newsWe are really excited about the remix ep of The Cider Club which will be out soon! A good selection of different vibes from Fine Cut Bodies, Espion and Repeat Repeat will be coming your way, along with an mix from Vector Lovers. We'll let you know in due course which label will have the pleasure of releasing it, and when to expect to see it in the shops!
TS are very pleased to have been asked to provide a remix for a track called "I want A Better Life" by London based band The Shakes. You can check the original version out on their myspace page - see our links page.
THE TWO HEADED MONSTERThe Transparent Sound Recordings imprint championed the electro-funk beats of the late Nineties, their latest label Orson Records is a similar vehicle for todays experimental, electronic club sounds. And now with The Two Headed Monster they are pairing together Orson artists with like-minded, visionary producers and DJs for a wonderfully open minded snapshot of the music making clubbing in 2006 so life-affirmingly vital again.
"In the clubs you're seeing an interaction between live acts and DJs, and the DJs themselves, by using laptops and programs like Traktor, Ableton and Final Scratch, are bringing in new technological elements to their sets" comments Transparent Sounds Orson Bramley on one of the key concepts behind the series. "The Two Headed Monster is about trying to show the differences and similarities between these things."
For the debut release in this series, Transparent Sound have hooked up with Fabric resident and long-time champion of cutting-edge, underground dancemusic, Craig Richards. Both artists have a musical admiration for oneanother that has grown dramatically over the last year.
"I've got an interest in electro and more recently they've been making music which is deeper, groovier and more four-four based as opposed to the electro they used to do. So I guess we've both become a lot closer together in what we do" says Richards of his involvement. "I put out one of their records last year, I play their stuff and we have a mutual respect for one-another, so it seemed like a good idea to work on something together."
Their contributions to the debut release for this project show how the boundaries are increasingly becoming blurred between sounds, styles and reference points: without less fickle media endlessly pigeonholing genres into safe, sanitised little boxes, each exclusive from the other, dance music has been given a new lease of life. And it's all here.
Transparent Sound have put together a live studio mix that draws on the many weird and wonderful styles of music that are influencing their productions. From the driving bass assaults of Vintage and Proper Techno, through to the more delicate, intricate rhythms of Variations Of An Attitude and Voyeurs Chance right through to the sublime Hell Bent and The Cider Club, its an engaging, melodic and dynamic set of tracks that although diverse, remain fluid and coherent throughout.
Craig's DJ mix, his first to be released in two years, is a deep, hypnotic collection of current favourites and rediscovered gems that never once takes its eye off of the dancefloor. Many of the tracks he's edited himself, and as well as this he's added a load of his own FX. Craig says "It's quite bouncy and groovy, and is probably closer to the first mix I did for the Fabric series than the Tyrant one from a couple of years ago. I tried to keep it moving around as much as possible, messing around with the tunes and sneaking in things that people wouldn't always expect."
The end result is a thrilling Trans Europe Express-way ride through the EU's most daring discotheques and illicit after-parties, and it makes for a devastating trip.
Orson Records was launched by Transparent Sounds Orson Bramley in 2003 as a means of showcasing new, undiscovered producers and acts as well as their own increasingly less straight-up electro tracks. With a growing catalogue of releases from Glasgows Espion, The Artificial Arm (whose 'Welcome To Planet Funk' was a highlight of the 2005 Pile-Up compilation, mixed be Belgium's Geoffroy and released on his Hi-Phen imprint), Point B and Transparent Sound themselves, the label is shaping up to be one of the UK's leading purveyors of modern electronic music for dancing.
Words: Jason Riley
The Album is available now! If you've been unable to get a copy in your local record shop, go to the Exceptional Records web site, where you can buy it at the online shop. www.exceptionalrecords.co.uk
ALBUM NEWS
The guys are currently working on a new album project with vocalist Charlie Weeks. It will be a real change of direction for them, and everyone's very excited about the new challenges its presenting ! More news will follow as the project progresses!