Marco Bailey - Positive Disorder

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  • Belgian DJ/producer Marco Bailey returns to the mix compilation market with a double-pack CD that contains 37 tracks in its entirety. His last mix outing "160 minutes" was a mixed bag that offered up deeper explorations alongside his more upfront set material. A man who has written plenty of his own material plus an array of remixes, Bailey has built a strong following for himself throughout Europe in particular. CD 1 opens with a Ricardo Villalobos remix of Sieg uber Die Sonne's "Cleaning Windows" which throws some diverse portions of sound our way. An automaton vocal from Chardronnet keeps this quirky exercise moving with "Stekkreflekks" from Robag Wruhme and his Wighnomy Brothers cohort duplicating their trademark jarring, rippling, rhythmic shuffles that sometimes stumble over each other. Things are ambling along nicely as Guido Schneider gets busy on the remix of "Regenschauer"; globules of metallic-synth trickling away with little breaks to allow an Aphex Twin "Windowlicker" replica-in-rhythm to fracture the track. Dominik Eulberg gets a look in with his grunting "Wildschweinesuhle" as we are given a farmyard feel to bleepy minimal house and catapulted into a more uptempo groove courtesy of Chardronnet Vs Afrilounge. Sensible rudiments of electronic sound see the mix open out into wider frequencies as our ears get some stimulation. Tracks from The Vegetable Orchestra and Ray Soo add a monotone touch before Bailey uses half-beat juggles and 2 Dollar Egg's "Gelb" to revive the momentarily lost quirkiness. In-form producer Trentemoller's Polar Fridge" gets us vibrating with his brazen take on surging electro. We are then 'Shadowboxing' with Martinez as that beat em' up vocal fragment is woven under a graduated sequence of synth-noise. By the time Axel Karakasis shows up for work with "Freno" we're definitely not locked into a predictable trench but rather, involved in a good 'ol skirmish. Mathias' Kaden und Schaffhauser throw some cheeky, bouncy action our way with Trentemoller getting a remix call-up by the latter. It's clear we've moved quite some yardage on the field of play since the game began but there's still more time left to meddle with Marco. It's a significant point on CD1, as one feels the energy is never more apparent than at this juncture. A dose of "Acid In My Fridge" from Dinky gets us on a nice trip and we're now floating as little truncated melodies find their way up the garden path; this 4-minute diversion indeed giving us some respite from the punchy beats of earlier. "Der Muckenschwarm" gets us booting along again with some squirming squelchiness proving itself to be a malevolent yet effective update on previous electronica. David K provides an intriguing take on that German-arcane sound from times of yore as we almost plunge into complete darkness. Now it's time for a treat with a sparkling refreshment served by Gabriel Ananda; "Glitter" drawing somewhat of an analogy to his 2004's "Sussholz" with its alluring strings and chords that do in fact seem to glitter! Mathew Jonson, another in-form producer figures here with some 'Zombie bikers' who have apparently returned to terrorise your neighbourhood. CD1 ends with the aptly-named "The Beautiful Beast" from Max Cavalerro, its harmonic, whirlpool of Rhodes-chords recalling a time when life wasn't so complicated and our disorder is.... for now abated. CD 2 doesnt hang about to consider how we got this far but merely pushes on with B-Pitch Control and Paul Kalkbrenner's "Gebrunn Gebrunn" - so good, they named it twice. A Female-vocal snippet intersperses with guitar-licks and murky beats before Ellen Alien adds her vogue with more weirded out oral wit. Huntemann gets the second installment moving in earnest as Bailey continues to run amok with an unashamed finger in the eye to those who expect any kind of control on this dangerous liaison. Tom Hades 'rocks the box' with some marauding noises before Scottish maestro's Slam hit us with some renegade electro as Bailey again beat-juggles and bounces on the half-beat, fires short spinbacks and also uses a stutter-effect to inject an intensity into the matter. Bailey uses his own "Bollocks" (no..not really) to bash our heads with more disparate noise as we begin to fear, things could get ugly! "Electryk FM" gets a makeover from Scan X as things take a trancey diversion off the beaten path using melodic shifts. Tony Rohr's "Tested Well" gets us gritty as we really get down to the nuts and bolts of this mix. Now out in deep waters far away from the safety of land, Donato Dozzy's 'Solid' really muddies this water with some filthy acidic bass and eerie synths. The little games are over and Marco means business as Motor's "Sweatbox" turns up the heat with a wirey piece of 909 mayhem and all the right ingredients to cause a near riot on any dancefloor. Novamute's ability to release avante garde techno continues and this sounds very like something you might hear from the Plastikman himself! Tiefschwarz get a revamp from Alter Ego as some old-skool hardcore sounds are given a makeover; a beat-driven, hi-end attack on our senses providing a brief interlude before Hiroaki Lizuka unleashes a monster with "Radiant". Mr.Varela makes an appearance as "Agressiva" gets ruthlessly chopped with the previous track and a huge continuous spinback signals that Bailey ain't hanging around at all today. This is Bailey reverting to the more traditional techno sound that we have come to expect; the Belgian showing that he's not one bit ashamed of his roots and hasn't forgotten how to energise his sets at just the right time! Darkcore, industrial elements take over as The 65D Mavericks inflict "Suffering" in a way that is customary for someone like Dave Clarke. Neat scratch-beat-mixing launches a Redhead track upon us as perfunctory components and sounds which take us back to some of CJ Bolland's pioneering work from times gone by, are woven into the mix. This piece of driving, euro-synth, burbling techno adds a richness in texture to the sparse minimality of previous tracks on this mix as we are almost home dry, and in from the storm that Bailey has orchestrated. Secret Cinema get a re-rub from contemporary genius Joris Voorn. We begin mellowing out with some beautiful pan-asian, kettledrum lilts mixed with shimmering sounds of the ocean showing that Marco Bailey is not lost on variety......the spice of life. "Stoppage Time" announces that we have reached the summit after a long but rewarding climb and the vista from up here is breath-taking. This is a real epic gem from Guy Gerber and really finishes the mix with aplomb, Bailey illustrating he has really put in the work in to bring us to where we are. Combining a polished surface with an unrelenting staccato of synths closing out the mix, one can't help but feel that all this is pointing us toward the future...........and not a moment too soon. i must admit that it took a few listens for this double mix to really sink in. I had to let it marinate before I could really appreciate its flavour but I think the wait was definitely worthwhile. Marco Bailey has matured a little more by exploring new territory here with a fun approach while having the ability to hold on to what really makes him tick. Combining electro, minimal house, techno and basically everything in between, this mix requires an open mind and some patience to really comprehend where Bailey is coming from. But I do think you will find he is coming from a very good place indeed.
RA