DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Greenfly / J Laze / Soul Purpose / Intense – G-Funk / Chinz & Grinz / Dominion / Timecode

2002

For our review today we have the second 12”

In this release, with a couple of tracks that spark more delicacies along this path of high end quality on the Good Looking Records label. 

    For our artists today, we have Soul Purpose and Intense. Soul Purpose was also a name used by DJ Mayhem (Martin Ikin), however this Soul Purpose is a collaboration between Mark Wilkins and Ross Marshall. If I said they were DJ Solo (from Production House and the Ils & Solo fame) and Kymera, then you may realize why this particular track is so damn good. ‘Dominion’ is a tune that sounds like it could have been a kids TV show from the 80s to begin with, squelching and bellowing these odd sounds. Don’t wheel out the TV trolley just yet though. It’s the pads and beats that reassure us of its seriousness. The bass is beautifully placed, as a grinding burst that slots into the bar with a distinct drop. You have to marvel at the way this tune works. It has a slight ‘Feel It’ flavor from Danny C & Mike Pears, floating through it too with pitch bends and the odd sound here and there. The originality of the tune is the real catch here though. It’s got creative juices pouring out, taking us into the realms of the future sounds of drum and bass. A pure fucking killer piece of funky, deep and alluring slab of solid atmospheric music. I love it! 

    The track is dedicated to a guy called Duncan Smith, who must have had a personal connection to either Mark or Ross. 

   On Side AA we have Intense running with 2/3 of the group, Beau Thomas & Simon Vispi. ‘Timecode’ is a prime piece of Intense musical architecture, un-scrolling the rich, textured tapestry of their artistic flare and demonstrating that the murky and mysterious nature of their work could be sinister, while angelic. The rolling waves of darkness only crack open when the piano chastises the rough weather above and drops the fine drops into your soul. It’s a pretty simple tune really, with a steady beat, hypnotic, 4 key bass and then those robotic amphibian sounds, mix with the zapping synths. You cannot deny how good this tune sounds. It’s not in the usual collection of their greatest work, but the whole tune puts on that cloak of suspicion and plugs in the thriller killer circuits for a really special swansong from Intense. 

   While we might be waving Intense good bye on the 12” single boat, they’ll be back on the EP series and of course Log Prog 3.

   For our Friday, fruit bat (whatever the fuck that means), we move onto our final, double 12” release on Good Looking and then hit the 60th release, taking us into the next wave. A few white labels and the about to stroll into the mystics of the some of the labels Black & White series up to 2004.