V.A. - Ljubljana Electro City (Elektroliza)

Before I decided to publish my review of Electro City Ljubljana compilation, I already had a couple versions of review, and my problem with that was: Yugonostalgic values of our former state. I didn't like it, at all, cause Electro as a genre has it's ideological roots in future.
How ever I would always wrote that, cause it's true all of these artists lived in ex-YU, and now in their own separated countries. I didn't want another nostalgic talk about it, cause on one of the most popular Electro mix CD Dave Clarke - X-MIX: Electro Boogie there is note, a words that stuck in my mind: "This is how the future was always supposed to sounds." 

                             

                                                               2 x vinyl and cover    

And after cca. 10 reviews deleted, I decide that: who cares. I will write what ever comes out of my mind -  Electro is combination of past-present-future, it will survive governments and generations of bureaucrats. Electro is one of those dance music "angry uncle", if you imagine whole electronic dance music genres and subgenres, as a family. Uncle, and his brother Techno and sister House do not like, when he gets drunk, he always talk about politics, and technology. Even his twin brother Hip Hop, in mid 80's went separated ways. Also he is in good relations with little cousins like Breakbeat, Jungle and Drum'n'Bass, Speed Garage, Grime, and Dubstep which came from overseas (subgenres parts of bigger equation called Hardcore Continuum, but about that in some other articles).

 And that is maybe the reason why Electro never get trully recognition in dance circles - not only it sounds more darker, violent, or have dystopian aestetic. Some tracks have direct political message - most of the times with vocoded voice.  But also Electro is not always political, it can be sexy and emotional.
But you all know history of Electro and his other children (subgenres and evolutions, and amalgation with other genres). I will leave history of "the sound of the future" to you.

But there is another thing I have to say about Electro...  it is the most-pronounced-dead genre of the all other genres. And this is important: music media (yes, that's right, controled by sponsors, music industry and promoters) killed Electro so many times... but remember, this is general fact, genres do not die, or people stop listen that-specific-genre...

No, people still and always listen, buy new records, producers still produce, but the focus of the media is somewhere else. And YES you heard it thousand times, but when it start to making bigger money, they will celebrate it, and giving it those "neo" "retro" "n-th wave" attributes. P(h)unk is not dead!


So now we know the signal sent from original Electro stations (Underground Resistance, Drexciya,etc...) was sent to other places and hubs around the Globe, creating diasporas, even in places like ex-YU, like "seeds". Elektroliza, electronic music enthusiasts from Ljubljana, Slovenia, decide to crop all those flowers across this territory, and to make a compilation, actually a statement, or a document, of that great music, in this case Electro Funk/Boogie - what ever you want to call it. We Call It Electro.

Together with their friends/electronic "warriors" they created Ljubljana Electro City, released on vinyl as DJ-tool. On compilation you can find Xed, one of the creators of Crobot Music and Crobot Crew who throw parties in Zagreb. His track Inner Contact sounds like you are calling your nanobots to do certain modification on your brain nerves. His co-conspirator   
N-TER with track Corals of Pannonia delivers float melody, like waves on pre-historic Pannonian Sea, and with that Italo bassline is warm dancefloor killer.On compilation you can find our old friend Alavux, with his podcast, and few reviews of his art. As always his take-no-prisoners modus operandi is hearable track Planet is burst of energy and dancefloor destroyer. My two favorites are Microslav's MT3 with kind of The Orb-ish kind a feel, but pretty nice track. And second one is Kalson with pure beauty, perfect starter of this compilation.



My final word is: I am Proud!!! People from Elektroliza did perfect Electro compilation, even for beginners who are getting into Electro, and those who are infected already, plus to put this compilation on vinyl!? So if you still can find it on 180g vinyl - go for it, cause it was pressed only in 300 copies, but you can find it digital everywhere. You girls and boys have our massive support, and now I do not care about our past.

We Are All Looking Into the Future!!!

