BT
'95 was a good year for the dance scene, for it brought us Brian Transeau, aka Bt, and his amazing debut album Ima on Perfecto Records. Close collaborations with Sasha resulted in the evolution of epic house music, and the smash hits Loving You More and Embracing the Sunshine. '97 saw the unearthing of his second album, ESCM, ditching most of the cheese in the process, and boldly delving into more experimental realms of dance music. And '98 saw a twist in the plot, with BT leaving Perfecto and moving to the Renaissance Record Label, with his first single release Godspeed . During this time he also worked with Sasha under the alias 2 Phat C**ts. And at the end of 1999 BT has unveiled his third and most diverse album to date, 'Movements in Stillife'.
Album: Ima
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Nocturnal Transmission opens 'Ima' in style, with haunting woodwind instruments and Tibetan chanting floating over a gradually building trancey beat. This explodes with a shower of ethereal delights, a stomping kick drum bangs out the pace and waves of acidic build-ups flood out of your speakers one after the next...its a corker of an opening track.
Quark is alot darker, more eerie...almost a rest before the beauty of Tripping the Light Fantastic trances towards you....housey beats and quirky vocals (apparently BT's) build u up, ready for a 40 minute journey with Sasha at the helm, who mixes together BT's past hits Embracing the Future, Loving You More and Deeper Sunshine with perfection....strings, birdsong, splashing water, whales and even sheep (probably something to do with
Sasha being Welsh) add to uplifting piano melodies which swoop and dive over solid house beats and tribal percussion.
And finally, not forgetting Divinty, which closes the album in anthemic style...chords strike over glorious rainforest FX, Latin guitar licks break out with trancey beats and an enchanting piano piece....its beyond uplifting.....its an epic finale to what can only be described as a storming debut from BT.
Album: Ima
[Perfecto/Kinetic/Reprise 9 46356-2]
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This is the limited edition double CD of Ima, only released in America to my knowledge. All the glory of the UK one disc version is present, with extra toppings which include various remixes of Embracing the Sunshine, Loving You More and Blue Skies. The only exclusive track is Poseidon, which isn't amazing, especially when compared to the rest of the contents of the album, but is a welcome addition nonetheless. Many thanks to Benoit for sending me the album :)
Single: Embracing the Sunshine
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A corking single which is probably more Sasha than Bt, but who cares. It's a must for any lover of trance/house music. Sasha's remix edit also features on the Abuction compilation.
All the above mixes apart from the edit are spread across two 12"s.
Single: Loving You More featuring Vincent Covello
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Loving You More is the result of BT being hassled for not including vocals on his work, so cue Vincent Covello. Ok, so its a bit cheesy, but this is classic cheese! The 'Oakenfold & Osborne Mix' and 'Feel the Sun Trance Mix' are the better mixes of this track - a real hands in the air anthem.
Single: Loving You More featuring Vincent Covello
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Remixes from the Forth, Alcatraz and the
Man with no Name. The vocal 12" mix comes up trumps here, but the Man With No Name delivers a respectable goan remix.
Single: Blue Skies featuring Tori Amos
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Released 11/'96, this was meant to be the first release from the second album ESCM - but strangely failed to appear on the album when released. However, it did get an airing on the American double version of Ima. Featuring Tori Amos, this isn't exactly the most inspiring track that Bt has produced to date, with only the Liquid Oxygen Dub and PVD's Erinnern Indigo Mix really making it worth the effort to put the CD in the CD player.
Single: Flaming June
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The Paul van Dyk (PVD) and H.H.C remixes are slamming pieces of progressive house that are a must.
Single: Flaming June
| Track Listing:Disc three (PERF 157CD1) Disc four (PERF 157CD2) |
And six months later Flaming June is back on the shop shelves with some fab reworkings from Chicane and BBE. Chicane, who have recently delivered a stream of progressive house club hits including the wonderful Offshore and Sunstroke (and i'll write a page on them as soon as I can!), remain faithful to the BT and PVD mix, whilst BBE convert the track into a more trancey little number which sounds nothing like the original until near the end of the track - but this is good, cos a) their club remixes are wicked, and b) four CD singles with mixes that all sound the same is a little tedious. In my humble opinion, all of the better remixes are found on these two CD singles.
