Dilated Choonz: old school

Oldschool ambient trance... and why not?

The Double K — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:59:00 +0100

Nail – Cassiopeia

I’m very much enjoying this right now so thought I’d share, it’s been a while I know. From when trance was still good, this track comes from 1993’s Strictly 4 Groovers, an LP from rave favourites the legendary DiY soundsystem crew.

It’s a slow builder, starting off with some trancey arpeggiated synths, the lush bassline comes in after a minute or so, the spacey atmosphere grows with hints of cymbal until the beat finally arrives three minutes in. even then it’s another minute until the handclaps (my favourite) hit and we’re into full-on gorgeous ambient trance.

Try it, you just might like it.

And if you’re unfamiliar with DiY then there are worse places you could start than the seminal DiY Jack set from 1992’s Castlemoreton festival – check the link below to download the whole set.

File Download (9:46 min / 16 MB)

Dave's First

Hal Berstram — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:34:00 +0000

David Bowie and the Lower Third – Can’t Help Thinking About Me

As a long-term David Bowie fan, the last few years have seen pretty lean pickings. Bowie had a hectic schedule in the early 2000s, with two pretty good albums in quick succession – Heathen and Reality, and a lot of touring. That era came to an end after he suffered a heart attack backstage after a gig in 2004, and since then he’s hardly been seen in public.

So it was a pleasant surprise, to say the least, when I heard that Bowie had released a new single, “Where Are We Now?” It’s a pleasant enough downtempo listen, very much in the mould of his 1999 LP “hours…”, but I wanted to take you back almost 50 years to Bowie’s first ever solo release under the Bowie moniker (previous to that he was recording under his real name David Jones but was suffering confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees). For this release, inexplicably, he’s backed by “The Lower Third” – what kind of a name for a backing group is that? Sounds like a school class.

“Can’t Help Thinking About Me” is probably the best 1960s single not to become a hit, although there is stiff competition from the High Numbers (aka The Who)’s debut single “I’m The Face”. Classic mid-60s pop and very economical with it, clocking in at under 2-and-a-half minutes. He even namechecks himself, ferchrissakes… “my girl calls my name… Hi Dave!” and also “Question Time” is mentioned, 13 years before the programme actually started on the BBC. This is a bloody time traveller record, and a stunning debut. Sadly Bowie abandoned the mid-60s pop-mod sound soon afterwards, although he continued to be informed by the mid-60s all through the 70s (most obviously on Pin Ups, although arguably the whole Ziggy Stardust thing was just mid-60s beat group rock with the guitars turned up well loud. But then all the best early 70s glamrockers were in that zone (Bolan, Slade, etc.)

Not sure if this is currently available on CD but it’s pretty easy to get 2nd hand or with a Spotify search. My copy came with one of those free CDs that you get with Mojo magazine – this one was called “Maximum ‘65” and was just about the best CD that Mojo has ever put out, worth several times the cover price of the mag in my book. Probably appearing at a charity shop near you as we speak.

More unusual Bowie gems and related stuff over the next few weeks. Dust off the pinstripe suits…

2nd hand at Discogs :: is your best bet for a hard copy of this - the "1966" compilation seems most reasonable, although "I Dig Everything - the 1966 Pye Singles" is another option

File Download (2:26 min / 5 MB)

Happy New Year from 1999

Hal Berstram — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 20:15:00 +0000

Barry Gray – Ring Around the Moon: The Captives of Triton/Moonwalk

Greetings to any aliens who have stumbled onto this site thinking it’s the 2013 equivalent of the test card: on this first day of the year I bring you a tribute to the great TV programme-maker Gerry Anderson, who died on Boxing Day last year. Anderson was probably best known for his 1960s puppet-based sci-fi shows such as Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5 and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. All were commercial and critical successes, but for me Anderson’s best work came in the 1970s with UFO and Space: 1999.

Space: 1999 was a programme about a group of scientists living on the moon, which has become a nuclear waste dump. On September 9, 1999 a huge explosion of nuclear waste sends the moon hurtling out of Earth’s orbit into interstellar space. If you can look past the scientific prepostrousness of the premise you’ll find probably the best non-BBC TV sci-fi series of the 1970s. OK, that sounds like damning with faint praise, but it’s a good ‘un.

This track is from the soundtrack to series 1 of Space: 1999 and was scored by TV music veteran Barry Gray. It’s not a bad piece but is immeasurably better when accompanied with the visuals from the TV episode (see here): the main organ and wah-guitar theme is accompanied by possibly the most ludicrous TV “moonwalk” sequence of all time. It has me in hysterics every time I watch it! Space: 1999 is often ludicrous (and even more so in Season 2, which is a different furry monster entirely) but never did they get it as right as this again.

This is blast-off for me in 2013 as I attempt to counter the inactivity of the blog by posting a track every day for 365 days. Insanity or just blind ambition? You decide…

Space: 1999 Season 1 soundtrack :: on CD at Discogs (several years out of print - can get pricey)
Space: 1999 Season 1 Blu-ray ::

File Download (1:42 min / 2 MB)

Nexus 21 - Real Love(Obsession) [1990]

T Pot — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Just digging through my old CDs. Found this old one from Network Records 1990. ‘Real Love’ by Nexus 21.

Quite a nice old skool cut. Nice strings.

Dilated Choonz: old school

Oldschool ambient trance... and why not?

Dave's First

Happy New Year from 1999

Nexus 21 - Real Love(Obsession) [1990]

Curious Hardcore

The Sound Of The Future in 1993

New Order anticipate the Vickers Commission by 30 years

A Lil' More Dance Mania

Bass'n'Bleeps

An Analogue Treat

Do you GU?

Something I have been working on recently

It's Tiiiiiiiiiiiiime...

Another Choon for the Sun

Campaign tracks (3)

Campaign tracks (1)

Easter Offering

Time for some slow blues (via John Peel)

Outdoor parties (1)

Outdoor parties (2)