Josh Wink - When A Banana Was Just A Banana (2009)

Josh Wink continues to further his sound into the 21st century as the electronic genre gets pulled more and more into the realm of pop and RnB. But Mr. Wink has resisted the urge that so many have succomed to. He has maintained the disciplined, paced and educated development in his sound that is required by intelligent and well produced house music. There remains in this dynamic and driving collection of grooves a constant echo back to the acid house brilliance that first catapulted Josh Wink into electronic orbit during the rave culture of early 90's Britain. The epic and delerium enducing grooves of "Higher State of Consciousness" will forever loom over this producer but his latest effort is a shining example of how to bring that 1990's sound to the new generation.

"When a Banana Was Just a Banana" will drive a non-stop pulsing rhythm into your skull without relenting for a good solid 73 minutes -however some say thats how it should be... Wink takes the progressive house sound and warps the edges into something dark and deep. ot holding back on the low frequencies, this album will test the capacities of your home sound system and encourage you to listen intently for every little beep and blip.

The loops are contageous and dynamic. Wink is known for his willingness to bend and warp the sounds and synth lines in his tunes.. this album seems to embrace the new technology that allows him to do this at new, more complex levels. While staying true to the house roots, Wink also seems to be embracing the growing interest in IDM and the "glitch" sound, creating rippling clicks and rhythmic skipping of the beat throughout the album. By the time you have reached "What Used to be Called Used To Be", Wink has layed down a solid driving bass line, upon which a mesmerising array of loops and flips take your ears on a merry-go-round of delight. Monolake's "Interstate" rings through in this track in particular.

Opening with "Aeroplane Electronique" the album is given a real club feel by being given a "dj-mix" treatment between tracks. This album will be gracing the dance floors of many a club over the next few years. This perhaps is where it really belongs and also what seperates it from the more commercial "home listening" that is being produced by many electronic artists these days. You may find yourself struggling to stay interested in this album as it settles down into a steady progressive house release. The dynamic sounds of the first 4 tracks eventually smooths out into a solid sound by the end of "Jus' Right" and unless you have decided to jump up and dance you may lose interest. If you hold through however you will be delighted by the complexity of "Minimum 23" and the pulsing finishing track "Stay Out All Night" in which the bass will truely shake the ground beneath your feet.

This album however is for dancing, and if that is what you want to do it will definitely carry you through and is not to be left unopened at a house party. Josh Wink is still a crowd pleaser and this will not fail to bring numerous moments of euphoria and joy... it may not be an express train to delerium but it will definitely bring you on the scenic route to the end of a great night out.

Tracklisting:

1. Aeroplane Electronique*


2. Counter Clock 319


3. What Used To Be Called Used to Be*


4. Jus' Right


5. Dolphin Smack*


6. Minimum 23*


7. Everybody to the Sun


8. Hypno Slave


9. Stay Out All Night*

*reviewers picks

73 minutes

Susumu Yokota/Rothko - Distant Sounds of Summer (2005)

Rothko and Susumu Yokota's 2005 collaboration "Distant Sounds of Summer"... is one of those albums that just keeps popping it's head up every so often. As if to tell me that I have not yet really appreciated all that there is to hear.



There has been a few of these albums popping up lately, namely, Tin Hat Trio's "The Rodeo Eroded" which constantly seems to lose it's grip on me after the perfect opening track "Bill".... maybe it's too perfect?

However today the iPod decided that those sounds I have been drilling into my skull everyday for the last 20years can take a step back, a day off, a mid-term break, and let the less shiny sparkly corners of my deep dark hole of an iPod have their time in the Sun. And so Yokota and Rothko took their chance to remind me why I should listen to them more often.

"Distant Sounds of Summer" is essentially an album of vast experimentation and noise, controlled expertly by the artists' differing yet wholly complementary styles... if you like the meditative and pulsing rhythms of Susumu Yokota's "Sakura" you will enjoy this album. While still exploring the ambient sounds he mastered on that album and more like it after 2000, the Japanese Dance legend leans towards a slightly heavier use of drum here, which reflects just a little of his earlier 90's house roots. While the use of clean drum tracks over deep and flowing textures seems at times a little strong, and disruptive to the relatively peaceful and meditative quality of the album, it seems to be a response to the dominant bass lines layed down by Rothko which rise out of the waves of noise and harmony.

The album opens with a Yokota drum line, strong and brazen, suggesting an album filled with anything but the soothing and exploratory, ambient sheets of sound that fill every inch of space within the ear of the listener. "Paths Fade into Forest" is where this mix of bass/drum/texture is best achieved, with a rolling bass line gradually matched by an up-tempo and non-intrusive rhythm, enticing the listener to want to hear more of the same. Indeed it is after this point that the album descends into a flurry of deep aural treats, culminating in a excellent 10minutes and 20seconds with "Reflections and Shadows" (involving a slow pulsing, powerful meditation, aided by the soothing voice of Caroline Ross who provides vocals throughout the album) and the title track which features an excellent collage of guitar and bass lines, held in place by the ever-present, effervescent textures of Yokota.

This is no masterpiece. There are moments when the seemingly unrellenting harmony between these two artists is lost, yet there is always a sense that there is something ultimately perfect to hear only 20 or 30 seconds down the line. This is an excellent example of what happens whenn artists who should collaborate together do, and do it right. There is no struggle for supremacy or dominance in any way, one is always left guessing which element is attributed to which artist, save for the obvious qualities of bass and dance music.

Get this album if you really want to hear something new.... something that is not just one thing...or....well... anything in particular.



Vague enough?