Album: ESCM
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The new album, ESCM (Electric Sky Church Music), is out now on Perfecto Records. More cascading piano melodies and hands-in-the-air anthemic trance? IMA-2? Hardly! This new album couldn't be further from it. Thumbs up to BT for having the guts to try something a little different, with a second album that's about as diverse as an album can get and covering all styles of dance music, from trance to drum 'n bass and stopping off for a spot of grunge along the way.
Opening on firm ground is Firewater, a typical slice of BT with all the usual organic sounds and dreamy piano chords. Sufi singer TH Culhane adds enchanting vocals to the phat electro-funk beats in the first half of this track. BT himself adds vocals to the later half of the track, and does an amazing Seal impression (Seal the artist, not the cute furry animals!). Orchestral strings drift into more familiar territory - Orbitus Teranium, B-side to the Flaming June single, is a spluttering electro breakbeat driven corker, full of acidic fx (with added squelches) and the occasional floaty piano bit. This track probably stopped the hearts of a few Ima fans, because Ima it most definitely is not. Paul Van Dyk adds his production talents to Flaming June, reverting the album back to the realms of epic/dream house. Big in the clubs - a mix of driving synth piano melody and mild breakbeat equals euphoria on the dance floor. The Road to Lostwithiel is evidence of BT's new found interest in drum 'n base. Its a bit of a sporadic track - one minute is pulses with tidal ambience, the next its deep in d 'n b territory. Apparently the US version of this album has track #4 listed as Lullaby for Gaia (5m 26s), which is the only difference to my knowledge between this (the UK release) and the US release. Memories in a Sea of Forgetfulness is an odd (but good) track - opening in true Ima fashion with the compulsory whale fx and lush intro, into which a mild breakbeat rattles and Culhane's incomprehensible ethnic vocals/chants drift, which works rather well - just don't expect to sing along!
When I first heard Solar Plexus I thought someone had switched CD's in my stereo. Its a mixture of grunge and heavy industrial indie (is there such a thing?), resulting in an audible mess which is my least favourite track on the album. Brave? Hmmmm....maybe a little too bold and diverse of BT. But, a quick flick of the remote skips onto Nectar and back into trance territory; repetitive dreamy vocals from BT over a bouncy beat and a driving acid tweaking 303 - wicked! Heavy buzz guitar adds power to Jan Johnstons' vocals in Remember, resulting in a step towards pop/indie type dance, which will prove to be more accessible to non-dance music fans, even with the drum 'n bass elements creeping through in places. And then its back to the fat beats and acid tweaks with Love, Peace and Grease. Inspired by the Chemical Bro's? Maybe - but the mixture of beats and strings combines really well. I read somewhere the description "beefed-up scratchy slice of electro-funk" - kinda fitting description.
An so finally, after a voyage of trance, breakbeat, funk and grunge, its back to Ima with Content. This is what BT does best - full on epic, hands-in-the-air trance/progressive house. Reminiscent of Divinity on Ima, the high that the huge build-ups and the uplifting piano melody leaves you on is the perfect close for an astonishing second album.
Single: Love, Peace and Grease
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My least favourite single from the ECSM album - all in all a pretty weak affair.
Single: Remember
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This is the single that we've all been waiting for, after the release date was set back by nearly six months - but its out now (4/98), and its pretty good too! The original track that features on ECSM was bit of a crossover between the realms of dance and pop, probably resulting in it appealing to a wider audience than the rest of the album. But what of the remixes? First up is Sasha, who has not remixed a BT track since Embracing the Sunshine and his epic Voyage of Ima. Dark eerie samples open the track, which eventually gets into gear after three minutes or so. But its a pretty average remix, staying faithful to the original and left me a little disappointed, since I thought Sasha would deliver something truly amazing. However, any disappointment is washed away with the two storming Paul-Van-Dyk remixes, which (yet again) are blinding pieces of quality trance/progressive house and completely overshadow all the other remixes. Over on the second disc Mood II Swing provide a couple of slower remixes that have yet to inspire me, just leaving BT's spaced out Blue Memory Dub to save this second disc.
