DJ Alex Corton – Good Looking Records

Good Looking Records

PFM – Val Sinestra EP

2001

The next Good Looking Records EP brings us back to an artist that we have had somewhat of a drought with on the label, considering the impact and highly acclaimed catalogue of work. It had been 5 years since PFM had released a 12” single on Good Looking, although there was a release on Looking Good Records in 2000, ‘Sakora’ & ‘Summer Boy’ (LGR034), which we’ll review when we reach LGR. 

    PFM had become synonymous with some of the most important and defining music writing in the history of drum and bass. Mike Bolton was working solo by this time, with Jamie Sakar leaving as he felt the main music came from Mike. I’ve said this before, but Jamie may have been more of a backseat member of PFM but whatever capacity he provided, made a special contribution. It was now Mike taking his sound into new realms, while keeping that classic PFM framework, holding things in place. 

   The art work for this EP moved from Nick, onto his fellow GLR design brother, Gareth Jones. The artwork here is superb, with the unfolded gray and black satellite looking images and that smear of orange, yellow and red translucent color, enlarging the pupils in your peepers and dazzling on the front and back sleeves. The way it pops out is so impressive. Then, on the inside of the gatefold, we have this 3D view of what looks like a power plant or industrial city, that brings a strength and yet an obsolete air to the presentation. The cylindrical image in the sky is an interesting touch too, and the sky color, giving that 80s m, baby blue cartoon background. As with all of these pieces, I’ll open the floor and let Gareth go through the details:

“A personal favourite for me, this one. It had quite a different vibe (looking back) from most of the artwork we were doing. This was partly due to the 3D software we were experimenting with, which was called Stratavision 3D. Bearing in mind this was around 25 years ago, so you can imagine how sketchy the software was. What with that and Quark Express, it was a miracle we made half of this stuff happen 😉 However, it did also make you push visual ideas that big harder. That then makes me think about the artists and what they were doing, with all the hardware and way less complex software and VSTs!! Creating magic.” – big up Gareth!

    Let’s move onto the tracks on this EP. First of all, we do have the standard four pieces of music on this release. For the those that already own this, you’ll already be aware of the sticker placed over the first track on this EP, that gives us the following: Track A should read PFM & Arion – Emerge. Now, you can see through this label that the track underneath is ‘In Love’. This brings us to why this happened? 

    This is a result of Logical Progression Level 4, which was released around the same time as this EP release and PFM’s track ‘In Love’ is one of the six tracks chosen for the exclusive pieces on Log Prog 4. This news must have been confirmed after the sleeves had already been printed up, so out come the sticky labels and the revision gets slapped on, no expense spared..or spent. It’s not the ideal look, but it takes nothing away from the overall package really. 

   It would also be great to know how Val Sinestra, became the theme for this EP? Val Sinestra is a valley area in the Swiss Alps that holds breathtaking scenery, a beautiful hotel and several suspension bridges. If you have the background as to the connection on this, Mike, it would be great to know more. It’s definitely an area where I’m sure the creation floods in pretty freely? 

   The music is the main vein and we now hit record one in the left hand gatefold. Side A has PFM and a guy called A. Marvelli, who went by Arion. I don’t now the story behind how he and Mike got to working on this track, but it was the only collaboration they did and nothing was really heard from Arion again. 

    The track here is called ‘Emerge’. This is the perfect hydrofoil of gliding bliss, cutting its way through the open seas while the only thing that splits the water and the sky is the tender aching beauty of the music. There’s not only an avalanche of bliss with those simmering pads, fructose encrusted beats and that sweet vocal wail, but also the little funk guitar and that ever present PFM bass accumulating a vision of the vastness of possibilities with a small haven of trust. It’s PFM after all and the results work a very precious and seductive touch as you’d expect. It may not have that epic breakdown which you found in a lot of PFM material before 2000, but you cannot deny the lure and wellbeing gained from hearing this track. 

