Techy Turn

Another return this time - back to basics with a slightly thematic rundown of 'things that came up on shuffle' like I used to do. Focusing on one of my favourite niches in the electronic music world, that brief period in the early 2000's where everything got a bit techy, with stuff like the minimal glitch of microhouse becoming fairly popular. It's not isolated to that one genre though, a lot of stuff around the time was moving in a heavily synthetic direction - by far the biggest target there is Electroclash, which long time readers will know is one of my I wouldn't say any of these tunes are of the genre directly but they almost certainly flirt with it heavily. Let's take a look.

Arne Quinze - My Secret Garden, Valencia (2018)

What is there to say about Rippin Kittin that I haven't already? I'll probably bring it up every so often for as long as I remain in the electronic music space. The original was a bit of a hit on the dance charts, but it doesn't exactly sound like what you'd expect of the time, in an era where feel good 4/4 house and friends were still king. Rippin Kittin is still in that House fashion, though with this sweetly done distinct melancholy atmosphere running throughout, one helped out by Kittin's delivery of those deceptively dark lyrics. The original is a gorgeous slice of electronic music from the time, one that I adore the sound of to this day even after almost 20 years(!) of listening.

There's a boatload of remixes, covers and all sorts of the original and I love them all in their own ways - but there are a few that consistently fight for the top spot are: Glove's Radio Mix thanks to the reintroduction of the chorus that puzzlingly isn't present on the original, Alexander Polzin's mix that strips the original down to a skeletal fragile version of itself.

But what's holding pole position for me at the minute is the Golden Boy with Turner's Strings mix, Golden Boy's own revisit to the tune and what could be considered the 'Director's Cut' of mixes. It combines all the elements of my favourite mixes and versions pretty much (though the chorus is yet again missing here), truth be told it's not all that different from the original - but the little tweaks here and there, all topped off with a little bit of vocoding on the existing vocal make the mix fell as if it was almost catered directly to me.



Swayzak now, they've made a couple of appearances before on here, normally for their earlier techy deep house outings like Speedboat. I've only gone a few albums deeper than the debut that one was from (Snowboarding In Argentina) but starting from the follow up Himawari things start moving in all kinds of directions and are no longer clearly defined as their debut. And that's not a critique - the later albums massivley benefit from this blend of sounds and the introduction of vocals on some tracks too, State Of Grace with Kirsty Hawkshaw being a real highlight.

But we're not talking about Himawari here - I've chosen a track from Dirty Dancing from 2002, an album that goes in a much more poppy direction. It was very much in fashion at the time (as is the theme of this post), and Swayzak's attempt at it is fairly decent, albeit with some questionable vocals at times. But by far and away the best result of this experiment is I Dance Alone - the album has more than a hint of Adult.'s sound to it which comes to a head here as we have Nicola Kuperus from Adult. actually featuring on the vocal front too. Her contributions to Adult. tracks really complete that electro punky feel that they have and that's on full show here. I can see why if you were super into the tech house output of the two you'd be disappointed (and some of the album is super dated for sure) but I can't help but love this one, the combo of electro and Kuperus' shout-out loud vocals are just great, but as I've admitted before I have a real soft spot for this era of sound.



And finally, one I've held off on putting up hoping it would come on some other decent streaming services but that's looking increasingly rare. So rather than a Spotify player I went with YT instead - doesn't look as nice but hey ho. Another find from the surprisingly solid 'This is Tech-Pop' compilation from Ministry Of Sound, Naked, Drunk & Horny wouldn't sound too out of place in the slightly seedy world of electroclash from it's title, but the actual tune errs much more on the pop side than your usual suspects that were labelled elctroclash at the time.

Allegedly a remake of a tune called 'Starecase' from Pukka that I cannot find any information about on the internet - it's very much of that early 2000's era with it's nonsensical lyrics and sultry female vocal, but like so many songs like it I can't help but like it. It toes the line between tongue in cheek parody and out and out cheese to the point where I can't make up my mind if it's earnest or not - a feeling not helped by tracks like She Gets Me High coming out sounding like a proto-vaporwave track, one that's trying to create some kind of faux-exotic European sound.



A slightly eclectic mix this time - these are all tunes that kinda came to mind one after another though, and sort of share that early aughts electronic theme so I suppose they are at least slightly themed! Got a little long in the tooth  Here's hoping you found some interesting stuff off the heels of this post, if you like slightly obscure (and let's be honest generally 'average') electronic of this era like I do, then the rest of the Yellow Note album is a good port of call - as an interesting curio if nothing else.

And as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Digital Archaeology

Not to sound like a broken .MP3 once again, but re-publishing old posts has been a trip and a half. It's interesting to see my opinions circa 10 years ago and the tunes that have come and gone, amid my awkward teenage writings (much like a diary in that respect!) - that's part of the reason I like collecting music like I do, it's a living archive of the moment and music ends up tied to memories, people, places and so on. But curiouser than that are the fragments and relics that lay forgotten in the list of posts - things that had been started by myself or the other writers of days past and never saw the light of day.

Salvador Dalí - Archeological Reminiscence of Millet's Angelus (1935)

The first of these relics is a bootleg remix of Bôa's Duvet - I'm pretty sure I didn't end up posting this one as I had put up the non-nude version of the mix not too long before it. Knowing me I shelved it to talk about at a later date, but probably didn't expect that date to be a solid two plus years later. Duvet is potentially one of my favourite songs ever and one I am guilty of collecting pretty much every remix and rework I can find of it. ScummV's were the first I found and are some of the most popular, and rightly so. The original bootleg gives the acoustic version of Duvet a do-over with a moody Garage vibe - something I could have definitely seen happen back in the 90's when it was originally released, it *did* have a trip-hop mix after all. However that's the original I'm talking about there, the Nude Version here as the name would suggest is a stripped back version of the bootleg with the two-step backing absent. Harkening back to the days of 'chillout' versions of mixes, despite being very similar the Nude Version is a gorgeous compliment to the original bootleg.



