La Funk Mob - Tribulations Extra Sensorielles + Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads

LA FUNK MOB
Tribulations Extra Sensorielles
1994

LA FUNK MOB
Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads
1994


Welcome one and all to the 100th post at Soundological Investimigations! This was the week of milestones for SI, as we've received 10,000 hits just prior to wrapping up the first six months since we've kicked off and we'll be welcoming our 5,000th visitor sometime this afternoon! All we can say is... THANK YOU!!! All of you have made this endeavour a distinct pleasure! However, I would like to say a special thanks to a handful of folks in blogopolis for their inspiration, support or just plain awesomeness:

El Reza at Black Classical, Ish at Ile Oxumare and Simon at never enough rhodes for their guidance; Julian for being my first guest-post and letting me be drop my first guest mix at playjazzloud; E-mile at E-mile says songs do the matter for his enthusiasm, dedication and excellent taste; thefunkygoat for being my first "follower" and Wallofsound for being the first to tell me he'd subscribed to the feed.

Kudos especially are due to adam, alex, Andy, avocado kid, B3, Djalma, djandpete, flageolette, Gianni, Gorgon Jr., Hanimex 3000, JazzyPier, Jur, johnv, J Thyme...Kind, Lafayette, Kosta, pretoria, Solomon, the jazzman, Tom and Weekend Hippie for being class acts and consistently contributing to the comments. There's numerous others who took the time to drop a line and you're all appreciated but you folks have dropped numerous lines multiple times and you deserve recognition. You're the wind beneath my wings!


However, as a special thanks to ALL of those enjoying the blog, I've chosen to post the two groundbreaking EPs by French duo La Funk Mob. The Royaltie$ Overdue compilation on Mo' Wax we posted in July is far and away the most popular with 245 downloads compared to the next most popular post, Gato Barbieri's Chapter One which is clocking in at 140 (based on Rapidshare activity). They're followed by Blue Mitchell's Blue Mitchell, Marden Hill's Hijacked and Roy Ayers' All Blues in that order, all with 125 give or take a few. Although it's a great comp all around, it seems the LFM tracks on Royaltie$ stand up best to the test of time so I thought some folks out there would appreciate hearing more. Especially my fave track, 357 Magnum Force, which is rarely seen.

Another reason these were chosen to celebrate this milestone is that the the top two cities visiting us so far are London and Paris. What could better represent that electrosonic solidarity than the seminal sounds produced by French duo Boombass (interview and mix here) and Phillipe Zdar (some more Zdar sounds here) that were released on the incredibly influential UK label Mo' Wax?

BTW, if you're interested in where your fellow readers come from, here's the top ten urban centres ranked by Soundological citizens:

1 London, UK
2 Paris, FR
3 Berlin, DE*
4 Shinjiku, JP
5 Athens, GR
6 New York, US
7 Rome, IT
8 Melbourne, AU
9 Malaga, ES
10 Milan, IT

*Actually, the #3 city is "not set" due to net-savvy anonymous browsing and has been removed from the list.


Boombass and Zdar are using the moniker Cassius these days and have seen some deserved success in this century with their hyper-hiphop-French-touch-house-pop. Not much more to say about these legendary EPs of which these are the '96 reissues, except that Ravers Suck Our Sound And Get Fuck will always be one of my favourite song titles, even if only for nostalgic reasons.


Tribulations Extra Sensorielles
63.7 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Mo' Wax MW017

357 Magnum Force


1 La Doctoresse
2 Motor Bass Get Phunked Up
3 Suspense
4 Ravers Suck Our Sound And Get Fuck
5 357 Magnum Force
6 Blunt Konnection

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Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads
70 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Mo' Wax MW023

Ravers Suck Our Sound (N.O.W. Mix)


1 Ravers Suck Our Sound
2 Motorbass Get Phunked Up (Electrofunk Remix by Richie Hawtin)
3 Ravers Suck Our Sound (Mystic Mix)
4 Ravers Suck Our Sound (Gangbang Mix)
5 Ravers Suck Our Sound (N.O.W. Mix by Nightmares On Wax)

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This one's a freebie for all our visitors but next time there's a milestone, y'all will have to do a bit of work since it'll be all about the comments. Although Royaltie$ Overdue is our most plundered post, it also has one of the worst grab-to-blab (download to comment) ratios going here - only four folks found the time to drop a line. One thing you won't get from Soundological is a guilt-trip on leaving comments because it's the nature of the beast and we only have this to say: we'll go out of our way to please those who do participate so keep in mind how easy it is to leave a comment - it'll count as a vote for more of the same!

