mu-Ziq Planet Mu Listening Club

[Hugh Mughnus]

Light of India...one of my favorite electronic songs ever.

Yes! <3

[Nil]

Poppy Seed!

[YEK]

Poppy Seed!

Word!

[KovalainenFanBoy]

ZIQ004
Horse Opera
3 Cornered Room
Released 02-11-1998

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/3-cornered-room/
Planet Mu Store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/68656-horse-opera-3-cornered-room
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0dZpzwHjcM47utlYzQYQZI?si=h5aQUChsQZOGhlnawH1cPg

About the album:
Debut album from Spymania affiliate Steve Taylor aka Horse Opera. After Horse Opera’s contribution to the Mealtime comp on Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu label, We were expecting Three Cornered Room to be more of a tweaked out drum ‘n’ bass workout than it actually is. Instead, Horse Opera lead us on a trek through 30 minutes of Vibert-ian style hip-hop. Rarely touching anything resembling drum n’ bass, Three Cornered Room is full of squelchy synth lines, 808 kicks, and slightly mutated breaks. The CD runs the full gamut, from a half-hearted take on the Prince motif “Sexy MF” to somewhat of a remix (?) of a few older A Tribe Called Quest tracks on the closing “House of the Jazz.” More than just an update to the current crop of abstract headz, Horse Opera could hold its own against the best of the current crop of break manipulators.
About the artist:
Steven Marcus Taylor has appeared on Spymania as Steev & T3 Perm Leech, Ill as Hoarse Operator but his best known material is undoubtedly his work as Horse Opera on Planet Mu. He first came to light on a tape sent to me by Hardy from Spymania when I was compiling the Mealtime compilation (on old Planet Mu/Virgin) and his classic Utility Fog was a highlight of that release. It re-appeared in remixed form as Agility Dog on his 8 track mini album 3 Cornered Room (ZIQ004).
Steve is continuing his good work in the name of electronic music with his Hand On The Plow label recording with Laszlo Beckett as Beckett + Taylor and also the synth DIY website Thonk.

Tracklist:

1. Schis-A-Ning - 4:39
2. Rock Fakie - 4:10
3. Griitch - 3:25
4. Sexy MF - 4:27
5. 3 Cornered Room - 2:40
6. Agility Dog - 4:06
7. Goit - 1:59
8. House Of The Jazz - 4:30

[KovalainenFanBoy]

I didnt even know this album existed... and overall it seems like this album got little to no attention which is a shame. "30 minutes of Vibert-ian style hip-hop" sounds like i'd be bored to tears but the description is not very accurate, actually I really enjoyed this album. Much more dynamic and inventive than I thought it would be, specially from Sexy MF onwards

[caze]

Schis-A-Ning and the title track are great, never liked the other tracks on this much though. You're right, it's not really all that Viberty.

[KovalainenFanBoy]

ZIQ003
Tusken Raiders
Bantha Trax Vol.2
Released 29-03-1999

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/bantha-trax-vol-2/
Planet Mu Store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/68670-tusken-raiders-bantha-trax-vol2
Bandcamp: https://mikeparadinas.bandcamp.com/album/bantha-trax-vol-2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0FWCflD5Pi1wdveOcUrIUq?si=qweS_NTnQG-dGUbepZ186A

ZIQ006
Tusken Raiders
The Motorbike Track
Released 03-05-1999

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/tusken-raiders-the-motorbike-track/
Planet Mu Store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/68987-tusken-raiders-the-motorbike-track
Bandcamp: https://mikeparadinas.bandcamp.com/album/the-motorbike-track
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1nYAqk70yANhmwOOZsAx0e?si=ngfkCY8nT4WFWW7N8LTbwQ

About the album(s):

