DJ Alex Corton – Vinyl Reviews

Good Looking Records

Blu Mar Ten – Everglades EP

1999

   The music that moved us forward, flowing deeper and more incessantly into the forefronts of our mind. Yes, we are the lucky ones, having the perfect juxtaposition of escapism and grounding, the paradoxical constant of change that infuses us with the music that has a date but remains timeless. The music that provides us unconditional support when we are at our lowest, yet raises the game in our glee. Sometimes you have to look around and wonder how blazing and bright our moment has been. When it fades, it will shut its heavy eyelids with every oppositional force it can muster. I often wonder who will look back on our precious moment of electronic innovation and ever understand the core emotion. I suppose it’s like us trying to understand any of the historic musical eras though. Good Looking Records in itself, holds an underground mountain range to match the mid ocean rift of our own planet. Vast, alive and extensive. 

    Today we return to the Blu Mar Ten camp for their follow up to the 12” single release from 1997, ‘Slipstream’ / ‘Future Proof’, on Good Looking Records (GLR 021). They had released a track on Looking Good and Blame’s 720 Degrees prior to this too and for those who like to dig, check out their track on Way Out Records ‘The Fountain’. An EP with their name was not unexpected. I do have to say that it would have been amazing to have a PHD, Artemis, J Laze, or Seba EP in this series, but you know? Why moan about something we can’t change. God, I must be in a good mood today. Ha ha! 

   The time has also come, to return to the talented artwork of Nick Purser, who I hope will add in the stories behind this release. The credits also go to Chris Marigold of Blu Mar Ten for the art, so regarding this, I am eager to know about the people we see in this and the glimpse of green in the gatefold? Is someone throwing a runner bean at her? Ha ha! I’m intrigued as to the background! As with any details, I’ll add them in to the post & blog, credited to whoever provides them. The Limited Edition sticker shows this release a No: 0184 of 5000. 

    Leo Wyndham and Chris Marigold bring us the title track up first, ‘Everglades’ floating without force or resistance, into a world of completely abstract sounds. Unsterilized amphibians, retch and croak, there’s a hint of The Predator lurking up somewhere in them trees, where the Everglades rustle without reason. When the beats ignite the whole temperament changes and the pads drop onto a ceiling of low clouds, stifling the air and saturating the listers with an alkaline and purified freshness. This is Blu Mar Ten taking things way down into territories that squeeze the pitch black night out and tear open the delicate daylight fibers, picking up the tiniest vibrations of jewel dusted sound. This is music to extract the poisons and inject the antidote. The creativity is mind boggling. 

   Sides B is ‘Voidfield’ set on 45 RPM for this one, among the 3 other 33 ⅓ RPM tracks on this EP, breaking the mold given for the conforming mechanics of the mystics. If the internal visuals you conjure up when listening to this sweeping tempo, breaks liquor, are anything but tear jerking, you need your head examining. Blu Mar Ten reach out and touch nerves, capillaries and sensual DNA molecules throughout this piece of gorgeous music. This is a track I used to play on 33 ⅓ RPM at the end of a set, when I knew the bones were creaking, the muscles cramping, the stale sweat fizzing and the energy inside still wanted more. The battle of the physical and the pharmaceutical. The mental side sometimes helped them both reason with each other and this piece of downtempo music had the perfect answer. If there’s a sunrise in your lives, this has every rightful place playing as your soundtrack on that slower speed. A piece of bloody pure heaven. Fucking Stunning!