The Grid – Swamp Thing

The Art of Noise – Back Beat

Pat & Mick – Let’s All Chant

Ever heard of 140 Jungle?  No, neither had I.  But if you’re anything like me, you’ll be glad that you have now.  A multi-monickered genre essentially reminiscent of – I imagine – 4am in the quiet backroom at Dreamscape in the early 1990s, it’s a rolling, slo-mo collection of breaks ‘n’ bass that’s as at home in your lounge at 1am on a Thursday as in a grimy tent in a forest.  Just as well, because the former is where it sat on heavy repeat just this morning.

The Hardcore Lives crew dropped me a promo of their latest offering just yesterday and it’s quite unlike anything I’ve heard – from them or otherwise – for some time, and all the better for it.  As dark and minimal as the cover implies, yet retaining a head-nodding accessibility and memorable bassline that leaves you reaching for Repeat.

A Roni Size-esque rumble underpins There’s Something Out There‘s minimal stylings, gaps between percussive breaks filled with sirens, telephone and ragga shouts evocative of jungle history.  Thin, lush pads, looped 30s horror-movie backgrounds and the occasional horn leave the listener’s old-skool desires satisfied.

Does progressive drum ‘n’ bass exist?  If so, The Plan is a great example.  Building around the rise and fall of a wonky, lethargic but catchy riff alongside choppy amen, an intriguingly quiet 4/4 pushes the tune along at an urgent pace.  A sparkling secondary synth line adds an unexpectedly sparkling atmosphere, and it’s easy to expect the whole tune to be verging on a big breakdown or reveal – that this never happens it’s no bad thing.  For me, this is the gem of the two; extremely listenable indeed.

The Plan E.P. is out soon on Hardcore Lives Records.

The XX – Islands [Delorean Remix]

No. 1: Sonic 2 was released on “Sonic 2-sday”, which was a Tuesday, which was a great play on words but also quite odd.

No. 2: The cheat codes for Sonic 2 in the UK were exclusively revealed in the VHS databurst on ITV’s Bad Influence!

No. 3: Rik once knew 10 cheat codes/glitches for Sonic 2. Play 19, 65, 09, 17 in Sound Test & A+Start in menu for level select.

No. 4: Sonic & Knuckles gives a series of “special stages” if plugged into any other MD cart, A+B+C+Start on title screen.

No. 5: Sonic CD had a cheat code that allowed you to play with the orientation of the 3D cloud texture on the title screen.

No. 6: The Sonic CD Wacky Workbench zones – the Past variant – had a secret statue in a room that threw you rings.

No. 7: Sonic 2 & Knuckles contains a bunch of new extra lives in hard-to-reach places that require climbing. Have a hunt.

No. 8: The Spring Yard Zone (Act 1, I think) is the only level in Sonic 1 to have 2 separate exit signs. (They both spin.)

No. 9: Extra lives in Master System Sonic 1 disappeared forever after collection, except one which gave 2 lives & didn’t.

No. 10: Tails’ full name is Miles “Tails” Prower, the quality of which as a pun is left as an exercise for the reader.

Bonus Mario Fact: Super Mario Bros. 2 was a completely unrelated Japanese game, with some sprites & title screens changed.

Mike Batt – Better Than A Dream

(Bonus fact: It’s quite surprising that Mike Batt sang the theme tune to The Wombles.  Not as surprising as the news that they’re playing at Glastonbury this year, though.)

Just stopping by the country’s largest shopping centre for a drink and some bunting. Y’know, as you do.

Spotted on the way home through Central London late one night this week -  looks like even our road signs are doing their bit to help out the Big Society.

So turn back the clock, imagine you have an un-started 5,000-word essay/programming assignment to finish by morning, and enjoy a night out on the keyboard with DJ Rik Ward, circa 2001, at the helm…

10pm – 12:30am : Deep & Chilled Euphoria (mixed by Red Jerry)

A masterpiece of pensive synth, ambient wash and twinkle, this hefty double-CD soundtrack of being in for the long haul was notable for the significant number of unavailable-elsewhere dubbed-out remixes of popular euphoric trance of the era.  Deep & Chilled Euphoria took an expertly mixed journey from quiet, rumbling beginnings through the plainitive yearning of (a mis-labelled Irresistible Force mix of) Coldcut’s Autumn Leaves and a memorably sparkling, sparse version of BBE’s seminal Seven Days and One Week.

One Discogs reviewer describes it as an “incredible” release filled with “essential ambient gems” and I’d be inclined to agree.  As a double-bonus, one of the tracks has the excellently-named “Tim ‘Love’ Lee’s Semi-Bearded Remix” and the first CD contains something by Rui Da Silva that’s actually any good.

