Records: The Housefactors, The Exaltics/Gosub, Cnnr/No Regular Play

The Housefactors – Play it Loud 

It’s re-issue time again, but as with Larry Heard’s own Alleviated imprint this time the source is direct with Black Market taking it upon themselves to re-release Heard’s The Housefactors 12 inch, that which they first put out 23-odd years ago.

The lead off cut is Play It Loud, a say-what-you-see titling for a pulsating house cut from the legendary Heard. For 8 minutes plus it just stomps along with an infectious bass-line that refuses to budge for the duration with additional 909 claps and hi-hats dropping in and out as it goes along. You can either let this one breath for it’s duration or it alternatively works brilliantly for some stretched out mixing, it fades out at the end giving the impression that Heard just jammed this out for an eternity.

While Play It Loud has resurfaced over the years the big prize on this re-release are the brilliant b-cuts. Things get rawer on Freestyle, again a simple enough heavy house jam punctuated with snare rolls that is able to carry itself along on one hook until it’s close. The 12 closes off with the highlight, the head fucking Go Crazy, which sounds like a hammer was taken to the machines, battering out all sorts of demented funk. I first discovered this on a John Heckle mix a couple of years back and it fits into his personal idea – however correct/incorrect he may be – that house music was rarely bettered after the initial flourishes of some of the early masters. House music doesn’t got much more warped or slamming than Go Crazy.

The Exaltics/Gosub – The Exaltics meet Gosub

I’ve been a bit slack on checking out The Exaltics, the project from Solar One man Robert Witschakowski, who’s had a steady stream of releases on labels such as Bunker and Creme Organization. On the other hand I rarely miss anything by Gosub so this was a neat little package for me. Witschakowsk kicks thing off with the near punkish My Language, which channels 80s wave music into a more abrasive, less lo-fi electro style. He reduces things on I.M.O.E.H, though it’s more relaxed, tripped out keys and 4/4 kick  are backed up by another throbbing bassline keeping things on point the whole way. I think it’s time for me to check out more from this guy.

Gosub takes over the controls on the flip with Plug In, a typically warped Drexciya meets funk cut where he asks the listener if they want to dance with him, in that creepy yet sorta enticing way that he does best. The breathing and moans add to the unsettling nature of a song that is pretty darn good if not really anything new from Mr Scott. You Can’t Escape The Present is a more comfortable track, where a funkier, near 2-step groove is a slight change from what Gosub usually delivers, though his weirdly fun vocals are still intact. Things become quite euphoric the longer it goes on with some enticing pads breaking through the inherent oddness that trademarks Gosub’s sound. I’m hoping that the next step in this project of releases sees the 2 artists working together on tracks, should be interesting.

Cnnr/No Regular Play – CMM0001

Cut Mistake Music is a new venture from New York  the 1st 12 of which comes in the form of a split release with Cnnr and No Regular Play, and it is very much a tale of 2 sides. Cnnr’s 15minute techno/drone soundscape, Candide, takes up the A. Starting off with the sort of hiss and crackle that would probably be filed under ‘subtle’ if it was Burial (ISM is going to spare you any more over-reaching literary ejaculations on the enigmatic producer’s latest release as, well, every other site has already shited out about ten volumes worth of Thesarus’ over a release that is good, but not THAT good), here we get those sparse distortions looped before the composition slowly but surely takes shape, first as a ghostly piece of ambient before  a vague kick drum gathers it together, like a distant, throbbing heart beat. The author subtly changes the sound of the kick as it progresses, with minuscule percussive elements appearing along the way, barely creating a full groove (I suspect this is intentional), but some creeping looped feedback helps carry the midsection along. One can easily argue that there is an overabundance of this type of heaving ambient around and the track could do with a bit more editing but I’d still like to hear this played insanely loud after over-indulging  in some grimy black hole of a warehouse.

The B-side initially sounds like we are in for more of the same as it’s all rain samples and echo’d vocals on No Regular Play’s “Rain All Day” but a murky organ pops up and in a dense way the bass takes it’s cues from old punk funk, if somewhat realigned by Blondes. Some ace 80s synths and a reverbed toms roll break up the song half way through, bringing us into a tranced out conclusion that’ll work nicely if we get a decent summer this year. The closing “Avenue” is just too soft for it’s own good and falls into that same trap that Blondes do too at times, where it all just gets a bit too wishy-washy for it’s own good. Both sides contain the sort of music that I never feel I need the urge to own tonnes of, but they still stand up pretty well against the competition.