I played this for the first time at the end of last year [26th December 2011], and i found it a new and strange experience, but also there was an excitement that i had found another rich vein of music, and that feeling is solidified here, new tracks are opening up as possible new favourites, and the clump of clones are separating into individually unique tracks, this proves the very essence of my ideology, that we should be musical Octopi, and the only way to truly fall in love with any music is to fall in love with all music, there's a cross fertilisation in delving into many genres of music that can be attained in no other way.
This compilation was made in 1997, and is Volume 3 in the Total Science series, compiled i believe by Darren Jay, the front cover photograph is superb, a grainy black & white shot of an empty turntable deck, shot at a diagonal angle, i love all those concentric rings, reminds me of Saturn!, and the light in the grooves bottom left to top right really give it depth, the lettering in white is simple and effective, very sparse.
Just like last time, tracks 2 & 5 were sublime, but also tracks 1-6, 9 & 14 really opened up to me, i'm excited for the next time i hear this disc, it's becoming a little treasure already, because Drum & Bass doesn't really have words, these 14 tracks may blur into each other, but repeated and concentrated listening separates the Siamese twins into separate and distinct entities [actually in this case quadecaplets!, 14 identical songs, haha], here's a synopsis of these two tracks i liked the best,
2 Salsa Flavour - Icons, what makes this stand out from the pack are the drums, not merely machine drums, but drums of different sounds, like small drums hit by hard objects, and larger deeper drums hit by softer objects [0:02-0:22], and drums inbetween too [congas / bongos?], this intro is fantastically superb, and then we get the jungle cry, like some Tarzan or ape [0:23+], that intermittently keeps coming back just when it's perfect for another yodel, the bassy beats kick in too, but it's the ongoing intro drums that are so infectious, i like the echoing call right at the end [6:03-6:09], the whole thing is a delight to hear again.
5 Subtropic - E-Z Rollers, again the intro is fantastic, starts off like it's going to explode into some New Wave electronic hit, and there's some tree frog calling [0:07+], and when the sharp woodblock roll goes [0:22+], wow that's very atmospheric!, the trebleness blends into a louder baseness around the 2 minute mark, you can imagine someone pushing certain sliders up the scale in the mixing room, the cymbals ring throughout, but are also muffled nicely too, very hypnotic, halfway through the track there's softer electronic music, missing the beats, i must admit that at just over 10 minutes it slightly outstays its welcome, but it's such a great track, loved listening to this today.
2 Salsa Flavour - Icons, what makes this stand out from the pack are the drums, not merely machine drums, but drums of different sounds, like small drums hit by hard objects, and larger deeper drums hit by softer objects [0:02-0:22], and drums inbetween too [congas / bongos?], this intro is fantastically superb, and then we get the jungle cry, like some Tarzan or ape [0:23+], that intermittently keeps coming back just when it's perfect for another yodel, the bassy beats kick in too, but it's the ongoing intro drums that are so infectious, i like the echoing call right at the end [6:03-6:09], the whole thing is a delight to hear again.
5 Subtropic - E-Z Rollers, again the intro is fantastic, starts off like it's going to explode into some New Wave electronic hit, and there's some tree frog calling [0:07+], and when the sharp woodblock roll goes [0:22+], wow that's very atmospheric!, the trebleness blends into a louder baseness around the 2 minute mark, you can imagine someone pushing certain sliders up the scale in the mixing room, the cymbals ring throughout, but are also muffled nicely too, very hypnotic, halfway through the track there's softer electronic music, missing the beats, i must admit that at just over 10 minutes it slightly outstays its welcome, but it's such a great track, loved listening to this today.
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