Mix Up

I've been meaning to throw a mix session up on the blog but haven't had a chance to do so yet. In the spirit of reciprocity, our main man Julian has graciously posted one of my recent efforts on Play Jazz Loud today. I hope you can mosey on over and check it out when you have a chance!

D*Note - Criminal Justice + Extras

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Boomp3.com
Boomp3.com

125 MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip & scans from TVT 5210-2


Critical darlings from the early 90s, D*Note were among the vanguard of those trying to bring jazz into the post-acid house era. Although technically a one-man band, Matt Winn collaborated with a tight-knit circle of friends connected to the Dorado/Filter label consisting primarily of Matt Cooper, Charlie Lexton (older brother to Jamie AKA Kid Loops) and Ceri Evans, with help early on from Gary Crosby (of Nu Troop and Jazz Jamaica). As the 90s petered out and the global house scene became an unstoppable phenomena, Matt W and crew kept with the times and scored a hit single in 2002 with Shed My Skin. As broken beat brought back a heavier reliance on jazz and polyrhythms in the earlier half of this decade, he followed suit and released Laguna. You can hear some of it yourself since Winn's posted a few tracks on his MySpace page.


Discogs Bio
The skills behind D*Note's brand of jazz, rap & rare groove belong chiefly to Matt Winn (Matt Wienevski), who is helped by scratcher Charlie Lexton (Cool Breeze) & occasional keyboard player Matt Cooper (who records for Dorado in his own right as Outside). Their debut album housed the singles Now Is The Time, Bronx Bull, Scheme Of Things & The More I See, each of which enjoyed good reviews in their original formats. Criminal Justice the 2nd album, built on the energy level of the debut & included stand out tracks like the title, Inquinity Worker and the monumental The Garden Of Earthly Delights with a stand out performance by vocalist Pamela Anderson, a regular on the first three albums, who for obvious reasons changed her name to PY Anderson later on.

Other collaborators on the 1st albums include Ceri Evans (Sunship), singer Dee Major & rappers Navigator and Krazy Cool D-Zine. Only Anderson resurfaced on the slightly disappointing third album, where D*Note moved in a more conventional housier direction. It does include one of their best anthems though, the moving Waiting Hopefully again starring Anderson. 4 Hero & Deep Dish graced the 12" versions with topnotch remixes.


AMG Review by John Bush
By the time of D*Note's second album, acid jazz had begun to get a bit stale, so Winn & Co. expanded the range of their sound, incorporating a bit of ragga-jungle on the title track (with chatting by MC Navigator), mainstream house on "Garden of Earthly Delights" (with the vocals of Pamela Anderson, sister of Jhelisa), and ambient jazz on "Deep Water." Despite the diversity, D*Note never fails to lose their character through it all, and the acid-jazz fusion comes off remarkably well.


Matt Winn - Composer, Flute, Drum Solos, Producer
Matt Cooper - Piano
Gary Crosby - Acoustic Bass
Pamela Anderson - Vocals
Dee Major - Vocals
Joy Malcolm - Vocals
MC Navigator - Vocals
Ceri Evans - Piano, Producer
Charlie Lexton - Producer


1 Criminal Justice
2 A Place In The City
3 Deep Water
4 Iniquity Worker
5 Perspex
6 Solomon's Blade
7 Flesh And Blood
8 V
9 The Garden Of Earthly Delights

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EXTRAS

Boomp3.com
Boomp3.com

96.4 MB
192-320 mp3
CD & vinyl rips from various sources


Cool Breeze - Acoustic Blues
Cool Breeze - Can't Deal With This (Kid Loops Remix)
Cool Breeze - Can't Deal With This
Cool Breeze (Special Projects) - 27 Years of Solitude
D-Note - Iniquity Worker (Devil's Work Mix)
D-Note - Now Is the Time
D-Note - The Garden Of Earthly Delights (X-Press 2 Radio Edit)
D-Note - Waiting Hopefully (4 Hero Remix)
D-Note - Waiting Hopefully (Faze Action Dub)
Steve Reich - Piano Phase (D*Note's Phased & Konfused mix) from Reich Remixed.