   On side B we have ‘Inertia’ which has additional production from another (one time appearance) guy called D. Greenwood. As the momentum picks up and the mass moves forward, it’s the continuity of motion that translates across this beautiful composition. The intro leans a resonating and unforgettable sound, with this harp like flurry, the strained electronic horns and then when the beats and bass line hit, the PFM juices pour out majestically. The little high hat enters then, and the blueprint of PFM’s powers rise to the forefront. The electric guitar is brief and subtle, the vocal wail does its job and the whirls, curls and pearls send messages of ultra brain washing love. Mike really rolls out a belter here. If you need that PFM sound, this provides you with the real deal. 

   A big shout as always to Mike Bolton. 

    We will stroll onto the second part of this EP, when we return on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend, dig out those golden memories from the shelf and enjoy the music you already have on your shelves, as payday is still too many days away. If you’re really desperate, my blog is here too, so take a peruse and maybe you’ll find some interesting reading in there.

Ta-ra for now. 

Good Looking Records

Blame – Sigma EP

2001

For the second record on the ‘Sigma EP’ we rise up again, setting off on our climb up the ladder and into the decompression chamber to begin another flight out this orbiting space station, following the route of uncertainty, desires and hidden fractures with the time space

continuum. 

    Side C is the title track ‘Sigma’ with a very striking flashback to a past projection from overhead. Hint hint. The modules pulse into action, the condensers pack a force of gravitational resistance and the wiring disconnects and reforms like the manic fingers of a madman’s puppet show. Of the tracks so far, this has a dash of the Blame from his earlier Good Looking sound, furnishing every morsel of functionality, developing the blisteringly tight drum work and acid burning the mainframe of the android with electro bass, catching the digital fireworks and cable tying you into a comatose and hypnotic state of wonder. Blame was cracking every miraculous egg and pouring that golden yolk of creativity into his music. 

   Blame was taking the music into the realms of the unthinkable. ‘Point Four’ on Side D has a space jungle vortex that makes the hairs rise and stretch out your skin. You really aren’t ready when the amens burst through the defense shields and explode through the windows of the module. In the first nanoseconds, the body switches into its machine mode and jolts a flash of blood freezing and water retaining protective measures while the air in your lungs becomes a mixture of hydrogen and carbon, evaluated by the psychotic programmers. The machine inhales the hydrocarbons and disconnects your brain functions, suspending time and reversing the last few occurrences with a switch, returning you to the blood and flesh of a time you never lived, a dream you once had and a nightmare you’ll never forget. Blame slaps a darker lens in here and bolts you firmly down for a lesson in galactic terror. Let your guard down, for this ride of haunting beauty. 

Blame kindly dropped in with this:

“I remember that Point Four was one of those rare tracks that wrote itself in a day, in contrast some of my other tracks like ‘Sigma’ took around a month.

As I mentioned yesterday, Point Four was my cheat code, just in case I’d gone a bit deep and needed to quickly revive the dancefloor!” – Conrad Blame.

   That concludes the second EP from Blame in this Good Looking Records series. Luckily for us, we have another one coming up in the near future. Finding words for his music seems to be an almost free flowing connection to be honest. Of all the artists reviewed, not only do words form, but whole stories and galaxy’s are built. Blame’s music has that effect.

   A big shout out to Conrad Blame, every time. Without your presence and skills, these sounds and the expanse of everything we know, would cease and cripple the possibilities that luckily for us, continue to evolve. It takes a special talent to make that happen. 

   There are plenty of Good Looking Records reviews on my blog. Oh look! It’s right here incase you felt like checking it out? Who doesn’t like a history lesson on one of the most important labels within the jungle and drum and bass world? It’s not finished yet either. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it! 

Good Looking Records

Blame – Sigma EP

2001

Today’s review features an artist that usually unlocks a rather large quantity of words. This is largely due to the standard, the vision and the damn fine humble approach that he has in regard to the music scene. It seems we have travelled to the far corners of our universe, following his unique way of creating sounds for the Good Looking Records label, and we are not finished yet. Conrad Shafie redesigned the way that atmospheric drum and bass could launch you into a future that our species will never reach. We return to the distance echoes that communicate a world of unfathomable tinkering, surreal torments and unmistakable triumphs. We return to Conrad Blame. 

