Basehead – Beacon {mtk053}

Artist: Basehead
Title:
Beacon
Label:
Monotonik
Catalog #:
mtk053
Release Date:
2001/05/08


A long-time denizen of the ‘tracker’ scene, and more recently a videogame musician on titles such as the multi-award-winning Ion Storm opus, “Deus Ex”, we’re delighted to release this great piece of clicked-up electronics from the Boston, US-based Basehead.

“Beacon” is a really special piece of clickish-house, with some of the sharpened drums and syncopated rhythms that characterise that particular subgenre. Add the deeper-than-subterranean sub-bass and echo-laden lead lines swimming in and out of the tune-mist, and you end up with a truly originalsounding track which is noticably different to a lot of the lusher, slower material Monotonik has been releasing of late. In any case, enjoy, and look out for more material from Basehead on Tektite Records soon.


Credits:
cover by rents


Tracklist:
01 – Beacon

Artwork:
Front Cover


License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)


Pretty Boy Crossover – Autumn Week {mtk052}

Artist: Pretty Boy Crossover
Title:
Autumn Week
Label:
Monotonik
Catalog #:
mtk052
Release Date:
2001/04/26


Us here @ Monotonik are delighted to release a second mp3 from Australian duo, Pretty Boy Crossover, aka PBXO. Their album, “The Building And Formation”, formerly to be released on Skam before indecision set in down Manchester-way, is due for release any day now on Surgery Records, the Australian label we’ve been forging close ties with of late. And with PBXO supporting Arab Strap on their recent Melbourne appearance, the force is strong with these Australian wunderkind, no?

So, “Autumn Week” is a mellow as yellow, hi-hat-toting float through the lands of the etherea, with beautifully phrased synths dropping in and out, plus the quiet babble of voices eternal. Thus, not only is this beautiful, it’s fragile – and fragility leads to tranquility in PBXO’s unique universe.


Credits:
cover by rents


Tracklist:
01 – Autumn Week

Artwork:
Front Cover


License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)


Idmonster – The Force May Be With You {mtk051}

Artist: Idmonster
Title:
 The Force May Be With You
Label:
Monotonik
Catalog #:
mtk051
Release Date:
2001/04/15


After his first release as Pendle on our sister label, Mono211, the UK-based former Butterfly Child bandmember and now TV/film/advert soundtracker returns on Monotonik via his Idmonster pseudonym (id? idm? definitely monstrous!) And it’s not just a slight return, either.

“The Force May Be With You” is a truly divine track, starting in a sea of disembodied voice fragments and cosmic chord co-location, before adding layer on layer of pastoral strings, theremin (?), and jittering that percussive speech over and over, like instant transportation between thousands of conversations every second.

And sometimes it sounds a little like the most laidback air-raid siren in the world ever, cranking up. We like that.


Credits:
cover by rents


Tracklist:
01 – The Force May Be With You

Artwork:
Front Cover


License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)


Willbe feat. Sear – Back, Back, Back {mtw021}

Artist: Willbe feat. Sear
Title:
Back, Back, Back
Label:
Mono211
Catalog #:
mtw021
Release Date:
2001/04/08


Continuing on the Mono211 (breaks+eclectic) side-label odyssey, we come across French hiphop instrumentalist Willbe (last seen as one of the winners of the Laurent Garnier remix competition, getting his mix pressed up onto limited vinyl by F Communications!), who’s kindly slung us this scratchadelic tribute to Mono211, who are indeed back, back, back.

So, with the help of super-scratcher Sear, this headnodder loops up pianos, rock-solid beats, and strings with super nimble scratching skills and smart sourcematerial to provide a ninja excuse to bop yr hed like a gonk. And with a vinyl climax pitchshifting up to end things off proper, this is why Willbe’s got a real bright future – the boy’s got style, roight?


Credits:
cover by rents


Tracklist:
01 – Back, Back, Back

Artwork:
Front Cover


License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)


a/oc – valkoinen {#055}

Artist: a/oc
Title:
valkoinen
Label:
 Voodoo
Catalog #:
#055
Release Date:
2001/04/08


what you’re about to here is something absolutely special. i was totally surprised when a/oc sent this wonderful piece of music to me yesterday. it is something that words can’t describe, something so beautiful. in fact it went straight to no.1 of voodoo releases and it has a touch of perfection. when you play this, be sure to play it all the way through without pausing or fast forwarding any bit (cos it’s a long tune!). here’s some challenge for the next release, and btw. the title means ‘white’ and the track is as pure and clean as white. it is perfect.