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Various Artists - Groovin' High Vol. 1

105 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Stepping Stone SI 8506-2
Scans from Discogs.com


Sticking with the Stepping Stone label, here's an early compilation from them, notable for early efforts from a few of today's broken beat and left-field heavy hitters. Some of you will recognise the sample from Tenório Jr.'s "Nebulosa" from his 1964 masterpiece Embalo (also available on Mr. Bongo's Brazilian Beats series) as the source for the first track. Spotters will also easily check the Fela sample ("Everything Scatter") running the Kwaanza Posse's "Wicked Funk."


1 Marden Hill - Hi Jack
2 Ute - In The Meantime
3 A Forest Mighty Black - Fresh In My Mind
4 Kruder & Dorfmeister - Definition
5 Silent Poets featuring Menelik - La Vie
6 Deep Freeze Productions - Sometimes
7 Solar System - Stop It
8 Vibrazioni Productions - Make A Stand
9 Mighty Truth - Heavy Knowledge
10 Kwanzaa Posse - Wicked Funk
11 Nobukazu Takemura - Crescent


Marden Hill's story was covered on yesterday's post, so no need to go into it here. Following them are UTE, who were composed of Ian Dixon, Wayne Eliiott, Joseph (?), Jonathan Lee and Krazy Cool D-Zine. Not a lot of info on these guys, with only Ian Dixon and K.C.D-Z. having credits outside of the group's 2 LPs; the former playing horn on a handful of tracks for acts like Blame and Primal Scream while the latter lent vocals to D*Note's first full-length Babel (more D*Note coming up on Soundological in days to come).

A Forest Mighty Black was the brainchild of Bern Kunz and this track was the B-Side on the first release from a fledgling Compost label. This compilation is the first time their classic track would appear outside of the 12" single format and it has since become a staple of the Acid Jazz/Trip Hop/Broken genres. It also appears on 1998's full-length Mellowdramatic.

Kruder & Dorfmeister should need no intro and this particular song is the lead on their (and their label G-Stone's) debut release G-Stoned (the one with the cover that riffs on Simon & Garfunkle's Bookends).

Japan's prolific Silent Poets enlist the help of French MC Menelik for the title track from their fifth LP Words and Silence. One of the forefathers of a Japanese scene that includes United Future Organization, DJ Krush, Monday Michiru and others, this was one of the first chances for folks in the West to hear them but not the last as SP continues to be a going concern.

Deep Freeze Productions were around for quite a few years but there is a distinct lack of info for the ensemble and songwriting credits on their releases consist of three last names: Sim(m)s/Jones/Belben. The first two names are way too common to dig into and the last one is likely Paul Belben, who had some releases with a similar jazz-heavy style around the same time on Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label.

Solar System only released one full-length, their self-titled debut on Stepping Stone in '96. Basically a duo composed of Chris Standring and Rodney Lee, most of their recorded output is out under their own names or as session musicians for artists such as Jody Watley, Jedi Knight Tom Middleton and 4Hero among others. Their LP is highly acclaimed and comparisons to the Crusaders, Wes Montgomery, Joe Sample and Steely Dan are well-deserved. Anyone sitting on this LP is urged to share!

Consisting of Federico Di Bonaventura with vocalist Laura Piccinelli, Italian team Vibrazioni Productions were active throughout the latter part of the 90s and this track is from their debut Exspressione Globale on Right Tempo Records subsidiary Roots. Their R&B flavoured jazzy neo-soul is heavily comped and they are among the usual suspects on most collections put out by labels such as Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, Instinct, etc.

Mighty Truth only put out one LP, 1996's From The City To The Sea on Tongue & Groove. Their tracks are credited to Julian Bates (samples), Alex Gray (keys - UFO, Baby Fox, Dubtribe, King Britt), Willy Wondera (vocals) and Isabel Dunne (cello - Ravi Shankar, Brand New Heavies, Roots Manuva, MJ Cole, Zutons) but they also counted Mike Bennett (drums - Birdhouse, Johnny Blas), Steve Walters (bass - James Taylor Quartet, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Beverly Knight) and Dave Priseman (trumpet, flugel horn - Quiet Boys, Vibraphonic, Mr. Electric Triangle, Akasha) among their numbers.

Kwanzaa Posse, who were comprised of Funk Master Sweat and Keyb Tortora, only released 3 singles on the Flying Records from '91 to '93 and Wicked Funk was their first. Not only the first for them, it was the first Fela-sampled track to get recognition and was released a couple years before Aicd Jazz/Trip Hop took off, so this track was highly influential on the scene. Outside of those singles they've done loads of remix work over the years for a wide variety of artists but moreso for Les Negresses Vertes than others.

