Ian Pooley – Chord Memory

The Daft Punk remix does the job. All tracks are good, no question, but the Daft Punk track ist what you expect from those french geniuses and you won't be disappointed.

Mr. Pooley, what happened? You made outstanding techno and underground house in the mid-nineties and then decided get into, I don't know, cheesy wine bar slash Ibiza house? Oh, I just wonder what other gems could have been produced if you had decided to stay true to your roots. Now, I don't want to be rude. And maybe I'm just frustrated because this record, Mr. Pooley, is a classic. This isn't really those records that everyone lists when they are asked to rank best techno records of all time. No, but you still hear this played every once in a while in various places. And most importantly, this is a record that every techno enthusiast or purist knows.
The stand out tune is 'Chord Memory', of course. Oh Lord oh mighty the chords, with delay, with echo. And the rockin' the discotheque sample and the restless rhythm. I've heard this as a last tune of a DJ set a few times and it's just perfect for that but I actually prefer this for its merits. Listen to this from the first second to the last one. What I love about this record is that the B-side is really great. Not just some ten-minute crappy remix of the A-side. Both 'Distance' and 'Codes' are very much worth listening to. Surely over shadowed by the magnificent 'Chord Memory' but they are A-class tech-house, light techno tunes.
'Chord Memory' received a bunch of remix treatments but I would easily pass them. Well, the Daft Punk remix is very common and not that bad but the original version is the one you need to hear and own. Oh, Mr. Pooley, I guess that the issue is that this is what I want you to be remembered for. But I just hope they are plenty of people why feel the same way.

This actually samples Petra and Co "Just Let Go", with the sample of the bass filtered and delayed, and placed off the beat.

Brilliant record. The sound of "then" was far superior to the sound of now. Techno had a beating heart and exciting soul when tracks like this where being produced. Massively recommended to anyone who is into the likes of Dave Clarke/Dave Angel/Funk D'void/Vince Watson. All the mixes available are good too, the original is obviously fantastic, but for me it's the remix on the B-side that does the job, staggered, chopped up chords present from the original with a relentless pounding drum line works wonders on any club system and is guaranteed to notch the atmosphere up a level.

When this first came out, it was first described as "Dave Clarke on Codine". It's an interesting analogy to the similar drum sounds used on "Codes" and Dave Clarke's "Storm" from the Red 3 ep. But that's where the comparison ends. In my opinion, this record lived up to the expectations that were on Mr. Pooley after his legendary "Celtic Cross" ep. Was it as good as, or better than Celtic Cross?, that's a matter of opinion because Chord Memory and Celtic Cross had a different kind of vibe. But at the very least, Pooley created a killer record without borrowing from the same formula used to make Celtic Cross. And that I think is one of the strengths of this record.