Monday, January 02, 2006

Omni Trio

Ever since my trip to Russia in 1997 I've had a soft spot in my heart for jazzy, atmospheric drum & bass (the Russian DJs called it "artcore," though Ishkur's Guide doesn't mention that as an officially recognized subgenre). I recently picked up Omni Trio's Volume 1993-2003, and it fits the bill quite nicely.

Particularly noteworthy is "Who Are You," from 1995. It starts off humbly enough, but then hits you with a surprise chord progression that changes everything. I can't help but instantly smile and start bopping my head ...and then I have to listen to the track over again.

The price on Amazon is exhorbitant, though, as I found it in a Tower Records bargain bin for under 13 bucks.

This does bring up an interesting point: I've noticed that a record's used price on Amazon is generally a good indicator of the quality of the release, and this is particularly true with stuff that's out of print.

Case in point:

Seefeel's Polyfusia, an absolute classic, ranges in price from $26.99 to $65.94! (IMHO, worth every penny)

T99's Children of Chaos, a flash in the pan, is going for between 1 cent and less than $9.

So, I've learned to, generally, stay away from unsampled artists who don't fare well in the Amazon pricing department.

1 comment:

steve said...

Yeah, you found a real deal there (can I borrow it sometime? ;>).This great DJ for CMU of Pittsburgh's college radio station WRCT used to play a lot of the more atmospheric (artcore) d n' b in the ninties (he called himself Dan Strange). he turned me on to Omni Trio, LTJ Bukem, and even some of the more daring stuff by the likes of Tommy Jenkenson (aka Squarepusher). I always preferred this type of stuff (when it was good) over the more doomy, and sometimes mindlessly repetitious "darkcore" drum and bass. I think Goldie's "Timeless" was overall a nice blending of the two styles. Geeez, come to think of it, that one came out over a decade ago! Where does the time go!?!