DJ Alex Corton – Good Looking Records

Good Looking Records

Artemis – Elysian Fields / Desideradi

1996

Today we move onto yet another promo release on Good Looking Records. The music by now was recognized in a vast number of pockets in the UK and the movement that once put its head down, taking risks and sticking to the principles, was now not just being warmly accepted, but standing with chest puffed out and head held high. The label was on its Twentieth release and the prospect of growth in its foundational years, was now a very firm reality. The label was up there with the big hitters and not just that, had a very bright future ahead. The artists that kept this happening include today’s studio wizard. 

    When Oliver Lomax handed his musical output to any label, it was not just good news for the us, but it usually resulted in the label gaining added attention. We have dropped reviews on Olly, during Earth & Cookin’ and will have plenty more on GLR. The master of frantic, hailstorms of beats makes his GLR debut, following a rather impressive assortment of work on Renegade Recordings. His time working such golden tracks was of course not one that stayed with us, and his whereabouts and coaxing as to getting him back in the music game, is one I think we have in all due respect, agreed is something he feels needs to remain adrift from. GLR will always be a label I hold most dear to my heart, although one reason why artists did hang up their coats and say “enough” was through management of the money that artists did not get. Artemis was one who may have been stung and it knocked trust and support onto the floor. Music like this deserves the compliments and the earned recognition. I’m going to jump this ship though as it’s the music we’re focused on. The debate on money and artists is another story. Let’s get these fine pieces of work playing loud. Olly used his Artemis name for this release but you may have heard him under the Shogun name too. He was also reviewed a little while back on Creative Wax (hmmm..I hear you say).. as Machine who is Dan Coffey (Tertius). Let’s get this disc rotating. 

   Side A falls into the canopies of the glistening forest of Babylon, ‘Elysian Fields’ makes you stop whatever you are doing and pour liquid souled caviar across the network of your mind. Artemis not only churned out some of the most stirring and sweeping sounds of the 90s, but he also had that fingerprint of his, that left listeners knowing it was his work. With the raining chops of the beats, a blissful bassline and then those keys and pads that he was always able to lay down in his own majestic fashion. Artemis carved out some of the most intricate and lavish soundscapes within his music. The production for him by this time had grown exponentially, from his earlier Renegade material. His arrival on GLR was timed perfectly to radiate his unique sounds. 

   On the flip is ‘Desideradi’ which I used to batter when I played a deeper drum and bass set. We are reminded yet again here of how infectious and wonderful Artemis could relay the ideas he had, into the music we could, and still do, enjoy so much. The galloping breaks, harmonious chords and the overflowing toolkit of sounds all congregate to form this executive seat in the 360 degree vantage point of the scenery. Tunes like this still make me feel more alive and open to ways this music can take a path and hit synapses that once seemed fading, and light them up like Blackpool illuminations. ‘Desideradi’ is a tune that you’ll gaze up toward in the night sky and will extract the light from the stars, hitting your eyes with the cosmic atoms and connecting the source with your being while the sounds on this tune course through the light years between. 

   The talents of Olly Lomax will forever be a major pillar of this music.