Tesri – Sommer (Monika, 2005)
A slow funk rhythm from Robert Liphook and Barbara Morganstern’ s early ’80s and ’00s inspired Germanic pop-chill/lap-pop offering.
Heights Of Abraham – What’s The Number (ZTT, 1996)
Shamelessly self promotional I know, but this offering from our Electric Hush record still sounds great, I’m really pleased that we finally got round to make our new record ‘2006’!
Prince Far I – Final Chapter
from Cry Tough Dub Encounters Chapter 3 (Pressure Sounds, 1996)
Adrian Sherwood at the controls of 3 minutes of surprisingly delicate heavy dub. Gorgeous etherial flute played by David Toop, no less.
Jon Appleton – Newark Airport Rock (1969)
from Comptes de la Memeoire (Emprintes Digitales, 1996)
Confused sounding American air travellers are asked to give opinions on “the new electronic music”at Newark terminal in the late 1960s. Mostly, they think, “it’s nice”. None of them had heard Keith Emerson yet, obviously.
Eric Belgum – Bad Marriage Mantra (1997)
from Agents of Impurity (SAN 2004)
Turn up loud to get rid of door to door salesmen approaching your house, bailiffs and other unwanted visitors. A disfunctional marriage writ large. Horrible and funny in equal proportion, this re-enactment of a pathetic arguing couple is full-on – taste the loathing.
Lee Perry – Justice To The People – from Give Me The Power (1969-1973) (Trojan)
Heavy social conscience from the Uppsetter in one of his finest pop single moments. Catchy as hell.
Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms – from Parallelograms (Kap, USA 1970 , r. Ace of Discs, 2003)
Long lost psychadelic-folk gem which sold around 12 copies when it first came out. She sings of straight sided geometric shapes as if it is the most natural thing in the world to do. No acid involved there, then.
Kraftwerk – The Robots – from The Mix (EMI 1991)
Updated ’70s electronic classic, still sounds fantastic, the best music for an open top sports car on a sunny day, anywhere.
Tosca – Chocolate Elvis – from Opera (G-Stone 1997)
Viennese remix genius Richard Dorfmeister makes the most infectious rhythm track known to man. Shakin’.
D’Angelo – Smooth – from Brown Sugar (Cooltempo 1995)
Funky, jazzy soul. Smooth as fcuk, of course. He claims to be losing his cool because someone else is even smoother… hard to imagine either.
Jim White – Hey! You Going My Way? – from No Such Place (Luaka Bop, 2001)
Hitch-hiking alt-country cowboy on a street corner in the rain. Jim White creates a mythical, grimey, more hopelessly down-at-heel small town America on this album. Plenty of fake optimism thrown in for good measure.
Fauna Flash – Mother Nature (Dzihan + Kamien remix) – from Confusion (Compost, 2001)
Green sentiments served on a bed of upright bass and jazz flugelhorn from Reiner Truby’s collaborators Christian Prommer and Roland Appel.
Urbs – Ununited – from Toujours Le Meme Film (G-Stone, 2005)
Urbs use familiar sounding styles from ’50s, ’60s and ’70s film music to make a kind of classic soundtrack for all occasions. Great idea and it works.
Smog – All Your Women Things – from The Doctor Called At Dawn (Drag City, 1996)
Ringing acoustic guitar notes, piano and cello with Smog’s enevitable doleful vocal. It’s a list of clothes and possesions an ex-girlfriend left behind in his flat seven years before. Kind of moving in its sadness, but a little too bizarre for comfort.
Heights Of Abraham’s album ‘2006’ is out now on 23 Records. www.23online.co.uk