   This copy is another Limited Edition of 3000, mine being 002988. Looks like I crept in the last 12 copies then? I have to say that I did have this release earlier, but I had a fault with one of the discs being cut so off center, that the needle weaving in and out made me feel fucking sea sick listening to it. There may have been a few copies like this, so I hear. Luckily I did manage to grab this copy, which is a lot more stable. 

   The artwork on this release is another visually stunning collection of material from Nick Purser. He places the viewer in this colossal space station that houses the space pods that transport the unknown life forms, between worlds. While the sleeve holds this hub of intergalactic technology, this computer layout of a shuttle depot on the labels capture some of the passing space debris that hold the stories from further afield. These flying meteors of unclassified minerals and undiscovered matter, pass by in a silent trajectory, lacking the resistance to hinder their path. 

    I do wonder what concept of Sigma that Blame was using for naming this EP. There are many variations on how Sigma is used, however as the symbol is Σ then I’m assuming it’s the something linked with the infinite sequence of events? It may be something else, and I’m getting a headache just writing now.. Conrad, if you can let us know, that would save me necking too many paracetamol now. Ha ha! 

   Let’s get cracking on with the music. It’s no use me waffling on like an old fart. We will review this first plate today, next plate tomorrow, you know the drill. This first record sets the tone and pushes the imagination out past Blames previous release (Between Worlds), and gives us the full Blame artillery. 

    Side A is ‘Spectre’, holding its docking station steady as the crosshairs align and the thrusters burst a minute puff of air into the stabilization procedure. Blame coats the metallic beats with polished finesse, the cyborgs circuits recall the programmers course for a new route into the explorers manifesto. Blame was reinventing time with his music, and something beyond the realms of comprehension were materializing. Those footsteps in the breakdown and the re-establishing mechanical chimes, fix you in awe. 

   The vinyl still has a slight waving in and out with an off-cut pressing as I’m watching it spin, but it doesn’t produce a problem when listening, that I can fully detect. The tune sounds top notch. 

    ‘Binary Sunset’ disassembles the monuments and repositions the fragments of the future technoid machinery. Here is Blame lathering the vast skin of the new world, with a code that typifies the logic gates of an either/or system of understanding. The rebellion appear from the gore soaked taverns to take over the operations, yet the human driven machine that Blame conducts via his hyper critical and lighting quick productions, quash the clocks of a three dimensional time, and as darkness floods the horizon, it’s the unique power of 2 that enables the code to revitalize the empire of the future world. 

   Blame had his 720 sound obliterating the possibilities of this music and proving once again that the universe has already been sent its signals into the galleons of the unknown. They’re out there and moving in ways we’ll never understand. 

   The second record is up tomorrow. If you want to check out my reviews of Blames work so far on Good Looking, you can dig into this blog more. It has his 12” singles and his album, along with his previous EP, ‘Between Worlds’, engineered by Odyssey. I hope you enjoy it?!

Good Looking Records

Nookie – First Light EP

2000

Back for more? Ok. 

Today is one of those many moments that I’ve been writing and working out, “What is it that gives me the drive to keep doing this?” All that is happening is me listening to tracks off the shelf, working my way along the jungle/hardcore/rave shelves, in tandem with the house/trance/alternative shelves as we move through the alphabet and labels. The tunes play and instead of keeping my thoughts, ideas and journeys to myself, I let them out to play. That’s where this writing comes in. 

   It started as a way to document my collection. Discogs is great but it doesn’t prove you own the records, just by selecting ‘In Collection’. I wanted a record (pardon the pun), of my collection but also wanted to express and release the feelings within the products, of the sounds, the vinyl, the sleeves and the memories. I’m hoping my recording setup gets sorted soon too (crackling noise, but I’m working on it), as the efforts that go into my writing, works on an equal level with my mixes. I care, I create and I fucking love the music. It’s on the way though. 

