Ride The Train

Spring time is clearly a time to be inspired by Underworld's music, as this is the third Dubhed selection that I've posted between March and May.

Having posted about their spectacular remixes of Shakespears Sister a couple of days ago, I've been digging around and dusted off seven of their remixes, for themselves and others, circa 1992 to 1995.

No request stops on this one, you're in for a long journey, 90 minutes of Karl, Rick and Darren in fine form. The opening track is the longest, at nearly 18 minutes, the closer is the shortest at 10 minutes and 1 second. And take it from me, not a second wasted along the way.

Enjoy the ride!

1) Dark & Long (Spoon Deep): Underworld (1994)

2) Passion (D. Emerson Mix): Gat Decor (1992)

3) Cowgirl (Alt Cowgirl C69 Mix From A1564) (Unreleased Demo): Underworld (1993)

4) Harlequin - The Beauty And The Beast (Underworld Remix): Sven Väth (1994)

5) Cool Kids Of Death (Underworld Mix By Rick Smith) (Full Length): Saint Etienne (1995)

6) Black Sky (Dub Extravaganza Part Two): Shakespears Sister (1992)

7) Dirty Guitar (Remix By Underworld): Lemon Interupt (1992)

Ride The Train (1:29:30) (KF) (Mega)

And, for the return journey:

Who Fans The Flames? (April 2022)

Darren In The Underworld (March 2023)

There's Always Help, If You Know Where To Look

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime in 1998. 

 

If it's Tuesday, it must be time for trance, with four epic slabs of sonic bliss. I posted side 2 back in February 2022, commenting that I'd discovered the track listing whilst sorting through a box of paperwork, the original C90 long since lost or given away. 

 

Starting things off is one of the best remixes that Underworld ever produced, Sound System by Drum Club stretched out over nearly 12 minutes with vocals from Wonder Schneider dropping in. 

Visions Of Shiva aka Cosmic Baby and Paul Van Dyk up next with a remix of L'Esperanza that ups the ante (and the tempo). The first Sven Väth record that I ever bought, fact fans.

The video for Liquid Cool by Apollo 440 was featured here in May, along with a YouTube posting of the 2CD single release with 9 - count 'em, 9 - mixes. Here's one of 'em, the 14-minute Space Colonization by Rhythm Of Space.

Finally, Suzuki K1 aka Keiichi Suzuki with Satellite Serenad, which I originally bought on CD without hearing a note, as it included a couple of remixes by The Orb which was reason enough to buy back in 1994. This version also came as a pair with - you guessed it - the Sunday Mix, both by Ryoji Oba and Simon Posford. All good, but I don't think I've heard any of Suzuki's music apart from this one song.

 

1) Sound System (Underworld Mix By Darren Emerson & Rick Smith): Drum Club ft. Wonder (1993)

2) L'Esperanza (Hope Will Move Mountains Mix By Visions Of Shiva aka Harald Blüchel & Paul Van Dyk): Sven Väth (1993)

3) Liquid Cool (Space Colonization Remix By Rhythm Of Space aka Steve Musham, Simon Lord & Jonathan Podmore): Apollo 440 (1994)

4) Satellite Serenade (Saturday Mix (With Japanese It's All Right Song) By Oba & Simon Posford): Suzuki K1 (1994)

 

Side Two (45:37) (KF) (Mega)

Side One here

Darren In The Underworld

Inspired by Swiss Adam's return visits to some classic Darren Emerson and Underworld tracks and mixes over at Bagging Area and the coincidental inclusion of an Underworld remix on the cover-mounted Depeche Mode compilation CD available with the current issue of Mojo magazine, I've thrown caution to the wind and jumped on the bandwagon.

I've cherry picked half a dozen remixes from 1993 to 2003, classics all, and generous with beats and breaks. It's impossible for me to pick a favourite from this bunch.

 

1) Human Behaviour (The Underworld Dub (1)): Björk (1993)

2) Harlequin - The Beauty And The Beast (Underworld Alternative): Sven Väth (1994)

3) Sunset (Bird Of Prey) (Darren Emerson Remix): Fatboy Slim ft. Jim Morrison (2000)

4) David (Darren Emerson's Underwater Remix): GusGus (2003)

5) Schmoo (Underworld Mix): Spooky ft. Heather Sian Wildman (1993)

6) Risingson (Underworld Mix): Massive Attack (1997)

 

Darren In The Underworld (54:39) (KF) (Mega)

A Twist Of Väth

I was really into Sven Väth's music in the early '90s, I kind of lost track of him at the turn of the millennium and I have had no clue what he's been up to in the past twenty years. So, the perfect time it seems for Sven Väth to release his first artist album since 2002.

 

Catharsis was released on Friday and I've only heard a few snippets, including the title track, opening track What I Used To Play and the current single, Butoh. The latter was apparently released as a double A-side single with Mystic Voices (which I've not yet heard) earlier this month, but it has just been gifted with a radio edit/official video to tie in with the album launch.

Butoh the song is a glitchy number, which kind of reminds me in places of a less dirty version of, er, Dirty by Lemon Interupt (sic). Butoh is a style of Japanese modern dance typified by slow movement. Butoh the video shows Atsushi Takahashi practicing in a forest on Itsukushima (also known as Miyajima), a small island in Hiroshima Bay, Japan, the serene and graceful flow creating a tension with the more insistent, clattering beat.

 

I will be investigating the album further.  

 

You can purchase Catharsis on vinyl, CD and digital formats via Sven's label Cocoon Recordings, Bandcamp or other retail outlets.

Butoh: Sven Väth (2021)