UNO PER ////ME

Kai Tracid - Trance & Acid Video

2009-09-14T17:18:00.002+03:00

Just watch.

Download.

Mixtape #1: Future Vision

2009-07-06T13:34:00.007+03:00

The little poll on the right has clearly shown that the demand for hardcore is still the highest, despite the fact that I haven't posted anything that sounds like it for the past 6 months or so... Which should tell me a lot. So, after some weeks of not knowing what to post, I finally came up with an original, in my opinion, idea : a mix. Shit, what an amazing idea, right - but wait! It's not going to be your stupid, run-of-the-amateur-dj mix - why? Because it will contain all the genres of music I listen to, or otherwise stated, the product of 11 years of discovering sounds and cultures, all connected by a single thread; that paranoid esoteric urge to compose and create. Sure, whatever.

Creating the mix took me more than 5 hours but I think it was worth it. Moving on, what you get in this mix is 80's and modern hardcore punk, crust, power violence, emo, grindcore, sludge, metalcore... but also house, electroclash, techno and blasting electro. Okay, I left many other genres off, but I tried really hard to make this actually listenable. I don't really care about the genres - for me it's just different beats and sounds accomodated to be heard. Hell, I even attempted to mix some of the songs together, like real DJs do! Although I have to admit it's the very first time I do this using a program and no analog equipment. I think it tourned out OK. The mix is pretty mediocre, but that's allright since I've also included the unmixed songs as well.

Still, I'd be very happy to know what you think of this little experiment and if you would like me to post more like this.

Here's the track list:

1. Blues - Tucson
2. Maximillian Colby - New Jello
3. Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels - Ibiza [Featuring Tamara Huber] [Thomas Gold & Francesco Diaz Club Mix]
4. Iron Lung - Pathoclast
5. Thomas Gold, Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels - Open Sesame [Radio Mix]
6. Tank - Fin-Faim (Moi, Surmoi, Ca)
7. Kee Mo & Tim Royko - Beautiful Lie [Featuring Cosmo Klein] [PhonJaxx RMX]
8. Bodies In The Gears Of The Apparatus - White Trash Whore
9. Funkerman - Speed Up [Featuring I/Fan] [Tune Brothers RMX] [Edit]
10. Krakdown - Blinded
11. Trainwreck - Living Like The Living Dead
12. Public Enemy Vs. Ferry Corsten - Bring The Noise [Ferry Corsten RMX] [Radio Edit]
13. Comadre - Grow Worms
14. Starkillers - Killer [Mac Zimms RMX] [Edit]
15. A Thin Line Fading - I Won't Follow
16. Erick Morillo - Dance I Said [Featuring P. Diddy] [Touché Vocal Mix]
17. Ordination Of Aaron - Counter
18. Corkscrew - Elbow [Original]
19. Irate - NY Metal
20. Sander Kleinenberg - This Is Our Night [Original Mix]
21. The Jan-Michael Vincent Car Crash - North London Book Of The Dead
22. Drama Society - Crying Hero

Download. (192 kbps, 234 MB)

Albino Allstars - Grindhouse / Needles

2009-06-24T01:20:00.007+03:00

People often ask me why I don't listen to hardcore punk anymore. This is why.

Albino Allstars is a nuskool breakbeat production trio. They're Andy 'Koma' Duckmanton, Chris 'Bones' Kirkbride, and Jude 'Proteus' Sebastian, who also produce as Koma & Bones and have released several bootleg remixes over the years as X-Men. What they give us on this little web release on Burrito Digital is "Grindhouse," a raw and shiny breakbeat monster and "Needles," a funky breakbeat tune with a touch of electro, which (I think) samples Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."

In my opinion, with this release Albino Allstars transcended anger. Their music is loud, it's twisted and it's repetitive, and more importantly, it's pissed. You'll find the aversion for whatever it is that you hate in "Grindhouse" - it is so sincerely and profoundly furious. Every time I listen to it I picture a wooden plank hitting some guy's face and then smashing into pieces. Just give that fucker a listen. They made something so huge out of those shitty guitar sounds.

