Music

Every week, JOE dance music writer and DJ, Craig G, tips five essential tracks. This time we’re talking Wreckage Machinery, Lamb, Emalkay and a classic from The Orb.

Wreckage Machinery, Long Gone. Download here.

Christopher Wehsner has been in and around music for most of his life. He began learning to play the piano at the tender age of five before deciding at the age of ten that he wanted to play a trendier instrument, so he moved on to drums. In 2006, after a couple of years playing in rock and metal bands across his native Austria, he started producing drum 'n' bass under his Wreakage Machinery alias.

Wehsner's first releases were on free labels such as Darkland, Chase and Mushcore Recordings, which went a long way towards putting him on the map and gaining him respect amongst his peers. In 2008 he singed to Czech digital label Esprit Records and released his first commercial EP titled 'Take Care'.

I was so blown away by his latest release, Long Gone, that I couldn't help but get in contact with the man himself and congratulate him on such a stunning piece of work.

During the course of our correspondence he gave me this little nugget: "There really is nothing more important for me than my music reaching the inner core of the listeners, that's why I often try to write a melodic intro or outro even in my harder tracks."

So, if your feeling Wehsner's music as much as I am, you'll be happy to hear that I've lined up an exclusive interview which I'll be sharing with you in the coming weeks. For now, though, you'll have to make do with the free download which is available above.

Overall, Long Gone is a gleaming piece of chilled-out liquid-funk that showcases Wehsner's production skills brilliantly. His parents' decision to encourage him to learn to play the piano looks to be paying off on this release, which is made quite clear when at two-and-a-half minutes in, the break arrives and engulfs you in what can only be described as an emotionally haunting soundscape of surging strings. Overwhelmingly beautiful.

Listen here:

Lamb, Another Language. Download here.

Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes, aka Lamb, are an electronic music duo from Manchester that tasted their first slice of commercial success after they released the now classic and much loved Górecki in 1997.

On the back of that they recorded three more albums, and with the exception of the track Gabriel which appeared on their third studio album What Sound, they seemed to lose their way. None of their releases could match the untapped rawness of their self-titled debut album.

After releasing their forth studio album, 2003's Between Darkness and Wonder, they decided to split to concentrate on solo projects. Rhodes went on to record three solo albums and during the recording of the third record, which was recorded in Barlow's home studio, the pair decided to reform the mighty Lamb. They have since released two albums, Lamb Live At Koko and their fifth studio album, simply titled 5.

This latest offering sees the duo going back to their roots, with the band members themselves claiming that they look upon this as the album they would have released as their second album if it wasn't for the 'pollution' that fettered their creative process. I can only guess that the 'pollution' that they referred to was pressure from their record label.

Another Language, their latest single, is the opening salvo from 5, an album which is not only a magnificent return-to-form, but is everything I expected it to be and more. Electronica has rarely sounded this profound, with Barlow's spacious, musically complex atmospherics and rolling breaks truly complimenting Lou's haunting vocal technique. It feels as though they never went away.

Listen here:

Emalkay ft. Lena Cullen, The World. Download here.

Dubstep producer Martin Knowles, aka Emalkay, kick-started his career many moons ago with a string of grime and garage releases on his own Morphic Sounds label. He then moved to Boka Records before finally settling on Caspa's Dub Police imprint, with some well-received releases under his belt, notably 2009's When I Look At You. With last year's Crusader and some stunning remixes for Pendulum, Faithless and Miike Snow, he has well and truly spread his wings.

This year, Knowles has released his debut album, Eclipse, which features a host of collaborations. If I'm honest, I think this album is hands-down the best dubstep release since Magnetic Man's self-titled debut. It's awash with all the wonky-bass and low end-rumble you'd come to expect from Knowles with touches of drum 'n' bass, drops sicker than Ted Bundy and some sweet soulful vocals which shine a welcome light on his trademark darkness.

Knowles has now teamed up with the multi-talented Lena Cullen for his synth-heavy dubstep monster The World. Cullen has been a busy woman as of late. She features on Engine-Earz Experiment's brilliantly crafted Reach You and is also one half of She Is Danger with the equally talented Maya Jane Coles. The World is the only fully vocalised track on the album and it just might be the one to afford Knowles some well-earned commercial success.

Listen here:

D1 ft. Jenna G, Flood of Emotions. Download here.

Dwayne Marsh, who goes by the stage name D1, is a West London-based producer who comes from a very musical background. Marsh learned to play piano at age seven, reached grade eight in music theory and can play tenor sax. He's also the son of 90s jungle and techno producer Michael Anthony Marsh.

When you take all this into account it's not at all surprising that at age 14 he turned his hand to producing electronic dance music.

Marsh first appeared on my radar when he released the Missin on the Tempa imprint back in 2006 and since then he has put out a wide variety of successful releases of various styles that had influenced him during his well-rewarded journey through the UK's underground club scene.

Flood Of Emotions, which features soulstress Jenna G, is going to be a sun-scorched summer bomb, with the combination of the all-to-familiar hardcore break driving this melodic behemoth. Jenna's breathtaking vocal delivery is what makes this outing so special. The EP also features two stellar remixes, one by Subscape and the other by Enei, who turns it into a drum 'n' bass affair.

Listen here:

The Orb, Star 6 & 7 8 9 (Phase II). Download here.

I don't condone the taking of drugs in any way-shape-or-form but it's impossible to avoid mentioning when writing about the acid-house phenomenon.

The fact of the matter is that drugs played a huge part in the emerging culture of dance music and just like most things in life that people enjoy, like surfing, bungee jumping, horse riding or gambling, there will always be a positive side and negative one.

It all started in 1987 when Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway and Danny Rampling travelled to Ibiza to celebrate Oakenfold's birthday. Whilst there a friend brought them to the Amnesia Club, whose resident DJ at the time was the now-legendary Alfredo Fiorito. It was here that the trio decided to sample the local produce.

Aquote from Mr Rampling sums "the moment that changed it all" up nicely:

"I'd read about Amnesia, but Trevor Fung was the man who really introduced us to it. I did one [an E] first. I certainly wanted to experience the whole thing. I dived in instantly, shortly after, Oakenfold dived in, which I was most surprised at. He struck me as being the most sensible of the crew, but far from it. He was followed by Johnny (Walker) and lastly Nicky."

Rampling had his eyes opened that night and not just in the literal sense - he brought the experience home and opened Shoom, the club that is credited as launching the acid house culture. It soon spread around the country like wildfire with like-minded people as high as kites, popping pills like they were going out of fashion, when really it was quite the opposite.

But just like Isaac Newton's laws of physics, what goes up must come down; albeit a very different kind of down. This became a problem for the select few that didn't want their party to end and it wasn't long before 'King Heroin' started to make guest appearances at after-partys across the city.

It was at after-partys that the sounds of The Orb's tripped-out, multi-layered ambience started to become increasingly popular, with MTV's chill-out zone playing a big part. At that time MTV was exactly what it said on the tin - music television - before the station decided to air nothing but Jersey Snore, Pimp My Bride, Crib's That I've Borrowed For The Day and other puke-inducing reality programmes.

The Orb, who have been compared to Pink Floyd, have been making obscure drug-related and science fiction-themed music since 1988. Through the years the band has encompassed many different members including Alex Paterson, Jimmy Cauty, Kris Weston, Andy Falconer, Simon Phillips, and Andy Hughes. Paterson has been the only permanent member, continuing to work as the Orb.

The Orb's critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom peaked in the early 1990s with the albums The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld and U.F.Orb, the latter of which, my personal favourite, reached #1 on the British album charts in 1992.

Star 6 & 7 8 9 (Phase II), which is taken from their 1992 Perpetual Dawn EP, is simple but effective with a strong emphasis on the less-is-more concept of production. After twenty years it's the only release from The Orb that I keep coming back to - it never loses its freshness.

Listen here:

JOE’s Dance Downloads is compiled by veteran DJ Craig G. The Dubliner has performed sets in numerous clubs during the course of his 18-year career including The Dragon Nightclub in Dublin and The Vic Nightclub in Galway. His mixes, meanwhile, have been featured on 2fm. Craig G has been working with Rampage School of Dance for the past eight years, putting scores for their live performances. Their last collaboration enjoyed a sold-out run at The Mermaid Arts Theatre.