DJ Alex Corton – Good Looking Records

Good Looking Records

Nookie / Pariah / Makoto & Akira / Intense – Catch 22 / Confessions / Mind Vision / Black Ice 

2002

Today we get the second plate in this release, with the Japanese duo of Makoto & Akira hitting one side and then a return for one of the best in the business. Intense. 

   For the A Side of this plate, it’s the collaboration of the Shimizu brothers, Makoto and Akira. There’s a real hypnotic drive turning the core of this tune. This was one of the higher points of both of their work in my opinion, combining the riff bass work and the harmonious pads and pitch changes that stamp the seals of both artists. I always found that this style of sound, fit the Good Looking label a little more than the later Makoto sound. It still had this soothing and atmospheric flow rather than a live jazz band. 

    On Side AA is one of those tunes you probably need to revisit, if you haven’t heard it for a while. The work of Intense will never cease to amaze and fulfill listeners. I notice on the credits that Dan is not mentioned, so I take it he had gone onto other projects in the house side of things by now? This was actually their penultimate release as Intense on Good Looking. It’s a little more experimental with the sounds, more techno influenced, dropping a frantic amen break over these gyrating guitar sounds and an eerie vision of the future. You can imagine driving at 100 mph and hitting patches of black ice in the night, sliding wheels, losing control and this tune playing suspenseful and uncertain connections in the scenario. Maybe not one of the immediate Intense tracks you go to but mighty effective in its story behind the title. Big up Beau, and Simon on this one. 

   The next double 12” release is heading our way tomorrow. 

Good Looking Records

Nookie / Pariah / Makoto & Akira / Intense – Catch 22 / Confessions / Mind Vision / Black Ice 

2002

 A new week of reviews brings us another selection of artists for this the 8th double 12” release on my shelf, from the Good Looking Records stable. We have some pretty heavy hitters on this one. 

   I hope everyone’s weekend was a good one? 

   For the artwork on this release, we have Gareth Jones back on duty, with what looks like the rear tail light of a Lotus Elan? Do you remember the car and whoever it was that owned it, Gareth? I take it, it was Black Ice on this release that connected that winter hazard to the car and it hopefully wasn’t the recipient of a patch of it? 

From Gareth: “Ha, I’d forgotten this one completely. And looking back, it feels fairly random. We loved the shapes and tones, set against that blue sky. As far as I remember, this was the back light of Danny’s (LTJ) car, which I thought was a BMW at the time. Could be wrong. Love that I didn’t even photoshop the upper right section out. Guess that was deliberate… ;)”

   We actually have five artists on this release, beginning with the musical legend that is Gavin Cheung, AKA Nookie. ‘Catch 22’ frays the strings of the cosmos and delivers one of those special Nookie tunes which has that level of sophistication, renowned throughout his work. The soft bass, pulsing pads, those little yelps, and how about the flute in here? The sounds of GLR continued to deliver and when you have artists like Gavin on any label, the results will always stretch further than expectation. 

    If the A Side hasn’t hit you enough, then to add more flavor we have the amazing Pariah on Side AA. Once the curtains of the mellow, drifting intro draw back, we have that trajectory of Pariah’s sound, the easy beats, very subtle bass and the several sounds in here which bind this track together so very beautifully. This is one of my favorites of Pariah mainly due to the way that it’s the sounds you’d usually expect in the back ground of a tune, that step to the forefront and turn a fragmented and shattered riff into the full power of the production. 

Sometimes a tune just reaches you in a way that triggers a different feeling, and this is one of them. One of the very best in 2002. 

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.

Good Looking Records

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

2002

Today we move onto our next release with four artists that sprang into the forefront of the music through Good Looking. Three of the artists we’re reviewing, have their first taste on the Good Looking side of things, and one we have already sung many praises about. 

   Nick Purser works the art on this one, as the baton passed between both Gareth Jones and he during this period. I’m loving hearing the stories behind these, so please keep them coming. I know the space provided isn’t quite as impacting as the full artwork sleeves. I’m trying to work out this one? Any stories, I’ll move them (quoted) into the blog too. 

[thanks to Gareth Jones for the hints toward the image. Inside the shutters of the front office of the GLR HQ at the time]

    While I mentioned “first releases on GLR”, it was following his three earlier releases on Looking Good, that Pete Rann then had this, his first track on Good Looking. Pete had this knack for raising the energy and frantic assembly of the tracks, while scooping in his love of Detroit and funk along his path of work. His style is such a unique one on the label, sprawling out this map of busy, diverting mayhem, interlinking within a malleable dome of tranquility and thought provoking time travel. 

Pete mentions “It was a pleasure to be a part of the GLR/LGR camp during that time. I remember producing Abacus with my trusty old EMU E64 and JV 1080 (I still have the latter but not the former) it was also one of those tunes that came together in a few days. I think Nookie was the one playing it out to begin with”.