    That’s a little about what goes on at the Corton mews. Let’s now throw open the windows, take out the next vinyl record and roll out the second disc on this superb EP by Nookie. 

    Back on August 25, 2025 I posted a review on Facebook and on my blog (see below) reviewing Nookie’s track ‘Lost File’ on GLR044. In that write up I mentioned that we would get to today’s track, during these reviews. Alas, the time has arrived, as we reach the track on Side C, ‘Lost File (Remix)’. As the shadows slowly brighten with that suspenseful techno key and plumes of encrypted solace and tranquility submerge you, it’s those beats here that raise the game in a big way. Nookie takes a leaf off the Ray Keith engineering tablet right here, taking the relaxed original and placing it under the microscope of a ruffer and more razor cut version. Check out the blinking amen burst, that defined Dread and Ray’s work (with Nookie engineering as we know). If you’re after that sharp twist in the atmospheric set, slam this one and take things to the next level. A wicked remix this. 

   Side D, delivers ‘Spiral Motion’, taking something a little unique out Nookie’s magician hat. Listening to this track on my headphones, cranked up way too loud, confirms just how fucking incredible this EP is. If you need to hear Nookie’s powers of rolling atmospheric brilliance, just drop this track and you’ll fall in love with it. The way Gavin can take an instrument and just riff it, opening up long term memory banks for every sound to settle in your head, is pure genius. It’s not just one riff though. In this track alone, there are about 5 or 6 that are absorbed. The fear is that you’ll reach the end of this track and now need to play it again.. and again. More a necessity than a fear. 

   ‘Spiral Motion’ is up there as a top three of Nookie’s tracks on Good Looking for me. A mesmerizing, emotional and fucking ludicrously tantalizing piece of music. This audio canvas has no frame, as it breaks the confines of sound, allowing all that you feel during this track, to move, expand and reinvent itself, within your soul. 

  Unbelievable. 

   A massive respect to Gavin Cheung as always. These sounds will never lose their appeal and continue to hit listeners in unexplainable ways. Plenty more tracks to review from Nookie on Good Looking and further afield once the label is complete. 

   My blog is here, so you can check out the back catalogue if you have some spare time. Thanks to those who have dropped in. 

Good Looking Records

Nookie – First Light EP

2000

As we start to settle ourselves more comfortably into the new year, we move onto the next Good Looking EP among this top shelf selection of tunes. I hope everyone had a good weekend, with plenty of music to immerse oneself? What’s a day without it? The sounds trigger a million different visions, memories and escapes that keep the line of sanity a little more stable. The ultimate lift, decompress and historical forage. It’s thousands of experiences to hand, covering both audio and visual moments that are always there. 

   We now reach an artist who has been a regular inclusion in these Good Looking Records reviews. Not surprising when you dive into the mammoth catalogue of work he’s been a part of. This is actually the first of three EP’s from him, which makes up 1/3 of the EP’s left in the series. Of the three, it ls probably the least well known, based on a couple of the classic tracks on his ‘’Oceanic’ and ‘Feel The Funk’ EP’s. You cannot write off this EP though. Nookie was rolling out a such a healthy amount of atmospheric sounds for the label at this time. Gavin Chueng AKA, Nookie, delivers the sounds, so let’s kick this off, like only he can.

   The artwork for today’s garden of gatefold delights is Nick Purser, with more dynamic images that seem to interlock and tower upwards, as if you’re lying in the floor of the big city. Nick uses this meshed girder look here, keeping the bronzed and rusted colors while a breaking light clips through on the front. The reverse is such an incredible piece, almost as though the abstract structure is a mechanical arm, stretching across the view, while the smallest breeze is waiting to blow the cloud away for that first light.

He uses a few profile pictures of Gavin for this presentation too, which were a following theme for each of Nookie’s EP’s. Big up Nick, here’s his background link for the story behind it:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/367973625697805/

   This edition is again labelled as a limited number of 3000. Mine is No: 001416. I still don’t know why there are 6 place values for 3000, on the typed stickers, but hey ho. 