"Needles" on the other hand is a bit more conventional. Perhaps a bit more melodic and accessible - it would probably sound great in a club. However, compared to "Grindhouse," it's just a good song. Which in essence equates to nothing. Don't get me wrong, it's better than 90% of all modern electro and breakbeat, but it just lacks that immerse power that makes "Grindhouse" an instant classic. Overall, this just rules.

I strongly suggest that you play this on your stereo.

Albino Allstars - Grindhouse / Needles Web Release (BURRD004)

Ps. If you're into this, you should check Koma & Bones' new single "Morpheus."

Ten And Two

2009-06-19T16:23:00.002+03:00

Ten and Two are one of the few contemporary punk bands whose music is "doric." And by that I mean that it's structured, rigid and effective without being delineated (lacking depth). And in my opinion, that's the catch; it's simple. Perhaps a little nostalgic too. So yeah, if you're into aggressive 1990's-inspired hardcore you're definitely going to enjoy Ten and Two as much as I do.

The .rar file below probably includes everything they have recorded in the 4-year period they played music. Perhaps they'll start again eventually. 28 songs in total - including their first demo and unreleased/unedited songs. Enjoy. M

Ten And Two - Everything

Ps. The best band of the 1980's now has a myspace and a facebook page. And their second recording is even better than the demo one.

Jamie Jones - Summertime

2009-05-23T17:51:00.005+03:00

I think it's time to start loving music again. CRM047. Good Techno.

Summertime 12"

Summertime Web Release

Tiga & Zyntherius - Sunglasses At Night

2008-11-01T20:01:00.005+02:00

This post is more on the House/Electro side of things. Thanks for voting and those who haven't voted yet, please do. Mediocre screamo listeners: download this, it will do you good.

I love New Romantic and everything that had something to do with it (other than the make-up and the fop shirts, i guess). I also happen to love House. Ever heard of an 80's pop song called "Sunglasses At Night"? In the same sense that "Seeing Red" by Minor Threat is the essence of early 80's DC Hardcore and the Untitled song by Julia on the We've Lost Beauty: A Compilation For Christopher 12" is the essence of mid-1990's Post-Hardcore/Emo, the song "Sunglasses At Night" by Corey Hart is pretty much the essence of the whole New Romantic "movement". It's an amazing song, and I'll never understand why so many people hate it - it's one of those songs that inspire you and make you dream about things. Oh well. Most of the people who listen to good house music have heard of Tiga Sontag and his label, Turbo. And Even though only 3 songs by Zyntherius have been released officialy (Sunglasses At Night, Sweet Sedation and Dying In Beaty), the man behind Zyntherius is Jori Hulkkonen, who is a very well-known DJ and producer.

Here's some history: the original song was released in 1983, on Corey Hart's debut album, First Offense. The Tiga & Zyntherius cover was released on the 14th September 2001 as a 12" single on International Deejay Gigolo Records entitled "Sunglasses EP". More remixes followed in 2002, resulting in CD releases all over the world. Save for Asia, becuase Asians are weird and listen to Merzbow, and the states, because Americans only listen to bad hip-hop, and "indie rave". Seriously, fuck american hip-hop. It makes me sick. And fuck you if you disagree with me. Stuff like this or this should be banned in countries whose average population's IQ is greater than their myopia. Especially the first one, the make me want to stab myself . Or maybe it's some kind of inside joke i don't understand. Who cares. The song stopped getting airplay at around 2004, yet a lot of people have kept remixing it (and failing at it) ever since (See ViperXXL, who also happens to be a fine example of European whitetrash.)

In 2008, two 12" EPs were released on Turbo, with brand new remixes by Alter Ego, Konrad Black, Popof, Black Devil & D.I.M. Both of them were released in August #1 on the 13th and #2 on the 20th. A week later, a web release that includes both EPs and a couple of unreleased ones was released. What's so interesting about those three releases is that all the remixes are amazing. They all sound so good! And don't expect anything Vocal and poppy with a shitty trance chord progression like half of the stuff people tend to tag as House nowadays - this is the real thing. Every remix is a remarkable composition that in my humble opinion, should at least be taken seriously. Every track speaks for itself, so if you want to download one thing, Download the Sunglasses At Night Remixes album.

