DJ Alex Corton – Good Looking Records

Good Looking Records

Intense / Lacarno – 3.5 / Future Shock

2000

For today’s review we have two more artists that we have already plunged into. Intense are back for another top draw tune and we have Lacarno on the flip. This is the stickered & typed up, white label, so no art work to discuss I’m afraid, however you can find images of it. It’s very ‘subway, tube station’ orientated. Check out yesterday’s post for Gareth’s background on the full release cover. I would like to add the sleeve in a way, to place by GLR044 & GLR045. We will make a return to the sleeve art tomorrow though. 

   On Side A we have one of those tunes that really deserves so many more plays than I have heard from DJs mixes or sets. In fact I don’t think I have heard it? When you think of Intense, when compiling their best-of work, I rarely hear of this one being mentioned. This is a disgrace. Well, you’ll not be surprised then, when I say that it’s in my top 5 tracks of theirs. You have really not given this tune a serious listen if you think otherwise. Big up Dan, Beau and Simon! 

   I have opened up a fair number of sets with this tune ‘3.5’ as it sets out not only this core cementing, hypnotic bass, but the beats..the beats…the BEATS. The electric guitar samples, choral synth slide and then the pads which tear open the clouds with a prizing nectar of sweetness, join together for one of the most outstanding pieces of music from Intense. As it was released around the same time as Solar EP and Log Prog 3, I wonder if it was a tune that didn’t make the cut among that huge wave of releases from Intense?

So Beau, could you let us know, and also what the 3.5 title is about? We had 19.5 from Bukem & Peshay, so is this a sound reference? 

    Lacarno is Peter Woolcott. We reviewed a tune of his called ‘Axis’ on Earth Volume 4, and this tune can be found on Progression Sessions 5. 

‘Future Shock’ is a shuffling twist between the strands of dew drop ascending sounds and that IV of ultra catchy bass. It’s funny how one of his tunes was called ‘Axis’ and this has a very similar flavour to some of the material from Illian Walker (Axis). There is so much moving and funk glued into this tune. Lacarno had such a brief time on GLR, however did partner with Tim Burns on a few projects as Lacarno & Burns. Listening to this tune, and the quality of the music on here, the busy beats, that gorgeous bass, and the overall feeling you get hearing it, he should have been making so many more tunes. A very impressive release! 

   If you feel like you’ve missed any reviews on Good Looking Records so far, from the first release up to now, my blog is here with the write ups and some of my photos of the sleeve (where applicable) and label. Thanks for checking it out! 

Good Looking Records

GLR044

Nookie – Lost File (Original) / Leviation

2000

Today we have a release that I actually wish I had the 2 x 12”s, as the art work is really good. Alas, I only have the two separate releases of the next two on Good Looking. Today’s release was released (as with all the doubled up 12”s) as a single release. Tomorrow’s is a white label. 

   Nookie is back, with another of his Good Looking catalogue, bringing that style which he consistently reveled in during his period with the label. On Side A is ‘Lost File (Original)’. Gavin has this natural ability to harness the key components of music production and create a sound that flows, immerses and blooms. By this stage, he had pretty much sown his place in the history of the music. The lively beats, that incredibly, still water breakdown and those really simple but effective keyboard stabs, all supply a main artery of cooling and toe tapping, rhythmic soul food. 

  The remix of this tune can be found on Nookie’s ‘First Light EP’ which is the Tenth EP in that series. We’ll reach that during our expedition through GLR. 

  The tune I usual magnetize too a little more is ‘Leviation’ on Side B. The swagger and groove keeps its high level of sophistication, added by the vocals “Let it take me..” The bass is as comforting as a kitchen with the smell of freshly cooked bread. ‘Leviation’ has some beautiful key changes along the way too. Nookie opens up the can of sunshine and the darkness fades, letting the flavors roll absolutely perfectly. You can feel the warmth all along this one. 

   Next up, we have one of the very few white labels I own on Good Looking (not counting the whole white label series of course). It’s a beauty too.

