the roots - phrenology LP (mca)
wow. if you thought that the best hip-hop band in the world had settled down, wake yourself up - 'cause they been workin'. there's a rock tune, a soul tune, b-boy tracks, experimental jazz fusion and even a heavy techno track... (!?!). real songs & arrangements. all i can say is that everybody i know had better buy this one - NOW!
www.okayplayer.com

france copland - rutgerhauersong (fc01 - white)
to be read: "france = copland." yeah, socio-political undertones, but in the name only. a killer 4-track that's basically the best french electro release i've heard. fave track is an "hommage" to vangelis' blade runner theme, and on the flipside is a kicking miami bass thing called 'pimp & ho' (but in french, of course). more turntable than coffee table, indeed.
... "we like the cops, the cops that go boom".

leonard de leonard - leonizer fever (musiques hybrides/free complex)
taken from leo's first album, 'LF' beatboxes straight onto the dancefloor innna techno anthem stylee. a sort of hard rock electrostomp for the big city. like watching airplanes taking off at 4 a.m. punk videogaming music. fat boy, not slim.
no parking in the red zone.
www.musiques-hybrides.com

dublex inc. - tocame (pulver records)
apparently summer's not over yet... the crew who delivered "tango forte" are back with another latino-flavored breakbeat anthem. solid beats & spanish-ish guitars keep it all very catchy/dancefloor-friendly
indeed. the original's got spanish vocals, but i'm a fan of the dub (well, they are 'dub-lex', right?). nice remixes by nickodemus/osiris (jazz loungey) and a minimal lo-fi clicktech treatment from jackmate (aka michael baumann). class.
www.pulver-rec.com

tony allen featuring ty - woman to man (comet)
well, if you remember the unsung heroes remix on the 'allenko brotherhood' series (featuring ty), then that should give a good hint about the latest album from tony allen. i do miss a little more of doctor L's freeform strangeness as on the previous LP, but the UH did well on many tracks, especially this tune. ty's vocal style fits perfectly with tony's groove, once again re-inventing the afrobeat.
www.cometrecords.org

material - secret life (tigersushi)
latest installment from t.s.'s "more g.d.m." series, another classic brought back to the surface. material's moroder-ish electrofunk speedgroove has a strong soundtrack vibe, yet still holds it's weight on the dancefloor... gotta give respect to the enigmatic mr. bill laswell for being quite ahead of his time and generally tripping-out all over the place. terrence parker's gospel garage soul anthem "love's got me high" is on the b-side and is quite large clubwise. old school for real.
www.tigersushi.com

scanone - the missing pixel (blasé)
minimal electronix from this dude i never heard of. sorry for more namedropping, but the A side is quite boards of canada - spacey & intimate... the B side is an uptempo breakbeat stomper that's got a stripped down drum n' bass/tech-ish feel. bass stabs offset with a muted melancolic synth creeping around in the back of the room. hed muzik.
www.blaserecords.com

pest - jefferson shuffle (ninja tune)
a strange & groovy 2-track 10-inch by a 4-letter artist. (i know that didn't make too much sense, but don't worry about it). cut-up pancake mayhem inna avalanches vs. steinski sort of trip (ifyouknowhatimean). more breaks & splices than a 6-armed d.j., fairly reminiscent of amon tobin, but without all that darkside technological mutation stuff... funky as a peanut butter sandwich, with just as much chunk in there. oh yeah, it's catchy and f*@ked up too.
www.spynaworkshop.co.uk

harco pront - skifo EP (music for speakers)
d'angelo vs. mr.oizo vs. the other people place. sorry for more namedropping, but i think that it's valid (although harco pront sounds mostly like harco pront). a fucked up, funky & orginal mini-album. dirty, choppy, fat grooves plus deep soul vox and bass galore. you've never heard shit like this. minimal 'tical. lots of weed in this one.
www.musicforspeakers.com

el-p - lazerface's warning <rjd2 remix> (defjux)
king of the surreal street story & sci-fi hard rock beats drops another 12" from the excellent album "fantastic damage". rjd2 delivers a funked up soul version with his king-size sample tactics. the most musical hip-hop out there. wu-tang vs. depth charge /vs. deep purple /vs. w.s. burroughs.
www.definitivejux.net

destiny's child - bills, bills, bills <noodles remix> (white)
well, i'm not a huge bootleg fan (although big respect goes out to 2many dj's...), but this one is just too huge. "bills, bills, bills" is already my favorite 'destiny's' song, so this electro/breakbeat version feels like an early christmas present, basically. there's loads of bass in the place, so, even if you don't like the original, shut up. (& dance, damnit!) noodles
www.squat.com/noodles

rubin steiner - guitarlandia remixed by ninja tune & french friends (bmg)
well, i'll try & keep this short... bosco keeps it technological, electromenager chops it up nicely
experimental, rubin rocks the original (thanx, fred!), mr. neveux breaks down the bongo beats, up bustle & out goes sambadiscotropicale with class, vadim grooves on with a latino percussion flowin' psychedelic pimp stroll (hey! you forgot the guitar, man!..), ttc takes it to the floor with a booty
clap and football chant, fog just simply f@*ks it all up in a sort of 'sick hawaiian elephant on l.s.d. in distortionlandia' style. any questions?
www.travaux-publics.org
rubinsteiner.free.fr