Anyway, what you get here is basically the famous riff of Corey Hart's Sunglasses At Night, with a house/darkwave feel. Not really a mainstream dancehall favorite, the original and its remixes would appeal more to fans of Electroclash/Post-House projects such as Alter Ego or Black Strobe (what an excellent band!) and modern Krautrock. Even if you're not a fan of electronic music, I suggest you listen to this, for it's simply excellent.

13 singles. 8 of them are official. 6 of them are on vinyl format.

Sunglasses EP 12" (2001, International Deejay Gigolo Records)
Features the Original 12" Version and on the B Side the remix by Chris Liebing, which is pretty bad. The Original: Love it or hate it. It's basically the original with a repeated bassline and a 4x4 tempo. I guess TGV and Medicine8 kind of ripped him off, becuase the basslines on their remixes sound ridiculously similar to this one.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2001, Low Spirit Recordings)
Features all versions of the original (Radio Edit, Extended Version and Original 12" Version) and the Chris Liebing remix. Kind of a pointless release. Oh well.
Sunglasses At Night Remixed 12" (2002, International Deejay Gigolo Records)
Features two remixes, the first one by TGV and the second one by Filippo "Naughty" Moscatello. Both of them are good. The B side gives the original a lounge twist. Blah blah. Both remixes "remain faithful to the original composition", as in this is nothing special. You're likely to enjoy these two if you're into the original.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, City Rockers)
Radio Edit, TGV remix and "Sweet Sedation". The latter is simply excellent, one of the best house songs I've ever heard. "Sugar coated razorblades..." It reminds me of all the post-industrial/cabaret/whatever stuff on labels like Punch. Get into it.
Sunglasses At Night 12" (2002, City Rockers)
A remix by Medicine8 on Side A, with Felix Da Housecat's vocals in the beggining (shit) and a mash-up called "Blue Sunglasses" by Tom Middleton on the flipside, which features the melody from "Blue Monday" by New Order. Apparently this was very limited, and I can understand why. Side A makes this the worst "Sunglasses" release in my opinion. It makes Corey Hart's ideas sound so generic. To the lions. The B Side is not that bad, it's just that the first 4 minutes and a half are just the original without any editing, which is plain stupid.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, Low Spirit Recordings)
The remixes by TGV and Fillipo Moscatello, as well as "Sweet Sedation" as a bonus track. Both remixes sound way better on this than in the 12". A very good release. The details of Naughty's remix don't sound as muffled as on the vinyl.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, 541)
The Radio Edit and the Extended Version. One of those releases that in my opinion should not exist. Released only in Belgium.
Sunglasses At Night (Damoks Vs. Morison Remix) CDr (2004, Self-Released)
I hate Techno, but fans of that kind if thing are probably going to like this. A classic hardstyle tune, with the usual tempo et al. A solid techno effort.
The 80's EP 12" - Amii Stewart/Tiga & Zyntherius (2005, Technoboots)
Bootleg. I read somewhere that Technoboots is bassically ViperXXL's bootleg remixes, but the B-side is Damoks Vs. Morison's remix. Side A is a crappy hardcore remix of some disco tune I haven't heard before. I guess it's well known.
Sunglasses At Night (Breaks Remix) 12" (2006, Big Deal)
Another bootleg. An interesting remix by an unknown artist, with a weird breakdown in the middle that gives it a "breaks" feel, even though I'm not 100& sure I know what "breaks" sounds like. Oh well. I like house songs with loud breakdowns in the middle. You'll like this too.
I Feel Loved Without My Sunglasses 12" - Tiga & Zyntherius Vs. Dave Gahan (2007, Self-Released)
Bootleg. The song on side A is a mash-up of Dave Gahan's vocals with a "Sunglasses At Night" remix by an unknown artist. Quite surprisingly, that remix, solely as an instrumental, sounds better than half of the 2002 remixes. Dave Gahan's vocals fit the song too. A great song overall, that deserves an official release. On the B-side, we have a dub remix of "I Feel Loved Without My Sunglasses", which is amazing as well. It sounds a lot like Eric Prydz, with some electro thrown in. One of the best "Sunglasses"-related releases.
Sunglasses At Night Remixes Web Release (2008, Turbo)
First, we have the Original 12" Version of the song, the full version of the club hit that was released in 2002. A dark and haunting House tune, that doesn't sound like anything you've heard before. The seconds track is a remix by Alter Ego. Their take is a 10-minute epic anthem. Roman Flügel & Jörn Elling Wuttke, the two masterminds behind Alter Ego, took the original and made something completely different out of it. At parts, it's reminiscent of New Order's early synthpop material with explicit references to the galactic sound of Giorgio Moroder or Patrick Cowley. Yet that's not it. In the middle of the song, the overfiltered vocals and other noises and bleeps come in, and you get to understand why every Alter Ego album is considered a masterpiece.