He of many monikers, Mike Paradinas, returns to his Tusken Raiders alias to put out these two new 12″s on his own Planet Mu imprint. Bantha Trax vol.2 does not resemble the original Bantha Trax released by Clear records in the least. What we have actually has more in common with Panacea and the Position Chrome crew. Yes, it is over the top, brutal dark drum and bass. And hey, to make the package complete, you get song titles like “Death” and “Ice Nine” and cover art work that looks more like Norwegian black metal than anything else. The first track, “Banthacid,” starts off the EP as a somewhat bland two step drum and bass track, save for the extremely dark yet amazingly funky bass line. Halfway through, it erupts into fractured Amen breaks and massive distortion. A good opener track. “Ice Nine” follows a similar line, but has a more Ray Keith/Penny Black feel to it with very dense and unsettling distortion. The secret to this track though is to focus on the melodic ambient sounds in the background. It finds it’s way to the surface a couple of times evoking the familiar Mu-Ziq sound. Flip over to side two and the trouble starts. Pansy puts you directly into the cover artwork. As you walk through the dark cemetary at night, a dense fog surrounds and evelops you. All your childhood nightmares resurface a huge Amen break explodes and a zombified bass line rips you apart, and sends your heart racing a couple more b.p.m.’s faster than the beat. This get’s my vote as the standout track of the four. Just a huge, huge track. Finishing up the EP is “Death.” Following Pansy and with a title like that, you would think this would send you to the rubber room wrapped up like a Christmas present. But, while “Death” does not pummel you into a basket case, it does confuse you with erratic drum programming, while the bass line prods and pokes you into a dark corner until you have completely surrendered.

Tracklist:

Bantha Trax Vol. 2
1. Banthacid - 5:20
2. Ice Nine - 6:30
3. Pansy - 4:31
4. Death - 7:01
The Motorbike Track
1. The Motorbike Track - 8:05
2. The Other Track - 8:17

props to mike or whoever wrote that for saying a track is "somewhat bland" on the press release

[Guest]

What’s the deal with Motorbike Track being under Tusken Raiders alias when it was originally µ-Ziq and on the Royal Astronomy LP and 12” promo?

 

I like Bantha Trax Vol.2 alright, got a lot of good memories attached to that record but rarely listen to it anymore.

Motorbike Tack is still an absolute banger though. I always remember it being in an episode of The Trip with NASA footage of animals experiencing zero gravity in the ‘vomit comet’

[KovalainenFanBoy]

i'm a sucker for DnB but those 4 tracks on bantha 2 range from 'alright' to 'I don't want to listen to this ever again' (that's just Ice Nine tbh). Nothing really remarkable here tbh, as far as dndb goes.. not the structure, not the breaks, not the basslines... it's not shit or anything mind you. It's just perfectly mediocre

 

'the motorbike track' kinda sounds like muziq trying to go pop/big beat, kind of, at least for the first 3 minutes. Probably my fav track of the bunch. The Other Track is remarkable in how mike took a totally throwaway beat and bassline and ran with it for 8 minutes, put it on the bside, and didnt even give it a proper title. Thats confidence, good for him

 

kinda disappointed considering the first bantha trax is one of my favorite muziq releases, one of the few I really enjoy

 

anyway...

[KovalainenFanBoy]

ZIQ008
Capitol K
Sounds Of The Empire
Released 05-07-1999

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/sounds-of-the-empire/
Bandcamp: https://capitolk.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-of-the-empire-1999-reissue
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/65XL1Uhbx2pBp47iVkih5U?si=0Z0Vm-QCSWazI19m4Pi3hQ

