DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Aquasky / Cascade – In The Zone / Mysteries (ASC Remix)

2004

Today we review a release that holds onto many of the fibers of pure quality that skittishly floated around during this period. The sleeve for this was originally just a paper sleeve but I somehow had a spare black and white sleeve for it so slotted it in there. I don’t know if it messes up the vintage or not but I knew that this particular plate deserved a decent home. 

    Aquasky are up first with a piece of music that scorched my mind the first time I heard it. We used to head to Progression Sessions as much as we could during the late 90s to the early to mid 2000s, when it was at Ministry Of Sound, and I could be wrong, but this was playing while I was in another room and we just became aware of this bassline pulsing through into Room 2. I can’t really pinpoint it though, however the frequency seemed to ferociously shake every atom in the air. It was then when I heard Bukem play it on Progression Sessions 8 that I recognized it again. 

    First of all, I couldn’t believe that the tune was by Aquasky. Dave, Brent and Kieron had rewritten their manifesto and supplied us with one of the best of the best. Known for the more chilled experiences and then the earlier Fugitive/Mad Dog/New Vision days, leading to more breaks and bass, the Aquasky boys charged the battle field with ‘In The Zone’ like a force possessed. I played this at my first ever gig at Plush in Austin in 2012, and it ripped up the dancefloor. Bryan Robinson, you are the one I still cannot thank you enough for. 

    Side A takes drum and bass, sieving out a haunted techno laced build that leaves you hanging onto the cliff edge with your teeth. There is not one morsel of life that is ready for the bassline in this tune though. No-Thing. 

It’s just the most monstrous, deep, brooding punch in the face you’ll ever hear. The beats then add another layer, the techno sounds keep bubbling…I’m fucking even speeding up my typing just writing this.  God it is so, so fucking incredible. 

Then the breakdown….hold ya teeth in…

Vocal wail….high end bass…shit your pants… bass!!!

   If Good Looking ever needed something to rise shit up again, this is one hell of a choice. Aquasky made, for me, THE tune of 2004 right here. Utterly brutal and a powerhouse of musical perfection. Hats off guys! 

   How the fuck do you follow that? Well, if you have anything with ASC’s name within striking distance, it’ll be damn fine. Here, he remixes a track that originally came out on GLR048 in 2001. ‘Mysteries (ASC Remix)’ keeps the decadent synth stabs and has James Clements drop some rapid beats, soothing pads and deep electro bass into the mix and hey presto, the soundscape becomes a brushstroke of clean and textured finesse. I believe that this is the first remix of a previous tune on GLR, in the 12” single catalogue. Have we covered one at all yet? 

    This 12” is a seriously impressive release. If you haven’t got it, it’s highly recommended and if you do have it, slide it off the shelf again and rewire your mind back to this rich and beautiful disc of music. 

   If you feel like reading any of the Good Looking Records reviews so far, you can revisit them all on this blog.