DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Pete Rann / Pariah / Avid Nation / J Laze – Abacus / Primary Evolution / Not Far Now / Future Echoez 

2002

For the second 12” in this release, we have Phil Challis providing us with our first track, as Avid Nation. Then, on the flip it’s the return of one of the big hitters of this era of GLR, Rob Blazye AKA J Laze. 

   Avid Nation only had a very small number of releases (3, I believe) all on either Good Looking or Looking Good. 

  Side A is titled as the perfect parental response to the kids in back seat of the car on a journey any longer than 30mins. ‘Not Far Now’ ramps up the RPM to 45 and fumigates the mind with a dark rambunctious bass line that unspools a techy, cascading lesson in steppaz atmospherics. As the build up flashes warning signs and the layered high bat beat connects, we prepare for the flight of champions. Applying the air breaks for the breakdown via the key change, it’s the scythe wielding swipes that flatten the reeds and level the ground and lets the pure air float in. We have here a super little tune that may not sit in everyone’s juke box, but it certainly flicks on the switches and pinches with its weight for a 2002 release in this ilk. 

   For the final part of this 4 course meal of mouthwatering music, we finish with the fine cognac of J Laze to seal the fine dining of the day. Side AA pours the track ‘Future Echoez’ into the crystal glass. This track, yet again proves how special the work of J Laze was. While the inner mechanics of the system, rotate, decompress and drive the beats, the distant space calls out its own threading through this needle of the future. The guitar sample is a piece of genius in the way it’s manipulated into this mutated, abstract sound. It’s as though it’s been traveling for light years and returned as a redefined version of itself. This really is a perfectly named tune. Spiritual, unique and creatively off the chart. 

   Next week is another double 12” on Good Looking. More good music and more top artists for the saga on this label. Have a good weekend and keep those tunes flowing.