Test Pressing Podcast

1994. Killer year. Music got smart on one side of the fence as Global Communications released their seminal album, we all got Artificial Intelligence-d whilst on the other side Carl Craig turned disco inside out and loads of people carried on taking Es and dancing ’till sunrise to amazing house music. Joakim nails it. Again. x.

Any mix that runs from one of my favourite Black Dog records into a Murk 12 and later Laurent Garnier’s ‘Acid Eiffel’ is fine by us. 1993. Good year.

1992 ran from lovely swinging house to tough tough techno. Lil’ Louis on to the rave generation. Joakim knows what’s up.

Actual physical releases might have been thin on the ground, as is only to be expected, in this holiday season, but we`ll share a few of the Christmas presents we received….. Italian gold unearthed by Archeo in a previously unreleased extended edit; a mysterious 12 called “Paus” that was a tip from Golf Channel`s Phil South; Hugh Mane`s (perhaps unfortunately titled) romantic encounter remembered forthcoming on Running Back; a highly sought after Japanese Art Pop gem (one of the instances where that old “only on laserdisc” joke actually applies), all `80s economic bubble Comme De Garcon styling and Issey Miyake pleats which should be in your shops this month on Music From Memory; a sublime taster from the new Bullion LP that sounds like a love song to me; moody `80s referencing electronic Funk done properly, with skronk like a muezzin`s call, by Greece`s Anatolian Weapons; Kaoru Inoue`s edits of 23 Skidoo & Dif Juz for Japan`s K&F; Italy`s Common Series mixing Tony Addis` Warrior`s Dance with Adrian Sherwood`s ON-U Sound (now there`s a interesting proposition) for a “Stebeni`s Theme” on (more) Acid; Rune Lindbaek`s edit of an unknown party Pop tat great with smart sing-along lyrics: “She moves like a cheetah when she throws her shoes away” (there`s a poetry in that image); Al Dobson Jr.`s remix from the imminent “On The Corner Versus.” E.P. taking Collocutor for a rumble in Mop Mop`s jungle; The Pharoahs` remix of BAR for Italic, all sunshine acoustics and modal brass. Track-list / Blue Gas / Shadows From Nowhere / Archeo; ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ / Paus / White; Hugh Mane / Groping In The Moonlight / Running Back; Dip In The Pool / On Retinae (West) / Music From Memory; Bullion / My Lar / Deek; Anatolian Weapons / A Strange Light From The East / Lurid; C2R2 / Everlasting FUGI / K&F; Tarantulae / Ovest2 / Common Series; Rune Lindbaek / Hacienda / Norsk Tripping; Collocutor / Agama (Al Dobson Jr. Indica Remix) / On The Corner; BAR / Anjali (Pharaohs Remix) / Italic; C2R2 / Boys Tray / K&F

Shining ambience, strummed acoustics. Microtonal bleed and Folk picking. An air like an exhalation of steam against the sunshine of a 1oC morning, palms and fingers rubbed together for warmth. The cold bringing a stillness and calm, awakening you to landscape`s beauty. Chimes and flute mimic bird calls. Words and found sounds are sampled and played back in Laurie Anderson melody. Intimacy`s short breaths conveying the sadness of love`s transience. Nothing gold can stay. A walking double bass line accompanies artists in ariels taking a bow. AC Marias` post-Wire Balearic classic makes like a Kosmische Cocteaus. Ethereal vocal and repetitive, hypnotic guitar riff . Analog modulations race, rising and falling but always climbing. Two steps forward, one step back. A low frequency hums a resting resonance, the sonic glare from a lighthouse of sound signaling safe passage. A Tibetian bowl ritual for sunset closes day. A noir sax blows somewhere in the night. “In A Silent Way”–esque Fusion has gentle cymbals crash, circular breathing dancing. Keys like pinpoints of starlight, solo piano lyrical like a lover reclining in green, cloud watching, you watching the rhythm of their breast.Lips sweet in silence or sharing secrets, thoughts and observations. Jazz on the edge of Modern Classical. A soundtrack to tall Winter shadows. One of Tokyo`s original Loft-Heads (there`s a photo of Mancuso in the shop hung proudly on its wall) it`s interesting to go back and trace how Yozo`s tastes and consequently his stock at EAD Records has changed over the years. We`ve been lucky enough to host his last eight anniversary mixes so you can contrast and compare here.

