amazon-9-9-99.txt

Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Dance and DJ

Editor, Mike McGonigal

FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL:
* Word for Word: Basement Jaxx
* New and Notable: Tricky, Lamb, Bows, Lords of Acid,
  Wiseguys, and Filter
* Funky French Techno and House
* Our Customers Recommend: Morcheeba's "Big Calm"
* Hot Imports
* Editor's Choice: Air's "Premeris Symptomes"
* Free Digital Downloads: War and Soma Sonic


WORD FOR WORD: BASEMENT JAXX
****************************
"If you get everything too synched into the computers, you
end up making something intellectually perfect, but music is
about the expression and feeling." --Felix Buxton of
Basement Jaxx

Read more of Amazon.com's interview with Basement Jaxx's
Buxton at
http://www.amazon.com/basement-jaxx


NEW AND NOTABLE
***************
"Juxtapose"
Tricky
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JWNY/ref=ad_m_dd_1
Trip-hop originator Tricky is a talented iconoclast whose
records are never the same twice, although each bear the
unmistakable tattoo of his dark, laconic sound. "Juxtapose"
is a case in point, with its obsessively druggy, pornographic
rapping atop downtempo, atmospheric sounds and shuffling
beats. Is Tricky the 1990s' answer to Prince in the
almost-too-talented-for-their-own-good sweepstakes? You
decide.

"Fear of Fours"
Lamb
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JNMT/ref=ad_m_dd_1
Three years elapsed between the U.K. release of Lamb's
highly acclaimed debut and this CD, making fans of their
moody trip-hop impatient. Does "Fear of Fours" deliver? Yes,
but like many sophomore efforts, this one can't help but
fall short of expectations. There is more of Lamb's full,
emotional sound here, but while songs off the debut such as
"Gorecki" and "Cottonwool" were beyond epic, most of the
tracks on "Fear of Fours" merely get the job done.

"Blush"
Bows
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JPDI/ref=ad_m_dd_1
Jungle is built on one essential tension--between hyperspeed
drums and half-speed bass lines. Bows' debut, "Blush,"
gives the screw another turn, setting tentative Bjork-like
vocals, languorous strings, and slow-motion keyboards to
jarringly frantic beats. "Bows," the project of former Long
Fin Killie frontman (and acclaimed novelist) Luke
Sutherland, is an art project first and a dance-music
crossover second.

"Expand Your Head"
Lords of Acid
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000J2V9/ref=ad_m_dd_1
Including 4 new songs and 13 remixes, "Expand Your Head"
slices, dices, and reassembles the Lords of Acid's X-rated
techno-raunch into a towering stack of dance-floor trends.
Opening with the new "Am I Sexy," the Lords follow suit a la
the campy big beat of Dimitri from Paris. Newbie number two,
"As I Am," is standard-issue rave-alert acid house, while
"Who Do You Think You Are," with its lyrically colorless rap
screamed above industrial guitars, is a toss off (ahem).
The other new song is a new version of a Patti LaBelle tune
and the rest consists of remixes by KMFDM, Luc Van Acker,
Joey Beltram, Frankie Bones, and Richie Hawtin,
a.k.a. Plastikman.

"The Antidote"
The Wiseguys
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001IVPM/ref=ad_m_dd_1
On his sophomore effort Theo Keating (a.k.a. the Wiseguys)
comes correct with an album that splits the difference
between Fatboy Slim and the Black Eyed Peas. The first
single and second track, "Ooh La La," which accompanied a
popular Budweiser commercial in Britain, boasts a chunky
beat and a simple, mindless hook, setting the pattern the
rest of the album follows. It's a surefire formula, and
Keating does it better than most.

"Title of Record"
Filter
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JZC4/ref=ad_m_dd_1
It's been four years since Filter's debut album, "Short
Bus," and "Title of Record" is an exhaustive collection of
hyperkinetic guitars, subliminal melodies, and thunderous
dynamics--which is to say, it sports plenty of hard-rock
aggression, but is firmly rooted in the pop experience that
keeps the songs in your head. "It's Gonna Kill Me" has a
stalker's vibe tracing its techno-metal roots, while "Take a
Picture" and "Captain Bligh" are radio-friendly unit
shifters that suggest underneath the technology rests a
beating--often bruised--human heart.


FUNKY FRENCH TECHNO AND HOUSE
*****************************
For several years now, French artists such as Air, Dimitri
from Paris, DJ Cam, and Basement Jaxx have reinvented and
reinvigorated house and techno music with a funky,
brilliantly nonchalant, and recombinant approach. Check out
Amazon.com's list of the hottest French techno and house
CDs--and prepare for the time of your life.
http://www.amazon.com/funky-french


OUR CUSTOMERS RECOMMEND: MORCHEEBA
**********************************
"Big Calm"
Morcheeba
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000065JZ/ref=ad_m_dd_1
A customer from the U.K. recommends "Big Calm" by Morcheeba:
"What an album. Although short and initially seeming a
little shallow and poppy, after a listen or two you soon
find that it has a depth and beauty found nowhere else. If
you have any love for music, this album needs to be at the
top of your shopping list."


HOT IMPORTS
***********
Looking for that hard-to-find live mix disc by Fatboy Slim?
Or maybe Aphex Twin's "Analogue Bubblebath 4"? Amazon.com
makes it super easy for you with our sizzling list of import
CDs.
http://www.amazon.com/hot-imports


EDITOR'S CHOICE: AIR
********************
"Premiers Symptomes"
Air
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JXSA/ref=ad_m_dd_1
Due out on September 14, Air's "Premiers Symptomes," which
translates as "First Singles," just might be the French
duo's finest work to date. It's hard to believe these seven
spacious, groovy tracks of cocktail-hour techno were
recorded in the group's living room before they ever went
into a studio, but it's true. If you've never heard the
absolutely lush "Casanova 70" or "Modular Mix" before,
you're in for a treat.


FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS: WAR AND SOMA SONIC
******************************************
Download a remix from War's "Grooves & Messages" now! Top
remixers pay homage to War's vintage funk-jazz blend on the
remix half of the greatest-hits set "Grooves & Messages."
Highlights include a hopping "Galaxy 2000" retooled by Plump
DJs. You can download an edited version of "Galaxy 2000"
exclusively at Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/war-download

Download two free tracks from Soma Sonic! With future-
forward innovation and style, Soma Sonic deliver aural
textures on the darker side of the electronica spectrum and
scratch beneath the surface of their ambient trip-hop
appeal. As an independently released CD, "Future" shows us
the brilliance of what two brothers can do when left to
their own devices. Download "Falling" and "Backslide" to
catch a glimpse of this group's sonic future.
http://www.amazon.com/soma-sonic-download

                         ******

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