MICK HARRIS & ERALDO BERNOCCHI

OVERLOAD LADY

  1/  Overload Lady                              (Harris,Bernocchi)            11.20
  2/  Demo Car                                   (Harris,Bernocchi)            10.14
  3/  Lobster Family                             (Harris,Bernocchi)            10.43
  4/  Digital Monk                               (Harris,Bernocchi)            9.54
  5/  The Hand                                   (Harris,Bernocchi)            13.52

          Created and mixed in The Box, Birmingham, England, late December 1996
          Produced by Mick Harris and Eraldo Bernocchi

Mick Harris and Eraldo Bernocchi: beats, programming, treatments, sounds.

          1997 - Sub Rosa (Belgium), SRV 124 LP (Vinyl)
          1997 - Sub Rosa (Belgium), SR 124 (CD)

REVIEWS :

The sticker on the jewel case says Blasting drum n bass and I don't know that I find it particularly "blasting" but it is a refreshing move in a faster direction for Harris who is usually dealing in the 0-92 BMP arena. Joined here by Eraldo Bernocci, it is difficult to ascertain what each person contributed just from listenening. The music here is so sparse. In places, it is pure drum work, and at times, a single warbling bass note. A dj I know referred to it as Tech-Step, whatever that means. I have since heard some other tech-step, and it is a bit similar. This record is heavy on repetition and tight, controlled sounds and rhythms. Very nice, I just wish it was longer.

mjeanes

..................................................

Damn that Mick Harris. Ever since he got off of Earache, he's been putting so much stuff out that my ears are happy, but my wallet (and my speakers) aren't. Damn,just imagine if him and Bill Laswell hook up again, just add Masami Akita (Merzbow) and they'll need to start a whole chain of stores for their stuff. I can hear it now...Customer: "Do you have that new Laswell/Scorn/Merzbow disc?" Salesperson: "The one that just came out 15 minutes ago, or the one that'll be here in a half hour?". Anyway, this is just Harris and a guy named Eraldo Bernocchi (the name sounds familliar...is this the guy that plays as Matera and SIMM? [only SIMM - SW]). Remember last year's Quoit disc Lounge? This is much along the same lines, ambient/isolationist jungle. A little shorter than that, just 5 tracks and 56 minutes long. I had a huge smile on my face as soon as I played the first track, "Overload Lady". The breakbeat that started it off grabbed my attention, then the samples and megabass sound just made it all the better. By the end of the track, more samples and a different beat come out, along with some cool ambient synths. "Demo Car" starts out sounding just like something off Lounge, a not quite evil sounding sample starts off, then some dark sounding synths and bass line that sounds like a helicopter drops in. This track stays more on the minimal end of things. "Lobster Family" starts off with what sounds like a processed conversation, then some bass treated beats right off of Zander show up. The pace slowly picks up as the track progresses. "Digital Monk" starts off with a cool phaseshifting synth that is joined by some more of that ungodly sub-bass and a somewhat slow jungle rhythm. "The Hand" starts with samples and bass right off of Logghi Barogghi (you know what I mean, you can't hear it as much as feel it.). The beats on this one are once again jungle, and somewhat in style to Photek's work. One surprising thing was the addition of voice samples to the album. The disc is a lot darker sounding than a lot of the jungle stuff out there, but still not mass-murder level, like Alec Empire's The Destroyer (I'm sorry, I still think Empire's disc is the pinnacle of drum and bass). If you liked Quoit, go get it now!

Overall - 5/5

Creaig Dunton (courtesy of the False Prophet Campaign website)