of, if I'm honest. This cut, however, is much, much deeper and is nice to listen to when the sun is shining! It's classic deep House music with a nod towards Larry Heard's style of production. So if Osbourne's likely to write anything else along these lines, I'd be very willing to hear it...

CARL CRAIG and MORITZ VON OSWALD - Recomposed
Picked up this CD since the concept seemed an interesting spectacle. Fusing music of organic and orchestral nature with synthetic electronic manipulation....a paradox that has provided a window of experimentation ever since electronic music began. Carl Craig, something of a techno master, reconstitutes this beautiful classical music with tasteful yet boundary-expanding craftmanship.
Well worth a listen, is this - particularly my personal favourite 'Movement 6'.

SUSUMU YOKOTA & ROTHKO - Floating Moon
Two big artists amalgamate to create sonic beauty, fusing electro-acoustic guitar work with intricate soundscapes. Rothko provides this guitar work and Yokota supplies the backdrop.
To someone that is more used to listening to popular music forms, the guitar sounds will rise to the foreground in this piece. And rightly so, as they set the mood and feel to the track. But if you try to push these to the background, you will notice Yokota's delicate soundscaping shine through and add subtle accents to further enhance the mood of the track.

NICOLA RATTI - esope
When I download netlabel albums, I usually have a subconscious list of labels to check. Some labels will have regular releases and others will not release for months. I've been checking back at Zymogen for months after I'd particularly enjoyed their Offthesky release. So I was extremely excited when I noticed Nicola Ratti's 'esope' became available to download.
And, what's more, it really doesn't disappoint. This is just how I like my soundscapes - field recordings, drones and instrumentation, delicately woven together as an untold story. I've listened to this a lot over the month - it is just superb. This release comes with my highest recommendation:
http://www.zymogen.net/releases/zym022/

BLACKFISH - Pacific Harbour
This track was brought to my attention at a recent downtempo/funk/House set by Pat Unwin of Dig Deep. I remember him dropping this one early on, and it just filled the room with a nostalgic haze...It's just such a smooth, languid track and I just had to ask him who it was by... cheers Pat.

DIFUSION - Second Future
Deep broken groove here that's just perfect for those summer months. Lots of sounds to soak yourself into; funky bass, broken beats, deep keys, mellow flute, subtle vocals....excellent music! Whilst it's quite deep and dreamy piece, it's still funky and up-beat enough to spin at a party...

DORIAN CONCEPT - Two Hour Power
Dorian Concept's production style sees a unique style of instrumental Hip-Hop pushed towards experimental and glitch realms. Some of this wasn't really my bag, but this cut treads a slightly different pathway...Nice laid-back beats with a powerful synth sound over the top; it's simple but VERY effective!

TERJE PAULSEN - Twenty Feet For Buddha
A new Resting Bell netlabel release is always something of great excitement for anyone who is into the Creative Commons Ambient/drone scene...and this longform piece from Terje Paulsen doesn't let this excellent label down. It is a beautiful, gentle, meditative piece that is perfect for introspective listening or set at low-volume to induce sleep...enjoy:
http://www.restingbell.net/releases/rb056-twenty-feet-for-buddha

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

AGCD031 Liquid Jazz Project "The Soluable Jazz Session" (Mix CD)

This excursion into laid-back jazzy sounds sees the Audio Gourmet blogspot CD collection rise to 31 pieces; one for each day of a full calendar month! It also sees the resurrection of my old guise 'Liquid Jazz Project', a project name reserved for nu-jazz, downtempo, soul, funk and jazz music styles. This CD serves as a demo mix that I might hand out to prospective bars to secure a gig - it has been designed to showcase the sort of music I might play in a stylish cocktail bar, for instance...

THE LINK:
http://www.archive.org/details/TheSoluableJazzSession

One important note, is that given the software I used to mix the CD, it has not been beatmatched or blended as such. Despite the transitions being simple and quick, I tried to program them as smooth as possible and to the best of the program's ability.

TRACKLISTING:
001 Senseque "Days Like This" (Attic Tree Remix)
002 Paradice "Worry Breaker"
003 Domu "Message To Omar"
004 Flashbaxx "Voodoo Therapy"
005 Soulphiction "Used"
006 The Mighty Bop "Ride Away"
007 Mr Scruff "Bunch Of Keys"
008 Ameaba "Salty Tears" (Atjazz Remix)
009 Umod "Tromboline"
010 Nanami Togarashi "Orange Peel"

Please support these artists by downloading other works by them...