I can't talk about rarities and hidden gems without mentioning Miss Kittin. Kittin's been on a mad streak of mixes and rarities lately, archiving them all on her Bandcamp. Not too much of a surprise as her soundcloud was similar a little while back but still nice to see. Anyway, it's fun to see how often that someone like me who likes to think they're pretty up to speed on Kittin's output to come across something I'd never heard before. As is the case with The Vogue, one of her many Featuring credits from the turn of the millennium. And it's again one of those cases where I'm surprised it hasn't come up before, as someone with a deep love of Electroclash and especially Miss Kittin's work within it this track is another prime slice of the subgenre. Being from 2000 it's not exactly as defined as some later Electroclash examples, it's of the high-tech variety a la the Golden Boy & Miss Kittin EP or Felix da Housecat's Kittenz & Thee Glitz and not the punky kind that ADULT. and the like were putting out. The slick techy sound, the globe-trotting theme of the lyrics, and Kittin's of-the-era stoic delivery - all elements that I love oh so much - are out there in force and I absolutely unabashedly adore it.



Other digital leftovers I found were from our brief dalliance with Grooveshark players. I forget the exact circumstances but they were a pretty decent alternative for a while - you could do little 'broadcast' playlists where people could tune in and listen with you that I liked - not quite being a full on DJ but having the chance to talk about songs was nice. One of the posts that I came across from that time was talking about the then-new Clark LP Iradelphic. Thanks to Warp Records' recent addition to Bandcamp it was not only an easy fix but sent me down a leisurely scroll of their releases. I was thinking they'd only put the 'new' stuff up and slowly add the archives but that's not the case at all, a ton of albums, EPs and Compilations going back to the very first Warp releases are available on there, and I ended up making note of plenty of things to scoop up that I'd been putting off due to lack of physical availability or similar. But I digress, it's been a long time since I really listened to Clark (to my shame), his style is distinct for sure and one that I think I've aptly summed up in the past as 'Melodic Grit'. I gave the track I chose back then another listen and it didn't take long for me to remember why I'd picked it.

The opening is very reminiscent of label-mate Bibio's more folky breed of electronic, but that gives way after about 30 seconds to make room for some suitably punchy and trademark Clark kicks. It's a nice listen for sure, but doesn't really live up to that 'Melodic Grit' label I mentioned before does it? But as is sometimes the case with Clark, you need a little patience. The absolute explosion of sound around 1:20 is just brilliant; backed with a newfound synth that is best described as shredding, the sudden injection of intensity is great on it's own but that melodic accompaniment is absolutely pushed to its limit as well, sounding as if it's going to break down and start leaking out of your speakers. And just like that, it's all gone by the 2:10 mark. Short, sharp and powerful - a 3 minute masterclass in Clark.



Come to think of it, the variety of genres on show here reminds me of the old posts I used to do that were just a real grab bag of styles. Funny how some things never change eh? I'd have liked for this one to be a little longer but I didn't really have any more tracks to post, and looking at the text above it's probably wise I stop here before I type another pageful!

And as always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Trip Report

Back for what has now become the weekly post. Following on from last post I have this time a selection of things I done picked up on bandcamp recently. And to the surprise of no-one, none of them are ones that I had posted about last time. Let's have a look.

Alice Baber - Noble Numbers (1965)

In stark contrast to my usual MO, I've been very into picking up EPs lately. Partly a practical decision as it's easier to listen to an EP given how busy things have been as of late but also because the number of them in my wishlist had been growing and I thought it'd be high time to look at 'em anyway. Starting with Burial. I've been pretty quiet about Burial in recet years, but that's because I occasionally dip my toe into his works rather than take a full dive. A real nasty habit of mine in the past is essetially overloading too much too quick on an artist so I'm tryign to not do that here. Rodent is one that slipped me by, a gorgeously hazy rumbling house number with a B-side footwork remix from Kode9. The A-side is the real attraction here; as someone who only occasionally dabbles in Burial it's a refreshing change as well. If I had a complaint it'd be I'd like the body of the track to have more time to breathe seperate from that vocal sample - which I can see turning some people off with the repwtition. It does get a chance to shine through every now and then like around 1:30, but I'd love to be even more fully immersed in those sections.



A complete 180 in sound now, as I visit yet another artist that I've only a passing relationship with; Dopplereffekt, specifically an alias of theirs Der Zyklus. In concept I should adore their works - hi-tech sci-fi infused techno/electro is supremley up my alley - but the truth is I've often found it a little hard to get into some of them. I do have a few bits and pieces here and there though, and this is one EP that I'd actually already heard plenty of as both the A-Side and B-Side were featred in a ton of compilations around their original release on another EP in the early 00's. And both tracks are absolutley great, I think they hit a nice balance of the hi-tech vibe while keeping things more melodic than the Dopplereffekt work which is something that often turns me off, Elektronisches Zeitechno is a perfect example of the kind of electro I love for example. However today I'm going to talk about the B-side, the equally lengthy titled Mathematische Modelle. As one might expect from the title, there is more than a smidgen of Kraftwerk influence here and I am very much here for it. As I say all too often when a track like this comes up, I will always adore tracks like this - as a bright eyed young'un I was often fascinated by the sounds on old Kraftwerk records - they were so different and interesting sounding than anything else I couldn't help it. And as you may know to this day I still have a real love for it! Much like Warp's Artifical Intelligence compilations, to me, this is still the sound of the future.



And finally, slightly cheating as I picked this one up ages ago (and have also probably posted it before), Golden Boy & Miss Kittin's Rippin Kittin. Sadly, the version Kittin has archived on her bandcamp is missing my all time favourite mix by Alexander Polzin (that you can no longer actually buy anywhere digitally) it is still a solid version of the EP. Rippin Kittin was a bit of a hit in it's day, no doubt helped out by the brilliant Radio Mix by Glove. Truth be told it's not really that different from the album version - slightly restructured yes but mostly the same, although as I point out every time I talk about the alternate mixes, a lot of the remixes and this Radio Mix feature a chorus that is puzzlingly not at all present on the album version or the 'Original' mix. While an odd choice, it does make the Radio Mix a lot less bleak sounding than the original mix. Aside from that - I still love the slick production of it and the accompanying album Or, and it goes without saying at this point that I almost universially love Kittin's vocal contributions. She's very much in that early 00's stoic electroclash mode here which I appreciate might not be for everyone, but I have loved this tune for nigh on 2 decades now and that is highly likely to continue.