Check the compilation here

Tracklist
1. Kalson - Ocean 808
2. Dj Xed - Inner Contact
3. N-TER - Corals of Pannonia
4. Wichiwaka - Chasing UFOs with Danny
5. Le Chocolat Noir - Futureworld
6. EB King - Mucek
7. Quasar - Luminosity
8. Alavux - Planet
9. Christian Kroupa - Transhumanism
10. Barion - Matter
11. Bramor - Rov
12. 1983 - Zero compromise
13. Microslav - MT3



And for the end, I recommend you enjoy compilation in the mix, mixed by Dj XED:







Damir Plićanić

Don't Care About The Podcast 9: Saša Đorđević - Lazy Afternoon

Well, Sasa Dordevic, an audio-visual artist who lives and prospers in Banja Luka. Living and breathing his arts, full of knowledge, a man who knows how to listen and has a lot to say - one of those that any urban and art scene has got to have.

The man who is everywhere - you may see him at any über-cool event as well as at the more wacky ones.

He's the "grey man", someone in the crowd, one that doesn't stand out, but when you talk to him and when he shines, he shines brightely and got so many things to show you. Also, his ears and eyes are always open, to hear and see something new, special, and original - in anyone. At least I perceive him that way.

If he was any different, I wouldn't have asked him to do the mix. The mix is on constant repeat on my iphone, or speakers. And I'm so proud to present to You all this mix as some kind of "comeback" of our blog.

Tracklist:
01. Acid Pauli - Rene (Roman Flugel Remix)
02. Smagghe & Cross - Talking to Katz
03. Mehmet Aslan - Alysha
04. DJ Tennis - Magrelian
05. Minor Science - Volumes
06. C Cat Trance - Rattling Ghosts (Die Orangen Remix)
07. Nicola Cruz - Bruxo (JAJA Remix)
08. Center of the Universe - Feta Version
09. Jensen Interceptor - Route E
10. Naum Gabo - Mariama

...


Hello my dear readers, friends and family. AGAIN!!! Datzee blog spot is back! For now, hopefully for good!

!IMPORTANT
1. If you want to review your new music album, LP or EP contact us, send message, or damir.plicanic(at)gmail.com!!!
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3. If you have any ideas you want to share with us or simply get in touch, you know the drill!
Contact over the blog, write email on damir.plicanic(at)gmail.com
 

GAS - Narkopop (Kompakt)

"From Ancient Greek ναρκόω (narkóō, “I put to sleep”); in terms relating to drugs, it is a back-formation from narcotics, which ultimately derives from the same source.

narco - Pertaining to stupor, sleep, or a state of unconsciousness."

It was never been easy to write about Kompakt records. Why? Because there is certain trigger in your brain, that responds when you sense that "Kompakt" marker. Like when you see that fast food chain "MCcsomething", and ultra famous water + sugar drink "Coke Cola". You know what it is. And you know it is good. As a label Kompakt wasn't first who tried to play the game of pop-consumerism and underground music, art and media, all under one roof, one banner. but they are only one who, in mine humble opinion made it. They were the first who walked that fine line and still walking.


        

But most of us wouldn't never hear or become the witnesses of super-global success of Kompakt if there weren't Wolfgang Voigt's GAS project. Voigt even said: " GAS is the vision of a sonic body between Schönberg and Kraftwerk, between French horn and bass drum. GAS is Wagner goes glam rock, and Hansel and Gretel on acid. GAS is there to take you on a seemingly endless march through the under woods - and into the discoteque - of an imaginary, nebulous forest."
I would not spend my time on writing the history of Herr Voigt and Kompakt, you can do it on your own. But have to mention GAS. try to imagine the sound of walking through the woods, and imagine the trees that making a symphony, that tree over there is violin, that tree is the trumpet, and so on. And of course there is conductor and compositor all in one person: Wolfgang Voigt. GAS changed the face of ambient music, it gave that wagnerian feel, that sense of epic and greatness - not a wallpaper or elevator music.