This series which will run from ’89 to ’99 getting better and better. Joakim really knows his history. Here’s one that will sound fun in your front room with your friends over the Christmas and New Year period. Hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas and here’s to an amazing 2016. Enjoy the mix. Fun from the back to the front. P.S For some reason this seems to be cutting off a little from the end if you’re using our player so do a right click on the download link at the bottom below and play it locally for the whole mix. Sorry about that. x.

Joakim is back with part two of his ten year retrospective with 1990. Balearic Acid House Music. Class.

We asked Samo for a mix ages ago after hearing his productions on L.I.E.S and Public Possession and it arrived last week. He said, “It’s a mix of some ’90s and contemporary dance music, some new demos also in there. Oh and I really enjoy the English country side.” Perfect. You can check the Samo Soundcloud here and play away on the mix below.

He was born this way. A former medical student from Queens. Expelled from Choate, Kennedy`s boarding school, and Millbrook. Into Rock, the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd, and weed. Bruce Forest began DJing at the Power & Light Company disco in Binghampton, 150 miles north of New York. Taking his inspiration from Radio WKTU and Studio 92, from DJs like Roy Thode, Jim Burgess and Kevin Burke. A move to NYC, brought Better Days and Tee Scott, who Forest describes as the first real DJ he ever saw, extending records, creating new versions using two copies, playing with and controlling his crowd, only for Forest to be hired as Scott`s replacement. An appointment met with resistance from Scott`s loyal following who poured beer on the mixer, folded their arms and refused to dance. It was only when Forest hid himself, masking the booth, that the club`s regulars were forced to accept him based on the merits of his sets alone. Around `82 he started bringing in synthesizers, samplers, a Casio CZ101 and an Instant Replay, often with David Cole coming up off the floor to improvise keys over tracks that Forest remixed on the fly. One of the first DJs in New York to play House, after an introduction to Steve Hurley in 1983, Chicago`s Farley, Rocky Jones, Ralphi Roasario, Julian Perez, Chip E would all hang out at Better Days, and in return Forest would travel to the Music Box to catch Ron Hardy and then work in the studio with Farley & Hurley. In NYC`s Electric Lady C he undertook remix and production work with Frank Heller, the engineer whose 808 powered “Planet Rock”. Better Days closed in 1988 and Forest left for the UK the following year, living across the road from SARM West Studios, where he became the default producer for Boy George`s More Protein. Bruce Forest`s DJ, remix & production career spanned Disco, Proto-House, House, Balearic and Acid, and he was involved in creating anthems in all. There`s the definitive version of THE song of gay pride. A song that ultimately serves as a paean to being different. A rallying cry for anybody whoever felt persecuted for not being the same (which is probably all of us). A call for acceptance and a proclamation of defiance. There`s THE re-edit of a WBMX-certified Italo classic (classic doesn’t do it justice). An edit made on the same machines that Forest would use in his sets at Better Days. There`s his collaboration with Farley and Hurley. One of the first House records to be played in Ibiza, by Alfredo Fiorito and Cesar De Melero. There`s he & Boy George`s mapping of the darkness moving in at the edges of that Second Summer Of Love. Plaintive piano mixed with the breakbeat. There`s the orbital rave monster that is “Right Before My Eyes”. I can see the top-knotted girls dancing backwards and forwards in formation. The Pop of Balearic`s Go-Go-Not-Go-Go. Talking heads and Amnesia open-air warm ups. David Cole vamping on Ray Charles / Jerry Lee Lewis. Jesus On The Payroll. And a hymn for unity, foolish perhaps. Hindi lyric, Gospel choir and Hari Krishna side by side. Such was the naïve optimism of the times. There`s a fantastic interview with Bruce over at DJHistory.

Sometimes you don’t need much of an intro. 1989 was a premium year for music. Joakim knows that.

