Uptempo feelgood dance music for Friday from the current queen of that kind of thing. Roisin Murphy's Machine was one of 2020's highlights, an album that ran the gamut from house to disco, Roisin's vision and entire temperament over four sides of vinyl. The man she made it with, Richard Barratt aka DJ Parrot also aka Crooked Man, has now remixed the whole album and turned it into one of 2021's highloghts. Like the source material the tracks are strong enough to standalone as dancefloor smashers and designed to be listened to at home, the songs segued into one another.
The opener takes Machine's Kingdom Of Ends, a song which was a masterclass in barely controlled tension, which threatened the biggest drop but held it back like a dam constantly about to burst. Kingdom Of Machines takes the tense synths and brings in a bleepy bassline before the kickdrum starts hammering away.
Crooked Machine's closer Hardcore Jealousy employs a rave hoover and a breakbeat, the sound of 1989 in 2021- not in a revivalist or nostalgic way, just in a Roisin/ Crooked way.
2 comments:
I've not got this yet but really enjoyed the extended mixes on the deluxe edition of Roisin Machine so Crooked Machine will be purchased real soon. Her lockdown performances have also been a real highlight of this year. I've noticed that she's back on the road this year and playing in Bath. I've got a couple of gigs already lined up, but Roisin is someone I'd really like to see live in concert.
Roisin was kind enough to released Crooked Machine on my birthday and it is one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received. Remix/Remodel albums can be either superb or a car crash. Crooked is far beyond the former.
Kingdom of Machines is a groove that bounces off your body so unrelentingly it becomes your pulse. There's a gorgeous minimalism that gives way to washes of synths that build and build until they release into the atmosphere. The choral vocals giving way to Roisin's soulful vocals give way to those washes of synths and the track ends with a simple drum pattern letting you know that the moment has passed and you must take what you have experienced in 6 and a half minutes and find your own answers. All that and it's just the first track on the album...
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