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artist · the glimmers
release · dj-kicks
year · 2005
genre · electronic
label · !k7
catalogue · !k7178lp
website · www.k7.com
date · 29-apr-2005
quality · -alt-preset standard
source · vinyl
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a1 bis - shack up 5:12
a2 lindstr°m & prins thomas - kosmisk klubbveld 6:10
a3 impi - impi [dub] 6:04
b1 dirty minds - i want u [dub] 7:08
b2 deepstate ii - everybody get down 7:17
c1 chicago - i'm a man 7:44
c2 connie case - get down 7:15
d1 hamilton bohannon - the groove machine/the boogie train 10:53
d2 ragtyme - fix it man [marshall jefferson vocal mix] 5:07
playtime · 01h 02m 50s
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if, as has been declared on a number of occasions in the past two
years, dance music really is dead, somebody forgot to tell mo
becha and david fouquaert, aka the glimmers. the era of superstar
djs might be over - thank god - but one listen to mo and
benoelie's (david's meaningless nickname since school) dizzying
blend of postdiscopunkelectrohousetech, as nobody calls it, and
you'll come away befuddled by the pronouncements of dance music's
passing. in their skilled and dextrous hands, disco no longer
sucks and acid house's unparalled energy has been revitalised.
those with the inside skinny have long known this: for the last
five years the glimmers have been dance music's best kept secret,
and, as such, its saviours in waiting.
until recently, the duo were known as the glimmer twins. not in
itself a nod towards mick jagger and keith richards' hedonistic
nickname, but an apt moniker nonetheless. as tales of their
devastating adventures on the wheels of steel began to multiply,
however, they decided not to risk incurring the wrath of the
rolling stones' litigious-happy lawyers and accordingly dropped
the last part of their name.
name adjustments aside though, 2005 is the glimmers time. hailing
from the fertile fields of ghent in belgium - the same town that
gave dancefloors the world over 2manydjs - the glimmers have never
been privy to the narrow-minded style fascism which often plagues
great metropolitan areas like london or new york. rather, they
have assimilated all aspects of music into their dazzling mix.
first and foremost, mo and benoelie are both sonic archaeologists
and musical sociologists: on the one hand they rapaciously dig
through time cultivating new styles to add to their constantly
evolving spirit, while on the other, they keep their ear to the
ground devouring the futuristic and alien sounds which constantly
spring from music's never-ending well of inspiration.
proof of this arrives with the release of their dj-kicks album.
their first release which works purely as a dj mix album, rather
than a collection of tracks which are then fed through their
unique brand of turntablism - see their much vaunted eskimo
compilations and serie noire i & ii, or last year's marvellous
'the glimmers : re-edited, mixed & ph*cked up' on eskimo
recordings - this album sees mo and benoelie assume their rightful
position as the true heirs of david mancuso, harvey, larry levan
and franτois kevorkian. musics, cultures and sexualities are all
blurred, as the dancefloor becomes one big polymorphous
playground.
disco is the main axis upon which these 18 tracks swing, but this
is a disco utterly unrecognisable from the diluted abomination of
saturday night fever lore. in hamilton bohannon's 1979 classic,
'the groove machine'/'the boogie train' (exclusively re-edited by
the idjut boys for this album), it's a disco wholly suited to new
york's famed paradise garage. on rub 'n tug's magical (again
exclusive) re-edit of chicago's 'i'm a man', its blues-y rock
re-born as hypnotic disco. conversely, the first three tracks û
bis's take on that post-punk staple made famous by a certain
ratio, 'shack up', peaches' filthy rumpshaker 'lovertits', and big
two hundred's lo-slung 'approach and pass with contact' û are
examples of the nefarious new wave disco which is all the rage in
london and berlin.
indeed, in amongst the ragged rock'n'roll sneer, the beatific
house rhythms and the exhilarating dark metronomic throb of
belgian new beat, the glimmers never-ending fascination with the
dancefloor's more spectacular curve balls throws up a curious
geographical trip. alongside new york, london and berlin,
barcelona is visited on the intricate electronica of impi's 'impi'
and the electronic rockabilly dub of two lone swordsmen's
unwavering 'showbizz shotguns'; the spirit of philadelphia is
evoked on kerri chandler's magical 'disko satisfaction' and if you
close your eyes tightly enough you can just about make out the
glimmers' hometown on deepstate ii's hip house anthem, 'everybody
get down', produced by no less than danny tenaglia fact fans, and
their very own, hyper kinetic, neo-digital punk funk monster
'cassette', an exclusive to dj-kicks, as is out hud's spatial
rewiring of magnetophone's 'kel's vintage thought'.
far from being the faceless and featureless linear dj mixes of
old, the glimmers have invested their dj-kicks debut with a
musical schizophrenia that would be certifiable if it weren't so
goddamn funky. it's mixed up, but it's cohesive: it has its eyes
on the future and it's heart in the past. it brings to mind the
best works of andy weatherall, derrick carter and trevor jackson,
yet has a unique charm that is all its very own. it is without
doubt the best advert for freaky dancing in 2005.
however, proselytising about this mix is nothing compared to
listening to it. so do yourselves a favour, sack the dj from your
next house party and press play on this little beauty instead.
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