Another forefather of the Japanese scene (so "fore" that he's sometimes credited with bringing Hip Hop to Japan due to his DJ efforts in the mid-80s) was Nobukazu Takemura, who went by the monikers Child's View and DJ Takemura for quite a few years but has returned to using his full name. He has appeared continuously on truckloads of electronica compilations for 15+ years (including Royaltie$ Overdue posted recently on Soundological) and is still going strong. He's branched out to include noise/art rock elements in his sound (starting most noticeably with Scope in '99) which has seen him release much of his later catalogue on indie labels Thrill Jockey and Bubblecore as well as his own imprint, Childisc. He still keeps a hand in the selector business, and was responsibe for 2005's outstanding jazz comp Shibuya Jazz Classics: The Nobukazu Takemura Collection.

Pick up this essential piece of electronic jazz/funk/soul history HERE or in two parts HERE (1) (2).

Marden Hill - Hijacked + Extras

HIJACK
163 MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Stepping Stone 71202
Scans from Discogs.com





EXTRAS
93.5 MB
192+ CBR /256+ VBR LAME mp3
CD & vinyl rips from various sources
Hijacked video from YouTube


Chris Bemand - Producer, Mixing
Mark Daniels - Producer, Mixing
Pete Moss - Producer, Mixing
Ashley Beedle - Producer, Remixing


Bob Boykin - Guitar
Colin Smith - Piano (Electric)
Scott Garland - Saxophone
Simon George - Flute
Matt Lipsey - Flute, Saxophone
Charlie Phillips - Flute, Saxophone
Tony Walter - Trumpet, Saxophone
Gary Hammond - Percussion
Michael McDermott - Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
JC-001 & D-Zire - Vocals
Tony McDermott - Vocals (bckgr)
Andrea Oliver - Vocals
Kevin Saunders - Vocals (Hijack, Get Some In, Uptown Theme)
Vivian Stanshall - Vocals (Bombed On Heavy)


Another seminal acid jazz/trip hop treat from the vaults of Soundological and again with a heavy Ashley Beedle relation. This time we're checkin' Marden Hill and if some of the tracks look familiar on their 1996 debut Hijacked, it's because they had been floating around for years as singles and in the case of "Blacker" showed up on the Ballistic Brothers vs Eccentric Afros Vol 2 as the "Sweet Green Jam Mix." You'll also note the track "Come On" shares a few chord progs with a song by the same name on the Ballistics' first full-length. The connection doesn't quite end there as Chris Bemand, the main thrust behind Marden Hill, contributes bass and keyboards to Rude System and is a member of Black Jazz Chronicles with Beedle and Marc Woolford (you can hear a wicked mix of Beedle tunes covering all of these projects over at Play Jazz Loud).

However, that wasn't really the impetus behind throwing this up. It was actually the result of a great post over at avocado kid's blog 'Lectric Diaspora where he covered some history on one of my favourite acid jazz outfits Corduroy. He wrote they were "the first band that I’m aware of to do the "retro soundtrack to a fake kitschy blaxsploitation/spy movie" thing" which is very true. However, it just further highlights how Marden Hill got lost in the shuffle since the UK combo were critically acclaimed for their preternatural take on the subject much earlier. They were on alternative indie pop imprint Él records (who shared aesthetic similarities with Creation and other boutique labels of the genre) and counted ur-emo artist Momus among their labelmates. As the AMG review says of Cadaquéz (reissued a couple years ago by Universal):

Imagine a wild assortment of '60s incidental soundtrack music thrown into a stew, then played back again on somewhat more modern equipment. That's what Marden Hill did on their 1988 album Cadaquez, several years ahead of when such lounge/jazz/Morricone/surf blends started to come back into fashion.

You can hear a sample of this era over at the Dirk Wears White Sox blog. Although this stuff is more on the late-50s to mid-60s tip, soon the Carnaby Street/Mod/KPM/DeWolfe sound would creep in, which would lead to the 70s soundtrack styles. As the blurb on their record co.'s website says without hyperbole, "in the wake of Marden Hill followed the James Taylor Quartet, Combustible Edison, Air and ultimately Austin Powers for whose films they really really should have written the soundtrack." Right about the time Cadaquéz was put out, Acid House hit the UK and it seems Bemand got with the times, ditched the orchestra chamber pop set-up, took up with a bunch of acid jazz/house DJs/pioneers and then moved into a more electronic production style.

