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PRIMAL
RECORDS
Consult their day jobs if you need to: Adam Collins—as both
one-half of Chicago house duo Omni A.M. and as a solo artist—has
amassed a solid discography that includes releases for Big Chief,
Leaf, Swag, and the Euphoria label he runs with Marky Star. Sloth,
a U.K. native whose resume includes co-production and engineering
credits with London tech-house pioneers like Terry Francis and Gideon
Jackson, is also head knob-twiddler at Swag Studios and one-half of
Sounds Of The Suburbs. As The Hustlers, Adam Collins & Sloth reveal
a stunning Primal debut: "With Love" merges an old-school
soul and modern house boompty for a neo-breakbeat house ride that
closes the gap between New York and London once and for all. If you're
not convinced, check the flipside for an exclusive jack-groove missive
from Seattle's always on-point Lawnchair Generals. Longtime favorites
of Mark Farina and Derrick Carter, Carlos Mendoza and Peter Christianson
hand in a flawless Chicago house rub that doesn't simply reinterpret
the original as much as it totally deconstructs it. Quite simply,
this is future classic material here.
Few artists can lay claim to the kind of quality control that the
Midas collective have created for themselves over the past couple
of years. Coming out the gate with an already classic back catalog
that includes releases for Doubledown, Select, Crack & Speed,
Icon, Big Chief, and Tango, to name a few, the Midas members that
have convened for their Primal debut have truly arrived. On the "Bring
It" EP, collective members Thomas Sahs, Spettro, and Scott Pace
weave a diverse array of influence through the record's three tracks—-from
the 21st Century jack-house style of "People Like You" to
the bottom-heavy dub aesthetic of "It's Not Too Late" to
the deep and visceral "Missing Peace," a stunning update
on the Detroit-Chicago hybrid of the mid-'90s. And perhaps it's that
very sense of so-called disparity that clearly brings the Antoine
Diego & Midas vision into focus: With so many expert cooks in
the Midas collective's kitchen, these young producers and DJs not
only shun one-dimensionalism, they're literally "bringing it"
in 3-D.
After a short period of dormancy, Primal Records celebrates its official
relaunch with the first EP in an exclusive series from Paris-based
Robsoul Recordings founder Phil Weeks and well-respected San Francisco
DJ (and Primal team member) Hector Moralez--better known as Fries
& Bridges. This bi-continental DJ and production team have already
experienced success with previous releases for Music For Freaks and
Vista, and have seen recent tracks licensed to mixed compilations
from Halo Varga and Jon Marsh of The Beloved for his current Fabric
CD. Affiliated Drums, the duo's first release for Primal, is an exercise
in rich cultural exchange that maintains Weeks' strident French house
sensibility alongside Moralez's deep roots in West Coast house while
pledging its allegiance to neither. "Closer Love," here
in three mixes, lends itself to versatility--from climactic club material
to deeper grooves to stripped-down percussive takes. BBC Radio 1 DJ
and UK house tastemaker Yousef called Fries & Bridges the "sound
of true house music." This is why.
The third and final single from Mephisto Odyssey, this time reworked
by esteemed San Francisco tech-house champion Dano. The original is
a progressive-tinged techno track that rides along a solid synth line,
a hands-in-the-air tribal break, and a spacy vocal courtesy of Angelcat.
The Bay Area trio then join Dano in the studio for their Melon vs.
Mephisto Dub, giving the original a tracky and cut-up rework, especially
tailored for the dirtiest dancefloors. With Dano's Oddity Dub, the
Red Melon honcho drops a warm, atmospheric version of the track--delving
into that notable grey area where rolling hypnotic tech-house and
the San Francisco deep house aesthetic inevitably merge.
"Sexy Dancer" was the sophomore single from the Mephisto
Odyssey LP and, here, Primal enlists the inestimable talent of Hipp-E
and Halo Varga's H-Foundation for the remix duties. While the original
is a filtery and flawless tech-house monster in its own right, H-Foundation
marked an early definition of their sound with this chunky tribal
floorfiller. If they didn't practically invent this style, you'd swear
that they did.
Full disclosure: This track hatched from within our own nest.
Former Primal Records employee Ted Graham teams up with studio partner
Scott Lang for a deep vocal tech-houser that made waves on both sides
of the Atlantic. After a largely successful run of our own in 2000,
the totally "hooj" UK imprint Airtight reissued the track
in 2001 (backed by a remix from Kenneth Graham), introducing the vibe
and the rhythm to a brand new wave of DJs and punters across the pond.