After 2 hours of ear-paddling, Moby brings the album to a close and you’re snapped out of your entranced concentration for a brief moment.  The silence lasts for as long as it takes for you to open your browser and go to…

12:30 – 4:30 : Soma FM’s Drone Zone & Beat Blender

Many are aware of soma.fm‘s perenially popular and undeniably funky Groove Salad which, although occasionally verging on the ambient, is just a little too groovesome for that special all-nighter mix of isolation and concentration.  Enter Drone Zone, which is still playing its trademark “atmospheric textures” as I write this, 11 years on.  Best described as sounding a little like you’re floating in space, the minimal soundscapes gently change as the midnight oil slowly burns away.

As the morning wears on and you inevitably begin to flag, up the tempo with Beat Blender, which lies somewhere in between the aforementioned two – slightly funkier beats lie alongside some deep, ponderous house to keep your brain ticking over as dawn approaches.

4:30 – 6:30 : Progressive Anthems

It’s getting serious now.  The sun is behind the horizon, as is the home stretch.  If only you could stay awake!  Quickly whipping out something to bludgeon your brain into paying attention, you whack Progressive Anthems on the stereo.  After briefly marvelling at the no-expense-spent cover art with its ground-breaking use of periods, your psyche latches once more onto vaguely-familiar mixes of then-recent trance floor-fillers.

This time, however, a variety of producers with even sillier names – Fred Numf feat. Five Point O for example – have been drafted in to make them longer and rather less interesting, which is exactly what you need.  Storm, Schiller, X-Press 2 and (god forbid) Tomba Vira thud past in an unremarkable yet not unenjoyable way that only early 90s progressive trance can.  Before you know it, 2 hours have gone by, and it’s half 6 in the morning.  How’s that assignment coming along?

6:30 – 8:00 : Chicane – Behind The Sun

The sky is orange, and the warm pads of Overture wash in your direction as you eye your word processor and realise you’re over the word limit and furthermore, you like what you see.  Somewhere nearby, a programmer surrounded by long-forgotten pizza has finally written something that works.

Your spirit lifts, and you hum along to the bittersweet melancholy of No Ordinary Morning.  By the time you’ve got to Saltwater the editing stage is two-thirds undereway and it’s looking cogent and coherent.  Confidence is rising and your warbling along to Clannad can be heard in the next room.  Bryan Adams’ appearance on the ropey Don’t Give Up goes unnoticed – the euphoria is building, you’ve cracked open a Coke and started on reformatting the headings.

The sun rises over the halls of residence to the final strains of Andromeda, bathing your room in colour as your enormous HP printer rambunctiously rattles out the finished article, waking up the rest of your corridor in the process.  Coat and trainers on, you stride purposefully out towards your department in the dozy morning sunshine.

Now, don’t spend all afternoon in the bar.  You remember what your mother told you about alcohol, don’t you?

Hyde Park, Monday, during my walk home from Piccadilly Circus to Hammersmith. Hopefully a fair few more where this came from in future.

One for people who like the idea of Drivvle, I’d say.

Spray – Twitter Campaign

The rest of the EP is well worth a listen and purchase too, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Not a cloud in the sky.

Sorry, did you need a reason?

Psychemagik – Whoopin’ The Booze

Lemon Interupt – Bigmouth

(You all remember who Lemon Interupt became, don’t you?  Hint: It’s Underworld)

I mention it, as usual, because I do their cover art, but if you’re in any way into the chunky oldskool rave vibe from the early half of the 90s, the quite astounding value of £8.99 for 37 tracks must surely appeal. How they do it all is beyond me – I just sit down with a pint and make the sleeves and then magically a release pops out one day. Wizards, I tell you. Of the sonic, perhaps.

Normal, occasional, service resumes on Monday!

In need of some big hair, loud guitars, and a good laugh, I found myself on YouTube this morning.  There I found this excellent little ditty which is vaguely reminiscent of some things I once knew.  Not sure if you’ll remember them.  Something to do with royalty…

Rock Sugar – We Will Kickstart Your Rhapsody

Has it really been nearly fifteen years since this was produced?  Lawks.  This old-timer was too busy complaining about tedious house and trying to avoid grunge at the time, thus discovering this sometime in the following millennium.  Still, a classic piece of AV that everyone should have in their life:

Coldcut & Hexstatic – Timber

Having ticked off perennial fave Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac last year, the mysterious editors-at-large have now scored number two  with Wang Chung’s fret-tastic Dance Hall Days. Taking the 7″ and 12″ versions, plus some reverb and a hammer, with some sound effects that I can only assume come from one of the mixes I don’t have, they produce a jiggly edit that orbits the central riff just far enough away to make you re-hum it uncontrollably every time it thwangs back in with a vengeance.

The only minor downside comes when a rent-a-rap temporarily, yet inadvisedly barges in at about 5 minutes, but that’s nothing that couldn’t be sorted with a re-edited edit, if you were so inclined.

Overall though, top stuff.  (The cheese & wine party approved.)

Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days [Psychemagik's Leg Warmer Edit]