

Review: Codek is the brainchild of Jean-Marie Salaun who grew up in Paris influenced by the folklore of the inner city. 'Whizbang Mix' invites you back into the bassment for another slice of acid house pie, the meeting point between 'Full Whip' and 'Severe Itching' that feels like trying to listen to the former after the laters aforementioned liquid has blocked your eardrums.

Focusing on the heftier synths and bass, with the rushing wind effects that compromised 'Full Whip'. 'Strip Off Dub' is just that: a stripped back dub version of 'Full Whip'. 'Severe Itching' takes the party downstairs into an acid techno rave, the liquid bass seeping through your ear canal into your skull - an utterly extraterrestrial experience. The 'Full Whip' version is an 80s powersynth with powerful kicks and synth perfection, an authentic use of a commodified sound used in the past couple of years. Review: The iconic North London dance music duo Idjut Boys are famed for their nostalgia fueled offerings of dub, disco and house and join forces again for this 4 track single featuring 4 completely different takes on the track 'Speedball'. An absolute must, even for the non-Japanese heads.

There are slower, more magical moments such as "Castalia", but the winner for us is probably "Insomnia", a great piece of drunken drum machine drums and wonky melodies. The glassy opener is called "Technopolis", for example, and the majestic synth twists of "Rydeen" are a pleasure to our ears even today. Solid State Survivor was the band's second album, and although it was released before the start of the '80s, it already contains remnants of electronic dance music as we know it today. As such, it's the Yellow Magic Orchestra that receives the reissue treatment this time, a Japanese electro-pop outfit formed in 1979, and which includes the great Haruomi Hosono on bass - producer of the timeless and mind-bending "Hosono House". Review: The US' Music On Vinyl always provides the quality reissues, and best of all, they do it quietly, leaving the diggers and owners of the original copies still relatively chuffed with their treasures.