   This blog is rolling with the Good Looking label, so if you are interested in Quantum Leaping back to any, I’m sure Al & Ziggy can get you back, after you’ve had a peruse. That’s probably not a good example though is it? Did they ever return? Well, being stuck there might be nice. 

Good Looking Records

Intersperse / Rantoul – Perennial Spring / New Fields Of Emotion / Journey / Changeling

2000

We enter the flume of floating fixations, with our second 12” in the double release of this Good Looking package. Ian Rantoul returns with two more cracking tunes which buff the shining brass of GLR a little more. I found this period of the music to reignite a lot of fresh ideas, spreading and smoothing out this vast map of intricate constellations and unknown territories. 

  ‘Journey’ fires up a very minimal intro of light percussion and piano that turns its face toward the light of this showering sunbeam of pads. The breaks slide across the horizon and we increase the build. Rantoul injects a taste of the oriental sounds which have that Photek – Complex, sound and the vocal I have on an Additive Label, house tune somewhere on the shelf. Each thermal that catches you on this ride pumps clouds of massaging nourishment onto the follicles. I don’t think this track was ever played out too much? 

   The other side of this 12” is ‘Changeling’ spurring the fluid pads from the off. Once the beats crack open the lid there’s no way you’re turning back. Ian Rantoul drops something from the highest heavens with this tune. If the beats don’t sink the hook in, that fucking bass will just rip your heart apart. Every piece of this tune is woven together with so much skill, it gives the listener a brain erection that never wilts. Open up the channels to the sounds and just keep turning the volume up on this. Not only did this tune prove that Good Looking were still the key label with this music, but it also pisses over so much of the drivel that ears suffer today. Get this tune into your life right now and reward your mind with serious levels of musical creativity. Absolute perfection. Big props Ian Rantoul! 

   We return with the next review and the next GLR releases. Remember, it’s all a matter of opinion.

Good Looking Records

Intersperse / Rantoul – Perennial Spring / New Fields Of Emotion / Journey / Changeling

2000

Our sacred trek along this Inca Trail of musical history in the Good Looking label, comes now to our 3rd double 12” release on the label, taking us up through the labels rich tapestry. We feature two artists who have already thrown down a few triumphant tracks on the label, the Greek duo, Intersperse, and Ian Rantoul. 

    I really love the sleeve on this one too, with its cutting, steel like shapes mixed with the inner machine workings. I’m interested to know if they are of any specific item or just a composition of ideas? Gareth Jones, has provided a little background behind this:

“This is one of my favourite early sleeves for sure. I was exploring that cut-up, layered graphic approach a lot back then, and had been since my Uni days. Then I got the chance to put it out there on a sleeve. Interestingly, the images are all shots taken at the Millennium Dome (pre The O2 of course). I wanted this abstract, futuristic ‘changeling’ entity, flowing and evolving as if on a journey. Fast forward to now, and I do a lot of work with The O2. Funny how things unfold…”

I appreciate the info on yesterday’s post also! Always interested to hear any back stories.

   You haven’t honestly scratched the surface of the incredible talents of Intersperse until you’ve experienced this mind blowing piece of music. ‘Perennial Spring’ will transform the way you feel about the way the deepest stirrings of the ambient atmospherics can infiltrate the molecules of your skin. Everything builds and builds, checking off a hundred different prescriptions in its unfolding story. For all the classic sounds on Good Looking, this one sits way up in that steadfast tree. Your moments during this royal flush of music will forever be cherished. Fucking beautiful.

    If that first side hasn’t shaken the essence of the mystics enough for you (which I’d be very surprised about if it hasn’t), then this side will put to bed any ideas of a drop in quality. The title gives us exactly what you’d expect with ‘New Fields Of Emotion’. Intersperse could flambé the inner core of your soul and suck every ounce of heavenly star dust into the center of your mind. The waxed resin beats, solder the huge pads and easy bass together, placing each section of the tune perfectly like Lego bricks. They all just connect so effortlessly, resulting in something quite brilliantly simple but technically thoughtful. What this one disc holds is worth a mighty, appreciative accolade. This disc really laid down the gauntlet for the future of the label at this stage. Two amazing pieces of work.

