Fine and Dandy
Dandy Jack and the Junction SM - Arabs In The Dessert
Okay, so those of you who've been reading this site for a while now understand that while I often post indie rock or some weird, slightly experimental jazzy something or other, my mainstay is Techno music in all its glorious forms. So, with that in mind, I want you to listen to this slice of truly bizarre techno. Its a long long track, at over eight minutes, and it goes through three or four distinct phases, culminating in a strange, chopped vocal sample riding a nasty bassy synth line.
This slice of out of control strangeness is courtesy of Dandy Jack and his new album, Los Siete Castigos (Spanish for 'the Seven Punishments'*), released by the Frankfurt-founded Berlin-based Perlon Records. Jack, real name Martin Schopf, is originally from Santiago, but has lived in Germany since the late 80s and has been releasing techno, in one form or another, since the early 90s. When working as Dandy Jack, he usually adding a new, strange sounding cohort to that name with each release, ie: Dandy Jack and the Cosmic Trousers, the Latin Lava, the Plastic Woman. His Dandy Jack releases have, until now, been put out by Atom Heart's Rather Interesting record label. Martin has also released work, with collaborators, as Gonzalo Martinez (with Jorge González), Gon (with Atom Heart), Amp (with Pete Namlook), Sieg Über Die Sonne (with Pink Elln), and the very highly celebrated Ric Y Martin (with Ricardo Villalobos). Prolific to say the least.
Anyway, Los Siete Castigos is filled with tracks like this, that take their sweet time unfolding - much like Villalobos' most recent work (see his Perlon 12" Chromosul) - with highly developed shuffling rhythms, many of which take on a Latin tinge with slices of congas and other elements reminiscent of his South American roots. If you're into this sort of thing, I highly reccomend giving it a listen - you can purchase said record at Forced Exposure in the US, or Soul Seduction in Europe.
* A Biblical reference re: Revelation 15? "And the seven angels who had the seven punishments came out from the house of God, clothed with linen, clean and bright and with bands of gold about their breasts." Or could have nothing to do with this album, which is seven tracks long (and an intro track labeled Track 0 on the case), and I'm just looking for another layer of weirdness to this guy. Anyone have any ideas?