   Side A lets ‘Abacus’ pull us into the circuit boards of rushing currents, closing switches and burning power sources, speeding the sounds of the future out from the inner workings of his sound, into the orbits of the distant galaxies. The breakdown on this tune is a piece of fucking magic. Pete nailed an absolute diamond of a tune here. Once you have flexed the full duration of this tune, there is only bursting admiration for Pete Rann. A guy who had a catchy, individual, and very effective style broadening the growth and richness of the music. 

   On Side AA, we have an artist we last reviewed on the Good Looking sub label run by Blame, on 720 Degrees. 

    The tune ‘Primary Evolution’, inflicts a colossal impact during its duration, with that pumping, prodding bass, those high hat drums and such a smooth characteristic of revolving sounds, nestled within the gliding pads. Pariah had this amazing touch of ending the 16th bar with a slight adjustment, pause and then flutter before rolling into the next block of the song. The gifts of Pariah are very clear with this track. One to take a stroll with down mystic street. Pariah has discharged several tunes recently, on Okbron and most recently on Omni Music, however the members that once were, are not the same these days, so I believe? R. Clinton and S. Martin were the guys behind the GLR/720 era, whereas nowadays, it’s Marc Plested and Phil Jones who are flying the flag. Although Phil is credited on this one too.

   The second 12” is up tomorrow. The blog can be found right here, obviously, as you’re on it now, if you fancy browsing the full catalogue. 

Good Looking Records

Intersperse / Nu Moon / Sonic Generation / Synchronicity – Enorasis / Submergency / So Far / Foot Prints 

2002

Disc two in this release showcases a couple of lesser known artists. Most of their work was on labels associated with Good Looking, at least for the Sonic Generation boys. Synchronicity only had this one song on the entire label.

   For Side A, we walk away, in time to hear the first receptive sounds on the radar of deep space. ‘Far Away’ vacuums the air into a chamber of seductive and elegant atoms, vying for the space in which they can explore, exfoliate and rebrand as the flavorful sounds on this side. While the beats roll along, it’s the pads and bass that sandwich the fragile and brittle noises in between. Sonic Generation are D. Millard and S. Northfield, who had releases out on Cookin’, and Looking Good prior to this release, venturing onto the Deep Rooted label too, in 2004. For the few tunes they produced, they definitely captured a full spectrum of music under the Good Looking Organization roof. Really impressive music all round. 

   On Side AA, K. McCarron and R. Deane make up the one hit wonder by Syncronicity. ‘Footprints’ tread across the furrows and glens of the rolling hillside, blotted with the hazy landscape and pockets of howling gales that whisk through the valleys of nature. The wiping clouds stretch out in the higher levels of the atmosphere while the heavy rain clouds contradict the currents, with stationary menace. This track really is a marvellous piece of music that makes the open air gape further than the horizon itself. These guys should have been pushing out a heap of material in my view. Another artist that worked during the blink of an eye lid, yet kept the senses elevated through this powerful and docile musical piece. A real gem of a tune! 

    Next Good Looking release is up tomorrow. You can venture back to all the Good Looking releases we’ve covered so far, on this blog. Go on..you know you want to. 

Good Looking Records

Intersperse / Nu Moon / Sonic Generation / Synchronicity – Enorasis / Submergency / So Far / Foot Prints 

2002

It’s been about 10 weeks now, that we began this journey into one of the most prolific and legendary labels in the world of jungle and drum and bass. Good Looking Records was nearing the mat outside the doorstep of its decade of releases and today marks the landmark 50th 12” single release for the label. 

   We have plenty of other releases to review from the EP series and then the artist and Log Prog album side of things, plus a couple of other projects that Good Looking served up. Let’s say that there are a lot more on the way. 

   The artwork took a new direction with this release. The image became more of a side car to the GLR logo on the front and the LGR logo on the back. The record labels also got a vintage update with a classic line splitting the label and catalogue number, from the tracks and artist details. Nick Purser was back on duty for this one, overlapping images with a variety of exposures. 

  My copy has “For Promo Use Only. Not For Resale” stickers on the outside (over the barcode) and an SRD Promo sticker just inside the outer sleeve. This is not the promo though. Not sure what that was about? 

    Today, we feature two artists who we have mentioned plenty of praise for, Intersperse on Side A, and Nu Moon on Side AA. Tomorrow we will focus on a couple of artists who make their debut on Good Looking. One artist following three super Looking Good Releases and one by a couple of guys that came and went quicker than the Man United’s Caribou cup chances this year. 

