BILL LASWELL

OSCILLATIONS REMIXES

Remixes based on Laswell's OSCILLATIONS album, featuring Nico, Scanner, Atom Heart, Bisk, Endemic Void, Vedic, DJ Grazhoppa, Ui and Soul Static Sound.

  1/  Oscillations Remix -                       (Laswell)                     6.06
        Endemic Void
  2/  Live Pop Mix -                             (Laswell)                     5.58
        Vedic
  3/  Low Membrane Mix -                         (Laswell)                     5.10
        Scanner
  4/  Oscillations Remix -                       (Laswell)                     8.20
        Nico (No-U-Turn)
  5/  Digital Cut-Up -                           (Laswell)                     6.07
        Atom Heart
  6/  Oscillations Remix -                       (Laswell)                     4.42
        Bisk
  7/  Milky Mix -                                (Laswell)                     4.56
        DJ Grazhoppa
  8/  Very Optimistic Dog Mix -                  (Laswell)                     6.50
        Ui
  9/  D Mix -                                    (Laswell)                     4.19
        Soul Static Sound

          Original tracks created at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, NY, Spring 1996
          Original tracks produced by Bill Laswell
          Remixes produced by it's respective remixer(s)
          Mastered by Duke in Brussels, August 1997

Bill Laswell: bass, beats, sounds.

          1997 - Sub Rosa (Belgium), SRV 122 (Vinyl)
          1997 - Sub Rosa (Belgium), SR122 (CD)

REVIEWS :

I think my lack of respect for Bill Laswell and his whiteboy dub wannabe music is quite well documented elsewhere on my site, so I see no real need to repeat it in this review. As a result of this anti-Laswellian bias, however, despite the fact that this is a remix CD (I never understood why the original artist ever gets all the credit for remix CDs, but I digress), I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of listening to it and didn't do so for quite a while after I got it, which is a bit silly really, because remix CDs are increasingly more and more removed from the originals, as demonstrated by the fact that this CD is really, really consistently good, and Bill Laswell is none of those things (well, he's consistent, I guess, but making everything sound the same - and retarded - is not really much of an accomplishment on my sliding scales of musical artistry. In fact, it rates in the negatives).

Granted, there is nothing that really takes my breath away on this CD, but then again, I run into things that literally take my breath away about as often as your average person receives an enema (read: not very often). What matters is that this music - almost all wildly varying and strange offshoots of jungle - provides a lot of very competent explorations of what "jungle" music can be. Since it's essentially a compilation, I'll just review it as such.

Endemic Void - Oscillations Remix: Eh, not so great. A bit too "standard" jungle, especially at the times when it sounds more like Deep Forest than anything else. It does have an almost-decent bassline at times, however, but it reeks of Laswell.

Vedic - Live Pop Mix: Again, a bit too "standard," even if it isn't really standard at all. Some nice use of ethnic drums, but on the whole pretty forgettable (better than the endemic void mix by quite a bit, however).

Scanner - Low Membrane Mix: OK, here is where the CD starts getting good. This is still pretty normal, but it has a really nice party-pumping treble whine coupled with a simple, slamming bassline and some really nice drum programming. A very competent and slightly tweaked jungle track.

Nico (No-U-Turn) - Oscillations Remix: I hate No-U-Turn. I hated Torque. Whatever. This track is _slamming_. Not dark, not twisted, just a really cyber-feeling (what a dumb word, cyber. oh well), futuristic party anthem - that hoover bass is finally put to good (great) use, although this isn't your normal no-u-turn hoover bass.

Atom Heart - Digital Cut-Up: Right around now this CD starts leaving behind any and all jungle conventions. The title says it all: this sounds like a jungle song that was chopped up and put back together totally at random. Gives new meaning to the term "stuttering" - no way you could ever dance to this (maybe have an epileptic fit, but not dance). Pretty brilliant, if you ask me.

bisk - Oscillations Remix: Gotta love those inventive track titles. This track is good; real good. But it's not half as fukt as the atom heart track, even though it's going for something of the same scatter brained effect; thus in context it doesn't seem very exciting. Anywhere else, though, it would be great.

dj grazhoppa - Milky Rmx: Not really jungle, more hip-hop, but great nonetheless. Pounding, arhythmic bass that comes in at all the right times, and some old school rap samples. Sounds different but familiar, if that makes any sense.

ui - very optimistic dog mix: Lots of machine noises that sound a lot like that oddly disturbing tank rumble in that Aphex Twin track on the NIN remix cd, along with a fragment of a dub bass line that reeks of Laswell but is quite nice in this context. Quite a nice track; sounds nothing like Ui; gets weaker as it gets more "normal" jungle but maintains a pretty high energy level throughout.

Soul Static Sound - d mix: More jungle fragments, "experimental" if you will, but unlike the Atom Heart track, this comes off sounding like it's wanky for wanking's sake. Not terrible, but not too exciting.

6.5/10

A.P. (courtesy of the WPRB website)