i love it when i have a mood swing, my ears demand a return to the source of love and i chance upon a track that upon its release didn’t really hit home quite as much as it could have done, then many years later the track rises like a phoenix out of the archive and reveals its brilliance.
released back in 94 this debut release from skip mcdonalds future dubbed up blues project little axe proved that the world of on-u sound was mellowing out having blistered listeners eardrums for years via their various aliases as tack>>head, the mafia, fats comet, etc
skip took his love for old delta blues, added some of adrian sherwoods trademark dubbed up brilliance, and spoken samples by howling wolf to create a smoking fusion of old and modern sounds.
the results could be classed as an easy on the ear variant of on-u sound, and made for mass market acceptance (hence the involvement with real world records), but the music is so seductive, and gorgeous it’s hard not to succumb to the charms.
this year sees the release of the sixth little axe album, bought for a dollar, sold for a dime, which according to the details released is more of a live in the studio type of recording.
i’ll hold back on any judgements as having seen the gang (keith leblanc on drums, doug wimbish on bass, and adrian on the mix) live under their mafia groove, i know that if adrian is behind the mixing desk even on live recordings, the results will be just as impressive with added the necessary overdubs being applied as and when.
so last week i dug out the bands archive and rediscovered my love for their late night soundtracks.
amongst which is this rare out of house remix as provided by fluke.
the sonic ingredients are not that far removed from the original other than the time stamped trip-hop-esque shuffle beat, however, to compensate for the out of the beat box beat is an ear pleasing extra layer of cinematic excellence throughout that takes the track into whole new dimension of beauty that nods its head towards screamadelica era andrew weatherall productions.
strap on the headphones and soak this one up.
mp3 : little axe – ride on [mid-fi surprise]
more detail : little axe – – on-u sound