   Side A has another voyage of velveteen value, from the Intersperse boys. ‘Enorasis’ floats across the breadth of sky like a satellite on its set course, bringing the fluid and mesmerizing atmospheres closer. As we soar higher with the utopian pads and dynamic and simple, stepping beat, every ounce of virtue is expelled like a squeezed sponge. The little vocal snippets hold a brief, but might effective presence. Tracks like this soak in a rare appreciation these days. Fresh, lucid and fucking beautifully produced. Once you’ve played this you’ll have reframed the day and be moving forward in a totally different mindset. 

   On Side AA, we get another of those breathtaking tunes from Nu Moon. ‘Submergency’ sprints down the post-storm high street, weaving around the puddles and pools, catching the glimpses of white and red lights on the road and shadows of stooped walkers with umbrellas still aloft. This is the age of a wave of electronic atmospherics that captured a future, a liveliness and a jazz infusion that seemed to tame the tempos. The breakdown in this reminds me a little of some of BT’s early work. Nu Moon peel off the layers of their creation and sweep them into a vat of comfort, marinading the listener with a taste of pure sweetness. Top work yet again!

Tomorrow we move onto the second disc. Meanwhile, my blog has collected each Good Looking Record so far from the 12” singles on the label. I hope you get a chance to revisit the full GLR catalogue on this blog up to this point, and beyond!

Good Looking Records

Cascade / J Laze / Makoto – Mysteries / Trapezoid /

2001

   It’s another selection of Good Looking Records and a line up of top musicians to wet the beak of life. I hope the opportunity to listen to the good stuff like these GLR tracks, makes its way into your days. On occasion it’s always good to pluck music from the shelves. Let’s get back to business and review this second 12” in the release.

   ‘BlackBerry Jam’ brings us Makoto within his inner zone of mid-level music on GLR. The work from him was becoming more live sounding in nature and while it was still just standing on the lip of a barrage of work from him, this one tends to free fall and pirouette between this funky future jazz and momentary freshness, cast out from the depths of Makoto. This style was to become almost a saturation of work from Makoto. The live jazz band mixed with the ever present key change and soul slinging vibes. For the quantity he released, a few worked a little better than others. ‘BlackBerry Jam’ is more middle of the road for me, but you cannot deny its production quality. 

   On Side AA, ‘Voices’ folds and gently creases the edge of your mind, bordering the choral keys and live guitar strings in its intro. The sirens hold the voices and once the break belts in, the whole energy becomes one to enjoy. Of the two tunes on this plate, I’m one who will always veer to this side more than the A Side. While the track still rolls out the Makoto blueprint, there’s a creative and diverse approach to this one that works really well. The bass guitar, which was to become a key part of Makoto’s work as he had the instrument basically attached to him from 2000-2010, riffs a really cool sound. The beats are interestingly arranged too. It’s one that I really appreciate. 

    That’s another double GLR release reviewed. The next one is up tomorrow. Until then, if the urge to revisit any of the label up to this point takes control, the full collection is here. Thanks to everyone that reads and comments on these reviews, it really does mean a lot. 

Good Looking Records

GLR048 / GLR049

Cascade / J Laze / Makoto – Mysteries / Trapezoid /

2001

Our next shift along the shelf brings us to our next double 12” on the legendary Good Looking Records label. Three more artists and four more tunes, over the next couple of days. 

    Cascade are Chris Kowalski and Julian ‘Casper’ Carrow. This tune takes the spiritual winds and stretches them out for one of the most delightful tunes. ‘Mysteries’ wraps the deeper sounds in a skin of futuristic visions, pouring out a rapid and crisp production throughout. We have the hook of those machine like beats and a breakdown to gasp a breather, taking its time to nurture and tenderize the emotions before returning to the hub of the music. If you are a fan of Future Engineers at the peak of their powers, you’ll really gel with this tune. Reel out the vibes and glide across the expanses of your mind. Don’t forget that later we’ll have the ASC remix of ‘Mysteries’ coming up on Good Looking. 

    On Side AA of the first 12” we have the mind bending talents of J Laze returning with a sedated cruise along the still waters of time. ‘Trapezoid’ build its story via the heightened awareness of Rob Blazye, who delivers a huge killer of a tune here. Intricate percussion plants itself into the quagmire of bass, that holds such a tenderness and groove lined inner lining, you’ll not want it to cease. This track sums up the perfect assortment of quadrilateral necessities. J Laze rattled off magic moments at ten a dozen on GLR. I wish he’d done an EP in that series too. A very unique and gifted artist, doing what he does best, with a passion. 

  The artwork here has a caterpillar track look so I wonder what the contraption is here? The striking yellow and black really pops out at you too. Gareth Jones, over to you my friend. 

“So another cover with a ‘trade secret reveal’. As far as I remember, in the lead-up to the final artwork, there was a building site near the GLR office in Watford at the time. I snuck in to take some shots of the various machinery, with this one standing out. I think ‘Trapezoid’ was the inspiration for the theme, like it was some dystopian machine. The flash of Pantone 109 helped bring it into the visual world of GLR.”

