A Four-way tie for the Final Four first day.
What could be more appropriate?
The Singles World Cup starts today between the Final Four: The Dread Zone representing Dubland; The Utah Saints representing House of Moroni; The Sha Men representing Techno City; & A Certain Rat just a bunch o' post-punk Funkers from UK.
Other than diverse styles, these Teams have varying ideas of Singles: ACR have a primarily more traditional definition of the side A/side B format; Saints & Shamen both primarily use Singles for mixes & remixes of a Single song for the DJ/dance floor that they serve; while Dreadzone lean into their Jamaican influences, presenting singles with varying JA & associated styles (roots rock, Dancehall, Version...keeping the riddims real).
Each day the Four will line up with their daily Singles. Some Rounds there will be pre-set guidelines that all Four Teams must follow & the rest of the time it will be up to the creativity & strategy of the Teams themselves. We'll see which Teams can survive this gruelling schedule (& which visitors here...yeah...I'm lookin' at you, Mooz). Every day the order will rotate, so we'll start with the traditional flip of the Four-sided coin now to determine the starting line-up.
Looks like A Certain Rat grabs the starting spot, which can be either amazingly stressful or can put huge pressure on the Teams that follow them.
After a brief discussion, Team ACR decided on a bold play, veering from their usual 80s two song singles for a newer release with a few remixes of one of their most cherished tunes,,,
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all decryption codes in comments
Dirty Boy (Chris Massey mix)
Shack Up ( Electronic radio edit)
Dirty Boy (Nine in the Afternoon mix)
Shack Up (Wotk mix)
Shack Up (Wipe Out mix)
Next up with a hard five of their trade-mark DJ friendly techno mixes, The Sha Men...
Desitnation Eschaton (Beat masters 12" vocal [destination Meccaton])
Desitnation Eschaton (Beatmasters 12" instrumental edit [destination Hoxton])
Desitnation Eschaton (Basement Boys vocal [destination Discoton])
Desitnation Eschaton (Basement Boys [destination chant])
Filling the third slot in today's opener, The Utah Saints. For the opener they're relying on some Funky Music (for da HOWSE of course)...
Funky Music (Reg Rad Red Rag mix)
Funky Music (Levants Funk-o-Rama {short edit})
Funky Music (Dope Smugglaz mix)
Although filling the first days Final slot of the Final Four, the Dread Zone plan not to be outdone, but to blow things out of the park with an Oldie but Goody, not holding back for late season strategy play but going straight off with one of their strongest (no, not Little Britain)...
The Good, the Bad, & the Dread (the Bad)
The Good, the Bad, & the Dread (the Dread)
The Good, the Bad, & the Dread (the Album version)
The Good, the Bad, & the Dread (Dan Donovan remix)
Tomorrow, Round two,
NØ
Dirty Boy/Shack Up remixes
ReplyDeletevRRxow6vwJ8ErP8ABPLXB2sbeoEEUHOhtzGd5Zv0crQ
Destination Eschaton 1
9DEOHKp3WDcYSphHFSjD_WwLaHUgPyJrptoHrzJs8OI
Funky Music 1
1jktwMwP0c4j9tyjenVbPiHnzouVNk4QGYjylKFjJqE
The Good, the Bad, & the Dread
XAjFrDQjIxUov62vuYH2PSZicHIHt-gGOK4aTSakVC4
Tough one. Dreadzone bring the Morricone vibe, Sha Men have a lovely vocalist and a catchy chorus, and Utah Saints expertly weave the mighty Edwin Starr into the mix. But the Rats have a secret weapon of their own, and it's Barry fuckin' Adamson. Plus you get Shack Up mixes? Take my money, please. ACR for the win!
ReplyDeleteJonder, welcome to the insanity. Dirty Boy Barry for sure. Thanks for tuning in & for the vote. Hope to hear more from you, my friend.
DeleteACR - Some classic post-punk funk there on "Shack Up" in a cover of a 70's tune. The 7" version has that raw funk which sounds out of place with the rest of this single (and is probably the only track I liked here). The electronic radio edit sounds more like Primal Scream, the Work mix has some dirty house grooves, and Wipe Out mix is similar with less of that dirty sound. For "Dirty Boy" Chris Massey overdoes it on the vocal samples, distracting from the groove. The Nine in the Afternoon mix is much better, with an electro beat and more managed use of the vocal samples.
ReplyDeleteThe Shamen track makes me think of what it may have sounded like to do an aerobics class on a cruise ship in the 90s. The 7" mix is too dense with the vocals, no room for the music to shine. The 12" spreads this out more which is appreciated. The instrumental edit is welcomed as I never much cared for the vocals on Shamen tracks. Not much else to say other that this is very dated techno and I wasn't much of a fan when it was around the first time.