And so ends our brief dive into my bandcamp happenings - the rolling Bandcamp Fridays have been a real treat for me, letting me constantly dip into that wishlist and keep it slightly trimmed rather than having it grow uncontrollably like some of my other wishlists. Of course to not be selfish for a moment it's a real bonus for the artists as well, I'm very happy to see a lot more stuff on digital distribution these days - as much as I love collecting physically sometimes its more practical to grab a digital copy from the artists themselves. Though it's worth pointing out that you can buy physical things from bandcamp, I just haven't done so yet. Perhaps for the next trip report I will do so!

As always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

What I've Misplaced (But Never Lost)

A couple of mis-clicks on my Spotify sent me on an unscheduled trip down memory lane, specifically a roundup of my most listened to of 2017. And really, not a lot has changed. There's a big smattering of pop punk in there as I was deep in making my "Non-Electronic Nostalgia" playlist but otherwise it's still identifiably Van Foxbat™. Still, there's some stuff that I picked up around the time and has been buried that these kind of playlists do a really good job of digging up, so I thought I'd rundown some of them today.

Roy Lichtenstein - Interior with Waterlilies (1991)

First on the bill is DMX Krew, I found this one completely by accident, it's an oft-overlooked b-side that wasn't available on early digital versions if I recall correctly. It's at odds with all the other DMX Krew productions I've posted so far too, there's no Funk or ironic retro electronic sensibilities to grin at here, instead December Darkness is out and out no-nonsense Deep House and I absolutely adore it. I remembered doing so and wondered if I would still like it as much, I was on a bit of a deep house kick at the time and was kind of obsessed with some Juno-60 demos by some blokes on youtube that sounded a bit like this but with more pitch bends. I am happy to report that is the case, the intro alone had me falling all over again, and the layering of different elements throughout is just fantastic.



Visiting old flames of mine Kittin & Hacker next, after a long quiet they came out with two EPs in 2015 fittingly called Lost Tracks, salvaged demos and half finished songs from the First Album era is my understanding. If you're a fan of the stripped electronics on parts of that album you will find a lot to love here, my favourite being track 1, Leather Forever. Hacker's production is on point here, not too minimal and complimenting Kittin's vocals incredibly well, the synth surges on the choruses might be some of my favourite things he's ever done. Likewise Kittin is on it as usual, she's very firmly in the electroclash style on this one: Stoic, almost disinterested delivery. Slightly melodic while still bordering on monotone, and of course hints of her French accent now and then. While it is very much a cliché of the genre by now, Kittin does it brilliantly (and not for a lack of singing talent, as we've seen on her other works).

Another thing I really like about this track in particular is the inclusion of Fetish and Kink, I'm honestly surprised that given the standard Electroclash output it's not more prominent, doubly so given that Kittin used to do live shows of this era in Nurse outfits (as seen on the cover of First Album) and leather dresses. It's an aesthetic that suits the music very well, and while there are a few other acts that have dabbled in that imagery I'd still say it's slightly rare which is unfortunate.



Finally, a very early relic of the 'tunes you pick up on a compilation and never hear of again' category, more on that in a minute. Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau is a solid (if slightly dated) compilation centered around the idea of a bunch of artists of the time taking on that Disco sound in their own way, and there are some big names on there: Susumu Yokota, ADULT. and even DMX Krew as mentioned above. Some of it is very of-the-era, but as you all might know that early 00's techy new wave revival is very much my scene. I've talked about a couple of tracks from this comp before (the ADULT. track in particular is especially strong), but there are more than a few I've forgotten about.

Enter Memory Boy, an alias of John Selway, only ever used for a small handful of remixes and for this track (There Is No) Electricity, which is tucked away at the very end of this compilation. I'd never heard of it outside of this compilation, though Discogs tells me it appeared on a bunch of other compilations including a Dr. Lektroluv one that I'd also forgotten about. This strikes me as odd because in all my electroclash excursions I can't believe I'd never encountered it, it ticks all my boxes for that new-wave revival sound I was talking about a minute ago and is absolutely at home on a compilation based on (then) modern takes on Disco. I'm not a fan of the fade-out to a field recording of a city but otherwise I have no complaints: slightly treated vocals and slick retro electro sounds should have told you that already!



I hope you enjoyed this return to our usual MO of output, it was a lot of fun opening the box of old and having plenty of "Oh man, I remember this!" moments. I might have to 'accidentally' take a few other trips into older playlists and see if there's anything else I've forgotten, missed or otherwise not picked up over the years, I'll be sure to share the results of my digital archaeology here!

As always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Tune In, Drop Out

Postponing another post as I needed to get this out ASAP. Some of you may remember how much I love Miss Kittin's compilation/mixtape thingy Radio Caroline, Vol. 1, I've posted about it plenty in the past! It's finally made it's way to digital distribution (as have a lot of her mixes) via bandcamp, which I was surprised at because I thought it'd be a licensing minefield. I long ago picked up a second hand physical version anyway but it's nice to see it accessible like this.

Radio Caroline a real treasure trove of rare tunes, myself and Kittin's music taste sometimes clash, I've listened to a few of her other compilations like this and none of them have quite gripped me the way this one has. It's not just the track choices either, Kittin injects a little bit of uniqueness to the compilation/mix by overdubbing herself musing in spoken word about a variety of topics, it makes the whole thing feel a lot more personal and twinned with the excellent track choices you really get a feel for her personality through it. Let's get right in.

It doesn't take long before we hit a highlight, after a brief intro we hit the gorgeous melodic IDM of Delarosa & Asora, this track is one of many that made it onto my 'must pick up' list off the back of this compilation (though unfortunately some are a lot harder to come by than this) it really sets the mood for things to come, even down to the little spoken word interlude from Kittin towards the end as it mixes out into the next track. I may yet write a full Retro Review of this compilation because it totally deserves it, and being a mix it might be a little disjointed with me just picking my favourites. That said, listening to it in prep for writing this, a lot of the tracks stand pretty well on their own, the only giveaway they're from a mix is usually on the outros and not the beginnings which is a testament to how well the tracks are picked.



Back to the rarities, here's one that pretty much only exists on this compilation. It's another one of those instances where mine and Kittin's music taste doesn't quite align, but where I would become quickly bored by tunes like this in a regular mix, Kittin's spoken word gives it a little edge that keeps it fresh and the best part is how effortlessly it's put in there, Kittin's voice doesn't seem like an out-of-place addition, you could almost mistake it for being part of the studio track. And bonus points for the absolutely gorgeous mixing out into Marshall Jefferson vs. Noosa Heads' Mushrooms (Salt City Orchestra Out There Mix), which is one of my favourites of all time, never mind from this mix!



