Paraphrasing the Soul Sonic Force and sorting through today`s releases for tunes that could have graced Alfie & Leo’s Amnesia dance-floor…

D:Ream / Do It Anyway (Al Mackenzie Remixes) / New State Music

Al Mackenzie takes the title track from D:Ream’s forthcoming album, Do It Anyway, and delivers a couple of dope remixes. You have a choice of with or without Pete Cunnah’s vocals, but both versions are subtitled “Dubbin’ The House” and have flickering fragments of the original, and its Human League sample*, swimming in echo and rimshot rattle. The arrangement switching between shots of rapid skanking, ska strumming and crashing, flying cymbal explosions, and the B-line acting as the backbone, an anchor through a series of dubwise dropouts and beatless breakdowns. 

*This is perhaps a knowing nod / wink to the duo’s synth-pop sampling prog house origins and the tunes played during Al’s early `90s residency at the debauched Love Ranch.

Feel Fly / Sole (Remixes) / Archeo Recordings

Having recently completed a couple of cracking remixes for Archeo Recordings Perugian producer, Feel Fly, now returns to the label and gets remixed himself. An edit of his track Sole first appeared on a 7” released by Flexi Cuts, the label run out of the Flexi Dischi store, located in the Italian town of Lugo. However, Archeo have now pressed the full 9 minutes onto a 12. The track totally taps into the eccentric Euro pop aesthetic of the original Balearic Beat. I can imagine Leo Mas warming up Amnesia with it in `86. Or Alfredo using it to wind down. A slow swoon of synthesised sighs and chimes, sparse but strong bass notes underpin its playful keyboard melody. Beatless for its opening half, the drums, when they come, are delicate jazzy rolls and shushed cymbals. 

The remixes all up the BPMs and head for the dance floor. RadioMarc does proto-house-d / Italo disco-ed. Issam Dahmani bangs together a breakbeat and a big kick. Amacord adds cowbells and congas. Verdo & Duscio Atollo plump for vocoder and pumping piano.  

Kannoushiki / Horizon / 髙嶋酒造株式会社

Kannoushiki is a cool, musical collaboration between DJ Kazutaka Takashima, guitarist Doramaru and percussionist Yama Ganga Yuji. The trio have just released their third EP on a label spun out of the Takashima Sake Brewery – a company that Kazutaka-san is the president of. 

On one side of the bespoke 12, Horizon builds from a berimbau loop and a beat that’s part disco, part motorik. It’s Doramaru’s fantastic, fluid fretwork that makes the track shine. Opening with rolling wah-wah licks he runs through a repertoire of what must be a 1000 riffs – each of them exploding, shouting, screaming and singing as effects pedals are pressed – resulting in a joyful noise and, effectively, a 7-minute solo. 

On the flip, Senbon still nods to the double drumming of Neu!’s Klaus Dinger, but its boogie is a bit bouncier. Throwing hand claps in over clipped rhythm guitar chords which are countered by folky strumming. The combination making for a jazzier fusion. 

Jeff Mills  / Theme From Star Child / Electronic Sound

The latest issue (#127) of Electronic Sound features a big Jeff Mills interview. The 45 that accompanies that article contains edits of 2 magical Millsart tracks – the productions separated by over 30 years. Theme From Star Child is easily the more “Balearic” of the pair. Originally released on Mills’ label Axis earlier this year, it’s a piece of sleek, sophisticated, emotive, optimistic piano house. Maximal minimal constructed from layers of looped keys that sort of stay the same while sort of constantly changing, in the manner that only the maestro Mills can do. Shots of shaken percussion add the samba of Derrick May’s Transmat sides, and the tune carries that classic polished Detroit sound – something that remains an influence on a younger generation of musical folks such as Bruise. 

On the flip you’ll find the seminal “Stringent” mix of Step To Enchantment, from 1993, which bangs a lot harder and borrows from new beat and EBM. A bit like a revved up Los Niños Del Parque. 

Sewell & The Gong / Communion Phase / DSPPR

Matt Sewell and Chris “The Gong” Tate have teamed up again, this time for a full-length long-player. Titled, Patron Saint Of Elsewhere, the album’s release is imminent – on Chris Coco’s DSPPR – but it’s been promo-ed by a lead single called Communion Phase. Very cleverly created from shimmering swells of filtered drones and acoustic strings, the track has Sewell’s echoed guitar notes chopped into an upbeat sort of four-to-the-floor-ed jig and reel. Funky, feel good folk that’s stirred, stuttered, and not their usual chilled, but celebratory.