Jack Master, "Bang The Box" (YSI link)
Jack Master, "One Trac Mind" (YSI link)
It's been a less-than-stellar trip back this weekend. As Mr. Dylan once sang, "I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough." While I'm in transit, I want to leave you with two songs that also look to another city, the birthplace of acid house, Chicago. While one might think that this is just another unheard masterpiece from Trax Records, what with the name of the artist, the song titles, the sounds and even the design, don't be fooled. Jack Master is actually an alias of Richie Hawtin, techno's Zelig, an ode to the jackin' style of Chicago done by a Canadian who I always thought was British. Originally released in 1993 on Jack Records, an offshoot of the Plus 8 label, this one is a phenomenal record, another example of the skill and diversity of Richie Hawtin and his music.
The songs may have sprung from a desire to pay respect to a classic sound, but they easily rise above simple homage, especially on the opening track, "Bang The Box." On this one, you get a male voice repeating the word "bang" over and over, a la so many classic Trax joints, but the heavy, static-y drums give it a less-stripped down sound than the originals. While "Bang The Box" has gotten the attention from this release, " the B side should not be overlooked. "One Trac Mind" is a nice mental
P.S. Richie, you named the label Jack, took the alias of Jack Master? I mean, we already love you! It's awesome that you want to make it onto Pound for Pound, I just don't think you need to be that obvious.
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