Swayzak – Selections From "Himawari"

Yes I have to say… listening to these records again after a few years, and 25 years after they were released, there is no denying that personally ‘Japan Air’ and ‘Betek’ are absolute bombs. Swayzak lost all control and entered into electronic music heaven with these 2 records, that are for the pinnacle of the night, to send the crowd into an absolute frenzy. It feels they have acknowledged and reached some point in the history house and techno, and then try to explore and enter territory past that. They seem like the calling and peak of some kind of sacred tribal gathering or ceremony, but they are not over engineered, or seem or sound complex, but very well constructed some how…

The question is, what comes after ‘Betek’, what is beyond and after that, what kind of music would that be, and what implications would it have in the history of house and techno. It remains to be heard? What could be more advanced than ‘Betek’?, it defies belief, what would ‘Betek 2.0’ be? The question remains unanswered 25 years later…

Once again, another epic affair with Swayzak. If you like these records, check out their albums ‘Snowboarding In Argentina’ 1998, and ‘Himawari’ 2000. It is also surprising that the records were made on large hardware samplers from the time, a merit to old technology and ways of making music…

For early Swayzak 2000-era fans, there are 5 old mixes available online made between 1997–2001. Search for:

• Simon, Swayzak, Miss Honey Dijon, Troy Roberts, 7 September 1999, Nikita night, 1015 Folsom club, San Francisco, courtesy of Spundae Productions and Groovetech.com Radio.
• Swayzak at Sonar Club, Vancouver, Canada, 27 July 2000 (cleaned 2022).
• Swayzak, BTTB (Back To The Basics, D-041), 24-02-2004.
• Swayzak Live @ Maffia Illicit Music Club (21.05.1999).
• Swayzak, Solar, Galen at Betalounge, 8 July 1999.

While Illegal may be somewhat weak the other 3 tracks on here are quite solid, Betek doesn't do anything particularly surprising but it is certainly good, while Mysterons and Japan Air both have a funky less linear sound (despite the steady beat), certainly better than the average rating suggests, at least in my mind.