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| quote: | Originally posted by Spacey Orange
cheers. it's in the mail along with Funalogue EP, and Homerun.. |
Home Run is very different from the other two, by the way.
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btw, i heard a version of barbarella 10 years ago, but it was a different version than the one on the CD mentioned above. i was just wondering what version the instrumental might be. i think it was "Barbarella (The Irresistible Force Remix)". |
Maybe. Barbarella is a strange track with the remixes and originals and stuff, kind of like Cafe Del Mar. It could be the original.
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uh Bass Mekanik... i'll think about it. i copied this from Amazon. this made me laugh. |
Well, Bass Mekanik is what would be called "Electrobass" these days. Basically a form of music that came out of the Miami stereo wars of the mid to late 80's.
Back in the early to mid 80's the big new thing in certain areas of the United States was electro-hop, a fusion of Electro and Hip Hop by such prominent artists as Egyptian Lover, Afrika Bambaataa and Mantronix. One of these areas was Florida, specifically Miami. In 1985 a Miami Electro-Hop artist discovered a way to sustain the kick drum on an 808 to make really deep bass. From this discovery immediately came the subgenre of Hip-Hop called "Miami Bass". Another effect of this discovery was Miami's stereo wars, the specifics of which I don't know, but the goal of producers from that point on was basically to try to make Miami Bass and Techno Bass tracks as bass heavy as possible in order to out bass the next guy's stereo. These "wars" continued into the early 90's and resulted in releases like this showcasing the artists who were progenitors of the sound at the time.
Also from the 808 bass discovery of 1985 and Miami Bass came Techno Bass. Techno Bass was different from Miami Bass in that Miami Bass was basically pure hip hop, and Techno Bass was all Electro, complete with vocoders, bleeps, bloops, and so on. That's probably why it was called "Techno" bass, as most music of the time that was more electronic than not was called "Techno" by most people. One of the earliest pioneers of Techno Bass was the group Dynamix II, as heard in this release. They fused Electro and Bass like no other and their first album, released in 1990, is a classic in every respect. This album is the missing link between 80's electro funk and 90's neo-electro. Techno Bass had always been a relatively underground music centered in Miami and Orlando, and relatively it still is, but "Just Give The DJ A Break" was probably the first Techno Bass track to make national status and even international status; it's considered a classic by most serious DJ's. Not to lessen the other tracks on The Album, which are important and in some cases groundbreaking in their own rights.
But what is Electrobass then, you say? In essence it's just a more accurate name for Techno Bass. The terms are interchangeable. The music is the same, "Electrobass" is just more descriptive of what the music actually is, a fusion of Electro and Bass. And while Techno Bass producers still incorporate a lot of Hip Hop's trend of MC's rapping or talking on the track, Electrobass steered away from MC's and went pure voice box. Plus the bass frequencies just got lower and lower. Electrobass albums released in the early 90's came with warnings to protect your equipment from the frequencies dropping below 8, 4, and 2Hz. Now that's some sub bass my friend. The term "Electrobass" probably came into widespread use around 1994 with the release of this compilation, the earliest instance of "Electro bass" used on a commercial release. In the early 90's more artists started making and labels were created for Electrobass, all centered in Miami. I assume the stereo wars were continuing in some form even then. This is where you get artists like Bass 305, Bass Mekanik, Bass Junkie, Bass Junkies, Techno Bass Crew, Old School Players, etc, all centered in Miami on Miami labels. Except for Bass Junkie and Dynamix II, it was all very localized underground stuff. Artists were basically using Electro as the background for albums that did everything from blast sub bass to 3D audio to frequency testing to white noise tracks to pink noise tracks. They made music for the purpose of fucking with your speakers. Most of these artists and their albums aren't even listed on Discogs. Bass 305, for example, have released at least four albums that aren't on discogs. My favorite Electrobass album is of course this one. Possibly the best Electrobass album, and up there with the best overall Electro albums released after 1990.
At any rate the whole Electrobass/Techno Bass fad pretty much withered out nearing the late 90's, the only artists to carry the torch into the new millenium being the ones who had garnered fame early on, like Bass Junkie, Dynamix II, and Aux 88. On the whole I can't tell if Electrobass is currently dead, dying, staying about the same, or coming back. Dynamix II's recent releases steer away from Electrobass somewhat, though Bass Junkie's remain true to form. Aux 88 still makes what he calls Techno Bass. Currently there is somewhat of a post-millenium electro revival happening, a real electro revival(not electroclash), and who knows what will come in the future? New Electro artists from around the world make the odd bass heavy track here and there, but none are really "Electrobass" artists. Electrobass could come back stronger than before. Hell, it's probably being made by a dozen artists right now in Miami who nobody has ever heard of.
"It's DJ Scratch D and Debonaire in the place. We discovered a machine that releases the bass. So get with it party people 'cuz you can't deny Scratch D and Debonaire and there's the reason why."
--Dynamix II - Bass Generator (1990)
Yummy! 
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| quote: | | Addy fo SHADDY ! hiccup, KA pladdy. |
Last edited by Aiwendil on Aug-30-2005 at 23:40
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