This domestic version, however, is still the only place you'll find
the exclusive and ethereal "No Return Address," in addition
to Envelope's wicked "Be There" dub mix.
The last time Tony Hewitt and Terry Francis had come together
under one studio roof, they called themselves 2 Smoking Barrels and
released a massive EP for Yoshitoshi. As The T-Collective, this UK
tech-house duo delve into tougher funk ferocity with "Burnin'"--a
pre-Fabric, post-Architecture specialty that maintains these
producers' high standards for musicianship while paying close attention
to the movement underneath the mirror ball. Not to mention a cameo
from Minimal Bob, whom we all know is the man.
Mephisto Odyssey were possibly San Francisco's biggest Live P.A.
in the mid-'90s, and their status was cemented when Warner Bros. released
their full-length album, The Deep Red Connection, in 2000.
As a first single, "The Lift" seemed obvious. Maria Johnston's
moving vocal performance was both soulful and reverent to the vocal
house tradition--a point not lost on L.A. house pioneer Doc Martin,
whose mixes here hark back to the classic New York vocal style of
years past. Meanwhile, Mephisto's Orpheous Dejournette cuts up three
mixes of his own for Plate 2. Check the Superfly Funk Mix for a brutal
disco workout that employs wailing funk guitar over wailing divas,
or if you like it darker, Orpheos' Shaky Mix does the trick with the
help of a robotic vocoded vocal pass.
Foxgluv's "Cult Uv 8" EP is, practically speaking,
a party out of bounds. Spread out over two plates, an all-star lineup
gets electric and eclectic--treading the lines between austerity and
indulgence, mechanical and sexy, sober and trashed. Find deep and
dubby house casually rubbing elbows with hyper-acid breakbeat, midtempo
disco, proto-tech-house, and (gasp!) even an authentic slab of hardcore
jungle. We think it sounds like a classic San Francisco warehouse
party on vinyl. Free your mind and the rest will follow.
Sometimes we pick the music, sometimes the music picks us. Originally
released in 1998, the Lumpheads' "Disco Recovery" remix
package still finds itself being charted and packed in the crates
of several A-list DJs to this day. And who can blame them? Simon's
Come-Unity mix is a timeless exercise in dubby bass-driven future
funk, while Tony Hewitt's pre-Tango production work injects the original
with a massive adrenaline shot. The result? Watch Hewitt aggressively
kickstart the UK/San Francisco house fusion with his Gathering Dub
before simultaneously (and perhaps, unwittingly) predating the deep
progressive house revival by a few years with his Vortex Dub in the
process. If 21st Century Acid House needed an anthem, its got three
now.
There are only 1200 copies of this record in existence and, as
far as we know, they're all gone. DJ Shakra's Disco Direction returns
to the Primal Records fold with "Bass Age"--a classic jack-styled
track that made quite a compelling case for post-disco's coming of
age. The Tiesco Acid Dub further modernizes the original by adding
a dose of tribal percussion and morphing its bass line into a twisted
303-fueled frenzy. Waiting for the repress? Only the savviest trainspotters
will be able to tell you why we just can't do that.
Primal Records' flagship release and, oh, it's a classic. First
issued in 1997, the Lumpheads' "Disco Recovery" found itself
somewhere in-between being a sonic call-to-arms and a glorious prototype
for the forthcoming West Coast house invasion. DJ Dan confirmed it
when he licensed this for his seminal Smile Records compilation CD
later that year, but we kinda knew it all along. Bay Area house musicologists
will need the downright raw boogie of the Tranquil Elephantizer and
Crispin J. Glover mixes, while the soulful deep houser in you will
find relief in DJ Shakra's moody dub. This is history.
PRIMAL
BREAKS
Deep Red's final effort before completely merging into Mephisto
Odyssey is a high-energy electro-funk jam that enlists the talents
of DJ Josh Camacho and the not-too-subtle egging on of vocalist Lance
Freeman who urges the group to "Bring that beat back!" in
between some serious West Coast representation on the mic. (Dr. Dre
couldn't have made a better endorsement, in our opinion.) Remix reinforcement
comes from Funky Tekno Tribe icon DJ Dan, whose disco-fried house
mix reflects the unabashed rowdiness of the original without losing
any of its raw velocity.