   This is the first EP in the series to play at 45 RPM (for all the fellow nerds out there). 

‘Rampage’ on Side A, sets up toasty sunrise elongating the synths out and brandishing a titanium coated, gravel scraping drum sequence, that walks alongside a murmuring bass, which cements this dawn sequence perfectly. Tracks like this lure out the settlers and hit biological patches of ultra sensory resolve. It’s deep, highly infectious and provides a recoiling and powerful assortment of thoughts. A fliipin’ brilliant piece of music. 

   On Side B is ‘Sound Scaped’ and more by Incredible pieces of music from Nookie. I’m really surprised none of the tracks on this EP made it into the Progression Session mixes. This track has that looped Detroit sound, flavoring the funky bass, as the break pushes that high octane, live vibe. It’s the edge of the cloud that sparks that time between silver lining and full beams, which hangs on to the verge of the depths and the heavens. The strength of this plate alone is easily enough to get hold of this amazing release. Nookie really delivered a special one here. Then again, his catalogue is one of the strongest out there, so making anything less than great is rarer than finding a snail with wings. 

   More from Nookie on tomorrow’s review as we hit the second record on this EP. If you can’t wait for more, my blog is ticking along with plenty of Good Looking Records for you to browse through. I hope you get the chance to check it out! Here it is:

Good Looking Records

Makoto – Situations EP

2000

Continuing on with this highly recommended and first class collection of tracks, we now move onto the second plate on the ‘Situations’ EP by Makoto. 

   Sometimes you have music that you slide out the sleeve and then stare off into space listening too. Obviously if your a DJ that cares and gives a shit about the standard of crafting and work that goes into creating journeys beyond words, you are usually focused on the working environment, and feeling the music in a way that a sculptor may envision a shape or form, or a painter may dab a colour. When it comes to the tracks on this EP, it’s the artwork that stands out just as much as the music. It completes the experience in a way that makes sense. Let’s roll into another couple of tunes on this Sublime EP.

   Both Makoto and Akira work their brotherly talents into this track on Side C, ‘Travel Star’, which was again, a feature on Progression Sessions 5, from Bukem, Conrad and DRS. We ignite another round of glazed, musical scorching with huge humming bass, the technical glimmers of birthing stars and a raw feeling of flame fueled fusion and controlled frenzy. As we hurtle through the cosmic clusters that stand in perpetual flight, the royal coordinates set us up on a cruise beyond the known matter of our existence. ‘Travel Star’ has that electronic stability with this outer layer of funk that gives us the perfect proportions for a voyage into the outer reaches of space. The signals from the stars have a different meaning of time, providing an energy that reaches us from unfathomable distances. 

   The title track from this EP is ‘Situations’ on Side D. Of all the tracks on this EP, this one is the one that I feel slides into Makoto’s plans, for what was to follow. While it leaps on the funk bus and showcases that underlying Makoto sound that was to become such a unique style, it does leave behind the layers of emotion that squeezed its way out in abundance, from the other tracks on this EP. I’m sure Makoto’s journey is not looking back with too much dismay though, as he’s an artist that continues to push things forward, in his own style & vision. This EP is a fantastic example of his best Good Looking work for me.

   We have more in this EP series from Makoto, coming up soon, venturing into his era of album work and leaving these exotic and majestic pieces and switching to his live stage sound.

My blog has many reviews from GLR 001 right through the 12” singles (minus a couple of TP only releases), and then the albums on vinyl. You’ll find them here.

Thanks for reading! 

Have a good weekend! 

Good Looking Records

Makoto – Situations EP

2000

As we venture along these reviews and continue listening to this music on this socially strange but physically beautiful planet of ours, the music seems to bond somewhere in between the two, which keeps the occasional wobbly plates of sanity, spinning. Music provides us a level of clarity and meaning providing a place for the palette of emotions. For me, since I could walk, it’s always been a powerful tool that feels its way through you and sends you on an infinite number of directions, while the world around seems focused on one at a time. The difference is, the places you travel remain yours and no one can remove them, criticize them or change them. Sounds, vibrations and molecules. Your experiences. 