   Having listened to this again, it just fills me with the need to spend more time with the music filling as much time between sleep, family and no doubt a good old chore list (from the trouble & strife) as possible. Early morning selections..here we come! 

  Have a good one and check the blog if you fancy reeling back the label so far. 

Good Looking Records

Blu Mar Ten / Akira / Nu Moon – B.R.O / Yellow River / Dark Matter / Sakhmet

2000

   It’s been a slow build of anticipation, waiting to review our next artist as we have only really hit on ‘Q’ on the Deep Rooted label and ‘Greensand’ on Cookin’ Records (as Moonchild), so far. It’s time to get a seriously impressive artist onto the Good Looking label for the first time. Simon Murrell & Steven Kite are the outstanding, Nu Moon. 

    If there’s a part of your life you ever feel needs that injection of flamboyance, that journey for a few miles in something special, or a rich splash of luxury, then take this tune for a spin and cross off some items on the bucket list as ‘Dark Matter’ will leave you feeling a million times better. The sounds these boys made took things out into the heavenly vortexes. 

This track is the only one on 45 RPM out of the the three sides for some reason too. 

   On the flip is ‘Sakhmet’ which is the Egyptian goddess of war, pestilence and violent storms. As chaos rattles the bars outside, it’s the deep, nourishing sounds of the bass, that saxophone and a very interesting break that calm the soul. It seems slightly unsettled but due to the hectic arrangement it works superbly. Nu Moon create a truly poetic and mind swelling track here, drip feeding all the vital elements of the atmospherics straight into your heart. To have made such incredible music and then go all Bermuda Triangle on us is still something that gets heads spinning. No one mentions the Bermuda Triangle much these days do they? Well, they certainly still mention Nu Moon. One of the very best on Good Looking. 

Good Looking Records

Blu Mar Ten / Akira / Nu Moon – B.R.O / Yellow River / Dark Matter / Sakhmet

2000

As we another of my reviews, we return to the picture sleeves, the double 12” releases and most importantly, the continuation of really good music. 

    For today’s release we have three artists featured. The future of the releases would eventually feature 4 tunes by 4 different artists on 2 X 12”s. This was a step toward that happening. So, I’m sure you’re itching to get down to the tunes and who we have on this one. 

   The artists on here are Blu Mar Ten, Akira and Nu Moon. The Blu Mar Ten boys follow up with their third 12” single following ‘Future Proof’ and ‘Slipstream’, on Good Looking. It’s a real killer of a release too. I know, Connor Tennyson, this is one of your favorites mate. 

  Blu Mar Ten are up first with ‘B.R.O.’ Which was made as a Bukem Rip Off, hence the B.R.O. Taking elements of ‘Atlantis’ from Bukem, it was designed as a slight dig at Bukem’s sound which, while considered pretty average by BMT on this studio session, continues to be very highly accepted and enjoyed by many of us. The beginnings of this epic tune sweeps you off your feet very early on with the easy chords and the chirping submarine blip. I think the way the bass in this tune purrs along with that rolling amen, is the stellar ingredient here. That and the breakdown of expanding glacial compressions, cascading this release of high pressure drops, creating sanity between the cracks settled within the madness of the world. This really sends the hairs up on end and that shivering burst of exhilaration down the spine. Top work from BMT!

  Akira Shimizu is the brother of Makoto Shimizu. While Akira had a helpful foot in the door, the music he made had a standard to hit for the Good Looking bouncers to admit entry. He most definitely managed to produce the goods. ‘Yellow River’ sharpens your senses, for its distinctive and beautiful aura shrouds the mind through the lens of this Japanese artists vision. There is a distinct inkling that Makoto may have played a hand in this one too. He’s not mentioned but there’s a freshness and jive that links this sound to him pretty clearly, right down to the key changes. Nevertheless, it’s a decent tune that gallops along with grace.

    We are back to the sleeve art, which again has Gareth Jones delivering another eye catching design. A sense of more underground tube shots maybe? Any background my good man? I’ll take what you comment (as I have been, for the picture sleeves) and put them in the blog, so it is stored there too. Here it is for today:

“Another early favourite sleeve for me. And one I always hoped no one would ask about. So you might think it was a cool underground location shot, but in fact, this was a few shots of our in-house A3 Epson printer we used for print testing. The shots were, of course, then heavily manipulated to achieve the final result. This was quite a standard approach for us – finding the magical in the everyday mundane. Certainly not the only time we took such an approach either Nick Purser 😉 Secrets of the GLR artwork”

  We will run out the second plate of this release, tomorrow, with the first release review of the magnificent, Nu Moon. I’m very excited to review it!