Next to Detroit + Chicago, NewYork is important Technocity on the Earth. Joey
Beltram + Lenny Dee made the infrastructures, and settled NY taste
'hard-boiled', in early '90's (We will discuss Joey 'godfather of
NewYork' Beltram in our forthcoming edition). Inheriting this tradition, Damon
Wild have expanded the scene. His label 'Experimental'(EX)'s early releases are jumble of treasures + trashes. Now we can confirm it by a compilation "Experimental Vol.1"(EXCD-1). It contains 'the RAVE'(in Nippon, RAVE means bad tasted techno...), trash techno with distortion guitar, Wild's smarter tracks (co-produced with Ray Love, Dan Morgan & Tim Taylor), and brilliant Freddie Fresh 'Modulator'. Aurabora(Wild & Taylor) featured the sampling of Koshi Miharu(Nippon techno mistress)'s 'Marie-Anne' in their 'strings'. Do they love ours? Oooh.
'93, in their 2nd compilation (EXCD-2), EX pointed out that they are very refined. From Equinox(Wild + DJ Repete)'s famous 'Pollux' down, 303 System, Paul Mix, of course Beltram, all excelent. And Pulsinger(from Austria), Tim Taylor(England. His unit Dome Patrol performed insanely ridiculous tracks), Freddie Fresh(St. Paul), also Woody McBride (Mineapolis), half of their lineups are from outside of NY. NY techno producers too few? May be, but Wild had concentrated fascinating outsiders who were out of technopolises. It's great. Especially, MidWest scene is important. Freddie has the sharpest blade + warm heart, and Woody is real genious, we love him so much!
'94, by Rising Sons'(Wild + Taylor. Does the name mean Nippon-jin?) 'Afghan Acid', EX conquered the world. No one can ignore NY techno now. And Wild left EX, made new label 'SyneWave NewYork'(SWNY). Tim Taylor established 'SyneWave London'. Lately, we have heard the latter was closed, and their friendship broken, but it's not yet confirmed. Anyway, at SWNY, Wild's most reliable partner is Steve Stoll. SWNY's releases are almost their productions. Stoll supplied kool + minimal taste to NY, and have supported lyrical + passinate Wild. And Beltram, Taylor, Woody had releaced from SWNY. Furthermore, Wild and Stoll made their each labels newly. Of cource EX still Exists. And Lenny Dee's Industrial Strength, Direct Drive known by Adam X, in NY state (not NYC) Hollis there exists unique Tension label... NY is growing technopolis. Clockwork big apple!
But they say, NY have no real techno scene. Good artists and labels exist there, but what the people love are rap or house. Wild, Stoll, Beltram, Lenny Dee... They are very famous in Europe (also in Nippon, all technoheads respect Mr.Beltram, and Wild will be soon), in spite of most Americans seem not to know even that technomusic exist. However, this encourages Tokyo and all developping technocities. NYs made it without big parties, nor advertisements. Real technoheads on the Earth could realize what good music.
Steve Stoll says "My songs are not for clubs or dance. They are what you can
listen to at home". By this phrase, one could imagine that Stoll makes ambient
or something like melodious electro... However, the fact is far from it. Stoll is a minimal extremist. No melodies & no harmonies, there are only 808 or 909 beats + acid machine(maybe 303) pulses. No developments, no mood, and they end at the point that they started.
Why are such songs interesting so? Why don't they fail to boring repetations or some DJ tools? Because, first, his songs' basic constructions are very strong + solid. They already are 'music you can listen to'. Furthermore, they are not simple as one could be impressed to. 'Bodies' are strongly continuous & perpetual, but they change their expressions by additional notes or tone gradations. These processes make us absorbed. So we are moved to another places after his songs end. The music doesn't move, we are moved instead.
Stoll's releases are numerous, and he uses different names for each labels.
'Storm' is for Djax, "Storm"(Djax-Up-189) + "Art of Sync"(Djax-Up-202). The
latter is especially splendid. From SWNY, "Ausgang 1"(SW02) & "Ausgang
2"(SW06). And from his own 'Proper' label, "The Infiniti Circuit"(Props-001) &
"Blunted Boy Wonder"(Props-002). "Blunted" made us crazy. And we have heard
that FAX & Probe have released his record, Delirium is going to release his LP.