About the album:
Sounds of the Empire sees Capitol K making tweaked-out electronic sound collages that bristle with as much ear-pleasing melody as they drip with innovation. Kristian Craig Robinson and Cliff Harris weave loads of ringing synth sounds with layers of more traditional instruments and sound effects toward a most moody atmosphere. Songs like “People” boom with heavy bass and crash and stutter via dark samples. Unlike knob-twisting peer Luke Vibert, who plays with samples and electronics in a similar yet lighter way, Capitol K never lets their samples get out of hand. Capitol K’s samples add crazed depth to the songs, rather than acting as elements toward some catchy goal. The album attacks fiercely at times. “People” is again a good example; after four minutes of interesting dabbling, the duo deploy an armada of evil drum’n’bass madness. One of Capitol K’s best traits is that they’re not afraid of pop hooks. Many of their dark electronic contemporaries can’t claim that characteristic in their music. “Lagoon” is so fragile and gentle in its acoustic foundation that it threatens to turn into a New Order song at any second. The vocals on “Janome Home” are a brilliant change of pace, as the song achieves the blissed-out state Leila was attempting with Courtesy of Choice. One imagines Tim Burgess singing to music by Bjork. “Jump off the Box” comes like a more subtle Orbital. The album works on many levels; songs sound warm and inviting while still having raging, ominous souls. Bubbling cacophony rarely sounds this compelling. Sounds of the Empire is a stunning, confident debut which is full of riveting, accessible electronic artistry.
About the artist:
I was djing at the Sprawl club in London in mid ’98 when a girl came up to me and handed me a demo tape entitled “Capitol K”. I didn’t hear what she said (I was mixing in Urban Shakedown’s Arsonist VIP dub at the time) but I assumed it was hers. When I got home I put on the demo and it jumped out at me. It contained 2 tracks, “Jump Off The Box” which captivated me with it’s backwards guitar, mumbled vocals & hi-Q snare rolls and “Song For Belgium” which had thundering live drums and great smudges of tape manipulated atonal guitar loops (in dub). Well, this was not the sort of thing I was used to getting and I rang the number on the tape. Turned out it was this guy Kristian Robinson (and it was handed me by his flatmate who was also friends with Elf-Cut, the label where his debut EP was released). Over the next few months K sent me the remaining tracks which made up his debut “Sounds Of The Empire” which is still one of the best debut albums I have heard. His sound combines smudged electronics with lo-fi rock and the results are fucking great. Kristian is really an original artist doing his own thing.

Tracklist:

1. Song For Banana - 08:01
2. Little Submarine - 03:37
3. Janome Home - 04:28
4. Doe - 03:35
5. People - 05:18
6. Lagoon - 04:11
7. Song for Belgium - 04:47
8. Jump Off The Box - 04:35
9. Sounds Of The Empire - 04:32
10. Cosmonaut - 06:34

[YangYing]

that's a gr8 little album, I like

[auxien]

I'm like a week or two behind but I finally listened to the Mealtime comp. It's got some good stuff in it, wasn't a bad track at all (and if you know me I always think there's a bad track somewhere) but really, surprisingly consistent, particularly for a compilation. But even with that, nothing much stood out, very much a sampler...guess that's the point, of course. Weakest track was maybe that Mr Angry remix. Personally liked the Jega track most, but again, all was pretty good. 

[onecaseman]

Love Sounds of the Empire. Song for Banana is a hell of an opener.

[KovalainenFanBoy]

ZIQ011
Capitol K
Roadeater E.P.
Released 31-01-2000

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/roadeater-e-p/
Bandcamp: https://capitolk.bandcamp.com/album/roadeater-e-p-1999-reissue
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2JQVCkqPkMgqgoLjIUPfus?si=pm7s66qRRJW-JWurbcE1Rw

ZIQ015
Capitol K / Jega
Postcard / Untitled
Released 16-07-1999

Planet Mu site: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/68762-capitol-k-jega-postcard
Planet Mu store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/68762-capitol-k-jega-postcard
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0SMzreQmQ3ZG8h9FBQVY0e?si=LSCiI6vVSASgIsRmIgbijw

Roadeater E.P.:
What a wow. There are 5 songs on this 12″. The first song “Pillow” is the feature. It is where Flaming Lips dream of going. A totally electronic – not even now but beyond now – song with vocals and a real structure. It is really a musthear, no kidding. This is what I think Brad Laner wanted to do in his post Medicine pop project too. Following ‘Pillow’ are 4 instrumentals. I like “Production No.” best (the song which immediately follows ‘Pillow’). It has a simple piano signature like OMD had in “Electricity” or more recently Cinema in “They Nicknamed Me Evil” which it carries up up up into other realms with the sounds around and within it. The third song on the A-side didn’t leave much impression on me, and the 2 songs on the B-side are a bit beat oriented, though I do like the first one (“Superheroes”) which reminds me a bit of the Japanese band Montparnasse, who have an excellent 12″ on Escalator Records.
Postcard / Untitled
First 100 copies with picture sleeve given away free at the first Planet µ night in London on 16.07.99

Tracklist:

Roadeater E.P.
1. Pillow - 03:16
2. Production No. - 05:01
3. Naxxar - 03:25
4. Superheroes - 04:59
5. Big Submarine (polaris Mix) - 07:00
Postcard / Untitled
1. Capitol K - Postcard - 4:47
2. Jega - Untitled - 2:16

[danshoebridge]

Still love a lot of those early Capitol K records. He had quite a unique sound, grungy electronics going through loads of guitar pedals - all those delays pinging around sound pretty psychedelic.

