music review

::: Various Artists ::: "Beatscootin' - groove electro sounds" | Groovescooter Records

electronica - big-beat

Here are 15 tracks of Australian (or at least formerly Australian) funky mellow electro groove. This is a very consistent collection of like-minded acts and tunes. If you dig one track you're likely to like the rest. They're all very polished and hi-fi. Perhaps the only criticism is that too many of them are using double bass jazz riffs - sounds great at first, but when you realise almost everyone is using them, well, it loses some appeal). In all, a damn fine compilation!

The artists are:

1. Cindii "aloha Daddy-O" (a jazzy and slide-guitar dreamy piece of trip-hop),
2. CUS - "Boogie Down Link" (jazzy double-bass with flute whistles, 70s wah guitar, trip-hop),
3. atomik-aL "rok-da-blok (radio friendly cheesey disco trip-hop),
4. The 5000 fingers of Dr. T - "groovin'" (this is unlike their previous more experimental non-danceable (ie. interesting) music, but they do it well, spluttering mid-tempo breakbeat),
5. FC Europa - "the score" (vocoder-voice, 4/4 mellow doof),
6. The Hoong & I - "keep a rockin" (chopped up vocal samples, jazzy breakbeats, gradual multi-layering, very DAFT-PUNK),
7. Alien Headspace - "tower block" (4/4 mellow doof, warbling-talking-synth noises, jazzy guitar, cool melodies),
8. Champagne featuring Corinna - "reel" (retro-70s disco-groove with diva female-vox),
9. Mr. Fink - "in the centre" (4/4 sci-fi groove beat, one of my fav tracks here),
10. Society - "Baconbag" (upbeat catchy electro-dance-pop, 4/4 beat, warbling bass and trinklet noises, original and sparse male & female vocals, another of my choice picks),
11. Mat White remixed by Society - "Circle of friends" (trip-hop & jungle beats, jazzy double bass, VERY soulful male vocals, surprisingly one of my favourites here too),
12. Little Nobody vs E - "Nobody Lives Here" (well, this is my favourite, I've been a dedicated fan of L.N. and E (the 'E' being Elenor from Sobriquet) for ages - warbling, synths, brass, slow-groove trip-hop beats, wave noises)
13. The Blue Hour featuring Yolanda - "Music's going to take you there" (tinky-toy slow electro with vocoded 70s robot female vox),
14. UTE - "Outlines" (a slower largely ambient piece of late-night jazz electro with awkward end rhythms)
15. Don Meers - "4.30a.m." (very mellow dreamy cruisey acid-jazz)

Grab yourself a CD for $20 from PO Box 127 Edgecliff NSW Australia E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.zipworld.com.au/~gscooter