    Makoto is back with his first of 2.5 EP’s in this series, following the 1999, 12” release ‘Enterprise / Sweet Changes’ on GLR036. The Japanese electronic workhorse was pushing a glittering amount of music with both down tempo (Earth Records) and drum and bass quality, out to the world and this EP, for me, wet the beaks of many with its energy and dynamic flavour. The added lift that this EP received was the inclusion of two of its tracks on LTJ Bukem’s ‘Progression Sessions 5’ mix, with MC’s Conrad and DRS. The music really takes the calmer water from Makoto’s deeper work and cranks up the machine with the tracks here. 

   It’s also worth noting that two of the tracks are written by Akira Shimizu who is Makoto’s brother, and is duly included as the artist on those pieces. What a fine musical duo!

    Nick Purser shows more of that striking imagery with his artwork. While we have our heads ducking as the airliner roars over us on the front and back covers of this sleeve, it’s the silent and still inside gatefold that returns us to the meditative calm. The bold orange and red colours reel in the Eastern Sun and we have Nick’s plant life back in its effective manner. It’s a cover that always pushes my heart rate up a little when tipping it out the shelf. 

Here’s the backstory by Nick Purser:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17y7xKNNiW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

   Shane McEnhill at Tape to Tape (I think it was Heathmans Mastering very soon after this release, in April 2000) is on mastering duties, adding that finely finishing touch to the product. The sound is mint. 

   Track one on Side A is ‘Innerself’. The strings alone in this track are enough to send your spine into eclectic chills, leading this air of smooth suspense. Everything about Makoto at the peak of his powers, is in this track, and within every one of the tunes on this EP. Harmonious bars and key changes, develop a world that Makoto sent hurtling toward us, encasing us with this symphonic taste of inward manifestation and outward beauty. Tracks like ‘Innerself’ showcase the sunset of Makoto’s most prolific and heartfelt work, prior to his post millenial projects which swept in more live jazz and less deep synth and orchestral pieces. Revisit this one and let your spirit soak in some of Makoto’s most infectious and mind blowing musical moments. 

   On the flip side is ‘Skyward’ on Side B. This track was featured on Progression Sessions 5, and for those that have that CD you know how bloody impressive this track is. Written by both Shimizu’s, Makoto and his brother, Akira, ‘Skyward’ raises the game in so many ways. Take the stacked clouds of intense rage and watch as this tune disperses them with an expanse of white hot light, freeing up a vast blue sky that then beckons you up, into a high velocity launch, up and out into a darting, brain exploding layer of the atmosphere that sits somewhere between two worlds. The beats send the chaotic ricochets of fused energy into overdrive, the funked up electro bass, and then the breakdown that resets the whole track again into a different key, and fits the pieces into this fucking masterpiece of music. To say this is not only one of the most monumental pieces in Makoto’s catalogue, but the whole GLR label, is an understatement. 

   All you have to do is listen to this and have the artwork on the sleeve to look at while it plays and something truly magical happens inside you. Pure heaven. 

   The next two tracks on this EP are up next.

Good Looking Records

Rantoul – Changing Landscapes

2000

It’s our final day of 2025. I hope to continue with this journey along my shelves throughout the Mondays to Fridays, of the whole of next year. It’s another year further away from the musical moments that initially planted their sound into our lives, defying all odds, leaving the timeless residuals indelibly etched in our lives. 

    We are slowly reaching the end of the Good Looking Records reviews, only 12.5 EP’s to go and then a few weeks of final odds and sods to round off the label. I will be adding in the sub labels I’ve already reviewed on Facebook, and then we still have Looking Good and Nexus heading our way in the future.

   Today we continue with the Rantoul EP ‘Changing Landscapes’, which was Ian Rantoul’s only EP in the series. Ian was firing on all cylinders in the late 90s. Needless to say, I’m itching to get this next disc spinning. 

