All Systems Are Go Go

Amazon.com
Eighteenth Street Lounge has positioned itself as the ultimate chill-out label, purveying a cosmopolitan blend of vocal and instrumental styles with a strong Brazilian influence over jazzy, laid-back grooves. However, even the most dedicated lounge hipster likes to pick up the pace once in a while, and All Systems Are Go Go fills that need handily. Alex Gimeno (a.k.a. Ursula 1000) has previously released The Now Sound of Ursula 1000, which featured his own music; this CD is a continuous DJ mix of international tracks of what the Germans call "Easylistening." The record kicks off with a blare of horns from Japan's ECD, remixed by Pizzicato Five's Yasuharu Konishi. The music is sounds like the movie scores of '60s and '70s composer Peter Thomas bolstered by the late '90s big-beat drum tracks that persist throughout the CD. Berlin's Bungalow Records is represented with a Southern-fried organ-groove track from Le Hammond Inferno, and England's Skeewiff follow with a kitschy lounge-flavored track that's characteristic of the Brighton sound. Other ESL friends such as Nicola Conte put in appearances, and a track from England's Jadell is spun around the guitar riff from Can's "I Want More" (fresh from its appearance on the Workshop track of the Deutscher Funk compilation). While the beat is a bit too unvarying throughout, there are some welcome breaks from the horn-heavy lounge-exotica musical emphasis; the Hardwire and Trio Electro tracks include some hip-hop samples, and Los Chicharrons and El Loco Gringo's appealingly ersatz Latin styles hold up the latter half of the mix. --Bob Bannister

Tracks:

Direct Drive (The Ready Made All That Jazz Remix) - ECD
Margret Evening Fashion - Le Hammond Inferno
Skeewiff Vs. Big Les - Skeewiff
Mr. Bongo - Lemon
Missione A Bombay - Nicola Conte
Hell, Yeah! - Jadell
The Connection - Hardwire
Trans Am - Kings Of The Wild Frontier
Good Times Machine - Trio Electrico
She Is A Pretty Girl - Akakage
Sally's Walk - The Scammers
Hugo - Montparnasse
60's Porno Bird - General Narco
Fever 99 - Mo Horizons
Chicarrons Y Boogaloo - Los Chicharrons
Watchuwanna - El Loco Gringo
Get On It (Krafty Kuts Latin Funk Mix) - Resident Filters
Polyblend - Urusla 1000

Amazon.com

Eighteenth Street Lounge has positioned itself as the ultimate chill-out label, purveying a cosmopolitan blend of vocal and instrumental styles with a strong Brazilian influence over jazzy, laid-back grooves. However, even the most dedicated lounge hipster likes to pick up the pace once in a while, and All Systems Are Go Go fills that need handily. Alex Gimeno (a.k.a. Ursula 1000) has previously released The Now Sound of Ursula 1000, which featured his own music; this CD is a continuous DJ mix of international tracks of what the Germans call "Easylistening." The record kicks off with a blare of horns from Japan's ECD, remixed by Pizzicato Five's Yasuharu Konishi. The music is sounds like the movie scores of '60s and '70s composer Peter Thomas bolstered by the late '90s big-beat drum tracks that persist throughout the CD. Berlin's Bungalow Records is represented with a Southern-fried organ-groove track from Le Hammond Inferno, and England's Skeewiff follow with a kitschy lounge-flavored track that's characteristic of the Brighton sound. Other ESL friends such as Nicola Conte put in appearances, and a track from England's Jadell is spun around the guitar riff from Can's "I Want More" (fresh from its appearance on the Workshop track of the Deutscher Funk compilation). While the beat is a bit too unvarying throughout, there are some welcome breaks from the horn-heavy lounge-exotica musical emphasis; the Hardwire and Trio Electro tracks include some hip-hop samples, and Los Chicharrons and El Loco Gringo's appealingly ersatz Latin styles hold up the latter half of the mix. --Bob Bannister

Customer Reviews:

Ursadelica is more fun than this one.......2007-05-15

While this is an interesting CD, it is mostly background instrumental music as opposed to sing-along, I-really-have-to-dance-right-now music. I recommend it, but I definitely prefer Ursadelica for its fun factor.

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-03-31

This is one I picked up on a whim and it's now one of my all time favorite records. I cannot suggest this record enough. If you have any doubts about the talents of Ursula 1000 this one will clear them all up. Awesome.

What A Blast.......2005-09-10

I don't know what younger people think of this, but if you were born in the 50s I can't understand how you could fail to love it. The mix is spot-on perfect and the tunes remind me of what we used to hear when we were 16 and stayed up until 3AM passing J's, drinking Coors and watching old movies. This isn't serious stuff, so I'm reluctant to review it on the same level as FSOL or Autechre, but it deserves 5 stars for succeeding perfectly at what it sets out to accomplish. Ursulla 1000 does a better mix than many far more prestigious "underground" DJ's and this is a masterpiece of its kind, better than the stuff he writes himself, I'm afraid. Listening to it late last night I actually found myself laughing out loud during during such perfectly titled tunes as "60s Porno Bird," they were so get-down funky it was like someone getting inside your brain and trying to tickle you to death from the inside out. Tower of Power once asked "What is Hip?" This is, man, and anyone who doesn't love it must be on some seriously bad head trip. Indispensible for all but the grim and humorless.

Funkadelic.......2004-09-29

He's done it again. What a brilliant piece of samplership! This Album makes me want to party, its a sound piece of mixing and great choice of sassy sounds, which have been blended into a perfect shake. Anyone who is a big fan of bigbeat, nu-jazz and the funky side of retro breaks cannot miss this. The now sound is also a brilliant pick. I have gotta say that this album has topped my list effortlessly. Its cheerful, fun, and funky. Buy it!

fun and upbeat.......2003-05-04

surprisingly good even with repeated listens because the quality of the studio production in high. Its very upbeat and tongue-in-cheek, and most of it is very danceable. Poeple who take pop music seriously will hate it, but then again they probably wouldn't be looking at this review in the first place

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