In 2000 it was not possible to buy 1991-1993 UK 'Ardkore on the internet safely. I know because I was ripped off twice trying to do so. Once from a fellow named Phil Dewhurst and again from another character. It was also not possible to listen to great internet DJ mixes from the likes of Kleez-One because high quality 320kbps internet DJ mixes didn't exist back then. You had to listen to tin can quality "real audio" files which sounded worse then a cassette tape that was listened to 300 times! No, I'm afraid the only way to listen to dance music in a controled environment was to buy the records yourself and since you couldn't safely get the good stuff (1991-1993) you had to settle for what was "new". The new stuff wasn't that good. It wasn't good at all. Well it seems.... till I started complaining about it online.
Reinforced Second Wave was the phase of Reinforced when it got back to it's roots a little bit. It didn't start out that way and I would like to think that my big mouth on the DnB message boards helped a little bit. In 1999 I joined the DNB Arena mailing list and voiced my opinion about how much I disliked that "kill yourself tech-step" sound and thought the music would be better off sounding like 1992 stuff. I kept this up when I joined the Bad Company fanboy site Dogs on Acid (the dnb group, not the rock group). It made me some friends and it made me some enemys. I got free hard drives, free Mampi Swift records from Mampi, free Stratus records from Stratus, and cudos from "Sonic" and Dylan. It also made me enemys to the point I was kicked off the site. I think it worked out really well because during 2000-2003 DnB actually sounded like 1993 'Ardkore so someone was listening to my big mouth. I know Mark Manix Clair was because he sent me a very nasty email after reading one of my posts on the DnB Arena mailing list. This makes me all the more surprised that he actually released a new Manix album.
I bought practicaly everything released on Second Wave because most of it was spot on. The releases were rocky at first with things like Digital's "Natty Dred". I'm not sure why I bought that release, maybe it was the amen or the cool title but fear not, I spared the listener of this set by not using that one. Then Alpha Omega's "Realism 2000" came out which had that beautiful reverberated 1993 'Ardkore-like riff. I loved Alpha Omega's stuff however one thing I didn't like is that his track structure was very boring. In the case of Realism 2000, the riff only comes in once and I always wished it came in twice. I would always use his "The Return" as a bridge to bring the riff back. In the case of "Tribal Instinct" I would use "Cowboys Return" as part of that track. It would have been better if he did that in the production himself. Even though the music had returned to the soundscapes of 1993, the track structure remained very DnB or as I say... Jeff Mills. Many of these releases like those by Alpha Omega and especially Breakage were nothing more then DJ Tool beat tracks. Thankfully some of these Second Wave releases were proper "songs" like with the remix of 4 Hero's "9x9", Lemon D's "Searching", the brilliant remix of Underground Software "Shes Gone", and Espionage "Futurism" which sounds like LTJ Bukem in 1994.
Also worth an extra mention is Syntax "Back 2 the 4" as this was the only 1993 flash back DNB tune that had the balls to use a 4/4 techno beat for 60% of the track duration (Dylan also did this for a D-Shake "Techno Trance" bootleg remix but it was only for 10% of the track). Unfortunatly it would cross between a hard step beat and the 4/4 techno beat. If I had my say in how that tune was made I would have switched between the 4/4 techno beat and a 4/4 techno beat with a breakbeat loop with the bass filtered out as in World Dominance "Compression". However being how this was what was offered, I enjoyed it very much at the time. I really think Jungle/DnB/whatever never should have gotten away from the 4/4 techno beat, I think this was a mistake and it hurt it's commercial appeal.
Technically the new Manix album is part of the second wave because if you will look at the CD art you will see the "R" logo is the Second Wave R logo. Also I think he was sitting on this music for a very long time. There was this very special FM radio show from 1999-2001 that broadcasted out of Princeton, NJ. At one point in 2000 Bryan G was on the show to promote a DnB event in Philly. He certainly had a load of Reinforced dub plates with him that evening. With the exception of Total Science's "Murder Thing", the rest never came out. I sware he played some material that is very simmilar to some of the tracks on the new Manix album. As for that material, it would have been much better if this stuff came out in 2000. It might have influenced the other producers making this sound to have made their tracks in a more interesting way instead of using that Jeff Mills track structure that goes nowhere.
As for the zinger at the end of the mix..... I agree! Marc is certainly not about the money as he clearly didn't make enough LTD albums for the demand. I ended up paying out 75.00 to some jerk in the Netherlands who horded a bunch of copies when it was released so he could sell it for a sick marked up price. Mark Clair will never see that 75.00. I found out about this album 3 months after it's release on a Discogs old school techno forum and from a bedroom DJ I follow on house-mixes.com. I've never heard of this "band camp" webpage stuff, I never had a chance to pay only 12 pounds for the release.
As for the new Manix album itself, it's the most exciting new music I've heard in a long time. It must be, I payed 75 USD for it. Either that or I'm mad. I know Mark himself doesn't even like this music, but he certianly has a talent for it!