Keeping things rare with a piece from Plaid alias Repeat, and you can definitely hear the Plaid influence in there once it's pointed out, though it is very different from their usual melodic semi-IDM style. This is again another one of those tracks that would have been super obscure were it not for this mix, this isn't Kittin flexing on how many rare records she has in her collection though, it's something a little more wholesome. I know I'm repeating (ha!) that point a lot but it bears doing so: part of the reason I got into blogging and the reason I adore mixes like this is that you get to shine a light on so much stuff that you enjoy and hopefully others will as well.



Saving my all time favourite for last. If we wanted to talk about flexing rarity this would be the track to do it on. Taken from Walking Endustries one and only EP called "Relaxation II - The Era Of 'Mental Hip Hop", of which there are only 500(!) copies. This record has been a great source of pleasure and pain for me, between Radio Caroline and another compilation I had a total of two tracks from it and they were both super gorgeous. I saw rumors a while ago now that it was going to get a digital release but nothing seems to have materialised yet. After literally years of fruitless searching I finally got my hands on a copy (digitally that is) not too long ago and it's everything I could have wanted. I love the inclusion of Makkee on this mix, it stands out amongst the minimal and house we've heard so far and is generally just a lovely slice of Hip Hop. What really makes it complete though is that tempo switch up in the latter half, kicking in at around 3 minutes in, and it's subsequent mixing out into the final track [Kinesthesia - Flicklife (µ-Ziq Mix)]. I could have written the whole article on this track alone, but the whole compilation has been an incredible chapter in my music listening history and I cannot recommend it enough. Especially now it's super easy to get your hands on via bandcamp.



Be sure to check out the full thing on Bandcamp! I skipped over many a track, including a couple favourites not mentioned here (If you've been reading long enough to know my taste you might be able to spot them! ). Worth noting if you love a bargain like me, Kittin is currently offering a coupon code to get 80% off anything from her bandcamp (until July 16), the code is "happybd" (minus the quotes). Get out there and support your favourite artists!

Retro Reviews: Miss Kittin - I Com

Another idea I've been toying with for some time, what good is a massive back catalogue of music if you don't revisit it from time to time? (That and I've got the itch to do some reviews, and the last new post on the Boogiepop OST was essentially that.) So with that in mind we're kicking off a new series(?) in which I look back at albums that I've loved, lost, fallen out with and everything in between. And what better place to start than with Miss Kittin. Kittin is one of my favourite vocalists since I heard her on Felix Da Housecat's Kittenz & Thee Glitz in the early 00's. Which sets us up nicely for my opening line. After the art of course.

By the early 00's Kittin was a big name, she'd had a successful run with The Hacker and was featuring on tons of records but seemingly not making many herself. In fact it would take until 2004 for a Kittin solo album to eventually appear, and Kittin is very much aware of this even poking fun at her number of featuring credits on the CD itself with the line "... there should not be a 'Miss Kittin' section in record stores, but a 'Featuring Miss Kittin' one". Not that the time taken is indicative of a lack of creativity, in fact Kittin's output has been very consistent since then, but I imagine there's a great deal of pressure when making your debut record, especially when coming from such popularity, and the longer you wait the worse it would get.

The album opens incredibly strongly, with the punchy punky Kittin we've come to know out in full force, delivering both the lyrical content and style we've become accustomed to on full display (although a little more melodic that her delivery on say, Madame Hollywood and with some questionable rhymes), but we already knew that Kittin had that talent, what we're interested in now is the production side of things. That side doesn't disappoint either and it certainly lives up to its title, something I really love about I Com as an album is the breakdowns; Kittin has this amazing sense of timing and sound and effortlessly injects these moments of calm and euphoria throughout.



Likewise it's not long before the Electroclash side of Kittin makes an appearance; not as vulgar as her & The Hacker's Frank Sinatra maybe, but certainly more than a little raunchy. This is one of the singles from the album and I think it was a good choice, if you've checked out this album based on her previous work with the Hacker and friends you certainly will find yourself in good company. Not to repeat myself either but this one has an absolutely stellar breakdown as well, it's much more focused than the one on Distortion and has some absolutely beautiful keys going on. That is before it all gives way and the track kicks back in at full force with no build up or anything. The second half has this lovely contrast between these sparkly backing synths and the kicks and pulsing bass we've had throughout.



But here is where we get critical. Not critical in a negative sense but certainly an analysis. We're coming off one single and onto the next, and this is one of the parts of I Com that I think is a little odd and that is it's structure. We've just had 2 absolutely bombastic tracks back to back, track 3 however is a super sedate number that takes a solid 10 seconds plus to fade in. I have no complaints with the track itself, Kititn's flexibility really shines here and it begins to solidify the album's overall techy sound. Was it a good choice for a single? Yeah actually, Kittin's more downtempo stuff is often gorgeous to listen to and gives her more to her sound identity other than "Her that does all those features and makes Electroclash" but it does demonstrate the album's biggest downside and that is pacing and structure. I have nothing against these more mediative tracks, but it certainly could have been placed better on the album, as it stands right now it's right in between two really fast paced tracks and it just feels slightly out of place with no wind down. More on that in a second.



The next track immediately betrays me saying that the album was defining it's techy sound with a return to more of an punky acoustic instrumentation a la Professional Distortion on the very punnily titled Meet Sue Be She (It's about cars, get it?). But that leads into a track that I think could have nicely set up as an introduction to Happy Violentine. Here Kittin tries a more conventional and perhaps slightly poppy sound, showing potentially the most vocal variety so far on those choruses, definitely far from the monotone musings of tracks like Madame Hollywood where she made her name. Nowhere near as edgy as her electroclash contemporaries here but that's not really a detriment, the track is supposed to be something lighter, which is again why I think it could have been used to structure the album a little better.