    ‘Deep Water’ sinks its teeth in straight away, on Side C, discharging a steady percussion roll out (with a great bit of Triangle tapping), stretching out the red carpet, on which the luscious pads unravel. The simple 4 note synth hook in here helps ground the hub for everything else around it. Waves of incurable radiance and internal simmering flood your being. Rantoul massages your brain and redesigns your muscle movements, flushing out the toxins of the unnecessary and inhaling a gust of the hybrid, future tech – cosmic syrup concoction. This track is just a sublime piece of music. One of my favorite of his, full stop.

    On Side D is ‘Last Stop’ taking a punching beat, extracted from a distant galaxy that leads the whirling, beeping and laser zapping fidgets into the fray. Here is another example of why I feel Rantoul would have been a great addition to Blame’s, 720 Degrees label. The vortex through which his music passed, held tales and fables destined for a time that stood way ahead. 

   Rantoul has been absent for a fair while, however we have some exciting prospects ahead, with news that Okbron have two tracks that didn’t make it onto Good Looking, in the pipeline for release on vinyl in 2026. Back in 1997, Rantoul made a track that only reached it onto dubplate, called ‘Borders’. Then we have Ascendant Grooves with the release that has haunted many of us Good Looking fanatics, AG 010 with his track ‘The Peasant’. What a double whammy right there, hey? Big up to Alex Guturov and Paul Bendell, who I know have been working on this becoming a reality, and I hear a few other treats hopefully soon. 

   Respects to you both! 

A very Happy New year to all. 

Good Looking Records

Rantoul – Changing Landscapes

2000

For the second Good Looking Records EP of the year 2000, we now warmly receive the talents of Ian Rantoul. By the time he had produced this EP, Ian had already shown his metal in the atmospheric circles within the Good Looking Records camp, with tracks like ‘The Ladder’, ‘Too High’ and ‘Changeling’ among a few of his productions, Rantoul was showing his talents and unleashing a clinical and artistic flare for the atmospheric music scene. My blog has write ups for those aforementioned tracks, so scan back and check them out!

Having this EP released in this series is testament to that work. Let’s get things underway.

    The artistic duties for this sleeve have the dream team of Nick Purser and Gareth Jones, providing this impressive display of creativity. The soaring architecture on the front with the firey orange glow is a superb contrast to the underground, abandoned looking nightclub that shows a lone DJ mixing in the shadows, within the gatefold. It was a glimpse of the graveyard shift according to Ian. Then the back sleeve has the magnified structure that welds and joins things together and I also spot a ‘Vapor’ logo on there. This was apparently the label for Rantoul to operate inside the GLR circle, which he was excited about starting, but nothing came from it.

   This must have a story behind it, so I’ll leave it to Nick & Gareth to spill the beans. 

“This one is a very personal [Gareth] favourite. The warm orange hues were so good. There weren’t many that Nick Purser and I specifically collaborated on, although we often tried things independently when working on singles, albums etc. Just in case something next-level came out. This was one of those moments. If I remember correctly, Nick had nailed most of it, then I had a play with some of the artwork elements, and the cover image came together – so a great example of how we interwove our ideas and exploration. We also had a bit of an obsession with Tadao Ando’s work, which came across very strongly in this artwork. The ‘Changing Landscape’ element was all about the buildings and architecture shifting and changing into different structures, almost transformer-like. It’s a shame that we weren’t animating stuff back then, as this would have been amazing in motion too.”

    This is a Limited Edition of 3000 and this copy is No: 000891.

   On Side A, we have the electric sizzling of hyper space, spinning a blitz of excessively charged currents into the mainframe. ‘Interact’ is a track that rolls the fingerprint out onto the rap sheet that confirms this is a Rantoul production. It’s a big change in style from the previous EP in this series from LTJ Bukem, showing that there was a jazz side and a more futuristic and sci-fi, inside this circle running hand in hand. The electro style bass, zips-zaps and laser jolts emissions within this track, and that mechanical functioning of the beats, all conglomerate for a musical voyage through the circuit board of Rantoul’s work. Listening to this track, always raises my eyebrow with wonder, as to why Rantoul didn’t release anything on 720 Degrees, given his sound? It was made for Blame’s label in my view. Regardless, it landed on Good Looking and kept things interesting with the way things were going. 

