Anfang der 90er Jahre hatte man in Kanada eine Weile aufmerksam den internationalen Entwicklungen von House und Techno zugehört und machte sich dann daran, selbst wichtige Beiträge zu leisten. Richie Hawtin und John Acquaviva versuchten sich mit Plus 8 erfolgreich an englischen Bleeps, kontinentaleuropäischem Rave-Krach und den Vorreitern aus dem nahen Detroit, das Label Hi-Bias hingegen orientierte sich vornehmlich an englischem, italienischem und New Yorker House mit Pianoschwerpunkt. Und dann gab es noch das von den Produzenten Hayden Andre Brown und Ron Allen gegründete Label Strobe, dessen Programm all diese Stilelemente aufnahm und zu einem eigenen spezifischen Sound umformte, der jahrelang einzigartig bleiben sollte. Zwar veröffentlichte man auf Strobe in drei Jahren nur ein gutes Dutzend Platten, aber jede von ihnen richtete sich auf ewig im legendären Teil des globalen Deep-House-Gedächtnisses ein. Wie Brown und Allen dabei vorgingen, lässt sich auf dieser Platte ihres Gemeinschaftsprokets Infra-Red von 1991 eindrucksvoll nachhören. „Love Honey“ ist introspektiver Deep House, der sich über ein emotionales Spoken Word-Intro und das Accapella aus dem Paradise Garage-Evergreen „Love Honey, Love Heartache“ von Man Friday ganz der Wehmut nach der verflossenen Liebe hingibt. Die Melancholie, die hier auf jedem Klavier- und Vibraphonakkord und den archetypischen Flächen liegt, konnte man zu der Zeit auch auf vergleichbaren Deep House-Platten aus New York hören, aber nicht oft in solcher Intensität und Schönheit. Lover, die eine derart grundlegende Verwirrung und Enttäuschung sowie auch sonst nur Schutt und Asche hinterlassen, können nur in erschütternden musikalischen Denkmälern verarbeitet werden, wenn überhaupt. Wie man solche komplexen Gemütszustände auch mit anderen Mitteln transportiert zeigt „The Verge“, das andere Meisterwerk dieser 12“. Die wuseligen Rhythmen und Klänge zeigen klar gen Detroit, aber dort setzte man sie selten zu so einer tiefenhypnotischen Nachtfahrt zusammen. Als würde man von einer mysteriösen Tonfolge dazu getrieben, abwechselnd in der Mitte der Stadtautobahn zu rasen oder deren Leitplanken zu streifen, und den Fahrern, die im Rückspiegel flackernd hinterher schlingern, scheint es mindestens genauso zu gehen.
This is very early electronic music, from White Noise’s first album from 1969. They were among the first to use synthesizers in a rock context and their music became very influential later on. This particular track seems indeed way ahead of its contemporaries, and it is pretty wild.
I didn’t know that at all. I had problems listening through it, it is almost disturbing. From today’s point of view it maybe is not that overtly experimental anymore, but setting it into the time of its production, it is very cool.
There certainly was not much comparable music back then.
The sound is very good. They already had synthesizers? There is a lot of space in the production. If you would not have told me, I would never have guessed that it is so old. The arrangement and the noisy parts reminded me of destructed Amen breaks, totally distorted. Very interesting.
Quartz – Chaos
The next one is by Quartz from France . Also early synthesizer music, but within a disco context.
I was not into that at all. My calendar does not really start before 1990 or so. Even stuff like early Model 500, Cybotron, it is ok, but it’s not mine. I also can’t get into Kraftwerk. What has been called techno from 1990 on was what got me to listen to music consciously for the first time. I was never the one to check the influences on music that I like. I know Disco only from TV, Saturday Night Fever and such. I was never really interested in it.
Is that based on a basic antipathy towards the sounds of disco music?
There was a short period I found it exciting, around the time the filter and cut-up disco house arrived with DJ Sneak, all the sample stuff. But that was over pretty soon when all the records started to sound the same. So yes, it is based on principle that I don’t like the sounds too much.
So you were more interested in how a track was built on samples than where they came from?
Exactly. It was fascinating to me how all could be said in a loop that went for three minutes, if it was a cool one. Longer than that it could get boring. Of course you can’t compare that to what happens in the original disco track, there was more happening there than in house tracks, which only used bits. It was interesting that many people used the same samples and you became aware that there must some source for it. But sample based productions are not my philosophy. I never wanted to just use bits of other people’s music.
Those disco house records also did not always pay tribute to disco, they deconstructed it, and often in a not very respectful manner.
Not at all. It’s strange how American producers often deal with each other, all that stealing amongst themselves. But in the end we all benefited from that (laughs). Read the rest of this entry »
The Druffalo Hit Squad welcomes you to a new irregular series of showcases, which will feature our personal highlights from the international bastions of rave. For no particular reason whatsoever, we would like to dedicate the first installment to the most underrated rave nation: Canada. We assembled some extra hi-biased strobe anthems for the occasion, and played them on +8.
Nick Holder – Erotic Illusions (Strobe) Psyance – Andromeda’s Dance (Plus 8) Infra-Red – Metamorphis (Strobe) How II House – Lift The Nation (Outer Rhythm) Infra-Red – Love Me, Love Me (Strobe) F.U.S.E. – Phase 1 (Plus 8) Z-Formation – Brutal (Hi-Bias) Nick Holder – Frantic (Strobe) States Of Mind – Destiny (Strobe) Psyance – EQ (Plus 8) Infra-Red – Falling From The Light (Strobe) Psyance – Motion (Plus 8) Infra-Red – The Verge (Strobe) Cybersonik – Technarchy (Plus 8) Chrome – My Reflection (Plus 8) How II House – I Want U 2 Love Me (Strobe) Trancendence – Magique Noire (Strobe) States Of Mind – Elements Of Tone (Plus 8) Infra-Red – Calibrate This (Strobe) Hayden Andre Project – Broken Chains (Strobe) The Uprising – You Can Wait (Hi-Bias) Blunted Dummies – House For All (Definitive) The R.A.S.E. – Say It Loud (Strobe) Christina Lorr – Dark As The Night (Hi-Bias) Syndicate 305 – I Promise (Hi-Bias) Helen Sharpe – Got 2 Have Your Love (Strobe) Subculture – The Voyage (Strobe) Infra-Red – Love Honey (Strobe)
Recent Comments