The US release of this single on Perfecto/Reprise/Kinetic is a multi-session CD, which includes 2 full length
quicktime videos (PC or MAC compliant) of 'Remember' and 'Love, Peace & Grease'. The 'Remember' video is a little dreamy, with water shots of Jan Johnston and BT, whilst the LP&G video sports BT looking like a pimp, and some cool old skool dance sequences. What is special about these two video's is that they also sport new remixes of their respective songs by BT. Thanks to Jay for that bit of info.
Single: Godspeed
[REN 002]
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Released 11/98 and the first single from BT on the Renaissance record label. Tauted as an awesome offering with mammoth riffs, haunting vocals and a slight similarity to Flaming June. Another CD single/12" of Godspeed has been released with an excellent remix from Mike Truman, aka Hybrid.
Single: Godspeed - The Remixes
[RENEP002]
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Published by Old Gate Music B.M.I (c) 1999 Renaissance Music.
The re-release (2/99) of Godspeed features extra remixes from Swansea's Mike Truman (aka Hybrid). The Hybrid Mix is mellower and moodier, featuring distorted vocals, a quieter intro, more breakbeats, and a very different synth line throughout the track. The Hybrid Dub is very similar, but includes a nice 'housey' trance/piano section in the middle section, leading up to a quieter, downbeat ending. The Thumper! Higher Kick Remix is a more intense, fat-beat, heavy version of the original and is one of the better versions. Thanks to Raj for the info.
Album: Movement in Stillife
[HEDSCDA 001]
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Released 11/99 on Headspace Recordings/Pioneer Entertainment. This is the third album from BT and diverse is the only word I can think of to describe it. Collaborations on this album include Paul van Dyk, DJ Rap, Hybrid, Adam Freeland and Kevin Beeber; from this list of names alone it's blatantly obvious that the epic trance days of Ima are over and BT is delving into new realms of dance music. In fact, the two trancier tracks, Godspeed and Mercury and Solace, are like fish out of water in this breakbeat feast of nu skool beats. But is it any good? In short - yes. The album is meticulously produced and will probably be one of the top dance albums of the year. However, if breakbeat is not your cup of tea then you'd be advised to keep your wallet in your pocket.
Single: Mercury & Solace
[HEDSCD001 / HEDST 001 / HEDST 001R ]
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Released 10/99 on Headspace Recordings/Pioneer Entertainment.
Single: Dreaming feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw
[HEDSCD002 / HEDST 002 / HEDST 002R ]
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Released 6/00 on Headspace Recordings/Pioneer Entertainment. Written by Brain Transeau, J. Tzuke, M. Paxman and P. Muggleton. Produced by BT. Contains elements of "We'll go Dreaming", written by J. Tzuke, M. Paxman and P. Muggleton. Background vocals by Jan Johnston. Scratching by Davey Dave. This is a driving vocal progressive houser, which makes much use of Kirsty Hawkshaws sublime vocals. Best mix from Libra, with the original and Evolution mix much in the same vein (I've not heard the Lucid Edit so I can't comment on this track). Science Dept break the beats and produce a more downbeat laid back funky vibe remix that is the most adventurous of the lot. Overall, if vocals arn't your cuppa then you'd best avoid - otherwise its a winner for Mr T.
Other Info:
'Movement in Still Life' is being re-released as a special limited edition with an additional bonus CD featuring unreleased tracks and extended versions and remixes. Out 19th June 2000 (UK).
Also well worth checking out is the BT Pure luminescence remix of Mike Oldfield's Let There Be Light (12"/cd single). This track really surprised me - its true corker of a remix, lots of long build-ups and floaty piano's - don't miss!
For more information on BT see his Official Web Site.
Gavin Stok has written an excellent unofficial BT site at http://www.b-t.org.uk/.
And another excellent unofficial BT web site is BT Mad Skillz.