 

Had a listen to some of his later stuff recently which was...not so good. 1st 2 albums and the roadeater EP hold up well though.

[Hugh Mughnus]

^ p much yeah... last couple releases fell worse than flat for me, really didn't enjoy them..

[KovalainenFanBoy]

lol at mike straight up dissing the records he releases... "The third song on the A-side didn’t leave much impression on me". I don't know how original this was in 99, I guess folkish-guitary-electronics are not as surprising as they were back then, assuming they were. Not saying this as a criticism or anything, just wondering how this sound was perceived when it was released

 

anyway i'm glad i discovered capitol k, really enjoyed these 2 records. I'm kind of prejudiced against """""""""folktronica""""""""""" (a tag which doesnt really apply to most tracks on this) but sounds of the empire won me over after a couple listens. It's really all over the place in a good way, much more varied than I thought it would be at first, sometimes even withing a single song (People), though I guess the second half of the album packs less surprises than the first, but it didn't really get boring to me. Sampling work really adds to the tracks instead of acting as a crutch or a gimmick like in most cases. Pleasantly surprised

 

and Roadeater EP - I can see why Pillow (barely) made the charts, it's a great pop song, love it. The rest of the tracks are alright, only Superheroes stood out to me. Glad he had the common sense to put the 3 min submarine track instead of the 7 min version

[KovalainenFanBoy]

double album this week

 

HUTDLP55

µ-Ziq

Royal Astronomy

Released 26-07-1999

Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/%C2%B5-Ziq-Royal-Astronomy/master/21310

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6wderqhoGndjyEC1rODumX?si=zC-RtsRRQna50PNg8aHc0A

ZIQ400

µ-Ziq

Challenge Me Foolish

Released 13-04-2018

Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/challenge-me-foolish/

Planet Mu store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/94797-ziq-challenge-me-foolish

Bandcamp: https://mikeparadinas.bandcamp.com/album/challenge-me-foolish

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/72jmRkIZRLQtn9GpB6sMl2?si=XH4mSQYYSAC3ssU0vhHpsg

Challenge Me Foolish

‘Challenge Me Foolish’ is an almost lost album of µ-Ziq material circa 1998-99, an era that saw Mike Paradinas release ‘Royal Astronomy’ on the now defunct Virgin subsidiary Hut records, and also tour with Björk.

 

It’s an era of his music that’s definitely worth re-exploring, in which Mike went against the grain by producing music that was baroque, melodic and whimsical, while the IDM movement he was lumped with made instrumental music that was often neurotic and complicated. His taste for melody and dreamy beauty above roughness and intricacy confused people who were hanging on too tightly to the rules. He even brought in Japanese vocalist Kazumi, adding an extra human touch.

 

‘Challenge Me Foolish’ is something of a companion to the Royal Astronomy record; arguably even better given the fresh ears selecting the material. It’s imbued with a confident sense of pastoral colour, and a gentle optimism, utilising bells, studied orchestral arrangements and airy synthesisers that sit the album somewhere between Jean Jacques Perrey (the French electronic composer whose whimsy was always balanced with serious innovation and chops) and the colourful, optimistic soundtracks of Joe Hisaishi. There’s a strange sense of the old and new throughout, the sentimental and utopia, with nary a hint of darkness. Even when the album dips into the hyperkinetic rhythms of jungle, the melodies and mood still retain a sense of gentle warmth. Dive into peak time Paradinas.