,

On Allergic you can really feel Kittin's heart behind the production, it may be a little minimal at times for my taste but there's no doubt this is the kind of record she wanted to be making at the time and still holds up as one of the stronger pieces of the album. The breakdowns aren't quite as dreamy as the other tracks mentioned so far which means that while minimal, it keeps a fairly consistent structure. It's one of the more familiar sounding pieces too if you're here from her previous collaborations and featuring credits, it's the kind of thing you can imagine a solo project to sound like based on them, especially compared to the opening tracks.(Ed Note: This version on Spotify seems to be from a mix for some reason? No real effect other than it plays slightly faster than the album one and has a bit of Happy Violentine at the beginning)



Dub About Me rings in the last few tracks of the album, and it's another one of my favourites. It's an extended downbeat number that I think really shows off that side of the album very well, the way it builds to that peak at around 3 minutes in is pretty spectacular, and I adore the contrasting combination of the wobbly synths and Kittin's vocals. The other set of vocals always sounded a little out of place to me; they're from the original track that this is essentially a cover/remix of: Smash TV's What About Me. It's perhaps a little long at 7 minutes but I can't say I've ever felt like it was overstaying it's welcome, I can definitely see that 3 minute buildup turning some people away though.



It pains me to do so, but I am skipping over some tracks here, including the brilliant Soundtrack Of Now (again featuring an amazing euphoric breakdown!) but also some of the more... experimental I suppose is the right word, these end tracks feature stripped back electronics and in the case of I Com.com is a spoken word piece where Kittin whispers sweet nothings to you about technology. Again these tracks are good, I do actually really like the way I Com.com builds up to its crescendo for example but they are once again oddly placed. The album can't seem to make up it's mind whether it wants to be on the Dancefloor or be more for home listening, the two different contexts are equally important to her, as she mentions on the Miss Kittin & The Hacker track You And Us, as well as in spoken word form on her Radio Caroline compilation and I admire her for including them both regardless and for what it's worth Kittin's later albums do manage to structure this better.

As a first venture I Com is a fine album, and you can definitely feel Miss Kittin's personality bleed through in both the tracks themselves and her playfully illustrated and annotated liner notes. I suppose it all loops back around to her message on the CD itself; this isn't a 'Featuring Miss Kittin' record, it's a Miss Kittin record, and you can't go in with any preconceived ideas about what it's going to sound like based on her past collaborations alone. Her sound only got more refined from here as is to be expected, but even on this debut you can see the kind of vibe that she's carving for herself, and continues to do so to this day.

-CVF

Reunions (2020)

NOTE: Hi there! I'm going through the backcatalogue and re-publishing all the posts I can find. I'm re-posting them as new articles too just so there is visible content going up. This post is originally from July 2017.

Enjoy,
-CVF

Meeting an old friend tomorrow who's seen me through some tough times in the past. It's been a while because well we both have lives now and all that (see also: me and keeping up with posts), things are a little tough right now too so I'm gonna get a lil sappy with some nostalgic tunes from my library..

Max Ernst - A Friends' Reunion (1922)

Starting with something from many late nights and early mornings cutting videos for uni. We're in that boat once again but I have Omni Trio's signature piano keys to keep me company, with Tracey Thorn doing her thing too. Much more sedate than the original for sure, those added basslines that are distinctly Omni Trio are a delight to listen to.



Kittin's been one of my favourite voices in music since I picked up Kittenz & Thee Glitz sometime in the early 00's. Got a special place for a lot of stuff she's been involved with, Hometown especially so. Out of nowhere Miss Kittin & The Hacker drop an EP after a few years of quiet, and it's a much more of a love letter to their new wave roots than the deliberate explicitness of their electroclash stuff. Kittin really shows of her talent for more downtempo stuff here, which is why I dig this and Rippin Kittin so much.



The Knife are also an incredibly important band to me, but I've already said enough about that in previous posts. I picked up their entire backcatalogue a long time ago and put it all in rotation. I don't think there's a single track on any of them that I don't associate with something or someone. And here's a primo example of that.



Apologies if this was a little self indulgent and that, I know it's pretty shit to read about blogger's memories when you have no connection to them but I just needed to drop something. We'll be back to regular stuff next time.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Spooky Electric

Was planning to post this a little earlier, and have more tracks in it too but it's been very busy as of late. What's that saying about mice and men? Anyway, figured I'd best get it out there seeing as we're getting close and also I'm pretty sure it's the 31st already over in the states. So please enjoy my carefully curated list of vaguely Halloween-y tunes. There's no real order to them beyond the first 4 or so, so feel free to shuffle!



It's a real mixed bag of upbeat and downbeat too, the most recent additions being what precious little of Akira Yamaoka's Silent Hill soundtracks there are on spotify. Hopefully there's some stuff in there that you dig, and if you'd like to follow the playlist I plan on adding to it a little more over the next couple days. I found it much harder than in previous years, but then again my library has grown considerably since then. Regardless, enjoy and I will see you all again soon!

-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: Down With The Sickness

"Claude explores the genres and artists he has mentioned in passing during previous episodes. Adam is sick and shares a bedridden playlist."

We can't catch a break these past couple weeks, between weather delays and various inconveniences last week we had our fair share. This week has it's own flavour though, as Adam is besotted with some kind of dreaded lurgy. Still it served as good inspiration for his selections this week, opening with the incredible vintage Clark with Slow Spines from Empty The Bones Of You. We soon hit my patch tho, which this week is loosley themed around artists I've mentioned in passing or have otherwise overlooked in the past episodes.

Peaches to start with, I was originally going to say in the episode that I didn't think she'd done anything since but a quick look at discogs quickly proved that wrong (though it kept I Feel Cream's reputation as the 'cleanest' Peaches album though. Still goes hard even coming up on 10 years later. Rex The Dog also makes his first appearance, I sum up my thoughts on the album pretty succinctly in the episode, but the short of it is that it's a quality bit of house that suffers (only slightly) from being cut down slightly from the OG versions of the tracks. Ladytron also appear, think it's their first time too which is surprising for how much I like them. My pick for this week comes from their later works, but I touch on their history while discussing. Adam also drops some extra knowledge about one of their albums that I didn't know.

Rounding out with Modeselektor (who I think I have mentioned before, but again not this album). Miss Kittin also makes her first solo appearance too, which would have been really fitting had I chosen something from her first album I Com but I went with the second Batbox instead. Most of what I said for I Com applies to this album too, they're full of gorgeous breakdowns and of course Kittin's trademark vocals.