The greatest trait of Tension is its bizarre art work. For example, "Trigger" has swimweared girl(side A), horseriding cowgirl(side B). What does they mean to the music? They also appropriate Honda logo ("Monkey Spank EP" Ten 4000, by Abe Duque + J.A.Ryder. In Nippon, sandwichmen team that disguised like costume play actors is called 'Chindon-ya'. They also play drums, chimes + clarinet, it sounds just like this record), or Roland's logo Appropriation b/wshipmot or with 2 year warranty(Ten 1002), a blindfolded lady b/w 2 saints(Ten 7001), A woman whose naked body covered with mud, and beyond her, a holy cross is burning(Ten 3001), and etc. They are not plain, but smart, however feel too strange. We can'tunderstand why they bend their energy to it?
Freddie's records that have been released from EX and Labworks (Germany, UK)
, are annoying hard acids, or restless ambients. What a nuisance! we think
once. But at last, we realized that he is unique poet of technomusic, and has
a real songs without voices in his every tune. Not only a DJ's 'bomb', you
could hear Freddie's emotions in his distorted hard synth sounds. And he is
developping. In his early works, intenseness and prayer of stillness are
splited. But now, he have become to be able to represent both of them in a
song. In this notion, "Labotomize EP"(Labworks UK/UNDLAB009) and "Gnarl
EP"(Dropbass/DBN014) are the best.
Analog's 7th release is "NewYork to MidWest". Its side A is collaboration of
Wild & Stoll, side B is Adam X & Lenny Dee. Wild & Stoll's track is a cute
minimal acid, and Adam & Lenny's is verrrry strange. Adam is original. Anyway,
this EP is manifesto of NewYork-MidWest solidarity.
His recent works are completely unique. He do not only make a mood by a song.
In simpleness + repetation by some 303, 808 + 909, with few long notes, makes
spaces, that is for the fragments of emotions + feelings he set in. they are
found and lost. And change their looks in every listenings.
If you want to visit Woody's basement, we suggest to listen to "Bad Acid, No
Such Thing"(Dropbass/DBN003), Communique 002, or SW09. "LOW" might be a
challenge to David Bowie, Woody also have written a song called 'Ace Frehley'.
Their representative artist is 'Kirlian' Abe Duque. He is a respectable acid
head, we can realize it, but his music is also bizarre, too. Most laughable is
"Blue Chiken Breakfast" That is not from Tension, Mainframe(Vienna)'s 006th.
After the affected introduction, there appears silly acid phrase(A1), or sound
like cocktail piano of poor barroom(B2)... No, no, much better tracks were
written by him (ex. "Die Fertigen 2"
MIDWEST...SUBURBIAN LUST
We have bought an omnibus EP 'Harvest of MidWest Acid' (Analog 07). It
contains acid materials from Detroit, Mineapolis, Chicago and St.Paul.
From St.Paul, DJ Hud's music is excellent. And Analog's boss is Freddie Fresh,
Mineapolis' representative on this EP is 'our' Woody McBride.
Freddie' portrait can be seen in Nippon's underground techno paper
"WAX"
(from Kobe. The publisher lost his machines unfortunately by
the earthquake in
95/01/17. However, he is alive. That is OK) vol.2. In the picture, he is in his
bedroom, with vintage Moogs + ARPs, and vinyls. He is tall man just looks like
'very calm usually, but one day, suddenly shoots a gun at random'. Neverthless,
we have heard about him that he is known as a 'man of character', and every
body of the scene respect him. Oh, excuse me...
WE LOVE WOODY
From St.Paul, across the Mississippi, there Woody McBride(DJ ESP) lives in
Mineapolis. He is a new 303 guru. His charm point is blend of scents of Prairie
winds + smell of moldy basement's air. Combination of blaces + arcanes. It
suggests Ray Bradbury's 'mushroom cellar boy'. 
His released large numbers of his works in '94. 4 EPs from Dropbass, EPs + CD
as 4D from Labworks, Detroit DJ 'Mr.graffiti' T-1000's Generator label No.9(in
this double EP, he is indifferent to his own style. why?), and from his own
'Communique', he shows cores of his music. The 1st is triple 7 inches, with
any credits on its jacket, with only a strange guy's funny picture. It supposed
that Woody is him. Oh... But the sounds are very neat. the 2nd is double 12'EP
, much wider 'Woody's world'. And Woody's the newest is "LOW" from Wild's SWNY
(SW09). Woody also produced 2 remixes of Wild + Taylor's 'Bang the Acid'(SW10,
side B), but on side A, Beltram's 'Bang the Drum Mix' is too dreadful. Joey
is... Maybe, Woody could not love the original track. Remixing is not his
business, we also think. Because his music is too tight + delicate, so has no
space to put heterogenious notes. Woody's songs seem to be easy + simple, but
never. Their charms are sensitive + fragile, so precious.
Back to Contents
Next Page "HELLO TOKYO"