Tracklist:

Royal Astronomy

1. Scaling - 4:13

2. The Hwicci Song - 3:40

3. Autumn Acid - 3:37

4. Slice - 4:39

5. Carpet Muncher - 2:59

6. The Motorbike Track - 7:20

7. Mentim - 4:27

8. The Fear - 4:22

9. Gruber's Mandolin - 2:37

10. World Of Leather - 4:21

11. Scrape - 1:41

12. 56 - 3:46

13. Burst Your Arm - 6:23

14. Goodbye, Goodbye - 4:07

Challenge Me Foolish

1. Inclement - 04:21

2. Undone - 04:35

3. Challenge Me Foolish (ft. Kazumi) - 04:00

4. Bassbins - 04:01

5. Robin Hood Gate - 03:55

6. Perhaps - 04:14

7. Durian (ft. Kazumi) - 03:55

8. Ceiling - 02:47

9. Lexicon (ft. Kazumi) - 04:16

10. Perfame - 04:13

11. Playbox - 04:52

12. Sad Inlay (ft. Kazumi) - 04:59

13. Peek Freans - 04:39

14. DoDaDu (ft. Kazumi) - 03:21

[Hugh Mughnus]

Both great albums IMO. Tracks like World of Leather and Goodbye Goodbye are classic ziq for me.

 

Challenge me Foolish has its moments - the title track, Bass Bins, and Ceiling in particular. I would have preferred it with a few less tracks feat Kazumi though..

[KovalainenFanBoy]

royal astronomy might just be the muziq album i've enjoyed the most on first listen. The first 8 tracks are an amazing run... with muziqs albums so far, besides maybe some moments on lunatic harness, they were nice enough but didn't really do it for me, but royal astronomy really hit the spot.

 

(also) I've relistened to So Soon and really enjoyed it despite being lukewarm on it on first listen. Also relistened to 3 Cornered Room and it's really not that replayable besides a couple tracks, like sexy mf

[BaggerMcGuirk]

Royal Astronomy really didn't work for me when it first came out.  Lots of cheesy MIDI sounding classical instruments and the distortion was dialed way back.  It felt like a huge drop off in quality after Lunatic Harness and Brace Yourself, which were to of my favorite Mu-Ziq records ever ever.  

 

That said, it's grown on my quite a bit over the years, and I like both the original and companion record these days.

[KovalainenFanBoy]

I really like Bassbins, there's too little going on for the song to go on for 4 minutes but it somehow works for me, cause I love that slightly detuned synth melody. Other than that this album didn't really grab me, it does sound like Royal leftovers. I like Kazumi's vocals on Sad Inlay (and all the tracks she's on), but having the most basic amen break play on loop for 5 minutes doesnt make for an enjoyable listen. Think I'll just stick to royal astronomy + bassbins

[KovalainenFanBoy]

ZIQ013 / ZIQ014
Frost Jockey
Burgundy Trax Vol. 1 & 2
Released 14-02-2000 / 03-04-2000


Planet Mu site: https://planet.mu/releases/burgundy-trax-vol-1/ // https://planet.mu/releases/burgundy-trax-vol-2/
Planet Mu store: https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/69160-frost-jockey-burgundy-trax-vol1 // https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/69158-frost-jockey-burgundy-trax-vol2
Bandcamp: https://mikeparadinas.bandcamp.com/album/burgundy-trax-vol-1 // https://mikeparadinas.bandcamp.com/album/burgundy-trax-vol-2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1urC4gjvTzlsfhqbHsUNl9?si=VawfUaIzSZCAnJRM7KJ80w // https://open.spotify.com/album/4HSKtITYJX3gjImiKr6Jz6?si=H2E3js9PTYux16WhfkyxsQ

Tracklist:

Vol. 1
1. Theme From Frost Jockey - 3:27
2. Lemons - 4:20
3. Na Bass Plus - 5:15
4. Rockin' Tidy - 7:39
5. Jike - 5:06
6. Rafu - 4:15
7. Come The Mighty - 4:55
8. Spitoon - 4:24
Vol. 2
1. C-Vex - 06:39
2. OhAhUh - 04:33
3. Thekobi - 04:31
4. The Groke - 02:51
5. Morshex - 06:33
6. Kilopede - 04:13
7. Umelectro - 04:57

[caze]

listened to these the other day, very good. nice and agro and dancey, probably his most 'straight-forward' techno/electro sounding release. I remember when it came out he tried to pretend a mate of his did it, think he said he'd helped him out or lent him some synths or something.

[Hugh Mughnus]

I like them both. They were 2 of my first vinyl purchases as well. =)