                           

When you hear previous albums like Pop, Königsforst, or Zauberberg, you will, I guarantee, you will see ambient music presented as a art form, or even it would transcendent the experience of "plain old records listening". It will push you more and more into the "forest".


                           


First of all I know my words sound so grandiose, and there is a fact that I am the fan (not the fan, but fanatic), and it all sounds like I want to sell you something, so hard.
No, just walk away. And when you find the right time, put Narcopop on, and you be the judge, like you always are. Like a guy who has listened GAS for some years, maybe the greatest difference between these records, is that simple, minimalistic kick-drum, but once melodies get into your nervous system it will become part of the "forest", like your footsteps when you walk. and that is another magic of this album, everything has its part, just like in opera, every step, word, sound... everything has its part and purpose. And here we have magic.

Maybe I didn't tell you everything i know, I didn't made strong point here, or maybe this isn't review at all. I just follow the old path through the forest...
 

Darth Vutrax - Battlecruisers In Starlight (Krv! Produkcija)

LO-FI psychedelic space warmongering bard is back! I When this space traveler/warrior/musician visited us, some of use took the opportunity to listen and review his strange, minimal music, and the writer of this lines was mesmerized (for non-serbo-croat readers, sorry, It was my transitional period from my native language to English) with the material that was in his (bloody) hands. His album Intergalactic or No Galactic At All was combination of weird space sounds, ethno instrument, supersonic flute, made of rarest Ulgharis wood, and atmosphere from distant worlds.


+

That was then, now let us hear/see what a couple of light years spend all over the Galaxy, and all that experience has brought us. If first album was all about dark atmosphere of deep space traveling and first contact with us, now this EP is little more coherent then album. Opening track is  of imperial march, a soundtrack for all the fallen ones in the battle for Cerni XIV, called The Fall of Cerni Xiv, with usage of some strange flute-like instrument. cause maybe those warriors will rise again and defend their planet. It is only beginning.

Cosmic Demon revelations is track of madness if you ever find yourself somewhere in depths of Universe, and summoned demon show itself in front of your eyes. cause my knowledge of  language of Urgalis people is not worth to be mentioned, I could only imagine what was going on there.
But track is, if you keep your ears open and concentrate on the music, you will hear quite realistic interplanetary battle, I guess between multidimensional demon and our bard - with lo-fi synth sounds that follows the battle, like a flag that our ancestors use in their own battles - but without iron and steel, instead there is high tech space materials, and far advanced tech. Like some strange machine or computer wrote a diary of the epic battle. Quite dramatic. Like an Aphex Twin's track - you can't lay in your sofa, nor you can dance to it. You can only focus your senses on the sounds, and listen archetype myth, of confrontation between monster and some humanoid being.


My favorite track is Towards the Great Attractor is pure sonic synth orgy. Like the engines of the ship sings and star ship's computer are singing in syncopation, as they and their passenger are approaching something with great gravitational force. This tune, will be a cherry on the top on my next ambient/electronica mix, that is for sure.

And the forth track actually is evidence that Blues, in it's classical form, is space:time phenomenon. track called continuum . "OH, Urgalis (Jewel of Universe), explicitly shows that homesick and existential crisis is not only Human thing.
It is universal feeling, which serves as beacon for all creatures of Universe, to show us where The Source of all things is... at least we all must search for it, even to give our physical bodies in search for it. And as I said, Blues is one of the great pylon for a beacons of light in the darkness.
But I must confess, I guess that bard made this EP very fast, while he was on course to Earth. He put the musical standard bar so high with his first (at least for earthlings), and if you really want to see genius true of Darth Vutrax, I recommend his album, but in the meantime this will keep us warm/cold, until his return.