Corduroy come from the same lineage and neighbourhood. They weren't big trailblazers, they just got out there in the public eye earlier with their take on the movement. If you ask me their biggest contribution was being the first of the scene to really give props to Paul Weller and bring back the energy of latter day The Jam and early Style Council sides. That alone is worth oceans of respect and, mixed with their talent and good songwriting, I think that's what propelled them to the next level and a huge reason why I still check them as one of the fathers of the 90s jazz and funk revival.

All of this to illustrate the fact Bemand has a purebred pedigree going way beyond a few singles which found their way onto almost every comp series in the day. It also a reason why this LP might sound dated - most of the songs reach back to 3 years or so earlier. In fact, a good portion of these tracks appeared on a full-length Japanese-only realease called Sixty Minute Man in 1993 and their LP on Delancey Street from the previous year, Blown Away!, is the same assortment of tracks lacking a few from Hijack but with the addition of "Uptown Theme." That track is included in the Extras file, along with a couple remixes and B-sides plus the tracks I had handy credited to his other alias Beamish of Beamish & Fly (Kevin Saunders).

This one definitely stands the test of time. No scans because I donated it last fall to my mate, master Andy Williams who's been putting it to "good" use, having played Harlem River Drive on The Goods Radio a few weeks ago. If you've enjoyed the Ballastic Brothers or Mo' Wax material we've posted previously, Soundological highly recommends you avail yourself of these classic sounds.


Hijack
1 Come On (Ashley Beedle Remix)
2 Hijack
3 Shag
4 Honey Dipped
5 Bombed On Heavy
6 Harlem River Drive
7 Theolonius (Ashley Beedle Remix)
8 Get Some In
9 Evolution
10 Into The Future
11 Up In Smoke
12 Melt On
13 Blacker
14 The End

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Extras
9 Lazy 9 - Train (Marden Hill Remix)
Beamish & Fly - Dozy Fuckers
Beamish & Fly - NY Shakedown
Beamish & Fly - Spin On It (Spun Out Mix)
Beamish & Fly - Stoaked
Brand New Heavies - Spend Some Time (Sweeny Club Mix)
Marden Hill - Bardot
Marden Hill - Dub Melt
Marden Hill - Sugarplums
Marden Hill - Uptown Theme (Michael McDermott Remix)

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Video for "Hijack"

Various Artists - Headz 2

174MB / 176MB / 166MB / 181MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from MW061CD2 & MW062CD


By popular demand, Soundological brings you the complete Mo' Wax Headz 2 compilation from 1996. If you ask me, this time enthusiasm got the better of quality control as 4 discs is waaaay too much map for the territory covered here and this should have been pared down by half at least. When this came out, it played like practically every other voluminous left-field electronic compilation ubiquitous at the time and started sounding the death knell for a label renown for offering something groundbreaking or at least different.

In contrast to the earlier Royaltie$ Overdue (and to a lesser extent the first Headz comp) it's not even much of an historical document since the bulk of the material was kinda dated upon its release. Electronic music was keeping pace with Moore's Law and moving at breakneck speed in the first half of the 90s with sub- and sub-sub-genres popping up then dying out in the wink of an eye. Much of this collection was good but stale when it hit the streets and its price tag left a sour taste in the mouths of some who felt the bang for their buck just wasn't there. Having said that, still quite a few gems to be found in this pile of broken church-window glass and it's fairly safe to say everyone who enjoys electronica (particularly drum 'n' bass and broken beat) will find at least a few tracks they'll enjoy. No scans since I ripped it before I sold it to an acquaintance last fall.


2a CD 1
01 Nightmares On Wax - Nights Interlude
02 The Prunes - Cantona Style
03 Peshay - The Real Thing (90 BPM Version)
04 AIR - Modular (Modular Mix Produced By Solid)
05 The Dust Brothers - Searchin'
06 RPM - Flow
07 DJ Wally - My Bloody Valentine (Nitty Mix)
08 UNKLE - Garage Piano Featuring - KUDO Keyboards - Money Mark
09 DJ Krush - Kemuri ('94 Part II)
10 Sam Sever And The Raiders Of The Lost Art - Do You Understand? Featuring - Pablo Calogero
11 Stereo MC's - What Is Soul? (Instrumental)
12 Urban Tribe - Covert Action (Carl Craig Mix)
13 Lo-Fi Sensibilities - Cabin Fever
14 Midnight Funk Association - Code