Beginning with a teaser from CFCF`s sublime forthcoming Seigen Ono-influenced “On Vacation” set for International Feel. We all gotta wait, but it`s gonna be worth it. We`re also still waiting for the vinyl of Jacob Gurevitsch`s “Lovers In Paris”, but Music For Dreams slipped out a bonus in the form of “Obsessed”. Quality music of a darker hue surfaced from Denial.Of.Service and Tropic Of Cancer, both a reminder that “Balearic” encompasses The Cure`s “All Cat`s Are Grey” and Chris & Cosey`s “October Love Song”. For timeless, strangeness, Pilooski`s spoken word-based painting of Dominique Willem Berretty`s Villa Isola won hands down. On the re-issue front Gilles` essential Sun Ra selection and Africa Seven`s overview of Tala AM`s Funk took November`s prize. If I had to pick an edit it would Miajica`s tribute to Pino Danielle on Fleeting Wax`s debut. Golf Channel`s “Mangiami” compilation contained eight strong tracks for the modern dance floor (the files were nice but the black plastic is so much better; great pressing) the standout from which was the Electro Soul of Dedication`s “Let Me Rock You”. Alex From Tokyo & Bing Ji Ling`s “Don`t Move” came a close second, and Alex`s Tokyo Black Star launched their World Famous label with a nice update of the “Egyptian Reggae” theme, mechanizing it and adding a little Morricone. Another essential compilation collected the remix work of Young Marco, providing a smart overview of his “sound”. Larry Heard remixed Kai Alce`s “Take A Chance” (released in July but I only just managed to score a copy) and made me wonder if I would always have to buy everything Mr. Fingers touches. Track-list CFCF / Lighthouse On Chatham Sound / International Feel CFCF / A Various Language (From The Same Hill) / Driftless Pilooski / Sakura No Mori No Makai No Shita / Dirty Jacob Gurevitsch / Obsessed / Music For Dreams Tropic Of Cancer / Stop Suffering / Blackest Ever Black Denial.Of.Service / Sensou / Film Material / South Of There / Balearic Blah Blah Dedication / Let Me Rock You / Golf Channel Tokyo Black Star / Mitokomon / World Famous Vangelis Katsoulis / Enigma (Young Marco Mix) / Safe Trip Kai Alce / Take A Chance (Larry Heard`s Ambient Inst.) / NDATL Miajica / RIP Dino / Fleeting Wax Tala AM / Mwouop / Africa Seven

“Corrigendum / a mistake, error, part of a statement that is not correct” I was pulled up for my behaviour from 6000 miles away. That`s the price of popularity I guess: folks discussing the site at a London dinner party, my ex in attendance, kind of half laughing at the anecdotes being recounted, the experiences being shared, sparked by the “Boy`s Own Playlist” pieces we`ve posted. She didn`t confess to having been there herself. She didn`t even let on that she even knew me. She pretended that she was joking but “You`ve written me out”, she said, and she was right. “Gary Clail`s “Beef”, its remix and the remix of the remix (canny chap that Oakenfold) belongs to the aforementioned Yellow Book.”. “Paradiso`s “Here We Go Again” has me mid-way through a night at the Soho Theatre Club.”. “Glen Gunner at Moist fresh from watching Terminator II on Acid.”. “Blind Lemons sucking dropped & trodden Es off the Milk Bar carpet.”. I might have given the impression that between `89 and `92 I was some swashbuckling, toe-flicking, love-making, heart-breaking, roister doister, but I was not. I was with Jo. I never put a Patrick Cox inside The Yellow Book, probably never ventured to Covent Garden`s Gardening Club, without her. Ophelia, Moist, Jo was always on my arm. The Milk Bar, we were together, unified. At Flying we were recognized as a couple. There was no one without the other. I`d moved back to London first, so Downham Tavern, Bonnies, Echoes, Kazoo, Land Of Oz, The Trip, Ziggy`s were all adventures of my own (Of a sort. My sister took me to the Tavern), but Jo was there when I met Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, Alex Nightingale, Jack Baron, with me when I befriended Nick, Reece and the Psychedelic Skinheads, Big Brian Laws & Justin, smiled maternally whenever I excitedly cornered Weatherall. “As the tempo picks up, it`s more “Rampling On The Radio” than Flying at Dingwalls.”. The council flat on the Tulse Hill estate, shiny with silver fish, where we`d ready ourselves with Red Stripe and Rimmel (budgets didn`t stretch to Chanel back then) respectively, while listening to Kiss FM, was Jo`s. “808 State, or State 808, is a white-tiled Yellow Book one-off, the boys DJing upstairs, and the girls downstairs. Darling Nikki bit me on the nose. Weatherall played “Would I Find Love” and Ruth danced in white silk pajamas.”. Darling Nikki bit me on the nose to remind me of the night before, which I hate to say I still can`t remember (more apologies). Ruth might have vogued like a sexy Wee Willy Winkie but Jo was next to me, probably in John Richmond. “Dancing with barmaids at Pure Sexy. Puscha in sunglasses.”. Pure Sexy was my birthday and I disgraced myself with the barmaids (& Nina Walsh) by Jo`s account. At Puscha we were both bored to be honest. I`ve said that I lost it somewhere in `91 and I can pinpoint the moment through music (that summer): those records where I can see Jo and those where I cannot. More genres “Jo” and “Post-Jo”. Years before, we`d fallen and learned how to love to a soundtrack of Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, New Order, REM, Prefab Sprout, and The Smiths.

