Cool Hunting
With its urgent bassline and sample from the soundtrack of the cult movie The Taking of Pelham 123, Max Sedgley's Happy became an instant house classic when it was first spun in clubs a few summers ago. The original (and rare) Italian 12" also included the excellent Slowly, marking the multi-talented Englishman as one to keep a close eye on.
And then nothing.
After turning in the odd remix, it wasn't until last year that Sedgley resurfaced with the Lalo Schifrin-sampling Devil Inside. Although it wasn't quite up to his previous tunes—how could it be?—at least it meant he was still making records. Now though, his debut album is on the horizon, and a copy of From The Roots To The Shoots has landed in my lap.
Happy sounds as insistent as ever, and dropped at the right moment, would still no doubt fill a dancefloor this summer. The languid, head-nodding groove of Slowly has also aged really well; so much so that it's getting its own re-release as a single this month. Elsewhere, Celebrity could be Mylo given an Acid House remix, and Set It Free is reminiscent of the future-funk of Crazy P. The pervading feel of dance music from earlier times is encapsulated by the Orbital-inspired closer Ego Spiritual.
Not an immediate record in any way, From The Roots To The Shoots is still wide and varied enough to be pretty satisfying, with its knowing little nods to dancefloors of the past. Shame it took so long to arrive.
From The Roots To The Shoots is released by British label Sunday Best on 17 July 2006 and can be ordered from Amazon UK.
|
previous entry 51 Things |
next entry Cool Hunting Video Presents: 2006 NYC Tattoo Convention |
Matthew Herbert, one of the U.K.'s most lauded, often overlooked and hardest-to-categorize electronic musicians grabbed major attention last year with the release of Scale, a critically-acclaimed album that includes over 700 samples of ambient noises like birds, gas pumps, breakfast cereal, coffins, mobile phones and babies crying, as well as voice mails left on "Herbert's Hotline," a phone he set up for the project....
Formed in 1996, the pioneering, now eight-member collective of underground dance music, Bugz in the Attic, bring their full ass-motivating arsenal, garnered from 10 years of single releases and classic remixes, on their long-overdue first full-length release, Back in the Dog House. With close to 100 songs already under their belt—both originals and reworkings for a diverse range of internationally known artists, including Zero...
The Invisible are a hotly tipped trio of talented musicians who, after several years of highly acclaimed individual appearances on the U.K. music scene, have now come together as one band to form a unique and inimitable sound. Their pedigree is impeccable, with Dave Okumu featuring in the mighty Matthew Herbert's regular line-up, Leo Taylor currently drumming for Hot Chip and Tom Herbert being...
by Mat Lyon Maths Class are the latest U.K. band exploring the intersection where Post-Rock, New Wave, Pop and (yes) Math Rock collide. From the shards of this genre car crash, they form a compelling racket that's chaotic and precise in equal measure, jerking between passages at super speed and challenging the listener to keep up. They walk a tightrope of technical ability, creative endeavor...
by Mat Lyon An electronic ensemble from the thriving Oxford music scene, Keyboard Choir could be described as a journey through the history of electronic music. Liberally scattered amongst the fluid electronic soundscapes and massive rib-imploding beats are samples from genres as diverse as contemporary classical composition and hip hop. Their debut album, Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound, boasts expansive electronic sounds that fire...
Long the de facto home of techno music, it's no surprise that Berlin is bursting at the seams with electronic music. But it is a rare feat when one of these artists transcends the club scene like Modeselektor. A staple of the German capital's underground party circuit dating back to the mid-'90s, the group produces a genre-straddling brand of glitchy beats that are equal...
J. Howells Werthman: We Are Making Plans
PhoneSuit MiLi Pro Video Projector
iPhone HP Calculators
Society6
Bedol Eco-Friendly Water Drop Clock
Context x Kicking Mule 1980 Hand Dye Jeans
Liquid Image Camera Goggles
Interview with Erik Madigan Heck of Nomenus Quarterly
Photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten
