RhoDeo 1245 Beats

Hello, Time for some more 'Beats' courtesy of Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood N'joy.

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After dissolving his Sabres of Paradise project and label, U.K. dance don Andrew Weatherall set up the tripartite Emissions label group and launched his latest, perhaps most prodigious musical venture, Two Lone Swordsmen. A collaboration with Emissions engineer Keith Tenniswood (aka Radioactive Man), 2LS was formed in early 1996. The group speaks the same language of warped, downtempo grooves as much previous Sabres work (particularly "Smokebelch" and "Wilmott"), but opts instead for a syntax of minimal electronics and taut, brittle electro-funk for structure and guidance. The group's first full-length release, 1996's The Fifth Mission, was a whopping double-CD/triple-LP, both preceded and followed by additional EPs of new material ("Tenth Mission" and "Third Mission"). A few months later, the group issued two additional LP-length releases (both remix albums under the title Swimming Not Skimming, although the CD and LP versions sported different tracks), and by the end of 1996 had racked up no less than a half-dozen remixes (including Slab, Alter Ego, Sneaker Pimps, and David Holmes).

The heavy release schedule continued through the rest of the decade, with an assortment of LPs (1998's Stay Down, 2000's Tiny Reminders) and mini-LPs recorded via a new deal with Warp. They returned in 2001 with the Further Reminders EP and delivered a remix collection, Peppered with Spastic Magic. In 2004 they released From the Double Gone Chapel, exhibiting more of a late 1970s dub and post punk sound than their previous work, influenced heavily by groups like PiL. It was released with the single Sex Beat, a cover of the popular Gun Club song. Their latest album, Wrong Meeting, was released in April 2007, with Wrong Meeting II following a month after. Set solidly in the dub rock vein they explored on From the Double Gone Chapel, the duo venture into sleezy country and LCD Soundsystem-style punk funk disco.

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Reviewers of the second 2LS full-length release in the same year were forced to clarify which format they were describing, as Weatherall and Co. decided to release two entirely different albums under the same title (one on CD, one on LP). Both feature remix work from a range of house and ambient-techno names, with the vinyl version in strictly deep house mode and this here is the CD switching back and forth between dreamy garage tracks and warped electro/trip-hop.

Two Lone Swordsmen - Swimming Not Skimming (flac  363mb)

01 Azzolini And The Branch Brothers Meet Being 7:58
02 The Ob007 Mix 5:26
03 Rico's Hellectro 6:32
04 Two Lone Swordsmen Vs. The One True Pod (Jakey In The Subway) 6:07
05 Rico's Helly Retailored By Nourizadeh And Teasdale 9:17
06 Glide By Shooting 8:39
07 Bim, Jack And Florence 7:31
08 Don't Call It Jerk 7:15
09 Flossie Wears Paco And Ralph 9:18
10 In The Nursery Visit Glenn Street 6:15

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A slight return to experimental electro after the downtempo breakbeat of their EP work during 1999, the second Two Lone Swordsmen full-length for Warp also explores the minimalist side of techno and harks back to the early-'80s synth-funk Andrew Weatherall championed on his Nine O'Clock Drop mix disc for Nuphonic. Except for a few tracks of free-form ambient wallpaper, Tiny Reminders is pretty hard hitting, at least for Two Lone Swordsmen. The beats are less brittle, and though the catalog of crazed effects is still in full force, they're carried along by the forceful drum programming instead of acting on their own. With haunting synth and a swift, precise drum program bedrocking harsh German vocals, "You Are..." will also sound familiar to electro fans, though as usual Weatherall and Tenniswood's extreme care with their productions makes for a fresh look at familiar sound. Tiny Reminders is far too messed-with for most dancefloors, but another intriguing listen from one of techno's best experimentalists. Weatherall's abstract beats are as curvy as they are playful, as precise as they are liberated. Because Weatherall doesn't give props to an erroneously hierarchical tradition, he incorporates whatever he chooses into his tracks. And rather than finding an ancient instructional LP or sampling a stinky b-movie, Weatherall and Tenniswood craft their own twisted sounds and uniquely freaky beats, and thereby give permanence to an inherently vapid genre.

Two Lone Swordsmen - Tiny Reminders (flac  378mb)

01 Tiny Reminder №1 2:09
02 Machine Maid 4:44
03 Neuflex 4:01
04 Cotton Stains 4:04
05 Death To All Culture Snitches 5:01
06 Very Futuristic 2:44
07 Tiny Reminder №2 1:52
08 Brootle 4:35
09 You Are... 4:16
10 Akwalek 4:36
11 Rotting Hill Carnival 5:05
12 Section 4:33
13 Tiny Reminder №3 2:23
14 C.T.M. 4:14
15 The Bunker 4:45
16 Solo Strike 5:03
17 Foreververb 4:20
18 It's Not The Worst I've Looked..... Just The Most I've Ever Cared 3:03
19 Constant Reminder 1:30

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Peppered With Spastic Magic is a collection of remixes by the London-based mixologists Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood (collectively known as Two Lone Swordsmen). This CD is not about songwriting craft -- it's about the beat and the track, and the Swordsmen bring that perspective to the table whether they're turning their attention to Saint Etienne's "Heart Failed," Alter Ego's "Mescal," or Texas' "Put Your Arms Around Me." Weatherall and Tenniswood aren't playing by singer/songwriter rules; those who accept that going in will find Peppered With Spastic Magic to be an enjoyably futuristic endeavor. This CD isn't an example of harsh, abrasive, in-your-face techno, but it isn't a sleek, smooth album of chillout, downtempo, or acid jazz either; instead, a mood that is spacy, quirky, and moody yet funky usually prevails. the Swordsmen are operating from a space-is-the-place aesthetic and, at times, Peppered With Spastic Magic almost sounds like an electronica equivalent of Sun Ra (minus the improvisation, horn solos, and real-time musicianship, of course). This release is unlikely to win over electronica's more severe detractors, but those who understand where the Swordsmen are coming from will find a lot to like about Peppered With Spastic Magic.

VA - Two Lone Swordsmen Remixes - Peppered With Spastic Magic (flac 435mb)

01 Starsailor – Good Souls (T.L.S. Remix) 5:51
02 Alter Ego – Mescal (T.L.S. Dub) 4:27
03 Stereo MCs – Deep Down And Dirty (T.L.S.Remix) 5:53
04 St. Etienne – Heart Failed (T.L.S. Dub) 4:08
05 Slam Feat. Dot Allison – Visions (T.L.S. Vocal Mix) 7:02
06 Force Legato – System (T.L.S. Remix) 4:42
07 Primal Scream – Stuka (T.L.S. Remix) 10:13
08 Luke Slater – All Exhale (Rude Solo Remix) 6:08
09 Six By Seven – Eat Junk Become Junk (T.L.S. Remix) 6:12
10 Texas – Put Your Arms Around Me (Electric 4 Bird Mix) 5:30
11 Howie B. – Angels Go Bald Too (T.L.S. Mix 2) 3:39
12 Lali Puna – Nin.Com.Pop (T.L.S. Remix) 3:21
13 Calexico – Untitled 3 (Virus Style Mix) 4:07

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