Adam's selections for this week are the most eclectic they've been so far, which is only fitting given his predicament. I must say they at least flow together very very well, which is something I always try to implement in mine. Saying that they are also essentially the sequel to his scrapped super depressing winter selections from last week which would have been nice to hear, if a little bleak back-to-back, it's nice to hear something other than garge piano stabs for a change too (I joke, I joke). I owe Adam thanks anyway for soldiering on despite being gravely ill, and for getting the episode edited and uploaded on time to boot! Tracks and a singular show note after the linebreak:

Tracklist:
Intro:
Chris Clark - Slow Spines

Claude’s picks:
Peaches - I Feel Cream
Rex The Dog - Bubblicious
Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
Modeselektor - (I Can't Sleep) Without Music
Miss Kittin - Play Me A Tape


Adam’s Picks
Kemikal - Graffiti
James Blake - Overgrown
Galcher Lustwerk - Idhouse
Total Art Of Percussion - Wuhan Wuchang
Juan Atkins - Riod

Outro:
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out


SHOW NOTES:
Adam linked me to his little slice of childhood fever-dream trauma (that made him become one with electronic music) turns out it was a clip from Superman III of all things, so now both you and I are clearer on what exactly he was on about.

And with that, we'll see y'all next week, where we'll be bringing you more selections, same time same channel!

-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: Sample Stories & Adam's Mini Mix

Claude and Adam talk about their favorite tracks of the week. Claude takes listeners on a story of sampling and shares how different tracks can use a sample. Adam shares a mini mix.

We return! This time we both tactically deploy little somethin' somethin's we've been holding in the wings. I lead the episode by using The Nightmares On Wax track to set up my three-in-a-row set of songs revolving around one sample (and the original too), with some more funky stuff courtesy of Chromeo and Thundercat rounding out my choices for this week. Adam treats us to something he's mentioned a few times in the past, in lieu of our usual tnes 'n talk combo, Adam instead gives us a mix he did the night we recorded! It's an idea I've mulled in my mind when there's been a few scheduling conflicts that might have made me unable to appear, so I'm more than happy to see it work out so well. Also I apologise in advance for the slightly rambling tangent I go on towards the end of the sample stories section, I make some good points and all but we were having connectivity issues, in the interest of keeping our audio synced I went a little off the cuff! Of course, the full tracklist and show notes follow as always:

Tracklist:
Intro:
Nightmares On Wax - You Wish

Claude’s picks:
Chromeo - Don't Turn The Lights On
Gary Low - I Want You
Miss Kittin & The Hacker - The Beach
Washed Out - Feel It All Around
Thundercat - Heartbreaks + Setbacks


Adam’s Mix
Geography Of Heaven - Pinky Promise
R.M - Chikyu-u 002
Cosmjn - Sunset Soul
Viceversa - Flat Earth
Rimbaudian - Let Me Beat U
Rythm Plate - String Thing
Lousie Chen - Reach (Raw Mix)

Outro:
Ian Pooley - Feel It



Show Notes:
Oh boy here we go. Starting off with the sample I mentioned at the beginning, You Wish HEAVILY takes elements from Judy Clay & William Bell's Private Number, like from the word go. Which is funny 'cos I was holding onto this to make another instalment of sample stories, because it's also heavily sampled in Pretty Light's Finally Moving too in pretty much the same fashion.



A little light on the show notes this week, and I can **guarantee** that I will have forgotten a couple, it's late here in the UK so I'll have a proper listen over the next couple days and fill in any I find. To repeat what I said at the end of my section of this episode, I ask you all to be safe out there and of course to enjoy the music naturally. See you all next week for more from Myself and Adam, we'll leave the light on for ya.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: Digital Crate Diggin'

Claude and Adam play and discuss their favourite songs of the week. Claude tells the story of one of his rarest tracks. Adam learns about Freestyle and UK Hard House.

Tracklist and notes follow as per usual.

Tracklist:
Intro:
Rhingo - Without Your Love (Dub)

Claude’s picks:
Blu Mar Ten - I Wake Up
Röyksopp - Sparks (Live)
Repeat - Studio 6.1.22
Alpinestars - Brotherhood
Golden Boy With Miss Kittin - Rippin Kittin (Alexander Polzin Mix)


Adam’s Picks
Jitterbug - Dream Memory
Sidney Charles - House Lesson
Ossie - We Mad
Shinichiro Yokota - Do It Again
Brame And Klansee - They’ll Be

Outro:
Projections - Escaping Sao Paulo


Show Notes:
Miss Kittin's archive of the Alexander Polzin mix is here, I'd reccomend her playlist section to all artists as a 'how-to' when it comes to archiving your work!

The remix of Shinichiro Yokota's Do It Again that Adam mentions is the Fabio Monsei Remix, which you can listen to here, it appears on this EP called The Far East Transcripts by Soichi Terada and Shinichiro Yokota

ANd once again for this week, the list that Adam linked me to a big list of tunes this guy on discogs hates, including a huge teardown of Stardust (and various other cult and other big electronic tunes) you can find here. It's the complete opposite of how I try approach criticism but if you need your daily dose of vitriol it's an interesting read, if some iffy reasoning for some of the entries.

And with that, we are done for another week of Podcasting! Me and Adam will be back with more same time same channel next week. As always, stay safe and enjoy the music. We'll leave the light on for ya.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Fest Reminisce

Friedensreich Hundertwasser - 626 The Way To You (1966)

Was talking to a friend about his recent fest trip; and in doing so revisited some homegrown bands that I think I often overlook. Starting with Basement Jaxx, this tune in particular falls into that category of so many forgotten dance songs in that I knew it pretty much from the opening but I'd long since forgotten about it. And I love how fantastically unapologetically bombastic it stats out, that bassy synth and Lisa Kekaula cutting thorough the soft strings of the intro in spectacular fashion. Her delivery is on point too, giving the bitter lyrics a rally cathartic edge. Definitely getting an honorable mention in future for sublime album openers.