    We move onto the next review tomorrow, with the second 12” in this release. 

Good Looking Records

Big Bud / Intersperse – High Times / Blunt / Moonscape / Radiolucent 

2000

   For the next 12” in this release we welcome the story tellers of the atmospherics back for another couple of spellbinding tunes. Intersperse open up the shutters for another vivacious encounter with their climatic unspooling of thoughts and feelings, connecting us with the dreams and spiritual levitations within us.

   The cover of this release has a really nice contrast with the sharper straight edges of the front cover and label images, hit with the light from outside, balanced with the rounder, calmer lines of the back cover and the light inside those ovals. Gareth Paul Jones is the guy behind this artwork. He was behind many of the sleeve designs between 2000-2004, having been handed the baton from Nick Purser. Plenty coming up from him, and a big respects for the following info:

“Brings back serious memories seeing this one. It was a very early one for me, having joined GLR in early 2000. So it was probably an early test by Nick Purser to see how I got on with a sleeve artwork. The architectural aesthetic was often a core visual theme with the artwork, so this was most likely my first take on the theme. From what I remember, ‘Moonscape’ must have been my lead, with the visual being some kind of man-made lunar structure. Tricky to fully recall what with it being 25 years old ;)”

  Side A provides us with a multi layered pad extravaganza that redefines the harmonies of music. ‘Moonscape’ excavates a terrain that sets the mellow drifting arks of the past into a new and futuristic, upbeat stand of beats which was becoming a staple within circles of the scene. It was almost as though the drifting and tranquility searched for that punch which spun the momentum of the dance floors forward. This is one of the first examples on Good Looking where the tempo is pushed up a notch, and the all round composition designed to skank and twist a little more frequently. For me, this track is all about those luxurious pads. They move and overlap with graceful expertise.

    On the B side of this plate, we have ‘Radiolucent’. Of the two, this is more my go-to. There’s a gleaming cover of first class atmospherics in every area of this tune. The beats are magnificent, the bass bounces up and down beautifully and then we get more soothing pads that just excel for the entirety of  the track. The Intersperse boys hit a jugular with this delightful trip through the asteroid belts and planetary rings of space. For the 9 or so minutes of ‘Radiolucent’, remove yourself from life and give yourself some time you never knew you needed. Absolutely top grade fucking magic. 

    Our next double 12” release is up tomorrow. Good Looking Records, forward bound with the sounds. 

Good Looking Records

Big Bud / Intersperse – High Times / Blunt / Moonscape / Radiolucent 

2000

As the days carry forward through the year 2000, we have another double disc treat today with Big Bud and Intersperse supplying the musical medicine. Let’s fasten the seat belts first with the Big Bud plate and then tomorrow we’ll move onto the second 12” on the release. The artwork, we’ll look at during tomorrow’s review. 

   Robin O’Reilly had been extremely busy prior to this release, and we will venture into the EP’s, the albums and the Looking Good music that Big Bud gave us in due course. The two tracks on this release are taken from his monumental album in 1999, Infinity + Infinity. Both hold a mesmerizing attraction which Robin seemed to roll out like it was just another day at the office. As mentioned previously in posts, his all round work flow was absolutely phenomenal and to have made so many rich and textured pieces of music in the space of 4-5 years, cannot be overlooked. 

   When you press the start button on the decks and this track begins, if you had to guess the artist, you’d pretty much instantly think of Big Bud. Stand out beats take us to this Saharan sea of moods, spanning the freezing nights and scorching afternoons with a purring, techno doused flight through the altitudes of passion. The way Big Bud levers the direction of huge, magnetic pulls, into the deepest canyons of music, and lets the rhythms and decadent pads seep in, is just out of this world. There is a really good breakdown in here too that whispers the Nile flutes into your ear canal, coating the tubes with an undercoat of silken varnish. You are left in a trance after hearing this track. ‘High Times’ spins out the real essence of the sounds that kept this label such a strengthened force in the drum and bass world. The 90s was behind us and the glimmers of hope sparked flashes of tinged gold, as you can hear with this tune. 

