HALF TERM REPORT
BEEN A bit idiosyncratic of late. More obsessed with the Benin bronzes and Arthur Russell than horizontal tunage. I'm, however, now quite a few pages into my notebook, listing pristine records and sleeves collected without records or sleeves. They were either binned or left with the seller, and only one tick to signify a successful match up. It was a good idea at the time.
What a year for reissues. Suzanne Menzel's Goodbyes and Beginnings is the pick of the crop and on many a want list. Detractors say 'Enya' and 'one song.' I say 'so what', and 'what a song.' To get this for less than twenty quid is a steal. Basso, whilst releasing an Eleventeen Eston vinyl album (no mean feat), has also reissued on his label, Senora, a self-titled bomb and another big want that just kept going up in price. Whilst I like sourcing original records I am not going to find it easy paying loads more for them if there are tasty reissues on the shelf.
Similarly, compilations can be amazing. Gumba Fire on Soundway is magnificent (check trumpet media for my high praise), as are the Spacetalk compiling skills of maverick Charles Bals and his incredible Club Meduse. It both feels and looks great, which is always my main bugbear with compilations, coz they generally look crap and so accounts as the main reason I try to source originals. The music holds together superbly well and is of the palm tree swaying and bare leg variety. Perfect for the desert island. My desert island anyway, with only me on it.
Some great things also come in threes, not twos . Leolyxxx's Plastic Inners 3 cassette and Welcome To Paradise (Italian Dream House 90-94) for example. Both sound necessary and surpass the quality of their former releases. Although I owned a few tracks off the latter, it's Deep Choice's Children Trip and Cosmic Galaxy's Walkin' on the Moon that steal the show. Amazing music that just really takes you away. The former is full of flavour and is best left to dance to rather than sourcing, unless you have deep pockets.
Lunaria's epic cassette Ascension Now is less organic than the mighty All Is Dream but still subtly arresting. Like a cold bath after a boiling hot day. Not that subtle then. After being teased with an Aficionado Tommy twelve, I was a little sad to hear it may not be happening. As the releases mushroom in scale, it makes buyers a little more discerning and they apply more filters before purchase. This sadly stops band development as they have to sell to a label the sale thereafter of at least 500 copies or finance it themselves. I like hearing the transition between difficult fifth and sixth release but if getting it off the ground is so difficult, then it's my tough cheese.
Begin gets around this by making 4 contrasting songs that aren't difficult in the slightest, to get Love International's label up and running. Into The Fun is absolutely class, replete with his trademark really brilliant sample. After watching the world cup final, the big screen suddenly transformed into decks and after spinning the house records for a while, we finally cajoled Jim to play some tunes for his 3rd day running. Needless to say, he is the best one eye open, one eye shut DJ of all time. Even when he was outside, his records sounded truly amazing. Is it just me or does everyone's own records sound a bit shit for a few days after a great night out?
I love Kennedy magazine coz like Begin; it goes from strength to strength without really trying too hard. Check Chris Kontos's Romance for relatable reading and a moving piece of journalism. Then the remarkable Ted and Eugene Bafaloukos by the same writer. (Doffs cap.) This move away from my heroes (Lawrence, Thurston, Wevvers), has actually made for an even better read. Cedric Bardawil's equally captivating piece on Mark Sanders is great too. Love Dazed and Confused coz it stirred a hitherto dormant passion for art and so to get under the skin of it is a rare treat.
My whole life has been punctuated by the influence of popular culture and not the influence of parents and teachers. Has this made me any less malleable? Probably not. With this innocuous realization reverberating around my head, I will amble off in search of some much needed seven inch goodness.