Second is one of the actual reasons for this post; I've said a million times before I feel like I don't like The Chem Bros. as much as I should, they're always popping up in my recommends over on discogs and the like but I'd say I'm only passingly familiar with them at best. That is apart from Push The Button, which I know pretty much back-to-front thanks to a friend lending me a copy way back when. I've mentioned a bunch how good Surface To Air is as an album closer (and I almost did again) but I think it's time to give another shout out to another of my favourites from the LP. Hold Tight London is one of my go-to long haul travel tunes, (Ironically enough with all my train travel it should've been Star Guitar) it's seen me many places over the years and every time it feels just as sweet as the first.



Another tune I think falls into that same category is Miss Kittin & The Hacker's Hometown. Released a few years before their big comeback with the album Two, it sheds the techno/electro/clash sensibilities of their work prior and embraces this more House-y sound. The outright vulgarity of Kittin's lyrics is gone too for this single, the debauchery of Frank Sinatra replaced instead by more poetic musings. It's up there as one of my favourites from the duo, and much like Hold Tight London it's progression lends itself well to long-haul listening. I will always adore those synths that back the chorus, as much it feels like The Hacker is teasing you with them until they come round again. Get a load of the nostalgia-laden video:



-Claude Van Foxbat

Post-Erity

Joaquín Sorolla - Girl With Flowers

Starting this week's selections off with an archival success story. You may remember a loooong time ago I mentioned a fairly obscure remix of on of my favourite tunes ever, Rippin Kittin by Alexander Polzin.At the time I praised Miss Kittin for having it available to stream along with most of her discography (and even tunes she only did vocals for). The link to buy the Golden Boy stuff was long since dead, but having it on soundcloud was better than nothing, especially considering I couldn't find this remix to buy anywhere, or even on YouTube or the like. I still grabbed a copy of it anyway, call it paranoia I've seen stuff disappear from soundcloud before and it's a real shame. Well it seems that my paranoia's paid off once again, I swung by Kittin's soundcloud only to find that the entire Golden Boy playlists she had had been wiped clean, along with a few others. Logic would say that they're in some kind of copyright hell, or best case about to be re-pressed and re-released. It's still a downer though but thankfully in the meantime I've got the version I swiped to keep me company, it's a fantastically sedate version of Rippin Kittin, turning it from an electroclash anthem to something a little more reflective.



Keeping it on the downtempo side of things for now, with yet another entry from one of my favourite soundtrack crafters Yoko Kanno. A far cry from the electronic infused, Björk inspired tracks she made for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtracks, the tunes that appear on the Zankyou no Terror Original Soundtrack keep it fairly acoustic, though there's connections to Iceland in both the show and soundtrack (the lyrics to Von being in Icelandic, Director Shinichirō Watanabe actually citing Sigur Rós as an inspiration and the soundtrack was even recorded there). ís is probably the most famous piece form the soundtrack, it's used within the show to breathtaking effect and I knew I had to have it in my collection. It scratches an itch the same way that Washed Out's Life Of Leisure EP did when I first listened to that, and one that I didn't even know I still had.



The new post schedule means that I missed quite the anniversary around 2 weeks or so ago now: Boards Of Canada's Music Has The Right To Children turned 20, having been released late April 1998. I don't have to to explain to those of you that have been with us a long time how important both this album and Boards Of Canada's work as a whole is to me, I wrote a multiple year long exploration of Warp's releases after all. To the rest of you who might not be as familiar, Music Has The Right To Children is an excellent dropping in point to the world of BoC, it's an essential addition to anyone's collection with a taste for downtempo and ambient. The gelling together of gorgeous retro synth work with slightly off kilter and surreal samples, all backed by almost trip-hop style beats is the synonymous Boards Of Canada sound, and they're on top form throughout Music Has.... Here's my favourite ambien interlude off the album, the short but sweet Olson, which a friend of mine described as "The musical version of a warm hug".



-Claude Van Foxbat

We Were Always Coming Back

Decided on a whim to see if I could find some more obscure things on soundcloud, hoping to find more meticulous archives a la Miss Kittin (more on that later). Instead I checked up on Felix Da Housecat and it seems in the time gone by he's put out another full length, and you can actually get this one without having to buy a copy of Mixmag unlike the one before, though saying that there isn't a proper *physical* release, which is a bit of a shame but that's the way things are going these days and the thing itself is on 256kbp/s too. But enough negatives, have at it and I'll join you again after the embed.



The title's quite fitting actually, after falling out of contact with Felix (like I do far too often in real life too), it's nice to hear him again.
On Is Everything OK? here it seems Felix has fully embraced the 'Nu-Disco' synthwave style stuff, it's always been kinda hinted at in his previous works and done it well. It's a bit of a departure from his usual sound in comparison actually but well made regardless. I do always appreciate treated vocals as you all know, and this is feeling a lot like Moviedisco 2 to me right now. I did always think that Felix could have done more vocal electroclash on his own a bit like Mount Sims, but then again he did make some of the scenes iconic tunes and introduce me to Miss Kittin, speaking of....



Shamelessly re-posting one of my favourite reworks of Rippin Kittin. I adore the tune in all it's forms and as mentioned above I owe it to Felix for introducign me to Kittin early on in my electronic music inductions. But another thing I appreciate a hell of a lot is Kittin's treatment of her Soundcloud as an archive of practically everything she's ever done. Obscure one-off electroclash tunes with The Hacker that only appeared on a compilation relased only it Italy? It's there, along with just about every remix you could ever want.

And that's why this one is so important to me, I can't find this remix anywhere; legit or ill, digital or physical. I understand it's not always possible to be this organised with archiving, hell if most artists are anything like me a lot of the original copies of remixes and releases have been misplaced along the way (and not to mention running a soundcloud archive one must cost more than a few pennies). So I'd just like to thank Kittin once again for the effort and allowing me to essentially go digital crate digging, now to listen to Rippin Kittin one more time...

-Claude Van Foxbat

Reunions

Meeting an old friend tomorrow who's seen me through some tough times in the past. It's been a while because well we both have lives now and all that (see also: me and keeping up with posts), things are a little tough right now too so I'm gonna get a lil sappy with some nostalgic tunes from my library..

Max Ernst - A Friends' Reunion (1922)

Starting with something from many late nights and early mornings cutting videos for uni. We're in that boat once again but I have Omni Trio's signature piano keys to keep me company, with Tracey Thorn doing her thing too. Much more sedate than the original for sure, those added basslines that are distinctly Omni Trio are a delight to listen to.