A mix for your Saturday here. Mr Mark E back with the goods. He’s just built a perfect looking studio so we are expecting the music to just get better and better but in the mean time he has a new project called Quarry Hollow coming on Leng early next year in a downbeat balearic style, more E-Versions, an EP on Public Release SF and a new EP for Futureboogie. Busy busy.

The original plan was that Apiento and me, we`d put together something special to mark the site`s 400th mix, but we both had things on (Apiento had the Deewee launch and “Untold Eivissa” in Paris, while I had my kids playing “pass the cold”) and I was sitting on Justin`s which didn`t seem fair. I did eventually manage to sort out two new ones, which may see the light of day, but from this failure on our part came the idea of a “monthly round-up”; the two of us compiling 30-60 minutes of music that has excited us over the previous month. The hope was that this would help address two issues: 1 / We get sent an enormous amount of great music, so much that we can`t always cover everything for review (though we do try)(Thank you!). 2 / When I came to attempt Test Pressing`s 400th mix, because I hadn`t done one for ages (since International Feel asked me) I didn`t really know where to start. I am obviously still buying and hoarding records for DJ sets and mixes, but the hiatus has been so long that vinyl is everywhere, stacked up in piles that I have mentally labeled in kaleidoscopic sub-genres: “soft soulful bongos”, “weird Pop ambient”, Italian not Italian House”, “Leo would have played it”, “Nancy would have played it”…. I kid you not. So many that the “record room” has taken over the bedroom and that when I go upstairs I am almost tipped into a psychotic episode, since my eyes and brain dart from one to the next, automatically, obsessively cataloguing, racing though that list, and despairing at the mess. Anyway, the idea was to reduce the choice / chance of a nervous breakdown and in future clear the decks once a month and work within that limited palette. That said so much wonderful stuff got released through late September and during October that I still ended up with three piles and three subsequent mixes. The one I`m posting here is “Ambient” and includes selections from Dimitris Petsetakis (Into The Light), Recondite (Acid Test), Steve Hauschildt (Kranky), 55 Cancri E & Cantoma (both Music For Dreams), Gigi Masin (Music From Memory), Max Richter (Deutsche Grammophon), Len Leise (International Feel), and Derek Gripper (Matsuli). The other two, which I`ve put up on Mixcloud, are “Electronic” and “Balearic”. Loose and vague nomenclature I know. The “Electronic” one was inspired by that night back at Apiento`s when “Panic In Detroit” got pulled out, and features sides from DJ Sotofett (Honest Jon`s), San Laurentino (Aficionado), Fatima Yahama (Dekmantel), Black Spuma (International Feel), Syracuse (Antinote),

Ok so we are about to hit a run of mixes again at Test Pressing. Dr Rob sent me an amazing ambient one that I need to get him to post but first up we have a new one from shining star Len Leise. His new album on International Feel “Lingua Franca” (review here by our Rob) hits the shops tomorrow and its a beauty. I run the label alongside Mark Barrott and we have a lot of fun with Len. He makes amazing music very very naturally. Which is apt as his music both for us and Aficionado, as well as his edit 12, are all very organic. They have a truly natural sound. This album to be honest required hardly any help other than encouragement to finish it. So as we are about to hit our run of mixes again we asked Len to do us one. And here it is. It’s suitably oddball. x.