Utah Saints are going for that big beat sound here, sounding like Propellerheads. Again the radio edit is too dense with vocals. The Red Rad Red Rag mix spreads it out more and has some time for their sample manipulation which they do well for the time. The Levant's Funk-O-Rama edit is club friendly with a couple nice breaks in there. The Dope Smugglaz mix is the most creative of the bunch, the layering and buildup work really well here and have that payoff sounding very much of the era, almost like a lite version of Josh Wink.
Dreadzone is the only of these singles I had heard before. Ennio Morricone samples with dub backing, and they pull it off well. The Good mix is pretty straightforward, not much dub effects. The Bad mix brings in the vocals and has a good chill vibe that plays out well as the longest mix here. The Dread mix brings that dub bass to the front that I'd been waiting for, like a classic styled Version b-side. The Album mix coming in late on the single really highlights how the previous three mixes all deconstructed it and highlighted different elements. Dan Donovan's mix plays out well and has some unique spins on the source material.
My vote goes for Dreadzone this round, mostly through process of elimination. This'll probably my longest review of the week as I'm travelling and won't have access to my computer as much. I'll chime in or follow up when I get back.
Have fun but be safe in your travels. I was dreaming that this might be a daily breakdown from a much needed musickal expert, but I'm not greedy. I'll take what I can get & love it. Thanks for this in-depth analysis. Just what was needed to start this project off with a bang. Thank you so much for all you contribute here. Stay well.
DeleteOk, I join.. for.a little bit of culture, I only know Dreadzone a bit... Will try to listen quickly ti give feedback !
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard this part of March Madness journey. Hope you find some sounds you'll enjoy. Thanks MK.
DeleteOk, my vote goes for the Utah Saints (the Levants Funk-o-Rama mix, less vocals, funkier, ACR electronic radio edit comes as a close second, but it's less gritty, and the vocals are slightly annoying). I'm not sure I have enough interest for these bands to keep with the contest though. Shamen sound really commercial, Deadzone was disappointing and boring, for all I love dub (true, I was longing for funk). ACR are ok, but not my thing (too eightiesouch, that's no quality comment... I'll try more of them). It's a lot of downloads each day ! I'll follow and listen to the comments to see if there's stuff for me !
DeleteThanks for the discoveries !
I'll be sorry that you aren't going to be around for these, but I understand. These are four bands with four very different styles. There will be a lot of singles that are not readily available. This appeals mostly to those who collect such things & is definitely not for everyone. Some folks might just want to hear the variations from day to day while others such as yourself don't have enough interest in these groups to bother with it. Can't please everyone, so I just share what I want to please myself.
DeleteM'y comment was certainly not meant to diss your astounding work ! Just m'y full participation... And I'll try (but I'm still immersed in Zoviet France, so there'sa Big leap!). Please keep on pleasing yourself by all means ...
DeleteI completely understood, MK. Not all music is for all. That's why the divesity here. Thanks for everything.
DeleteI'll start by saying that ACR have been one of my favourite bands since w-a-y w-a-y back, so I'm coming to this game with just a little bias...
ReplyDeleteACR - Okay so I know Shack up pretty well, the radio edit is just that; the straight forward-est version. I've heard it many times. It was only recently (shame) that I discovered that the ACR version is a cover. "Work mix" - yikes! 80's house anyone? Sorry but no.
The Shamen. New band to me, I don't know how I missed them back in the day. Sorry but the sound is just a little pop-ish and lightweight for me.
Utah Saints. Again new to me - but what's that edge, James Brown like, funk. The "Levant's Funk-o-rama short edit" did it for me. Ultimately the lead singers' voice grated on me a bit, but am grateful to be introduced to the Utah Saints.
Dreadzone. I've not always gotten on with Dreadzone, but enjoy their Dub remix albums. The Good, the Bad, & the Dread unfortunately left me cold.
It's a toss up between ACR and Utah Saints. I'm sorry ACR, but based on what's presented here I'm going for the Utah Saints. I shall make amends by navigating to Bandcamp and buying that box set...
Cheers
Welcome to the games, That Bloke. Thanks for the great comment. I love to hear everyone's view on these & what was or wasn'y liked. Glad to be able to introduce you to The Shamen & Utah Saints.
DeleteAs you sez: "based on what's presented here" is exactly the criteria I was hoping everyone would apply, setting aside previous personal conceptions & biases to openly listening to what's presented & decide on that alone.
I so appreciate you're joining in with this insanity & am looking forward to hearing further from you.
Yeah, the Shamen. They rock the 'floor. My vote all the way.
ReplyDeleteACR is the only one of these four that I have spent money on, and would spend money on again. "Shack Up" for the win.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Capn J for chiming in on the Singles. I added yours to tomorrow's tally. Hope you hear this thing out???
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