Luke Vibert has so many aliases, he and Aphex Twin could have a competition to see who has the most releases that have never been directly credited to them. Vibert primarily records as Wagon Christ these days but he's also well known as Plug for his Drum 'n' Bass For Papa album and the three EPs he released in the mid-nineties. The EPs are startlingly imaginative uses of the jungle rhythms while always bringing melody and his perverse taste for easy listening records to the forefront, whereas the Papa album is a bit more serious.
Apart from a number of compilation tracks, Vibert stopped recording as Plug around the turn of the century, though Todd Osborn aka Soundmurderer somehow managed to get Vibert to give up an EP of unreleased Plug tracks which he released on the Rewind label in 2006. That collection, the Here It Comes EP, is a wonderful reminder of how sweet and twisted those Plug records are and how talented Vibert is.
Below you'll find a link where you can download the aforementioned Here It Comes EP as well as an additional ten tracks from various compilations. That's almost ninety minutes of prime Plug! If that's not enough though, and it really shouldn't be, head on over to Bleep and check out the main Plug releases, all of which will have you bouncing up and down with joy. Then dig deeper into Wagon Christ!
Here It Comes EP: 01 Here It Comes 02 Gangsta 03 Riddim 04 Astronaut
Rarities: 01 The Bowling Green - Strange (Plug Remix) 02 Lunar Laugh 03 Header 04 Dark Matter 05 A Hot One 06 Keep On Going 07 Keen As Mustard 08 Snapping Fuss 09 Argos 10 Ruff Dog
Nope, not back from my little vacation/break/thing yet, but I was digging through a never ending pile of CDs today and found this. I thought it would be cool to post so here it is. That said, anyone out there have a lossless copy of Trent Reznor's remix of N*E*R*D'sLapdance? It's for an upcoming post. I used to have a promo CD of it but I can't seem to locate it any longer. Any chance someone has a FLAC of it they could share with me? Write me and I'll give you more info if you'd like.
Regarding this little sampler, back in 98 I was going to the Lorain County Community College and we were trying to get their radio station, which didn't actually broadcast on the radio, to be taken seriously and possibly get promotional materials from labels. No one really supported it other than myself and it went nowhere. That said, we did get some really good promo CDs and I managed to get in touch with Nothing Records. At the time they said they wouldn't send me anything because we didn't report to CMJ but somehow I ended up on their mailing list regardless and I received a really nice package from a woman named Leslie Miller. It had two or three copies of this sampler, which features a lot of the electronic artists Nothing was licensing at the time, including what appears to be an exclusive mix of Plaid'sAbla Eedio, as well as a CD-R of The Bowling Green'sOne Pound Note album. That CD-R was totally cool to me because I'd never received a CD-R from a record label person, and this was a little while before it seemed like everyone could make CD-Rs. What more, it even had a track that got deleted from the US pressing due to sample clearance issues! I kept the original and made a copy for the station. Thanks Leslie, wherever you are!
01 Squarepusher - Tequila Fish 02 Autechre - Vose In 03 Meat Beat Manifesto - Acid Again (Dub Again Remix) 04 Plaid - Undoneson 05 Plug - Cheesy (Amen Mix) 06 The Bowling Green - Think What You're Doing 07 Meat Beat Manifesto - Book Of Shadows 08 Autechre - Corc 09 Plaid - Abla Eedio (Freemix) 10 Squarepusher - Massif (Stay Strong) 11 Plug - Drum 'n' Bass For Papa 12 The Bowling Green - The Road Is A Grey Ribbon
It would be really silly of me to mention how great this album is but not post it or any tracks from it.
Throbbing Pouch is truly dark, moody music. It's the type of stuff you expect to hear in a movie about the end of the world, or at least a cool anime flick about some kids trying to escape a post-apocalyptic city while remaining as hip as possible. Most of the album is swimming in that dark drama, though you get slightly out of character moments like Reedin, where A Tribe Called Quest samples punctuate the groove, or Ring Piece, which features goofy horn loops and keyboards that almost seem to parody the rest of the album. Some of the best moments on the album though are tracks like Down Under, where everything slows to a spacey crawl, Phase Everyday, probably the definitive example of that anime metaphor, Floot, which is based entirely around a goofball yet funky flute sample, and Underground Level, with it's ridiculous bass and heavily warped grooves. The only weak moment is the track that best represents the album as a whole, E-Z Listener, and that's only because it's probably the closest thing to a crossover moment as it's less bizarre than everything else, and even it isn't bad!