    On Side B we have the hauntingly beautiful ‘Modular’ to set the angels free. This is a track that blows my mind when I hear it. Rantoul merges the future sounds and takes these laser bolts (which could have sounded really tacky), and utilizes them with these drifting pads, quality snapping breaks and those infectious synth/keyboard notes which almost sound like a string pluck at times so maybe it’s from a sitar setting or something? Then those encroaching and fading chimes, combing through the fibers for this breathtaking and addictive presentation. What a superb piece of music. So original, catchy and so…well, Rantoul. Brilliant work! 

    More from the second half of this Rantoul EP, tomorrow. My blog is here (as mentioned above), if you are interested in reading up on the Good Looking reviews, thus far. I hope you enjoy them!

Good Looking Records

LTJ Bukem – Suspended Space EP

2000

    As we turn the page once more, leaving dates in the history of our music, we continuing to defy time. The music that raises us up when we’re down, wraps its arm around us and lets us loose when we need to. Time is a constant on our planet, but music bends it. Our memories at times, transport back to what seems like a few years ago when we pick up that record, but then it shows, stamped on its label, that it was from thirty years ago. I suppose you could relate this to anything though. “Time flys when you’re having fun”. A sanctuary of pure passion and continual satisfaction. As we move closer to 2026, leaving the 30 year ago (‘95 Jungle onslaught) anniversary, we are about to move to the 30 year anniversary of 1996. I can already hear the 2nd LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad Essential Mix from Radio 1, beginning to surface for another landmark from 3 decades ago.

    It’s on that note that we move into the second record on Bukem’s ‘Suspended Space’ EP. I hope your weekend was a good one, and some of musical notes danced your way?! Before we dive into the tracks, let’s look at some more of the artwork, from Nick Purser on this plate. 

  The image on the record label of ‘Viewpoint’ looks like it’s taken from a photo from one of the Good Looking documentaries? I know there’s a clip in that film of the boys messing around in the water and acting like loons. This looks like a snap shot of one of the crew wading out. I also love the reflective finger on the mixer controls blended in, from the inside gatefold cover of ‘Journey Inwards’.  Side D is also the same figure wading into the water, and it has a glimpse of a Roy Ayers, album cover faded in which was also featured inside the gatefold of ‘Journey Inwards’. Superb artwork! 

    Now to the music. ‘Viewpoint’ is on Side C of this EP. This is another of the tracks that was on the CD, but not the vinyl release of ‘Journey Inwards’. We need no longer fret though, as this delightful snare based roll out delivers more epic, future jazz with a pinch of that resolute music dust that Bukem supplies. The live stage imagery and the way the strings work into this are sweet to the ears. While it springs and jostles it also has a melancholy cloak draped around it. 

   Last up is ‘Sunrain (Instrumental)’ with additional mixing by Dan Duncan from Intense. In all, there are 3 variations of this track, the Vocal Mix, (found on ‘Journey Inwards’ and the 12” single) Flying Fish Remix (12” Single) and this outstanding Instrumental Mix, which highlights the underlying beauty of the music, minus Elliot’s vocals here, (which I do like for that little extra heat in the sunbeams shining down on my face). That said, there’s something a little special with this version. It seems to dismantle the overground placement of the vocal version and unlock the procession of dams, letting things flow more openly and widely. A smooth underground jazz haze, designed for any direction on your internal thought compass. 

 A classy EP from the Good Looking Records head honcho. One that is a nostalgic, and most worthy addition in anyone’s collection. We move into the eighth chapter in the EP’s, tomorrow. My blog is here for your enjoyment too. There’s lots of Good Looking info, pictures  of records and you don’t need any money to enjoy it. What’s keeping you?