The Bug Vs Earth - Concrete Jungle (Ninja Tune)

Prologue:
When I first heard rumors that doom Dylan Carlson aka Earth, superhero and his guitars are ready to collide with pure dub impact of Kevin The Bug Martin, I was super-excited, then start to wonder how it would sound, can they pull it off. Both are masters of their own craft... it sounds epic on paper, but... well I could't imagine. Before that first release I was really thinking, who will be in front - from whom we shall hear more, and most important - could that extreme opposite sonic spectrum will become one musical (master)piece.
                                    

Then Boa/Cold EP (Ninja Tune) is released, and when I got my copy I heard something great. It wasn't epic or grandiose, it was just as it should it be, at least for me. And I will say it: after I heard it, some strange images were coming from my head. And of course: Oh my... it would be hell-off-a-ride if they ever decide to do full length LP. They did.
Boa/Cold EP was perfect combination 50/50 of both sides giving their best and music was magical. Aggressive but with sense of peace when you touch just awaken force. Force that slowly slurps out of some kind The Well. It's The Well where you can comeback and drink when ever is necessary. And typical human reaction: "I'm the only one - who knows - where is the Well. - I MUST hide this from others. It's mine." 
Prologue over.                                      

First for those who do not know, The Bug is powered dubstep project by Kevin Martin, his last album as The Bug, which I reviewed for another blog, "Angels and Devils" showed us how can someone turn unique dancefloor style into pure aggression, torturing sound. Album which had more in common with industrial or industrial metal sound, then for example, the dancehall or any modern style that is continuation of UK hard core continuum.   
           
                   

 On the other side Dylan Carlson, with or without moniker Earth spent, I guess, whole his life in search for perfect riff and guitar tuning. I visioned him like a guy who always carry his guitar case, wherever he goes, with trench coat, and there is always snow around him, while he search for hotel or place to stay, just to play same riff - one after another, with slightly changes - hey that is just my vision. Dylan Carlson is one of the pioneer of many modern styles - from slowness of doom metal, riff-hardness of sludge, or stoner, or space rock/metal. But most important: he is able to create unique visions of vastness, visions of space, certain feeling of man that is surrounded by nothing, and everything.

                  

So what we got here: The Bug with his in-the-face punch, bass driven music that awakes most savaging in pre-apocalyptic man, and Earth which takes us on journey into the desert of our souls. That is why this album is so important. Music actually call our primal side, and on the other hands, tell us to not be feared by dark, but to embrace it. Cause when the last street lamp stop shinning, who's gonna go there and fix it? Those who can operate in the darkness, and have technical knowledge to bring the light. Even if the names of the tracks are all about urban decay, and apocalyptic end - it is actually about fight your demons of fear of the dark, go, learn, be active, do something. And every time I listen this - let's call it meisterwerk, a triumph of two different approach - I feel energy to do something good today, to be strong, to love and keep my love ones, or help someone who needs it.

                                             

Maybe, you do not hear or see what I see, but you will certainly enjoying music with so much controlled anger, right on the edge of explosion, that still it manages to stay controled, determined and focused.  

                      

       
Damir Plićanić



                                                                                                 

         


All photos of The Bug and Earth by Phil Sharp!
All other audio/video media by my ninjas from Ninja Tune. Stay sharp!!!

Ryuichi Sakamoto - async (Milan)

Name me, currently the greatest name, not fortune or number of records sold, but influence in electronic music. OK let me change the question: greatest and maybe the oldest, and influence on generations after, THE ultimate star of Electronica? Could you answer me?
All hats down to Georgeo Moroder and his funky beats, and all hats down to Jean-Michel Jarre and his melodies and spectacle music that celebrate life.
Let me answer for you:
Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra. There is no debate here either. While Kraftwerk were perceive like some electronic geeks, even "robots", electronic music with pop-art aesthetic and conceptual art never had chance in Europe and USA, that was rockin' to the sound of electric guitar and virtual created messiahs: Rock'n'Roll superstars. Even if they manage to sell millions of records, influenced millions, but it is nothing, in compare to YMO.