2a CD 2
01 DJ Food - Concentric Circle
02 Cool Breeze - 27 Years Of Solitude
03 Stasis - Discotron
04 Scott Free & Cybil Ant - Mango Maracatu
05 Tortoise - The Source Of Uncertainty
06 Massive Attack - Karmacoma (UNKLE Situation Mix - Instrumental)
07 Beastie Boys - Bodhisattva Vow (Instrumental)
08 The Folk Implosion - Simean Groove
09 Olde Scottish - Martian Economics
10 Urban Tribe - Eastward (Forme Remix)
11 Lunar Funk - Spacewalk
12 Forme - New Element
13 DJ Solo - Pressure II
14 Innervisions - Organized Crime


2b CD 1
01 Luminis - Spectral Arc
02 Luke Vibert - Sharp A2
03 Money Mark - World Lesson Part II
04 Twig Bud - Swiss Air
05 UNKLE - The Time Has Come (Portishead Plays UNKLE Mix)
06 Grantby - It's Coming
07 Donut Productions - Wirecutter
08 The Dust Brothers - The Groomsman
09 Skull - Crash
10 Beastie Boys - Flute Loop (Instrumental)
11 DJ Krush - Maze
12 Attica Blues - Sketch
13 Jungle Brothers - Ultimatum Ultra Mix (Jungle Beats/Jungle Bass)
14 Danny Breaks - Science Fu Beats
15 The Force - Future Tense

2b CD2
01 Palm Skin Productions - The Beast (System Remix)
02 Peshay - The Real Thing
03 Dillinja - In The Mood
04 DJ Krust & Roni Size - Tribetoon
05 Source Direct - The Silent Witness
06 As One - The Counterpoint
07 Innerzone Orchestra - Bug In The Bassbin (Street Mix)
08 Black Dog Productions - Object Orient
09 Special Forces - Trilogy
10 Max 404 - Quiddity (Last Visit)
11 Zimbabwe Legit - Doin' Damage In My Native Language (Shadow’s Legitimate Mix)

Various Artists - Royaltie$ Overdue

boomp3.com
boomp3.com

114MB / 100MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Mo' Wax MW 003 CD

This is the release that made the world sit up and take notice of wunderkind James Lavelle and his take on abstract hip hop and club sounds, around which he built his label Mo' Wax. Although the imprint was already getting some enthusiastic ink in the UK for its singles, this was the debut compilation of Mo' Wax material and the first most people had a chance to hear DJ Shadow on a widespread basis. For me, it was the two tracks by La Funk Mob that took me on first listen and since then I've been a faithful fan of Zdar, Boombass and De Crecy through all their incarnations. As far as I'm concerned, they're among those who sit at the head table in that elite club of producers who can blend accessibility, weirdness and cheese in the right proportions.

On the whole, it's a stronger comp than Headz or Headz2 with more songs rather than soundscapes, a greater sense of groove and it's definitely on a jazzier tip than Mo' Wax's subsequent collections. In fact, this holds up better than most documents of this period in the trip hop/acid jazz scene and doesn't sound nearly as dated as you would think, which says volumes about Lavelle's vision and taste at the ripe old age of 20! Unfortunately, the cover disappeared long ago back in the DJing days so I skipped the scans (but if you're OCD and really want a scan of the discs themselves and the tray insert, I wouldn't want you to have a breakdown so just leave a request in the comments and I'll oblige). If you like this then stay tuned for more from Mo' Wax and labels like Pussyfoot, Delancey Street, Ultimate Dilemma, Cup of Tea and Wall of Sound in the weeks to come.

CD 1
1-01 DJ Shadow / In Flux
1-02 RPM / Food Of My De-Rhythm
1-03 DJ Krush / Slow Chase
1-04 Palm Skin Productions / In A Silent Way
1-05 DJ Takemura / Harmonium
1-06 Palm Skin Productions / Like Brothers
1-07 The Federation / Life So Free
1-08 Step / If

CD 2
2-01 RPM / Sorti Des Ombres
2-02 Bubbatunes / This Is Just A Dance
2-03 Marden Hill / Come On
2-04 La Funk Mob / La Doctoresse
2-05 Monday Michiru / Hear Between The Silence
2-06 The Federation / Rusty James (Portishead Remix)
2-07 La Funk Mob / Motor Bass Get Phunked Up
2-08 Palm Skin Productions / Spock With A Beard


If you see this seminal double-disc in a store for less than $50, CD or vinyl, consider yourself lucky and snatch it up. In the meantime and in between time, Soundological presents disc one HERE and disc two HERE.