Yes Virginia, it's a pot album! Keep in mind that the previous declaration is from a non-pot smoker who has never gotten stoned in his life, but I don't need to get high to know who some of this records biggest fans will be. Really, if you wanna blaze up you should be listening to this. If you wanna have strange dreams you should be listening to this. If you wanna play Super Metroid or some other classic video games you should be listening to this. If you wanna dream about the future on a warm night while making out with someone you really, really like you should be listening to this! Throbbing Pouch is simply one those records you shouldn't miss out on because it has the power to change your life in subtle ways you might not notice till later on. Just trust me and grab this, you won't be sorry!
Ever find yourself longing for a long lost time, only to wonder if it ever really existed?
Around 1996 I was driving a silver-primer painted 1977 Buick Le Sabre, a car older than myself, and blowing almost all of my summer paychecks on gasoline. I complain about gas now, but when you had an hour drive one way to your job and an hour the other and it required almost an entire tank of gas each way, that was a hard job and a giant waste of my paycheck. My mother would ask me to contribute to the family's bills but I had a hard time giving up my paycheck when at least 75% of it went to driving expenses. I could be stupid though, finding several hours between my morning and evening shifts to drive home, sleep for a few hours and then drive back, whereas it was summer and there was an empty school parking lot in a good neighborhood not far away that I could read, listen to music or nap in. Nevertheless, it did afford me a lot of time to perform one my most consistent activities, record shopping, and there was a great indie store named Quonset Hut nearby where I could still buy current releases on cassette and also get CDs and vinyl at great prices. All of the Quonset Huts are now gone, bar one that is pretty much a head shop and sells nothing musically related, but between there, the Record Exchanges throughout the Cleveland area and other indie stores, I bought a lot of great music that summer. I found myself listening to Tricky'sMaxinquaye a lot and grabbed Nearly God as soon as it became available, but that year I found a record that really changed my perspective on music, Throbbing Pouch by Wagon Christ aka Luke Vibert. What a trippy record, conjuring visions of darkness and the unknown, all the while remaining wonderfully mellow. I'm not a pot smoker but, if I was, that album would have been my soundtrack. I also found a promo cassette of Everything But The Girl'sWalking Wounded which is an immensely beautiful album that, while essentially completely different from the Wagon Christ album, had a similarly dark vibe running throughout. I would drive home around 11pm on the dark Cleveland highways listening to Tracey Thorn singing Walking Wounded or Single, having my heart ripped out every time, or vibing to Throbbing Pouch from start to finish because I didn't want to miss a moment of it. For me, this was the beginning of a regular hunt for midnight music, as I sometimes called it, and I later made a mixtape named 3am Eternal (I'm sure you get the reference) that stayed in my car forever.
Lately, I've been thinking about those warm summer nights, though it's funny how time blurs things. I feel like I lived through those records, but I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. When I look back I remember a lot of other music that had nothing to do with that world, a lot of experiences that were simply awful, and I have to wonder if I'm wearing rose-tinted glasses or not. The love of the music hasn't changed though, and I still find myself attracted to those summer grooves, and they were the inspiration for the mix this month. There are some tracks I thought about including that I've had here before so I passed on them, but I'm going to at least mention them. I hope you find this as enjoyable as I do.
01 Still Going - Still Going Theme Piano house returns! What a wonderful summer record, perfect for driving during a sunset.
02 Beck - Where It's At (Make Out City) The Dust Brothers do a simple, more party oriented remix of Beck's re-breakthrough single.
03 Common Factor - Horizons I first heard this on the Planet EGeology compilation. What a great track! Planet E, in general, is an amazing label and the first Geology compilation is essential house music.
04 DJ Shadow - Changeling Endtroducing... is essential ephemera, though I always remember this track as sticking out. It's just so dreamy. Mutual Slump, on the other hand, doesn't get a lot of mention but is funky like nobody's business!
