110 Volt Lovers — Allopurinol
Already in 1993 Sjors Kuyt (aka Kid Chaos) and Miguel van der Hiele (aka Bleephead), at that time busy with various other projects and DJ-ing, started the project 110 Volt Lovers, mixing techno, hip-hop, breakbeat, acid and filterdisco. In 2000 roadie & mental coach Jack van der Wege (aka Acid Jack) joined the live cast. Earlier this year these guys presented their album in De Piek, Vlissingen and I was pleasantly surprised by the uplifting dance music performed at this show. After numerous tape releases and tracks on compilation, the second CD release of 110 Volt Lovers is in my CD player now and although this music is more suitable for a live show than at home, Allopurinol is very enjoyable and diverse.
It already starts with the great intro Raccoon Inn Boogie Beach Nights, building the atmosphere of the album with original samples and happy danceable beats and synths. The track is perfectly fitted to be followed by the title track, a hard techno / house song almost clocking 10 minutes. The diversity is then enriched with "oriental muzak' called Japanese Mall. The title and the music are stimulating your fantasy (as the majority of the tracks do) what it would be like in a real Japanese mall. Most of the time the more danceable tracks like Living Entropic, Sunset Cruising and M-Street Mall are alternated by more lounging and relaxing songs, but funky stuff as Draai De Muziek Op (Turn The Music Up) and Lacrima Christy and experimental work such as the last two tracks are also present.
The bad point about this release is, in my opinion, that the 15 tracks are too stretched out and too long; the albums lasts almost 80 minutes. A more compact release would have been more effective and thus have more impact. However, the production and sound are both an excellent piece of work and how much can you do wrong for 5 euros? Ok, it's released on a CDR and the artwork is not done by a professional but the music makes it satisfactory. Catch them live if possible, you'll not be disappointed.