   As we spin the disc over I have a little jump in the start so hold on….a few wipes, a few plays through…ok, we have a clean intro and the tune rolls sweetly on. Heart beat returned to normal. ‘Blunt’ may be a good name for the tools needed as a calm down after that. Ha ha. Things twist and entwine the jazzy, ambiance of cooling brushstrokes and peaceful inner acceptance with this radiant journey in the skilled Astro pod of Big Buds masterfully crafted work. The smattering of techno elements drizzle over this one too, welding the ingredients like a 20 layer gastronomic beast. A serving of the finest from Big Bud. 

    Big Bud could not falter at this time, making some of the best music you could get in 2000. His work will always be a huge part of the whole Good Looking history and a name that is cemented in our atmospheric museum of sound. Big props Robin. 

   The second 12” is up tomorrow. 

Good Looking Records

LTJ Bukem / Bjorn – Rhodes To Freedom / Watercolours / Inside My Soul / God Chord

2000

  I hope everyone had a great weekend? Back for more Good Looking Records on the gently boughed shelf. Well, not quite boughed but staked with a lots of yellow sleeve spines on this one. Kallax shelves don’t really bough do they? Anyway, I hope everyone is well?

   Today we move onto the second 12” in this of the first double packs of Good Looking. We also feature an artist who I feel should have made a lot more music. Bjorn Stokes. The tunes he made on this plate are two of the best that you’ll hear on the GLR label. Not only that, a certain Simon Vispi from Intense, is on mixing desk duties. The results therefore are pretty crystal. Any Intense involvement is a signal to quality.

   ‘Inside My Mind’ surveys a million dreams that glide effortlessly along with this killer tune. There’s a level in this tune that pushes a lot of other tunes down under the surface. It moves you, gyrates you and swells a power hungry whirlpool of pure highs throughout the whole track. I really have to say that this is a truly magnificent piece of core star explosive, chill out drum and bass. The bass just broods unwaveringly and the little tech plinks, vocals and stacks of pads, inject you until the heavens tear open and the atoms of this sound soak into you. I cannot emphasize just how good this tune is. Bjorn smashed it into orbit with this one. 

   ‘God Chord’ on Side B of this second disc, takes an Amazonian stance and cascades a charmed break and subtle keyed hue to hover over the twitching landscapes of the equatorial plains. The work in this tune has a lot of Bukem traits, the calming waters, animal calls and that poetic pipe. Based on the standard of this track and ‘Inside My Mind’, Bjorn should have rattled off so many more tunes. It’s a real head scratcher as to why he didn’t. ‘God chord’ was in fact released as a Test Press, in 1998 on Rugged Vinyl, which never went as far as a main release. I wonder what the story was there? Any ideas Paul Bendall?

   Tomorrow we move onto the next double 12”release, . More superb music heads into our lives. Good Looking in full flow. We also switch the artists duties from Nick to another top creator. 

Good Looking Records

LTJ Bukem / Bjorn – Rhodes To Freedom / Watercolours / Inside My Soul / God Chord

2000

As we reach the start of a new Millenium, the releases on Good Looking for my collection, have now two 12”s in one release, containing work from two different artists. I do have one split into two separate, but most are like today’s, up until GLR060 in 2003. This means that we will be spending a couple of days on each of these doubled up versions so we can enjoy the tunes and I can write without steam bellowing out my ears in a frenzied craze. 

   We have gone a fair amount of time now, without hearing from the main man of the label, Danny Bukem, so today we get some tunes from him, and he flys in with a guy called Bjorn tucked under his wing. We’ll review his two tracks after the weekend. 

