Beef Records- Prime Cuts (2006)

Beef Records is the new sister-label to Tribal Vision, dealing with the sounds of electro, breaks, minimal techno and house. Australian’s are no doubt familiar with the manager of the label, DJ Schwa- he has been spending time in Sydney has managed to build up quite a fan-base in all parts of the country. I was particularly impressed with his style, its always funky, experimental and his mixing is uber tight- he’s definitely got a bit part in why I started exploring the minimal techno genre, that’s for sure. I first heard this cd a few months back, but its had a few changes since my first listen- Prime Cuts is a stellar release for its scene, featuring sounds by industry leaders like D-Nox, Trentemoller, Martinez, Loveboat (Jokke Ilsoe), D-Sens, Motion and Alex Kenji, to name a few. The CD is like Schwa’s DJ style -glitchy, deep, sexy, sleezy electro-techno with large doses of funk. Suffice to say Prime Cuts is one of my favourite CDs right now, hasn’t left my cd player in weeks. It absolutely rocks the dancefloor too- one of the few cds I find myself both loving at home and on the dancefloor. The comp starts the on fire Jokke Ilsoe- and his new project with his girlfriend Renata, Love Boat. Pretty much sets the pace of the comp- sexy, broad grooves- bass-heavy, glitchy techno funk with plenty of quirk. Light hearted but at the same time- deep- definitely highlights Schwa’s eclectic (but awesome) taste. This one really broadens out by the end, big sweeping atmospheres over a building rhythm pattern- wicked. The Oliverio and MOS remix of Petersky “Fuck Them All� pushes the boundaries a bit- the dirtiest sample I’ve heard in a while. Michael getting a bit cheeky with this one I think- definitely in keeping with the Beef Moniker. Retro synthie vocals over a sleezy lounge beat- lovely bit of sparkle thrown in at the end too. Slutty, definitely not for the “shanty� types, but I heard it on the dancefloor the other night and I haven’t seen a floor working like that in a while! Trentemoller is definitely the man of the moment- his tunes are getting a flogging worldwide right now and I definitely have no trouble seeing why! He has a style completely of his own- from the first kick you can tell it’s a Trentemoller track! Never a fan of the vocals so much in the prog- but I find with this style techie stuff it works a treat. Walloping bass-groove when it kicks- like only the mollerman can. Definate highlight of a wicked cd! Schwa really doesn’t let the pace slip up with the next one either- I think its probably my favourite on the whole disk. Martinez’s Apocalypse Now remix of D-Nox’s 7Hours is total class- tunes like this have totally converted me to a minimal-tek fiend. Dark, glitchy funk- lots of space and atmpshere and a groove that I’ve seen work everywhere from outdoors at the biggest festival to in a jammed club. Rocking stuff- bring it on! Shuma have been a Tribal Vision artist for a while- but after hearing Rusty Robot, I can see their true home is on the Beef label. Moving more into electro-territory, Rusty Robot really does echo the name- it sounds like a wacky malfunctioning robot. This shit is the sound of now- and this is one of Shuma’s best releases to date. Imagine a dancefloor doing the Robot- and now you got a picture of this track. D-Sens has always been one of my favourites- lately he’s definitely injected a healthy dose of electro into his new work. “Just can’t live without you� is pretty typical of his newer productions. Rocking guitars and distorted vocals over his trademark deep bass grooves. Tappy percussions and some funky effects toward the end- definitely fits nicely into the compilation. Definitely moving out of the minimal territory now- very much electrohouse- good transition between the 2 though. Alex Kenji’s Cyborg brings back the glitch a bit- warped misprounounced “cyborg� sample carrys the track over a superphat bass-groove. If you get into the Shuma track, this one will definitely tickle your fancy as well I’d say. Federico Guist’s “The End is Getting Closer� keeps this groove up. Tek-house funk, lots more robotic dancing. Works a like a dream on the floor too, can attest to that! D-Sens and Motion’s “In Motion’n’Sickness� is perhaps the “housiest� tune on the comp- little bit less glitch, more focus on a huge pulsing electrobassline. Positive, groovy and progressive in its approach- lovely way the track develops and changes. A bit different from the rest of the comp, but a good way to progress the cd. Silky Jack Vs Marcos Salo closes up the comp with this droning electrohouse number. Not a bad track persay, but perhaps not my favourite on the compilation. Its kind of got a dischordant frequency I’m not so fond of, I think it overdoes the 303s a bit. But it does fit into the style of the comp and I’d probably put it down to taste more than anything. Overall- Beef Records first effort with Prime Cuts is an absolute stormer of a comp, hits the new wave minimal techno style on the head. Great tracks and great progression- while it didn’t stick to a particular genre, it definitely had a “sound� and this is what is important too. Wild cover art- really love the whole “Beef� concept its so funny. Well done to Schwa on compiling one of my favourite comps of 2006- he’s hit the sound of the “now� on the head, best of luck with the future of Beef! 8.5/10