Kittin's been one of my favourite voices in music since I picked up Kittenz & Thee Glitz sometime in the early 00's. Got a special place for a lot of stuff she's been involved with, Hometown especially so. Out of nowhere Miss Kittin & The Hacker drop an EP after a few years of quiet, and it's a much more of a love letter to their new wave roots than the deliberate explicitness of their electroclash stuff. Kittin really shows of her talent for more downtempo stuff here, which is why I dig this and Rippin Kittin so much.



The Knife are also an incredibly important band to me, but I've already said enough about that in previous posts. I picked up their entire backcatalogue a long time ago and put it all in rotation. I don't think there's a single track on any of them that I don't associate with something or someone. And here's a primo example of that.



Apologies if this was a little self indulgent and that, I know it's pretty shit to read about blogger's memories when you have no connection to them but I just needed to drop something. We'll be back to regular stuff next time.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Clashing Again

Time for my bi-monthly return to binging on electroclash and pretending it's still 2003. So enjoy a big 'ol dump of what I've had on for however long its been. Kicking off with ADULT. Don't often mention them when I do these, but I really should more often, here's one that I'm pretty sure is in the dictionary if you look up electroclash.



Lest we forget Felix Da Housecat who is partially responsible for me going diggin' in the electroclash scene as it is. I really wanted to put Tiga's remix up here but it's not embeddable for some reason? Miss Kittin's verses remain the quintessential version anyway, and I was treated to an extended mix I hadn't heard before from the man himself.



ANd also let's not forget the slight evolutions in sound over time. I love me some punky techno electroclash don't get me wrong, but I also adore the more sedate after the dancefloor lullabies that came later. Miss Kittin is also involved with a lot of those too, and this one is by far and away my favourite mix of the lot.



-Claude Van Foxbat

It Must Be Tuesday

Slightly off kilter schedule has been corrected, just one day out of the usual sched now! But as I said last time I found some time to dedicate to a full post, so here we go. Words and tunes as usual in a sec.

Peter Blake - Tuesday (1961)

As you've probably come to expect by now, a lot of chill things going on this time. Fell back in with Golden Boy's one and only debut LP again, an in between all the pop meets electroclash and house stuff on there is this. Even though I can't jive with minimal a good 80% of the time, I'll be damned if this track isn't absolutely gorgeous once in a while.



I'm massively behind on all things Tellier too which is an absolute shame because I love most of the man's backcatalogue. Here's a surpisingly loungy number from Politics, a far cry from the sexy time electronics of Sexuality that came after.



Anneli Drecker has also been standing in as my muse for the past couple days. Ever since hearing her on Röyksopp's Sparks all those years ago I've been a fan, this week her live version of Sparks and this from Junior have been doing it for me. Not to discount the 'sopp boys' production either, which is also top notch here.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Winter Is Coming

A slight miscalculation on my part means that my tactic of waiting out the soundcloud drought ain't happening. There's been more stuff put up since I posted last, but I only put one tune aside for posting, and I wasn't in the mood to go digital crate digging again. So here we are again with another installment of the classic ilictronix™ shuffle post.

Indie184 - Take Me Away 3)

As some of you may have seen, I'm currently animating some dark 3D shapes that hopefully should react to the audio within the scene, and of course you can't talk abstract black shapes without a mention of FlyLo's Los Angeles period. This tune would actually make a great one to animate to if I hadn't already picked one out. Maybe in future I might do just that.



A lot of the smooth techno sounds of Warp's {Artificial Intelligence} series are also assisting me through my arty endeavours. Autechre themselves may try to distance themselves from this LP but for me it's a lovely slice of the era, and one that still sounds great some 22 years after it's release.



Miss Kittin also makes a reappearance, this time with one of a few tunes from Batbox that are almost spoken word. I've seen a lot of divided opinion on on Batbox, and granted it's not the combination dancefloor and home companion that I Com was, but it's clear that Kittin has fun producing and as a result the tracks themselves are fun to listen to.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Summer's End

Summer used to be a lot more enjoyable before I had to regularly render videos, now it is pretty much uncomfortably hot 24/7. But those days are numbered and I have some suitably chilled songs to give you in prep for that, less go.

Loui Jover - Anything (2014)

Starting with a recent addition to my collection, the rock turned Drum & Bass outfit Everything But The Girl. The title track from the LP has been haunting me as of late, parts of it are definitely a product of it's times; the dramatic strings, the liberal use of the Amen Break to name just a few. But towards the end it comes out surprisingly modern, Tracey Thron's depressive delivery isn't something you'd think would twin well with Drum & Bass, but truth be told I can't get enough of it.



Keping it mostly in England next with another part from Ladytron's Witching Hour. My all time favourite from the album is still Beauty*2, but I've already written about that a couple of times (and it's more of a winter song anyway). Considerably less electronic than their debut 604, but nonetheless still a solid addition to their catalogue, here's an early highlight:



And finally my first vocal love since I heard her guest on Felix Da Housecat's Kittenz & Thee Glitz, Miss Kittin. I've put Batbox away for a long time, but now it's back in rotation and I'm all in love once again. Everything from Kittin's playful delivery to the wobbly bassline underlining the synths between verses is hitting all the right buttons. It's a shame her solo output is so few and far between, none of it has disappointed.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Diggin Kittin

One thing I love about Miss Kittin other than her productions is how she's been real good about archiving pretty much every track she's produced, been featured on or otherwise. I've stopped going through it as much because I always fall in love with some obscure vinyl track from 2000 which is impossible to get a hold of but I couldn't help myself this time. Alexander Polzin gives the already pretty downtempo Rippin Kittin some minimal ambient tratment, and I adore it.



And just because I'm really feeling the early 2000's nostalgia I get from the song itself, here's the original in all it's existential electroclash glory. It actually sounds a little different from my copy but knowing Kittin it could be a vinyl rip, and it's from the original pressing with the cherries on the cover art. (2020 edit, not on Kittin's soundcloud anymore, swapping to Bandcamp)



Recently she teased a upcoming release of some previously unheard Kittin + Hacker tunes. They're only short previews but I am hype for the actual release, interesting to see how both Kittin and Hacker have evolved over time in both production and delivery areas. That and I'm a sucker for more techno-style early electroclash, and I'm totally in love with that chorus tease at the end.



-Claude Van Foxbat