This release pales in comparison to the previous two Ramadan 12"es - while the latter were minimal, stripped down affairs with rather oppressive themes, this release adds vocalists that fail to surprise or amaze in terms of lyrical ability. There is an affinity in terms of production, but only during brief, rare moments do the productions reach the atmosphere of Kareems productions.

Back to the basics, please!

A shining milestone in ghetto bass history, as the first Databass release of course, but mostly for 'Titty Inferno', which features the vocals off 'Tit's Like Balloons' with the Trampps 'Disco Inferno' as a backing track. Not for the faint of heart!

A proper sample raper, this 12" - for lovers of Sickboy, Kid606's escapades on Violent Turd, Stunt Rock et al, this is where it's at. You got the Tatu, you got the Nelly, you got the embarassing Radiohead hit from way back when, Simply Red, 90ies house classics, it all gets that special distorted treatment and everyone's favorite bassdrum underneath. Hardcore, motherfuckers!

From NPR Morning Edition by Susan Stone, February 7th 2005:

The 1956 sci-fi thriller Forbidden Planet was the first major motion picture to feature an all-electronic film score -- a soundtrack that predated synthesizers and samplers. It was like nothing the audience had seen -- or heard. The composers were two little-known and little-appreciated pioneers in the field of electronic music, Louis and Bebe Barron.

Married in 1947, the Barrons received a tape recorder as a wedding gift. They used it to record friends and parties, and later opened one of the first private sound studios in America. The 1948 book Cybernetics: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, by MIT mathematician Norbert Wiener, inspired Louis Barron to build electronic circuits, which he manipulated to generate sounds. Bebe's job was to sort through hours and hours of tape. Together they manipulated the sounds to create an otherworldly auditory experience.

The Barrons' music caught the ear of the avant-garde scene: In the early 1950s, they worked on a year-long project with composer John Cage. They also scored several short experimental films.

But avant-garde didn't pay, and the Barrons decided to cash in by turning to Hollywood. Their score for Forbidden Planet drew critical praise, but a dispute with the American Federation of Musicians prevented them from receiving proper credit for the soundtrack. Their names were also left off the film's Oscar nomination.

Union rules continued to be an obstacle, and technology eventually passed the Barrons by. Though they never scored another film, Louis and Bebe Barron, who divorced in 1970, continued to collaborate until his death in 1989.

Bebe Barron didn't compose for a decade, but in 1999 she was invited to create a new work at the University of California-Santa Barbara, using the latest in sound-generating technology. The work, completed in 2000, is called Mixed Emotions.

B2 Help Wanted and
B3 Population Control
both heavily sample dialogue and music from the extremely bizarre mexican movie "The Holy Mountain" by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

This is a landmark in crap music, this production has been accredited with singlehandedly starting the euro-house music genre and thusly bringing forth such hellspawns as Aqua, Venga Boys, Whigfield, and so forth.

How did this record manage to lay the foundation for such an unholy axis of evil, you ask? It boggles the mind, but this record is indeed a instrumental of Madonna's "Holiday", with expert mc Miker G 'rapping' (man has yet to create the quotation marks that could do justice to the word rapping in this context) over it.

What really takes the cake is the fact that these men were awarded a prize for their crimes against humanity in musical form in 2002, supposedly as a thank you for paving the way for the neverending shitslide of overproduced blandness we are subjected to nowadays.

MC Miker G & DJ Sven, I salute you!

Sleeve Notes Part 2/2: Music Notes by Louis & Bebe Barron
We design and construct electronic circuits which function electronically in a manner remarkably similar to the way that lower life-forms function psychologically. There is a comprehensive mathematical science explaining it, called "Cybernetics", which is concerned with the Control and Communication in the Animal and Machines. It was first propounded by Prof. Norbert Wiener of M.I.T. who found that there are certain natural laws of behavior applicable alike to animals (including humans) and electronic machines. In scoring FORBIDDEN PLANET - as in all our work - we created individual cybernetics circuits for particular themes and leit motifs, rather than using standard sound generators. Actually, each circuit has a characteristic activity pattern as well as a "voice".
Most remarkable is that the sounds which emanate from those electronic nervous systems seem to convey strong emotional meaning to listeners. We were delighted to hear people tell us that the tonalities in FORBIDDEN PLANET remind them of what their dreams sound like. There were no synthesizers or traditions of electronic music when we scored this film, and therefore we were free to explore "terra incognito" with all its surprises and adventures.

Sleeve Notes Part 1/2: Film Notes by Bill Malone
In 1954, MGM began a magnificent project, destined to set a new standard for science-fiction and fantasy films. Originally called "Fatal Planet", it was retitled "Forbidden Planet" which was felt to have more box-office appeal.
Lavishly expending time, money and effort, the film-makers determined to make it the super-production of this neglected genre - with beautiful sets, intricate miniatures, startling special effects, and an outstanding cast headed by a notable new star. He wasn't born, he was built! His name was "Robby, the Robot", and he would retain his popular appeal long after many of his human stellar contemporaries were forgotten.
After two years of production MGM had created something really unique - so unique in fact that the studio's music department was at a loss to know how to score the film.
At this time Louis and Bebe Barron - two young artists in the new field of electronic music, were brought in to provide "something different." Using no orchestral instruments - only the sounds emitted by cybernetic circuits which they conceived, designed and built - they created a unique and compelling score, so original that it was credited on the title as "electronic tonalities." However, its true musical qualities were recognized by the critics and the public, and it was honored by an Academic Award nomination. This score actually launched the era of electronic music on film. Today it remains as lushly surprising, as fresh and inventive as when it burst upon the screen three decades ago, still carrying us - the audience - through the wonder, charm and terror of Altair 4. It is a living tribute to the artists and craftsmen who made this "Forbidden Planet" an enduring reality.

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I might point out that the soundtrack was probably credited as "electronic tonalities" because Louis and Bebe Barron were not members of the appropriate union at the time...

None of the other tracks on this release do anything for me, but the Manitoba remix was a real surprise, since I am more familiar with his rather idyllitronic releases on Leaf. This remix delivers the dancefloor goods though, with a unlikely combination of nubreaks (which I generally find a bit tedious) and jazz elements.

This is a recording of a Kraftwerk concert from 1975 - especially the versions of Kometenmelodie and Morgenspaziergang are just spine-chillingly beautiful renditions, their concerts certainly don't sound like this anymore, after replacing band members and all those synths with laptops. Recommended!