Nocturne Remixes

Mama (Unplugged Version) (Henrik Schwarz Remix)

New Release On Los Grandes Records. 2013.

Sexual Feelings

I'm On Fire (Cousin Cole's Bad Desire Mix)

Whisper it quietly, but Andrew Meecham’s ninth album as The Emperor Machine, Island Boogie, may well be the long-serving producer’s strongest set to date. Of course, all his albums ripple with vintage synth sounds, colourful lead lines, dub-flecked electronic disco and lashings of cosmic intent, but this one just feels a little more special.

Island Boogie is certainly special. Meecham’s “most personal” full-length to date was inspired by his experiences at the Rotation Garden Party – a beloved micro-festival promoted by a group of friends (including sometime Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips partner Dean Meredith), renowned for the quality of its custom-built Klipschorn soundsystem. “The album’s title sums up the vibe that you get from Rotation,” he explains. “It may be held in a landlocked venue but it gives a wonderful sense of isolation – it is an audiophile paradise.”

Meecham road-tested rough versions of the album’s eight tracks at Rotation 2023, with the feedback and dancefloor reaction guiding the sound and arrangement of the final mixes. Fittingly, Meecham will return to the event to showcase the album at Rotation 2024 this July. Given the inspiration he’s drawn from previous editions of the festival, that will be a very special occasion.

Musically, Island Boogie offers the most fully functioning and expertly constructed expression of The Emperor Machine sound yet, a style Meecham describes as “electronic cosmic disco-boogie”. It’s a sound that takes cues from early ‘80s NYC punk-funk and dub disco, vintage electro, proto-house and left-of-centre synth-boogie, but one that’s instantly recognisable to those who have followed Meecham’s career over the last three decades.

Island Boogie also sees Meecham continue his blossoming working relationship with Séverine Mouletin, whose stylish and distinctive vocals previously graced his popular ‘Dance Par Amour’ and ‘Your Own Style’ singles. Here Mouletin features on four tracks: the acid-flecked retro-futurist wave-boogie of ‘La Cassette’ (featuring additional percussion by Rupert Brown); the infectious, bleep-sporting headiness of recent single ‘Dévoilez-Vous’; and the squelchy analogue synth-funk of ‘Wanna Pop With You’ and ‘Vas-y-Le Chat’.

Meecham also finds space for a cover of Fox’s 1976 pop-rock classic ‘S-s-s-single Bed’, one of the Stafford-based artist’s all-time favourites. His version, featuring lead vocals by Michelle Bee and guitar from Dave Atherton, re-imagines the track as a subtly Chic-influenced slab of infectious electro-pop rich in kaleidoscopic synth sounds, sing-along choruses and shuffling drums.

The instrumental foundations of the classic Emperor Machine sound come to the fore on the album’s three other cuts. There’s the jazz-funk-flecked warmth of the LP-opening title track; the sparse squelches, bleeps, TB-303 style bass and brightly coloured electronics of ‘Walk The Dog’; and the exotic, slow-motion cosmic electronica of ‘Cha Murrah Etem’, a warm but poignant affair dedicated to his late father. Heady and intoxicating, with hints of Balearica and digital reggae, it offers a fittingly beautiful and tactile conclusion to Meecham’s most expressive and accessible album yet.

Island Boogie

LENG SHOP

Emperor Machine - Vas-Y Le Chat feat. Séverine Mouletin

Out Now @ "It is Balearic?" cult label. You can grab your copy at the common big stores (piccadilly, phonica, juno,..)

"Juno Downtempo Recommendations: Best Of 2010" 

http://www.junodownload.com/charts/juno-recommends/634856-Juno_Recommends_Downtempo/447078-Chart


GiulioDj - Inner Life (rayko rmx)

Late last year "Music For Dreams" released the digital album "Debut" by Bongo Entp. This passion project from veteran studio session player Jacob Andersen brought us an unexpectedly fresh take on South American music traditions. 
On this new vinyl release, the project is both revisited and expanded upon. Cherry picking some of the grooviest cuts from the album for this EP, we also get remix treatments from well sourced collaborators Selvagem & Carrot Green. Both hailing from Brazil, these producers certainly know how to work Latin percussion on a dancefloor. 
Taking on the dreamy cover version of Henri Mancini's classic "Lujón" (original included too), Carrot Green ups the tempo and wrangles the elements of the original into something completely different. Adding a house kick and dark acid undertones, he takes you on a wet trip with lots of twists and turns. 
The production duo of Selvagem manage something similar with one of the looser Bongo Entp. jams. The original "Foto Feita Do Aviaõ"  is a jazzy scat sinaalong tune. In Selvagem's hands, it turns  into an epic cosmic disco groover, locked into place by a muscular baseline. The vocal chants of the original are here, but used in a lower key and more sparingly to punctuate the bounce of the rhythm. 
The vinyl includes two other album highlights - the Cafe del Mar classic "El Rey De Pollo" , a Santana-style chill-out affair featuring Mikkel Nordsø of Bombay Hotel fame and finally the moody "Spanish Winter" with its robotic reggae-like groove and syrup-thick synthesizers bubbling in a bittersweet fashion. A superb package.

01-quasimode-over the horizon

TPP