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The last two weeks of September will see Spacetime Continuum, Mixmaster Morris, batacude beatster Amon Tobin, and the Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination take the tourbus across North America. Speaking of Tobin, if you dig his groove, you definitely want to check that Gilberto cat. His "I Was Young & I Needed The Money" 2 X LP will be out in October, as will Neotropic's second Ntone full length. Riz Maslen (Small Fish With Spine) has been doing plenty of ass kicking in the music department of late (both live and in the studio) and continues to put many of the boys to shame. Her effort takes you into some new headspace and then envelopes with great washes of atmosphere while never hiding the funk. Sorta what an album is supposed to do, ain't it? "Ultra Freaky Orange" will be released as a single with mixes from Starbean, Deep Fried Clams, and Red Math. Wagon Christ (aka Luke Vibert and Plug) follows up his "Power Of Love" EP with "Lovely", the first single from his upcoming "Tally Ho!" album. Breaks galore. Also out on Astralwerks is the "Drive" 11tracker from Brian Natonski's Gearwhore. For stranger material in a similar vein, try Jason Buckle's "Flying Lo-Fi", the 2 X LP out on Rephlex from one third of All-Seeing I. Nipping at the heels of the two limited edition vinyl comp EPs that kickstarted the label, Toronto's Suction imprint issues and excellent 13 cut album of edgy electronics from Solvent. Guido Zen's "Healthy Fuel Navigation" has been wowing audiences overseas and now Canadian ears can give it a listen domestically as the UK's Pik n Mix and Ignition labels receive some needed distribution over here for their quality drum n bass and downtempo quirkiness. Out next from the label is the "Konkokting Dub" comp. Ceiling's more drum n bass oriented "E.P. No. 2" is the latest for Brooklyn's Hydrant. In the same fair city dwell the consistent WordSound and Black Hoodz camps. The latest to join the latter's fold is Germany's Sir Positive and his 4track brew of dubhop. In the dime bag series is a mighty soundclash between Spectre and DJ Spooky. Both are highly recommended. From Madhattan, DJ Ming & FS initiate their Junkyard Drum n Bass series with an aptly named eepee. On Detroit's Uptop Entertainment comes an album from Daennac. This is quality hip hop gear with the necessary (but often overlooked) DJ workouts, musicianship (as opposed to blatant looping), and juicy beats and rhymes. CuBop have just released the latin vibes of LA's Johnny Blas' "Mambo 2000" with a cover of Peunte's "Picadillo" included. Out on September 8 is the Skyjuice "The Other Side/Anonymous" 12" on Ubiquity. "The Other Side" features MC Phluid from the Bay locale and a remix from Hive. This is flipped by what's being described as electro a la Fila Brazilia or Jedi Knights. Sounds tasty. Florida's Q-Burns Abstract Message has finished his "Feng Shui" LP for a Fall release on Astralwerks. Qube journeyed to Reyjavik, Iceland to complete two tracks with Gus Gus' Daniel August on vocals, one of which is a cover of Faust's "Jennifer". DJ BMF and Dynagroove are in the studio working on their albums. BMF is getting the funk on with a number of guest vocalists and musicians, while Dyna is keeping it chilly. Selector is just one of the many labels associated with Belgium's Crammed Discs. "Junglized 2" features tracks from Exocet, Aquasky, Fellowship, and St Esprit, all from the longer "Beauty And The Beat" package. The other major musical force in that country is Sub Rosa. Bill Laswell has followed up his incredible "Oscillations" album with a sequel that is just as good, while New York DJs Spooky and Wally and Belgium DJs Grazhoppa and Low contribute to the "End Of Utopia". Time Control's setup of bass, guitar, and drums is your typical rock one minus the vocalist, but the addition of some electronics and the vision of leader Sunao Inami dispose with that structure and compose instead a warm bath of drone and trance pieces that do the trick quite well. In further overseas action, Ed Rush & Optical's "Lifespan" 12" on Virus is a worthwhile purchase. Dubheads will want to score The Mighty Quark's "Smokescreen" (on 10" from the Swedish King Syndrome) and the full length "Confrontation In Dub" (UK Tanty) where the Dub Funk Association see Emperor Sly, Spiral Head, Shotgun Rockers and others tinker with their back catalog. The "Skinful Vol 2" compilation (UK Second Skin) featuring King Kooba, Dogs Deluxe, Hidden Agenda, Klute, Profound Noise, Ronnie & Clyde, Professor Stretch, Jadell, Grand Unified, Shapeshifter, Lexi Love, and 60 Hertz will be released on CD and triplepack vinyl on October 12. Grand Unified release the "Le Hot" EP in mid September featuring a remix from Jadell. Up next from King Kooba is the "Throne Room" EP with a Justice remix. Dogs Deluxe are recording the "Sex And Bass" EP for a November release. Cognition Electronics Top 20 1. Neotropic--"Mr Brubakers Strawberry Alarm Clock" 2 X LP (CAN/UK
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