Fuzz Townshend – Far In [1999; Fruition Records]

On his first solo album, Fuzz Townshend turns out a blend of breakbeat, reggae, alternative rock, and a little bit of jazz, with the beat-driven stew sloshing about in a generally upbeat fashion. For the most part, the songs are built around following a given groove or riff, without much in the way of clever structuring, and development of the track tends to go the way of slipping down a break or reiterating with a few more layers slapped onto the cycle. The loops tend to be fairly fun and stylish, though, with a vibe that’s clear and crisp without being over-polished, and while that’s not enough to make up for the shallow arrangements, it does make for easier listening. Neat enough for a diversion, but the flitty songs end up making it feel like an unfinished album.

Here’s the alternate cover art.

DJ I.Cue – Ingenious Creations & Unique Experiments [1999; Home Entertainment]

On I-Cue’s only album besides his ‘96 Twisted & Funky mix, the producer/DJ unpacks a batch of cut-together beats and clean-drop samples, with guests popping in on a couple of tracks to provide original raps. Mellow grounding lets the more active cut-work operate without getting too unhinged, and the guest tracks mesh easily with those built around sampled vocals, giving the whole album a smooth flow and an air of coolness even at its highest speeds.

The turntablism doesn’t pull anything too wild, but the incorporation of drum’n’bass with the hip-hop backing leads to some very flavorful moments and a blend that was still fairly uncommon for the time of its release, as does the leaning into spacier compositions in other sections. Occasional drifts into jazz loops show I-Cue’s facility with making more common stylings sound good, and the variety comes off as
well-rounded instead of scattered, making it all the more disappointing that a full follow-up never emerged.

Expansion Union – World Wide Funk [1999; TVT Records, Wax Trax! Records]

The base mix of the title track opens this single with a quick jump into techno with a jazz gilding, jamming together wandering synth pings with a slick but spartan bass-line, throwing out occasional sampled renderings of the title phrase while upping the beat accompaniment. Surging under-pumps of mid-range swerve tones build up, drop out, then return at higher pitch and faster concentration, activating the title sample more and more to match, before fading down to a beat and wave exit.

“Playing With Lightning (Scratcher’s Delight mix)” follows, providing a thorough reworking of the original track into pounding bass kicks, replaced bridges, and a transplant of the main scratching passage. It’s not bad, but outside of the high-pitched bridging ostinato on synth, it’s so different from the original song as to be a bit jarring. The opening track returns in a remix by Dynamix II to open the B-side, emphasizing the drum machines against an up-and-down synth roll, translating into jittery vocal sample manipulation and pitch-up eruptions, and slipping more completely into straight-on techno, though it retains the off-center touch

Lastly comes “Children of the Earth”, an exclusive track, with a slow-roll bass kick riff complemented by more active (to near-frenzy) high-pitched synth activity, bouncing along on firm beat support until reaching the slide-out finish. A very strong pack of instrumental electronic work, with a wonderful balance of experimentation and fundamentals.

Bassbin Twins – EP II [1994; Bassbin Records]

In the four untitled tracks of this EP, the Bassbin Twins mix breakbeat with house rhythms. The more the ratio skews towards breakbeat, the more effective the track, but through all of them, the BTs show care in the assembly and execution of their tunes, with well-picked beat loops, interjections, and texturing. Given the lack of titles, it’s hard to get too attached to any of the tracks, but there’s enough stand-out moments to make each (except for maybe the first) get a hook in one way or another.