Undoubtedly, Primal Breaks' big break. Long before Perry Farrell took
up the art of DJing himself, it was 1997 and Jane's Addiction were
still one of the biggest bands in the world. Deep Red were approached
to do a flurry of remixes for "So What!", the band's current
single, and the result was a three-mix remix package that satiated
the demands of the original songwriters and went on to sell more than
25,000 copies worldwide. Deep Red's Voodoo Funk Mix pulls no punches,
dropping a full-on peak-time breaks production that cunningly cuts
up Farrell's vocal alongside a wall of distorted guitar, tweaked synth
oscillation, and a prominent sample from the movie Ganja &
Hess. Deep Red's Dancefloor Dub brings back the steady kick for
a techy and psychadelic funky houser, while the Downbeat Addiction
mix drops the BPM for an early morning downtempo savory.
Deep Red's "Biggah Roots" is much less a direct reflection
of the group's love for proper breakbeat as it is a nod in the direction
of the Jamaican dub sound that informed much of the genre's earliest
production techniques. Indeed, "Biggah Roots" is probably
the Deep Red's definitive San Francisco track: Dub, acid, funk, breakbeat,
and a sample-drenched aesthetic all appear here, illustrating the
scene's versatility and variety, while maintaining a defiant modernity.
The beats are once again broken for the flip's two alternate mixes;
the deranged electro-influenced breaks of "The Original Biggah"
are perhaps more relevant today than ever.
Primal Breaks originally developed as an outlet for Mephisto
Odyssey's breakbeat alter-ego (and primary collaboration with Primal
owner Barrie Eves), Deep Red. "Live & Direkt," the label's
first release, is a classic slab of West Coast breakbeat--funky percussion
and heavy loops underneath subsonic bass, the occasional hip-hop reference
point, and an almost metallic beat flavor. The record was an instant
hit with proto-junglists and pre-nu-school breakbeat scientists alike,
but it's unique crossover appeal had even the most jaded San Francisco
acid housers reaching for their cardboard back in the day.
PR2
RECORDINGS
Everyone, please welcome Mr. Barcode! Mr. Barcode is a computer with
soul. He's a hard drive with a funk chip. And together with his friend,
George the Calculator, they make beautiful music together. Binary
Is The Language Of Love is an EP that expresses humanity through
a non-human voice: "Robot Love" takes freaked-out techy groovisms
to the next level, finding itself torn between the driving b-line
that propels the track and the tweaked keyboard commands that elevate
its energy. On the flip, Mr. Barcode gets downright filthy with "Disgusting
Base," an exercise in acid house that sounds like no other track you've
heard this year--or maybe ever. (We're not kidding!) This is truly
sick stuff. Wrapping up the package is the Broken Robots Mix of "Robot
Love," a breakbeat interpretation that will likely garner airplay
from electro and breaks enthusiasts alike. We only communicate with
Mr. Barcode through e-mail (he got rid of his phone line when DSL
came around), so we don't know much about him. All we know is that
he was really pissed when he heard we did a record with Jay Tripwire.
It almost sunk the deal, but luckily, he came around to his senses.
If technology defines how we'll live in the future, Mr. Barcode defines
how we'll dance.
Following several records for the Denver-based Casa Del Soul
label as well as releases for Vibernt, Fire Recordings, and their
own Hochokai imprint, Wyatt Earp & DJ Foxx make the jump to PR2
Recordings for "The Emerson EP"--a deep and sexy two-tracker
that brandishes their trademark style and expands the theme all the
same. "Sanctuary" is a deep and dirty tech-house cut of
climactic proportions, volleying your attention between its hypnotic
ascending keys and a sexy dubbed-out female vocal, while staying well-grounded
in its unique and shuffling groove. "Push," in the meantime,
heads straight for the dancefloor with a driving, percussive foundation
propelling a tweaked and twisted array of techy stabs, rapturous effects,
and cleverly cut-up vocal hooks. To round out the package in true
Casa style, Earp & Foxx offer up an array of DJ tools for the
more adventurous jock. Overwhelmed by the quality and class of this
record, we are proud to welcome Wyatt Earp & DJ Foxx into the
Primal Records family.
The newest imprint in the Primal Records family, PR2, takes its
bow and makes a bold statement toward the shape of things to come.
San Francisco DJ/production team DJ Adnan & Amit Shoham deliver
the label's first signing with "Searching," a twisted tribal
house rub that defines and uncovers the duo's forward-thinking agenda
and proper appreciation for classic clubland. Meanwhile, celebrated
Vancouver producer Jay Tripwire stamps his sonic fingerprint on a
deep and fiery dub remix for the flip that filters the beefy percussion
of the original through his signature tech-house aesthetics. Between
the two, this record is the thread that binds San Francisco to New
York to London, and it's the kind of quality debut record that we
are honored and humbled to release.
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