Short story: Yellow Magic Orchestra were megastars in Japan, country that was already in digital age, and where synthesizers were cheap, and considered as normal instrument. Not only synths... rhythm machines, sequencers, and digital recording and all electronic instruments and gadgets - they were one of the first who used it constantly.They were the first to use sampling technique during recordings of their records. Yes you could buy it all very cheap at every corner. And they also combine music with politics, turning pop hits into musical subversion.
Also, they were on charts, they had number-ones, golden and platinum records.
They were a soundtrack to rising Japan economic boom!!! In Europe, specially in USA you were not being consider seriously as a musician with synth - "hey it is keyboard, a grown-up child's toy."  If Japan has the size of USA and  population, they would be Electronic Superstars. YMO were: Haroumi Hosono, Yukihiro Takhashi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Today Ryuichi Sakamoto 65, is an Oscar winner composer (with Carsten Nikolai aka Alva Noto for The Revenant soundtrack), composer, pianist, producer, writer and even dancer. Man who survived throat cancer, have 20 solo studio albums, and also worked with Alva Noto (classic Raster-Noton records Vrioon and Summvs), Fennesz, David Sylvian, Thomas Dolby, and many more. Also worth to mention soundtracks for The Last Emperor, Handmaid's Tale, High Heels, Little Buddha, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence just to mention the most important movies. This musical giant didn't release much in the last decade, duo his fight with cancer. 

But that battle thought him most valuable lesson:"After serious disease, you look at everyday life with fresh eyes. Doing normal things, like having breakfast or having a lunch, drinking glass of wine, it becomes a very, very joyous pleasure. I get this feeling with every day sounds." 

After I read a couple of interviews, and in one interview Mr. Sakamoto mention that working on The Revenant, he discovered that the Nature itself could also be part musical piece.
And when you combine such a musical knowledge and skill, with allowing yourself field recordings - and after full remission, you could expect that this album will be about living your life to the fullest. Enjoying every breath. Also very important, async album has it's main inspiration from Andrei Tarkovsky's never made movie, imaginable movie. And when you connect dots about sense of end, the thought of "one day I wouldn't be alive", you immediately recognize themes of Tarkovsky's movies: life and death, and everything else between those two moments. Two moments that transcendent everything else.

         

                           

async is very naturalistic album, even there is a lot of classical instruments, and some unnatural field recordings, and small samples, it is all about visioning a forest, and mild rain, and look to the hills, woods, and some valleys in the back. But in the head there is the clock that clicks away, but don't hurry - but quite opposite, enjoy these views, listen the rain, try to focus leaves of grass in the valley, or some leaf in the tree on the hill across.

Or very special track, for author of this lines, Walker - meditative track, but with constant sound of someones walking. Walker doesn't walk just trough forest, you can hear (if you listen carefully), that he change surface on which he walks - a subtle lesson of "walking through the life".

Then there is dramatic tune, that was originally made for Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky, and he decide to loop a certain part of the text from the 30 years old movie, small line, and decide to play that same texts on English, Chinese and Russian language, in the same time.
Also same thing he did in the track called "LIFE,LIFE", and it is a poem by Tarkovksy's father Arseny, which the Sakamoto used to read a lot.

And finally one of my favorite tracks... wait whole album is masterpiece, but there is something about track "honj", with classic Japanese instrument and dramatic strings that build short, but strong emotion, with almost unheard, underline sound of the wind, and wind-chimes.

Album finishes with two great tracks "ff" and "garden", like a circle of life. I would said specially track "garden", with that fade-off drone, try to reflex moments of ending (not ending of life) but key to ending this album.

                                

Please, cut yourself from the world, play this record, and you will see that you do not need my philosophy about async. Just listen, every detail is important. It's not another ambient/modern-classic album on the market.


