Music Reviews by Olly Perris Posted by LiamStyles on Aug 26, 2003 - 8:42:00 PM

Lectrolux - 'Fearless' (Remixes) (Tec Records)

Finally after a long wait, the remix disc comes of this techno monster! The original mixes revolved around a rock solid, disturbingly heavy techno groove with an old skool feel given by a sampled rave piano - The end result? Think Cortina mixed with the sound of Guy McCaffer! So it makes sense therefore to commission remixes which stick true to the original feel, and boy have they really come up trumps here! First up, London boy DAVE The Drummer provides a chunky, bassline-driven groover with some wicked MC vocals adlibbed over the top. Whilst this deters from the feel of the original, it provides a wicked take on it and really does twist the tune into another direction, which at the end of the day is the point of a remix, is it not!! However, the remix on the other side completely overshadows it. Step up Phil Wall, a new name to the hard dance arena but this production surely will cement his name onto many people's chart returns! He provides an enormously chunky, punky techno groove with the rave piano worked in beautifully, providing some brilliant stop-start moments and a real rush of energy. And with the track clocking in at about 138bpm, this is no easy task! A wicked remix of a great original and one I will certainly be playing for a long, long time! 

BK & Andy Farley - 'Accelerate' (Nukleuz)

If you're reading this review and have never heard of this tune before, follow these simple instructions. 1. Turn off your PC. 2. Remove yourself from the large rock you've been buried under for the last 5 months. 3. Remove your anorak, find the front door, get out of it and damn well go clubbing!! This is the monsterous tune which has ripped up all UK hard dance floors nationwide and is the first big tune of the year to really make people go "What the FCUK was that?!?!". It starts off with breakbeats and a silky smooth bassline before breaking down into an epic pad-athon. However, any disconcerting listener would be fooled into thinking this would just simply carry on laid back. As suddenly it gets faster, and faster, and faster....you get the picture!! A wicked analogue riff comes in after the mental 244bpm climax (it originally went up to about 300bpm but for obvious reasons this wasnt plausible!!) and carrys the track home in superb style. Many have said this tune is a bit gimmicky but for me its the anthem of the year, great stuff! The flip sees BK & the self proclaimed Queen of hard house get down and dirrty with a raw groove on "Fluff Me Up" - not an obvious tune by any means but it will suffice for the warm-up sets for sure. Buy this for Accelerate, play it, and feel those arms go uncontrollably aloft! 

Guy McCaffer & Carl Hendriske - 'RAW 17' (RAW)

"AND ANY MUTHA FUCKER THAT DISAGREES" yells this absolute techno beast. Continuing the recent trend of shouting, punky, raw, dirty and down right RUDE techno grooves to come out of London, the new RAW will not disappoint fans of the label by any means. The A side explodes with old skool hip hop vocals and pots & pans percussion before exploding with the aforementioned expletives out of the funky-arsed breakdown! The flip sees a more standard tech groove but really does show off the expert drum programming of Guy McCaffer. Even though the tune on the B side is a bit pedestrian and is certainly not too memorable, the A side more than makes up for it. Definately one for someone who wants a bit of attitude in their hard stuff, fucker!!!! 

De-Koder - 'Cotton Mouth' (Fevah Records)

Originality is the key to success in our slightly claustrophobic hard dance scene at the moment. Anyone can knock up a trance riff in 5 minutes, get a package of remixes and brand it as "the sound of the future" when really its repeating something done 2 years ago. However this tune completely breaks any mould set and beams with originality and fresh ideas. De-Koder, aka The Testube Babies, start off with a slow, chuggy groove but brilliantly work in layers of atmospheric pads and some superb synths, before hammering full throttle with a funky piano riff (again, think Cortina but on a slightly more laid back scale!!) which collides with the beats & bass to deliver a superb fresh take on hard house. Fevah have snapped up a gem here, lets just hope they get the promotion spot on to really hammer the best out of this record, as they could be sitting on one of the biggest records of the year. 

Billy Bunter & Jon Doe - 'UK Hard 10' (UK Hard)

UK Hard has once again risen from the ashes and is now releasing great records at a very fast rate. Anyone who remembers/has got UK Hard #1 will know exactly what I mean. Quality, well-produced hard house records which are original and don't conform to any kind of stereotype at all. Here, the stereotypes perhaps return in the form of "Inside Your Mind", a collaboration with busy vocalist Niki Mac. Whilst the whiff of trance is there, the awesome production is stamped with that Jon Doe seal and the energy levels are well maintained throughout the track. The flip side, the more punkier & noisier "Step Up To The Next Level" takes the listener on a trip through rave hoovers, growly bass and analogue synths before exploding in the break with an enormous dirty riff!! Again, the production is quality and the tune oozes style. This EP is certainly not comparable to UK Hard #1 or #7 (the 2 best in the series IMO) but should have broad appeal throughout the scene!