EP Review: Lessons Learned - Milton Jackson

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Lessons Learned - Milton Jackson

The Lessons Learned EP from Milton Jackson comes out next week and whilst we should be heading into the pre-Christmas record release lull by now this interrupts that notion and is pretty good.

Milton Jackson, the pseudonym of Barry Christie, has been making electronic music since his debut on Soletronic's Tronicsole label in 2000. Over the years he has experiment with tech and house sounds and this latest EP is set to come out on the promising new label Black Key Records, who launched just last year.

The EP opens with the first of two original tracks - 'See The Light'. It's on the techy sound of house - looped synths and strings and a clipped vocal give this a slick, quality feel. A raw bass sound and early nineties drum machine offset that clean sound though to make something more compelling and soulful.

Retaining that same tech-meets-old-skool sound '5 Cities' ups the soul element with a soft melody. It's a nice blend of early UK and US garage - where dubstep was born out of the darker, more drum 'n' bass influenced sounds of garage this goes back to the birth of that sound, deep house, and it feels surprisingly fresh.

Andy Ash delivers the final track, a remix of '5 Cities' that stays true to the original - a subtly more spacious mix that maintains the original feel.

Lessons Learned is released next Monday through Black Key Records, preview the EP on Soundcloud below:

Album Review: Frankie Said - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

In a spot of suspiciously useful timing Frankie Goes To Hollywood have just released a new greatest hits compilation in the form of this, Frankie Said. Vintage Christmas number one 'The Power Of Love' takes its position front and centre, just as John Lewis base their latest (predictably massive) Christmas TV ad campaign on a cover version of the same song by singer Gabrielle Aplin.

Frankie Said features a lot of the usual suspects - their first three singles, all of which were UK number ones, actually all feature twice in different guises. And those three singles feel just as fresh now as they ever did. Released as they were through Trevor Horn's ZTT label the focus on production, heavy bass sound and plenty of high-end survives remarkably well, a postcard from a time when hi-fi was something to really aspire to.

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Frankie Said - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

It is difficult to over-state just how significant those three singles were. 'Relax' is notorious for sending the BBC into a tizzy after Mike Read twigged what the song was about and ripped the record off the turn table live on air, also disgusted at the overtly sexual artwork - both notoriety and sales by the bucketload followed. 'Two Tribes' was then released while 'Relax' was still in the charts and rather than cannibalising sales it went to number one and seemingly dragged 'Relax' back up to the number two spot. Basically the kind of chart impact that bands dream of these days.

But of course if you don't already have all three of those tracks you will already know them. Part of FGTH's success stemmed from their ability to keep churning out fresh mixes of releases - a fact played with here through the inclusion of multiple mixes. The different version mean that you never quite know what to expect.

There is enough here for those less familiar with the back catalogue to discover - covers of 'War', 'Ferry Across The Mersey' (a tribute to the band's home town of Liverpool) and a live take on Springsteen's 'Born To Run'. Whilst both of the former bring a unique Frankie take to well known records 'Born To Run' is a rather conservative and faithful cover, making it feel like an oddly unnecessary inclusion.

Much of the material included here that is not taken from the band's first album still fails to live up to the band's first four singles (‘Relax', 'Two Tribes', 'The Power Of Love' and 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome'). It's an uncomfortable fact that makes a best of, particularly after a number of earlier compilations, a little hard to swallow. The last greatest hits was released just three years ago, a fact that makes it hard to view this release as little more than a chance to capitalise on potentially renewed interest in the light of that John Lewis ad. The big singles are so good that it's just about forgivable but it would be hard not to view the original Welcome To The Pleasuredome album as superior Christmas gift, particularly if you get the 25th Anniversary edition with some of the bonus mixes.

The instrumental string only version of 'The Power Of Love (Best Listened To By Lovers)' is a bit of a revelation though, showing the sheer strength of the song-writing. It's passionate, stirring and cinematic stuff - fresh from seeing Skyfall I can't help but feel it would have been a far more striking Bond theme than Adele could ever muster.