   Bukem had not been sat around twiddling shit for the last few years. He had a few amazing downtempo tracks he’d prepared for the first 3 volumes in the Earth series, and he’d started the Good Looking Records E.Ps with his ‘Mystical Realms E.P’ in 1998 which, like today’s release, contained tracks which we eventually got on his one and only album, Journey Inwards in this year of 2000. I still can’t grasp it being 25 years ago. We open the lid, pop the vinyl on and drop the needle for today’s lesson on the Bukem tonic. 

  ‘Rhodes To Freedom’ is a track that you’ll only find on this vinyl release and the CD release of Bukem’s ‘Journey Inwards’ album. It was also on Progression Sessions 4. If you ever need reminding of the Bukem sweet spot, look no further. With music like this, you enter this jazz cafe on the edge of paradise. Everything about this track contains this live session of sounds from the percussion persuasions, the deep warm bass guitar and the Rhodes keys that display shooting stars of wonderment. It’s interesting that while Simon Vispi of Intense engineered a majority of the ‘Journey Inwards’ album, it’s another third of Intense who engineered these two Bukem tracks, Dan Duncan. The whole sound is flawless on this tune and delivers a real high quality, all round groove laden production. 

On Side B we have a track you’ll find on ‘Journey Inwards’. The spells cast with this tune are something really special. Bukem was moving from the stirrings of the deep into this live, groove/swing, jazz territory that really pinned his direction. Having the man like Dan Duncan engineering again, that Intense purity flows throughout, raising the bar on the crystal sounds of the music here. That sax pours liquid gold over you. ‘Watercolours’ holds the aces and hands you the ticket for a killer, fresh flowing jazz bonanza. We have here, Bukem reminding us that the creativity and passion hadn’t dissipated one bit. Andy Hamilton who was part of the Flying Fish group who had work on the Earth series, is on the double bass for this one and saxophonist, Andy Ross who appeared with Roots Manuva and Just Jack, appears too. 

    For the cover of this one, I get the feeling Nick was taking the water elements of the title of the ‘Watercolours’ track, and with Bukem’s disc taking the experience of his productions and linking it with the many shapes and movements of water on the label, while the freshness and less experienced disc of Bjorn, making it seem like it was calmer and newer, a patch of water without disruption yet, as this was his first release for GLR. Just my takeaway. 

   We will review the second disc in this release, very shortly. The air is filling up nicely with these GLR vibes!

Good Looking Records

Rantoul / Intersperse – On The Edge / Haunting Winds

1999

For the last Good Looking Records of the year, the decade and the millenium, we have our second on the label from two seperate artists. They both deserve a respectful acknowledgment of the quality of work they produced for Good Looking. From Rantoul, we have his second release on GLR and then we open the door to a couple who make up a new artist to Good Looking. 

    On Side A is ‘On The Edge’ slicing up more interplanetary dispositions, with those futuristic expansions across space. I fucking love this tune from Rantoul. The way it builds toward that first breakdown sets the scene for a journey that sends the hairs on end as the sensual nerve endings catching the full dose of this brilliant piece of music. There is a fine bass line in this track too, which holds this deep coarsening flavor while pumping funk through it. ‘On The Edge’ is one of those tunes that gathers the key elements of the atmospheric sounds of the later 90s and spoon feeds you movements which jolt adrenaline through your body, in the most sedative and smooth fashion. You can’t help but nourish the fibers of life while listing to this tune. Amazing music!

   For the AA side of this plate we have the Greek duo of Aris Koukouselis and Bill Maktis make their debut on Good Looking. As artists from Greece go, they were I believe some of the earliest drum and bass producers from Greece? They went by the name Intersperse, and made many epic tracks in the world of the deeper atmospherics of drum and bass. Theis Good Looking Records catalogue of their work is immaculate. In all, they released about 13 tracks on GLR, plus a release on the Soulfood album on Cookin’ Records, which we reviewed a while back. I know their work really kicked off a movement in Greece, that honed in on the sounds, which in turn spurred artists like MsDos, Greekboy and the now defunct but incredible label, Criterion. 

