we're not dead yet

Despite a lack of activity this past month, we do persist. We will return to a more irregularly scheduled program this June. Thank you for your patience.

WTF IS THIS?, Vol. 1

The other day, I heard a peculiar song, which made me think of another peculiar song, which made me long for the days when I might've found myself introduced to other peculiar songs. I don't hear many peculiar songs via traditional channels anymore, so I made a mixtape for my enjoyment and I'm sharing it with you. I hope you enjoy it. The tracklist is available on the Mixcloud page for this mix.

can u relate? no, really, can u?

It was probably about seven or eight years ago that I started hunting down all the versions of DJ Mink's Hey! Hey! Can U Relate. There was only one single release, and that's the version most people are concerned with, but there was more than that! Before being issued on a fledgling Warp Records as their fourth single, promos were pressed and distributed for potential releases on the FON and Ozone labels. The FON 12", or at least my copy, has peculiar issues, namely the beginning of each side starting a second or two into the song. Bad mastering and cutting? Some copies don't have that issue, so who really knows, but it has the acapella and an unreleased remix. The Ozone white label has four unique versions of Relate, including the remix from the FON 12" and ANOTHER unreleased remix! Now, neither of these remixes are the cream of the crop, being more minimal takes on the original, but they're nice to have all the same. Apart from the acapella version, all of the other mixes were eventually released, though there was still another unreleased 12", a Warp remix issue with the catalog number WAP 4R that got to the test pressing phase. Interestingly, that version contained the Deep Space Mix, which appeared on Warp's Pioneers of the Hypnotic Groove compilation (albeit uncredited as such), one of the unreleased remixes, and the Sunshine Dub Instrumental which appeared on the standard 12" Warp issued. What makes this stranger is that the B-Side of the 4R test pressing uses the same plate for the mastering of the retail B-Side, though they scratched out the R from the catalog number. I'd love to know exactly what changed between each of these releases, and what might have originally been intended for the Warp retail B-Side, but that information will probably never become available. That said, I'm posting one of the unreleased remixes for your listening pleasure. Again, it's not essential, but it's nice to have, and I still love this song so much. It's just fun in a way that a lot of hip-hop isn't anymore. I can imagine rocking this at a roller-skating rink and it going over fabulously. So go rock the Funky Mix of DJ Mink's Hey! Hey! Can U Relate and maybe break out some roller skates if the weather is okay where you are.

hearing voices

Sorry I haven't posted for a bit, life catches up with you sometimes and then you're trying to fend it off. That said, not much of a story behind today's post other than the well-known dub Erol Alkan did for Bloc Party's She's Hearing Voices wasn't the only version he did. A white-label 12" was issued with the dub and a full vocal version, which is excellent! No clue why the label didn't try and give this version a bigger release, as I think it's superior to the dub. I mean, it's Erol Alkan, the dub version is great, but when I hear a remix, I want a vocal version and then a dub version. You could argue that a lot of Alkan's remixes/reworks/edits are more about the instrumentals than the vocals, which is especially true with things like his Franz Ferdinand rework, but this version is so strong, there's really no valid reason to bury it on a limited release white-label 12". So, from my own copy, here's a rip of Bloc Party's She's Hearing Voices (Erol Alkan's Calling Your Name).