Damir Plicanic

Iz Arhive: Dobri duh grada

Kartofel Osvetnik - Depopivo (Slušaj najglasnije 2013)

   (njem.) Kartoffel (f) - krompir, Krtola; fig. veliki nos, babura; Krompir - Solanum Tuberosum (lat.)

Opis: Gomolji krompira su krajnja zadebljanja podzemne biljke. Nadzemna biljka je skoro kao prst debela i 3/4m visoka i uglasta. Plod je žućkasto-bijelo-zelenkasta bobica. razmnožavanje se vrši samo vegetativnim putem tj. gomoljima
Stanište: Potiče iz Amerike  te se u Evropi odomaćio i uspjeva na svim zemljištima.
Ljekoviti dijelovi i svojstva: Skupljaju se gomolji za vrijeme berbe Krompira. Sirovi krompir nije za jelo, a u nezrelom stanju je škodljiv jer sadrži alkaloid Solanin. Kuvani Krompir, međutim, je važan sastavni dio naše ishrane, da se bez njega više ne može ni zamisliti.
Gomolj krompira sadrži skrob, jabučnu i mliječnu kiselinu. krompir sadrži vitamin A koji djeluje na regeneraciju, tzv kužni vitamni F, i oblina vitaminom C.
Krompir je zaslužan što je pomoću njega u Evropi gotovo nestala masovna bolset nazvana Skorbut. Od Skorbuta nisu strahovali mornari, nego i kod seljačkog stanovništa epidemije Skorbuta su bile veoma česte. iako važan vitamin C sadržan u najvećem dijelu povrća, međutim kuhanjem on se sasvim razara. Kod Krompira, iako se peče sadržaj vitamina C spada samo za pola. samim tim krompir ima čitav niz primjena u pečenju, pa se punim pravom može nazvati ljekovitom biljkom.

Odmah da riješimo, neću da spominjem njihov lokalni karatkter, drugim riječima lokalna kafanska atrakcija. I da ne bježim od "dječijih bolesti" kao što su podrum produkcija (???) ili svako završavanje numere crescendom (momenat za koji vjerujem da nastaje kad ne znate kako da završite). Onako sa starne ću spomenuti da mi zvuče na spoj Ramba Amadeusa i Einsturzende Neubauten. Ali vjerujem da se svaki muškarac i žena izgubljen u tranzicijskom društvu, i državama do grla zaduženim kod MMF može pronaći u ovome.

No, pošto gledam da izbjegavam dnevno-političke teme (a ne ide mi nešto od ruke/tastature) ovaj album svojim temama svakako dodaje oker boju na sivu pozadinu sadašnjosti. Morate razumjeti da su sa razlogom orkestralni dio benda sklonio da bi pjevač vodio, ipak bih spomenuo na momente tripoidnu trubu i klavijature, kao i funkoidni bubanj i bass. Članovima benda mogu da zaželim puno sreće sa svojim originalnim projektima gdje su poprilično uspješni, a tekstopiscu i spiritus movemensu (špiritus maximusu) da u dolazećem vremenu izda knjigu-dve, drugi album možemo sačekati dve godine - i za ovaj prvijenac, na skali od loše - odlično, dobija: dobar i zabavan. Od koga je ocjena -  dobro su prošli. Na ocjenu se muzičari mogu žaliti čak i čuvenom: "Nije lako biti umjetnik- muzičar, hajde ti nešto uradi!" Eto mogu - napisati recenziju.

    
                                  

Iako sam ovaj tekst napisao prije dva mjeseca, moram dodati da i dalje u glavi vodim mali cirkus sa ovom muzičkom pozadinom. Pa je tako dvorska luda, u mojoj glavi ižlogirala pojedine tekstove pjesama iz Sobni bicikl, ko nov a stari.. u Kožni bicikl, konobar stari... Kao i recimo azil za lutalice pse, u Brazil za budalice sve. Cirkus ide dalje...

Damir Plićanić

tekst pisan 2014