TIP World Singles 2000

TIP World Singles 2000 is a compilation of material originally released on the label’s first nine vinyl singles. The spirit of experimentalism so evident in the last batch of original TIP releases was carried over to TIP World in 1999, but their success rate dropped. In the attempt to meet the growing demand for minimal, progressive, and techno influenced psytrance, the label frequently took chances on new artists that hadn’t matured to anything near their full potential. A certain amount of innovative music resulted from the practise, but most of the better songs on those first nine singles had already appeared on the “Nations” series of TIP World compilations. Capping their first year of business, TIP World Singles 2000 gathered the leftovers (mostly B-sides) that were previously unavailable on CD.

Fuzzion begins with a long sample from the movie of the same name in Dazed and Confused. The song follows the pattern laid down on the Brown Eyed Girl single without the charming hook and brilliant timing. I am unconvinced.

Phoetus fuses the talents of Tarsis and DJ Dede for excellent results. This remix is not substantially different from the original, as I recall. Catchy tribal drums and elastic breakbeat rhythms forge an enveloping dance floor groove, nicely layered with fluid atmospheres, incomprehensible vocal manipulations, piercing high-end sounds, and snarky little melodies. Excellent work.

Ticon made a big splash in Y2K with their steady pulsating techno style, but I never caught the bug. Tekkno feels like a good example of their style at the time: repetative, plain, and mildly hypnotic. Although they have become one of my favourite artists in recent years, I still find their early work to be unceasingly dull. Sorry.

Fuzzion’s Fertilizer has a bit more punch than their first offering. Snappy industrial rhythms jiggle and clatter to the droning pulse of eerie synth spasms. The production quality isn’t up to the level where I would find this enjoyable, unfortunatly. At least it is more enjoyable than the first track.

Gus Till and James Monro provide a taste of the Flying Rhino style on Scary Spice. This song is all about intricate details, intelligent sound effects, and a deep entrancing flow. Every twist and flourish is measured with extreme care. There are no real hooks to be found here; this track rewards careful and attentive listening. Great work from the old masters!

The Warp is a fairly standard GMS tune made in collaboration with Jonas (possibly one of the members of Logic Bomb). Squelchy leads and moody funk-fortified rhythms seethe and churn for the duration, but nothing really stands out that much.

Paps (Stéphane Papin) made his worldwide debut with a killer vinyl EP released on TIP World in 1999. Digital Ache is the B-side from that notoriously weird record. The introduction is unsettling, as it features a bizarre assortments of psychedelic sounds and manic laughter. The tone becomes very ominous and more than a little demented as a dry psychedelic techno beat begins to quiver and shake. It takes a while to build, lurching forward with countless little twists and turns, eventually reaching a dissociative peak near the very end. Very original, and very psychedelic!

Absolum’s Re:Generate is the original definition of a killer dance floor anthem. 3D Vision has been following this formula ever since. The secret recipe? Tight synthetic grooves, squelchy electric leads, razor-sharp effects, and sick drum programming. It doesn’t hurt that this song has a devilishly clever arrangement, building towards an incredibly powerful peak as Neo of The Matrix queries, “I can’t go back, can I?” The response is an emphatic “NO!!!” I would call this a defining moment in Absolum’s post-Transwave career, with strong parallels to Deedrah’s influential opus Reload. Excellent!

The final track unites Nick Barber (Doof) with Benji Vaughn (Prometheus) as Citizen Kaned. President Johnson is a lazy breakbeat track with B-movie samples that is suspiciously reminiscent of Eat Static. It was not previously released on vinyl anywhere; this is its first and only release. This curious little bonus track is nothing special.

Ultimately, TIP World Singles 2000 is just an average compilation. There is plenty of filler that I wouldn’t bother listening to again. It is mainly of use to those of us who wish for CD-quality versions of a few old TIP World hits previously released on vinyl, namely Re:Generate, Sparkling Soup, and Digital Ache. Scary Spice is nice to have as well, but the rest don’t sound so great years after the fact. For collectors only.

Release Data

Title: TIP World Singles 2000
Label: TIP.World
Format: CD compilation
Released: 2000

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