PS: Reinforced Records is my all time favorite music label of any type or era. Afterall if it wasn't I wouldn't be so passionate with talking about it. Infact if it wasn't for that above referenced email from Mr. Clair I probably would have gotten a Reinforced tattoo by now and I'm not even a tattoo person as I don't have a single one.
Tracklist:
++). Mark Clair, DJ Tutor Intro.
01). Alpha Omega "MG's Chamber" (Reinforced rivet 154) 2001
02). Randall & Flex "Water Tech" (Reinforced rivet 172) 2001
03). Blake 7 "Amber Leaf" (Reinforced rivet 182) 2002
04). Breakage "PMT" (Reinforced rivet 193 promo) 2002
05). Breakage & Threshold "8-bit" (Reinforced rivet 186) 2002
06). Breakage "U Don't Know" (Reinforced rivet 193 promo) 2002
07). Native Minds "Dreams" (Reinforced rivet 191) 2003
08). Manix "So Good" (Reinforced RIVETCD22) 2013
09). Solar Motion "D247" (Reinforced rivet 184) 2002
10). Total Science "Murder Thing" (Reinforced rivet 147) 2000
11). Solar Motion "Abduct-E" (Reinforced rivet 184) 2002
12). Breakage "Kryptonite" (Reinforced rivet 178) 2001
13). Solar Motion "Get Dread" (Reinforced rivet 171) 2001 *my favorite at the time*
14). Alpha Omega "Realism 2000" (Reinforced rivet 136) 2000
15). Alpha Omega "The Return" (Reinforced rivet 139) 2000
16). Alpha Omega "Realism 2000" (Reinforced rivet 136) 2000
17). Alpha Omega "Back to the Future" (Reinforced rivet 139) 2000
18). Locus "These Eyes" (Reinforced rivet 181) 2002
19). 4-Hero "9x9 (Dub Mix)" (Reinforced rivet 183 *clear vinyl*) 2002
20). Alpha Omega "Deep Cover" (Reinforced rivet 152) 2001
++). All right DJ 92!
21). Breakage & Threshold "Round 1" (Reinforced rivet 186) 2002
22). Alpha Omega "Tribal Instinct" (Reinforced rivet 152) 2001
23). Alpha Omega "Cowboys Return" (Reinforced rivet 152) 2001
24). Alpha Omega "Tribal Instinct" (Reinforced rivet 152) 2001
25). Lemon D "Searching" (Reinforced rivet 185) 2002
26). Espionage "Futuroid" (Reinforced rivet 167) 2001 *amazing 94 LTJ style*
27). Torus "Vibe" (Reinforced rivet 161) 2001
28). Beta 2 & Zero Tolerance "Minder" (Reinforced rivet 177) end of 2001
29). Sonic & Silver "Soldier Business" (Reinforced rivet 168) 2001
30). Breakage "Gattaca" (Reinforced rivet 178) 2001
31). Nasty Habits "Here Come the Drums (Breakage Remix)" (Reinforced Enforcers 13 & 14 *pic disk*) 2001
32). Alpha Omega "Kaos Theory" (Reinforced rivet 165) 2001
33). Manix "You Love is Over" (Reinforced RIVETCD22) 2013
34). Beta 2 & Zero Tolerance "Kysha" (Reinforced rivet 173 promo) 2002
35). Underground Software "She's Gone (Alpha Omega & Stretch Rmx)" (Reinforced Enforcers 13 & 14 *pic disk*) 2001
36). Manix "One More Time" (Reinforced RIVET 199 *pic disk*) 2013
37). Sonic & Silver "Cool Intintions" (Reinforced rivet 168) 2001
38). Manix "Hardcore Junglism (Total Science Rmx)" (Reinforced Enforcers 13 & 14 *pic disk*) 2001
39). Syntax "Back 2 the 4" (Reinforced rivet 189) 2003 *fist pumpin' jungle tekno!!!*
40). Manix "Rave Fantasy" (Reinforced RIVETCD22) 2013 *perfect!*
41). Genotype "Dis Sound" (Reinforced rivet 179) 2002
42). Alpha Omega "Don't Believe It" (Reinforced rivet 154) 2001
43). Manix "Reprize" (Reinforced RIVET 199 *pic disk*) 2013
++). Mark Clair zinger
If your a Reinforced fan like I am then you'll probably want to hear more. I've already done a "First Wave" Reinforced tribute which you can download here: http://www.house-mixes.com/profile/1992/play/1992-071209-reinforced-tribute-320kbps
asking any junglist/hardcore head to pick a favorite label is like asking them to choose which testicle they love more-but if i had to live with one label forever..Reinforced would be a top choice for sure. Again..thanks for all the crate digging...
nice mix Steve!
23) is Nu Wave Sound, 27) is Re-Vamp, 28) is TR19 just to let you know.
nice thanks