Frankie Said is out now through Salvo, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [links to Amazon.co.uk in this post are affiliate links].

EP Review: The Hatch Series - Various Artists

The Hatch Series is the first in a planned annual compilation series from DhARMA, a new label that has already impressed with a couple of their releases this year.

Made up of five tracks from five different artists it's a relatively eclectic set showcasing DhARMA's progressive approach to A&R. The EP opens with a blues-influenced IDM track from Kyson. There is a little hint of Nicolas Jaar to 'Drifting On By', with a soulful vocal and a slow, textured feel to the production work.

Atiko Misaki's 'Do You Remember Me' is all gentle piano chords and relaxed trumpet, pleasingly jazzy and left-field and even slower than the EP's opening. In contrast 'Midnight Travellers' by Tibalt is a little more upbeat, a striking gothic-electro-prog-opera piece. It may be a little less universal than Misaki's track but the pounding drum-set snares and eighties synths aren't without their charms.

Next up is Silly Rabbit with 'Subsonic Sunset'. It is a mildly Germanic glitch-pop piece, full of big ambient noises and synthetic drums but it never quite seems to get to its destination for me..

The EP is rounded out with 'Beta' by Skai Nine, and it's a pretty good summary of where DhARMA ultimately seem to have their heads as a label. It's experimental electronic music that manages to be greater than the sum of its parts, a whirling cacophony of gentle sounds that comes together to create a softly stuttering pop record. It concludes a short, interesting statement of intent with the first two tracks proving particularly enduring.

The Hatch Series is released on 1 October through DhARMA. Preview the release below through Soundcloud or pre-order from DhARMA here.

EP Review: The Break Out EP - Inland Knights

Inland Knights' new EP focuses on the kind of funky tech influenced house they've made their name with. It's an unfunny release so you'll probably either like it or you won't.

The EP opens with 'Bounce', a jerky, stuttering minimal track. Trademark silky pads and a distorted electronic bass provide the funk here whilst a cut up hip-house vocal delivers a little cheeky attitude. The track's drum track is focused and tight, giving the whole track a close, intimate sound.

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The Break Out EP - Inland Knights

On side two 'Broken Up' is a little less immediate, a loser percussion line leading in an acid bass line. The whole thing is a feels like a tease for the heavily filtered sample dropped in the bridge though. With elements of brass and plenty of disco sass it's another back room track for electro influenced sets wanting to show off a little disco smarts. No bad thing in my book but it probably won't change your world, but it might make your weekend.

Miguel Campbell & Matt Hughes close out the release, turning in a remix of 'Broken Up' as MAM, an act familiar with their disco-house sound. It doesn't have the acid bass and minimal influence of the original and instead takes a more straight-up route. It's fine, but a little unremarkable - the tighter original the stronger version.

The Break Out EP is released through Outcross Records on 26 November on vinyl and 10 December digitally. Check out a preview of 'Bounce' below:

Single Review: Edits - Sole Emsemble

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Edits - Sole Ensemble

A fairly mysterious release from an anonymous Bristol based producer here. Sole Ensemble isn't a DJ and therefore doesn't want people worrying about who he is - seems he'd much rather people focus on the music.

This (pretty much untitled) release features a couple of housed-up disco edits. First up is an edit of Brenda Watts' 'Who Needs A Love Like That'. It's minimal in approach, the looped chorus given lots of space whilst a shuffling rhythm provides backing. A chunky robotic bass line provides a layer of funk, creating a contemporary, stripped-back approach to disco.

On side-b we have an edit of a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'All I Do' entitled 'All For You'. I've not been able to identify which version the vocals here are taken from (and the press-release is very bare-bones) but the application is strong. Once again the track is stripped back but more of the vocal appears and as such it naturally feels more extravagant, layered with backing vocals and a complimentary bass line. It's a tight disco track kept to its minimum components but it packs a bit more soul than the a-side, perfect for pokey little bars and back rooms.

An unfussy release focused on delivering quality modern disco sounds, I like.