Konrad Black's remix is a hypnotizing track that will appeal to fans of Minimal House . Almost no vocals or melodies from the original composition are used, which amazed me, since it reminded me a lot of it. It's repetitive, without being bland. Then we get two remixes by Popof. Popof has been on fire of late, releasing storming releases for esteemed labels such as Acid F*ers Unite and Toolbox Killerz amongst others. Here, he transforms "Sunglasses At Night" into 2 outstanding, mutilated Electro excursions. Popof's first remix violates every aspect of the original, and offers you some of the most weird Electro I've ever heard. Using hypnotic, intertwining analogue synth sequences and understated shuffling rhythms he created a building, tense monster of a track. The second one retains some of the original melody while showing restraint in the drops and is more suitable for a more subtle and smooth set.

Moving on, D.I.M.'s interpretation is amazing. He combines his own distinct style of mutated Electroclash with the gothic ambiance of the original, and the results are brethtaking. I also liked a lot the vocal effects. To be honest, I've never heard anything similar to D.I.M. He cuts and chops the vocal parts in such a way that you believe that the singer is singing about something else. Also, he bassline is simply breathtaking. Retaining the original's key elements and structures and arranges his mix by building up the tension and anticipation which is eventually released by one of this year’s (soon to be) most memorable breakdown drops, while sucking the listener right into its infectious groove.

And here comes the Black Devil dub. This track is in my opinion the best on the album, besides the remix by D.I.M. Mr. Bernard Fevre, after quiting making music for 25 years, came back in 2004, and every release since then has been one of a kind. In this album, he adds another dimension to the package, implementing old-school disco stabs, a bouncing, funky chord progression and thunderous, cracking details, he re-interprets the track in his own unique style and invites the listener to an epic journey into the deepest electronic disco. Haunting vocals. The production is excellent as well. Groundbreaking and professional. An outstandingly inspired re-interpretation of the original that completes the package with style and class.
Sunglasses At Night (Tocadisco Remix) Web Release (2008, Hiss Recordings / Beatport only)
Two songs, which are basically the same thing. The first one is Tocadisco's "Version 1" (what an interesting title) remix, which is OK. There's a really nice breakdown that begins at 0:58 and it's really good. The second song is a "heavy" version of the original remix. It's better.

Here's the link: 444 MB In 11 .zip files ( ~ 42, 9 MB each)

Ps. Post comments please. If you believe this post sucks, i want to hear it. Please. What's the purpose of this blog if there's no communication going on.

...Today, I'm Dead. - Menstrual Gold CD

2008-10-30T10:22:00.005+02:00

This is ... Today, I'm Dead's last release before Tairy Ceron started releasing music as AIT! It's a really sick album, and in my opinion, a noise masterpiece. Unlike his previous work "I Close My Eyes', this is way more harsh in all ways. The lyrics (Or song titles for that matter) are not personal or love-related any more. In this album, they focus solely on human birth. The music is heart-pounding death industrial, similar to the previous TID CDr I posted.

I didn't post the cover, because it's simply disgusting. I/you may not agree with Tairy's point of view, but we've got to admit that he does a really good job on what he does.

Here you go. ...Today, I'm Dead - Menstrual Gold CD (2002, Slaughter Productions)

...Today, I'm Dead. - Self-Titled CDr

2008-10-15T23:35:00.004+03:00

All you need to know is that this is the second best "death industrial" album ever released, with the first being "Mestrual Gold" by ...Today, I'm Dead. The song "One For Me" is an anthem, so heavy, cacophonous and intense, a hymn of...

I'm so full of shit. Anyway, this is top notch harsh noise for the whole family, it makes John Wiese and Merzbow sound like Radiohead. Tairy, the man behind this experiment has been releasing music as AIT! Check out his myspace here. The last AIT! CD will be posted in a couple of weeks or months or years.

... Today, I'm Dead - Self-Titled CDr (2004, Misanthrope Studio)

Link is up. While you're at it, visit this lovely page and download those two albums by The Audience. Rock & Roll by ex-members of Portraits of Past & Seventeen Queen, as well as pre-members of the Vue, Bellavista, etc. M

Living War Room - The Living War Room CD

2008-09-11T18:13:00.004+03:00

Living War Room was a hardcore band from the San Francisco Bay Area, active in the mid-to-late 1990's. They were formed in late 1996 and broke up in 1999, I think. What's so special about them is that they sound like no other band. Most 1990's hardcore bands sound 1990's and dated now. But LWR's music is beyond time. It's just that no other band has tried to play this special brand of doom/hardore/emo before or after LWR, I guess. The first time I listened to this album I thought it was horrible, but now I find it one of the best hardcore records ever... And I don't even have a copy. It was released through the band's own imprint, Spare Organ Records, whose only releases I'm aware of are this and the Self-Titled CD by Nexus Six, a band that featured future members of Living War Room. Speaking of member connections, LWR featured ex-members of Nexus Six, Ruins Of An Empire (does anyone have any music by this band?), Lost Ground, and several other bands, as well as at-the-time and future members of Prevail, Under A Dying Sun (Singer & second guitarist of LWR), Inventing Edward, New Rhythm Method, End On End & Bullets In (Excellent band).
So... How does this band sound like? Their music is pretty dark stuff, but without sounding metal or stoner... The vocals are quite understandable while still being quite aggressively screamed. I like the drumming. The production is quite muddy. A band that sounds remotely like LWR is Dead Man's Right Hand (From Ottawa, ex-Union Of Uranus singer). But this is way better, the whole album is excellent. 5 songs songs in 34 minutes.

Rob (The bass player) has setup a myspace here. Unfortunately it seems that he hasn't logged in since 2006. Download this.
Living War Room - The Living War Room CD (Spare Organ, 1998)

My Own Pine Box - Self-Titled CDr

2008-09-02T12:53:00.010+03:00

My Own Pine Box was a short-lived band from Lansing, MI. They sound like a poppier and slightly more deranged Agna Moraine's Autobiography. If you like that jazzy and ugly hardcore sound, you'll definitely like this. If you don't, check it out anyway. They featured ex-members of Bev.Clone, Bombs Lullabye, Agna Moraine's Autobiography, and a couple of other bands I'm not aware of at the moment. I have been a big fan of all the aforementioned bands, and this band instantly attracted my attention as soon as I got to know they existed.

The remnants of My Own Pine Box morphed into I Won't Land, a band I have no info about. Karl (MOPB's drummer, who was kind enough to send me this album) also played in Swimming To Pinpoints. They released a CD on Iron Compass Records in 2004 entitled Concentric. Does anyone have it? Anyway, the My Own Pine Box album was probably recorded in 1999. The band was formed in 1998 and must have been broken up by 2000. I read on some random website that Ryan (who played bass and sang) re-released this on CDr in may 2001. And it had artwork and everything. Well, I'm not sure if that happened, but if it did, he has stated only 50 copies were going to be produced. The CDr I have has no artwork, just the song titles. Prior to that "release", the demo had remained unreleased.