.substance


Tracklist:
01 – valkoinen [XM] [FLAC] [MP3]

Additional Files:
file_id [DIZ] [PNG]
vdo_whit [NFO] [PNG]
vdo_whit [README] [PNG]

*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.


Published
Categorized as A/OC Tagged

Pioneer – Out Numbered {‘004}

Artist: Pioneer
Title:
Out Numbered
Label:
 Noiz Phaktah
Catalog #:
 ‘004
Release Date:
2001/04/07


Here’s Pioneer’s debut release for Noiz Phaktah, and yay, does it be cool! Stomp to the lo to the fi to the beat, y’all. And those chords are all very high powered stuffs, too. Marvelous. I like.

Can’t hear it? Well try DeliTracker v2.32 on Amiga, WinAMP, or ModPlug on Windows. Or of course the Impulse Tracker editor itself =]


Tracklist:
01 – Out Numbered [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]

Additional Files:
NP_OutN [NFO] [PNG]
np_2001 [REL] [PNG]
OctaMEDPlayer [EXE]

*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.


Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes/Remixes) {ep/lp release #18}

Artist: Ceniq
Title:
D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes/Remixes)
Label:
 Milk
Catalog #:
ep/lp release #18
Release Date:
2001/03/28


Review by O.Paasovaara:

I have heard many mixes in my life but some of the tracks on this EP made me wonder what the word “mix” actually means. Obviously the concept is likewise a bit blurry to Roger That Jr. whose mixes have absolutely nothing to do with the original “D. Exiguus Was Wrong”. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, quite the opposite. Then again, Lime and Vhiiula went the other way and made somewhat more typical mixes which balances the EP nicely.

The EP starts off with Lime’s nice and mellow track. After listening to those relaxing pads and steady beat I wondered what the hell is going on when RTJ’s “Radio Mix 1” began to play. The broken speech synth and stoned harddrive sounds just made me go nanners. The third track is also from RTJ’s obviously deviated mind and continues with the “original? what original?” line. This one isn’t plain experimental noise like the second track but more like noisy ambient with something that could perhaps be described as melody. Moving on to the fourth track was quite a shock for me as it went back to the more typical way of remixing. Vhiiula’s mix is a bit like Lime’s but only a tad. Lime’s mix is mellow and steady all the way but Vhiiula went for the original’s style mixing up a calm melody with medium fast beats. The fifth and last piece on this mixes & remixes EP is by the man himself, Ceniq. Again the lets-forget-D.-Exiguus approach is there. This “C Side” is something I didn’t expect from Ceniq because it’s quiteaggressive and without a proper melody. Strangely this one turned out to be my favourite of the five tunes.

Long story short “D. Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes & Remixes)” is a collection of tracks that have almost nothing to do with each other except for the fact that they are music (at least some of them). In my opinion that is the reason why the EP works so well. “Brilliant” is one of the words that come to my mind at the moment.

Review by Jan Robbe:

1. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Bulentoi Mix)
Lime/Bulentoi did the first remix of ceniq’s excellent tune. The result is a fine ambient piece with a lot of strings, and a typical relaxed everchanging beat (samples reminded me of BrothomStates). No innovation, though a nice tune.
84%

2. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 1)
3. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 2)
These are different, we’re going way experimental here. Packed with infinite sound effects, Roger That Jr. managed to create 2 original pieces that have atmosphere written all over it. The second edit is more melodic and perhaps more mysterious than the first, which I think has better effects… Definately worth your downloading time if you’re into experiments…
85%
87%

4. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Vhiiula Mix)
Vhiiula brings us a happy piano-tune with complicated breaks and a lot of samples. Subtle tempochanges and dsp effects make up for the repetitive melody. I love the breaks… 🙂
89%

5. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (C Side)
C Side brings us back to the experimental side of this EP. The beats and bassline (?) are very chaotic, but in a good way. Quality haunting noisy sound effects. Short but long enough (2:37), and a nice ending.
92%


Tracklist:
01 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Bulentoi Mix)
02 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 1)
03 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 2)
04 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Vhiiula Mix)
05 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (C Side)

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Files:
ceniq-d.exiguus_was_wrong_(mixes_&_remixes)_info [TXT]