  ‘Haunting Winds’ will forever be etched in my heart as I remember first hearing this and being blown away by the story that unraveled while listing to it. If the dynamic pads and eerie piano don’t grab you to begin with then buckle up for the beats…the barrels of amens just roll and roll like the first screen of the orange, hand-held Donkey Kong game. Leading into that second magical breakdown, the air of suspense can be burst by the faintest brush. It’s mystical, nerve racking and thunderously romantic all at the same time. If you need a track with several layers of emotion and all bases covered, then ‘Haunting Winds’ will carry you over the differentiating landscapes in a way, quite like no other.  

    The cover has this sense of wishing to remain camouflaged. My home town in the UK  gets Chinhook helicopters flying over it a fair bit as RAF Odiham is just up the M3. When I travel back I always enjoy hearing them again and get flashbacks to my younger years. This cover has me reminiscing a lot because of the image. Big up Nick as always! 

   This 12” is all the more poignant as it marks the closing of the 90s era.

The music on this release acts as a seal to the golden moments, sounds, progress, and memories of that decade, and I can’t ask for a better way to close the curtain for today. This was a very special disc in that respect. 

Good Looking Records

Makoto – Enterprise / Sweet Changes

1999

We turn now to a key release in the repertoire of Good Looking Records, with the first release by an artist based outside Europe. This not only signified the expansion of the music across the globe, but also nudged Shimizu Makoto into the limelight in style. This was his follow up release, to his first one on Nexus, courtesy of Tayla’s Good Looking side project. ‘Wave’ & ‘Jupiter’s Field’ pulled the most incredible music toward us and it was therefore a forgone conclusion that Makoto would end up with music on the main label. Not only that, this guy could play a mean guitar. We reviewed a couple of his tracks of his, on the Earth series a while back (Vol 4 & 7), on a more down tempo tip, which showcased another side of his overall musical creativity. 

    Makoto is probably one of the biggest drum and bass artists to emerge from the East. The Japanese musician had many influences, which included jazz and funk from the 70s and  the mid 90s sounds coming from the underground music scene in the UK. His work at this time is some of the most inspiring music on the label. Let’s enter the spiritual essence of Makoto and hear the blended influences of the cosmic mystical sounds and the divine spices of the East. 

    ‘Enterprise’ casts out the fluctuating energy pulses with the cannon of mass momentum, as the shell of the atmospheric cracks its first hairline fracture within the interior force field. The intro leads us toward a cumulonimbus of beats which fire out a soaring wall of sound. You’d expect this monster bassline to hammer home the rest, but you have here this bass which is a plucked bass that seems to tempt the listener like the bouncers of heaven. You almost feel like it is about to explode but just take a listen. You are in the threshold and eye of this storm and it feels fucking fantastic. Just prior to the breakdown we have that rewound break and then the magic of Makoto takes over with those poetic key changes within the pads and chimes. The roaring overhead activity cuts across the sky above you and the rolling amen beats lay a vapor trail through your being. Makoto had a flair for the music in a big way, and the world was opening up for the history and influences from so many different corners of the globe, that the drum and bass scene was being spun on its head due to the inventive and fresh ideas carried with it. 

   On Side AA, ‘Sweet Changes’ drops a funkier intro and crams more of Makoto’s background of funk and soul passions into the lime light. This was really one of the first tastes of how incredibly talented his production with bass guitars could be. Having his musical pitch changes, key changes and the underlying (well, overlying too), bass he churned out some of the funkiest and groove laden music around. It made you get up, bust the beads of sweat and feel like the world was on your side for a few minutes. Makoto really smashed the scene, and this label with his work. A true legend of the scene and as mentioned, a very defining artist on Good Looking. 

  Makoto remains an active artist out there today, and holds many GLR releases to his name, both on single 12”, EP, and albums, along with a healthy spectrum of styles. We have a lot more to hear and review from him. Big big shout to Makoto,