If you have any questions, or just feel like telling Karl how great the bands he played in are, there's a My Own Pine Box myspace page. This is the first thing on this blog that was actually ripped by me.

My Own Pine Box - Self-Titled CDr (Self-Released, 1999)

Download .m4a files (lossless / approx. 800 kbps) / Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3
Download .mp3 files (160 kbps) / Here

Ottawa - Unreleased 12" CDr

2008-08-20T22:34:00.009+03:00

ttawa was a short-lived hardcore band from Dearborn, MI. The songs on this album were originally released as a split 12" with Jihad (Another awesome hardcore band) in October 1994, which was repressed four times, yet i've seen people paying more than 45$ for it on ebay.

They didn't release much besides that split. Six songs (that also appear on the split) on three compilations on various labels from around the world and a live cassette entitled Live At Carn Dum. That tape is said to have been released in 1993, but I don't think that's possible. Elf Lord broke up in November and Ottawa practiced a handful of times in 1993. Who Cares anyway. Members of Ottawa have played in Current, .Nema, Gregor, Calvary, Technicolor, The Æther And The Ash, Dearborn S.S., etc. Most of these bands are definitely worth a listen, especially .Nema, which is crusty hardcore and Calvary, which is retro 80's emo/post-punk. So. What is this? In May 2000, Council Records (ran by Matt Weeks, a member of Ottawa) remastered the 13 songs from the split with Jihad to release them as a 12". Too bad Council Records ceased to function in January 2006. I guess this will never see the light of the day... And it's such a good album, all 13 songs are pretty much the definition of hardcore for me.

Ottawa - Unreleased 12" (Council Records, 2000)

Order 1968 - Il Giardino Delle Rune Cassette

2008-08-19T22:35:00.004+03:00

rder 1968 was Claudio Dondo's first solo project after he left Wiegen Den Toten in 1987. You probably haven't heard of this, but in late 1992 the project changed its name to Runes Order. RO is pretty well-known, I think (Get his 1988-2022 CD if you're interested). Claudio also ran a cassette label called Hate Productions (Classic late-1980's label name). This cassette is Order 1968's last release, and by far the best. While his first release, The Snow (released in 1990 or 1991) was a bit boring at times and the synths were kind of annoying, this one is amazing. It's still synth-based, but it's way "darker" and scarier. Anyway, I don't think I can precisely put into words how this sounds like. If you like ambient, you're def. going to love this. M

Order 1968 - Il Giardino Delle Rune Cassette (1992, Hate Productions / HATE 04)

The next post will be Ottawa's Unreleased 12" (Originally released as a split with Jihad).

Roadside Petz - Take Two Demo Cassette

2008-07-24T06:22:00.009+03:00

oadside Petz were from Lexington Park, MD. They later changed their name to The Outcrowd, then some members wont on to form Images and over the past 20 years several of their members have played/now play in H2O, The Operation, Hazen Street, Juliette & The Licks, 9 Lives, Images, The Peace Corpse and ZigZag. Yes, H2O, the mediocre major hardcore band. Oh well. The music: catchy.

From Maximum Rocknroll #33 from 1986: "ROADSIDE PETZ - "Take Two" cassette: Fun mid-tempo thrash joined together with silly lyrics resulting in a sound much like a raw version of the VANDALS. Seven tight rockin' songs with clever hooks and catchy choruses, so good that it would seem more appropriate for this material to be on vinyl rather than tape. (100 Lexwood Dr., Apt 30B, Lexington, MD 20653)"

Shouted/dual vocals, silly lyrics, solos... This is so 1985. Enjoy.

Roadside Petz - Take Two Demo Cassette (1986, Self-Released)

Side note: The image is an "interpretation" of the original cover which, according to old people, was a cat with X'd eyes.