The Dance Music Thread

Underground Resistance - "World 2 World" E.P. (1992)

Another old Detroit techno record that I owned back in my DJ days & still have in my vinyl collection today. "World 2 World" is extremely highly regarded in techno circles but I've always found it to be a bit up & down personally. Of the four tracks included, I only really enjoy two. I played closer "Greater Than Yourself" live on multiple occasions as it really fit into my sound well while I also dropped "Jupiter Jazz" once as I have some time for it too. "Amazon" & "Cosmic Traveler" don't do a lot for me to be honest so I don't often reach for this E.P. when I have wonderful records like 1991's "The Final Frontier" to take me back to the golden age of techno.

For fans of The Martian, Drexciya & Galaxy 2 Galaxy.

3/5

Orbital - "Orbital 2" (1993)

The second full-length from these highly celebrated Kent brothers would become the first album release to truly break the underground techno phenomenon on both a critical & commercial scale with Paul & Phil Hartnoll creating a record that was full of class & depth. It's not wall-to-wall wins as far as I'm concerned but the highlights are devastating & played a strong role in my electronic music journey. There are a number of tracks included that received air play from me as a DJ throughout the 2000's with the brilliant "Planet of the Shapes" making for an outstanding early set builder & peak time acid techno number "Remind" really tweaking people's cerebellums later in the evening. I played those two on multiple occasions while I believe I also dropped "Walk Now... " once too.  This all still sounds as fresh as it did the first time I heard it & it's impossible to deny the power of classic ambient trance number "Halcyon + On + On" to lift one's spirits & take you into the stratosphere. I could probably have done without the dull intro & outro pieces, as well as the slightly cheesy attempt to emulate Detroit techno classic "Strings of Life" that is "Monday", but "Orbital 2" should be essential listening for all EDM disciples.

For fans of The Orb, Underworld & Chemical Brothers.

4/5