05 Q-Tip - That's Sexy (feat. Andre 3000) This is an unreleased cut from an early version of Q-Tip'sThe Renaissance, back when it was named Live At The Renaissance and scheduled for release on Dreamworks. I'd much rather had an instrumental version of this one as Tip's flow takes away from the romanticism, but it's still a great track.
06 Massive Attack - Exchange I don't fully understand why everyone was so "on" about Massive Attack'sMezzanine. It's a really depressing record. This is a beautiful track though and I always found myself skipping to it or the reprisal at the end of the album. Don't get me wrong though, I do love some Massive Attack, though I've always been more into Blue Lines or Protection, and the No Protection dub remix album is incredible!
07 Luke Vibert - Get Your Head Down Wagon Christ's true identity, Luke brings hip-hop funk mixed with easy listening chill. An ex-girlfriend bought me a Ninja Tune comp with this track on it. This might sound cruel but that's the only good thing I want to remember about dating her.
08 3rd Bass - Gladiator (Easy Mo Bee Remix Instrumental) I remember finding a lot of Easy Mo Bee productions that had a wonderful groove about them, but all I can seem to recall now is Craig Mack'sFlava In Ya Ear and this. Maybe he didn't have that many incredible tracks. Anyone wanna refresh my memory?
09 Quasimoto - MHBs (Instrumental) I played this to my girlfriend recently and initially she was loving it, until the lyrics kicked in! Beautiful groove.
10 The Pointer Sisters - How Long (Betcha' Got A Chick On The Side) Never heard it on the radio and didn't hear it until listening to a Pointer Sisters compilation, though this would be in regular rotation if I had my own radio station. What a funky groove!
11 De La Soul - Breakadawn This is an incredible track, though I'm glad De La never tried to make a career out of tracks like this or Ring, Ring, Ring. They're great on their own and don't need to be replicated, although I'm not sure how many people would want them to be. Still, you can't help but think of some after dark fun when you hear this.
12 Tigercity - Let Her Go How did these guys perfectly capture the eighties in a record from only a few years ago? Their full-length, Ancient Lover, was a minor let down, but the EP before it, 2007's Pretend Not To Love, from which this is taken, is utterly perfect. It is available for purchase on iTunes and is worth the entire $5.94 they're asking.
13 The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By (Instrumental Edit) I chopped a small portion from this so the mix would be under eighty minutes and burnable to a CD. Please forgive me!
14 Everything But The Girl - Good Cop Bad Cop Shiv, the manager of the music department at WFAL, didn't see eye to eye with me, though that was really all my fault as I was young, cocky and thought I knew everything. He was much more informed than I was and I'm glad I eventually got smart enough to apologize and he was cool enough to accept it. This was one of the first tracks we agreed on, as he loved it just as much as I did. Tracey Thorn has such a sexy voice, though it's not the type of voice most people probably swoon over when they first hear it. This was one of those tracks I listened to on those summer nights while driving home, hoping to meet a girl who would make out with me while listening to Wagon Christ or Nine Inch Nails. That girl was a year or two off, but it was worth the wait. It's funny in retrospect, everyone always says they want to meet someone to make out with, but how long do you actually spend making out with them before you're trying to get their clothes off and put more than just your tongues together?
15 Amon Tobin - Nova Oooh! Wouldn't have expected such a make-out classic on an album full of breaks and beats like Amon Tobin'sPermutation, but I guess that's the secret. Amon knows just as much about rocking a party or wrecking your speakers as he does about sensuality and smooth grooves that set the mood! Bebel Gilberto later added vocals to this track and released it as Samba da Benção on her Tanto Tempo album. That's some make-out music, for certain, though the original instrumental is just as essential. Put this on at home around that certain someone and see what they say. Or do!
BONUS:Summer Night Dream Outtakes These are tracks I considered for the mixtape but decided to leave off. They're in the main archive so you don't have to download this seperately. Enjoy!
01 Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You (David Morales House Mix '95 UK 7" Edit) 02 The Pharcyde - 4 Better Or 4 Worse (Instrumental) 03 Lucky Pierre - Cool Summer Night 04 The Herbaliser - The Blend (feat. What What aka Jean Grae) (Peanut Butter Blend by Peanut Butter Wolf) 05 Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded
