Customer Reviews

Bedrock

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Drums and percussion, that is what this is all about--its deep, its dark, its housey, it grooves. This is fairly `minimalist' tribal/house more than it is trance, with its heart firmly set in the groove. You are in Steve Lawler "dark drums" territory here (see "Lights Out"), (except more housey), and belongs in that genre. You won't find layers of synth or synth driven melody here, or many sound effects, no--bass and percussion set the minimal melodies. Even the beats are not particularly layered, its all about the texture of that beat that is there.

At first blush it can sound somewhat the same, chunking house music--particularly disc one tracks one to five--and you wonder, "what is all the fuss about?" But over time, and I mean time--try five plays at least, loud--you come to appreciate the purity of the drum and bass drive here, and the subtlety of the mix. Fortier is consistent in mood and tone throughout, nothing jars, everything flows, as it it is intended to do. It is spiced with dub and vocal to add interest, however. In the way you pay attention to the curve of your sweethearts thigh, give this CD your wholehearted attention, you won't be disapointed.

You could put this on the in the background when you have people over, you could put this on when you are with the one you love, both work effectively: it won't be intrusive, unless you crank it up. Things ratchet up a notch on both CDs around track 6 or so, but this is a consistent slow build, don't expect fireworks from this chunky, sexy housey set.

Its far beyond your run of the mill collection and must recieve four stars, but it will require patience on your end, and attention. Oh, and needless to say, glowstick wavers need not apply. It pays off. Enjoy.

In terms of technique Chris Fortier's skills are starting to approach artists like Sasha and John Digweed. To light: I bought this CD and popped the first disk in, then drove out to get some lunch. I wasn't paying close attention but after a while it occured to me that the first track was pretty long. I glanced at my CD player and *surprise* it was already on track 3.

Great minimal house blending into tribal beats and deep progressive trance. If you can't get a dj for your after-hours party these disks will work instead.

Smooth, smooth, smooth. :-)

I'm normally pretty wordy with my reviews, but this latest addition to the Bedrock stable of DJ mix albums says it all, and does it so well that I'm going to keep this pretty brief.

This mix is a slow-burner... the kind of sound that makes you think of a slowly simmering cauldron or a night of long drawn out, protracted love-making. It grooves along at the most relaxed tempo that I can remember since Danny T's London sojourn with the Boxed Boys.

Disc 1 is filled with slow-bending, sex-inducing gems, starting with "Solomonic Agents" moving all the way through to the end. Stand out tracks include "Marscarter", "Control Factor", and the "Timewreck" into "Timecrash" mix.

Disc 2 for me is the killer - loaded with energy that seeps out of every groove, yet never descending into the ordinary peaks and plateaus that mediocre mixes stick to so faithully. Simmers with sexual tension... so much so that you feel you can almost reach out and touch it. Cuts of choice - "Women of Color", "Nova", "Gasp", "Deported"... I could almost list the entire tracklist. The mixing is absolutely mindblowing, with a lot of mixes going on for over 3 minutes.

On the whole, one of the most refreshingly different mixes I've heard. This one is definitely going to occupy a special place in my collection for a long, long time.

Disc 1: 4.5 stars
Disc 2: 5 stars
Overall: 4.75 stars

If you just had to have an analogy, it'd be easy to proclaim Chris Fortier the American John Digweed. But the man's been busy for years, running his Fade label, the agency Balance Promote with Jimmy Van M, and whipping up numerous tracks and remixes as Fade with partner Neil Kolo. In 2000 his (boringly titled) "Trance America" slipped out on the market, an under-recognized wonder that still ranks as one of the top progressive sets available. So it's about time he followed that up, grabbing the third installment of the Bedrock series.

Here it's all house with strains of tribal rhythms. Disc one's the beaut, starting with some of the slowest-bpm fare yet, the minimal pulse of Universal Agents "Solomonic Agents" (a dizzyingly-slow bassline at the fore) and feisty vocal call out "Marscarter." "You gotta do what moves you," indeed. Add in Choc Electrique's "Edge of Time," all subtle cooing and chimes, with a welcome veer into breaks by Meat Katie, for a highly polished ride.

Disc two's darker and more earnest, accentuating mood for the long haul. Starting Women of Color "Elemental" goes down a wonder, a gentle mix of waves, effects, and atmosphere. Consistent instrumental grooves follow, with several stylized records from extraordinaire Steve Porter (someone give this man his own mix, stat). A few dubious vocal pieces make an appearance, the C & C Music factory sampled "At Night" and Angel Moraes "Turn it Up," before closing out with Fortier's own "Losing Wait," a mesmerizing combination of synths, intelligible whispering and insistent bassline.

Well...nice flowery description and all, but will you like it? Bedrock's two hours of well-crafted but faceless grooves, notably short on those "Crikey, what was that!" moments. Rhythmic but not catchy, let's say. Meaning, those with the Bedrock B tattooed on their body needn't hesitate to get this, anyone seeking the pleasures of a party should look elsewhere. Disc 1: 4 stars Disc 2: 3 stars

I've heard so many comps lately, and so many have a double portion of cheeze added. Not so with this one. Chris has set a deep groove from cd 1 track one and has built slowly, methodically and brilliantly until the atmosphere explodes with energy. The track selection is excellent for this type of album; sometimes tribal, sometimes housey, and definitely full of trance foundations: this compilation has it all! I had, hitherto now, really relied on the DJs from the United Kingdom for my musical enjoyment, and with the exceptions of Deep Dish and Danny Tenaglia, I have largely given US DJs a pass. This Bedrock outing has changed that, Chris has set the bar high and delivered with a musical journey that oozes [smooth]overtures flowing over groovy baselines that are only anchored by the steady beat that is called bedrock. This one's a keeper. Enjoy!! rock the vote;}

Ive seen Chris spin twice now. The first time was at a small club in Baltimore and remains a little hazy in my memory to this day. The second was with Anthony Pappa, Dave Seamen, and Slaker at Twilo, NYC. When I placed the new Bedrock cd's in my player, I was nothing short of taken back to the sound of that night. Disk one starts off mellower with great beats and builds steam throughout with tight mixing, subtle builds, and premier track selection. The stuff you hear early on at a club before the dance floor gets packed. In my opinion, the first cd is the best. Disk two is a little darker and heavier, but still fantastic, with seamless / Digweed like mixing. So if your looking for a party mix, Ill agree with the above review, stick to Paul Van Dyk or Oakenfold (Im not knockin, that is more their game.) This double disk set from Chris Fortier represents the cutting edge of progressive house today with a perfect blend of minimalistic, tribal, breakbeat, and techno, all with a sly groove that will keep you movin throughout. This is intelligent electronic music. The best attempt to date. Check out Anthony Pappa / Resolution too.

Brilliant from start to finish.
Sheer sonic genius.
Find this. It's seamless, it's flawless.

this is flat-out one of the very best mix CDs out there, and the fact that it's currently so cheap makes it doubly sweet. amazingly tight, bassy, sexy and deep house music. fortier inhabits that grey zone in between prog house, tech house, and techno that almost no one else seems to play in -- or at least, no one with this good an ear. the closest in style is probably steve lawler's more recent "lights out" sets with a bit of the dirt removed, digweed's los angeles set, quivver, and the less trancey side of max graham. get it!

This set is a bit different from what I am used to hearing from Chris. He was more trippy in the past. But this set is really good, dark, energetic and unique. Must have.

Chris Fortier's BEDROCK mix of 2002 was the third installment in the series begun by John Digweed in 1999 and carried on by Jimmy Van M two years later. Fortier's style has much in common with his two predecessors in the series, for he spins a nocturnal sort of progressive where a smooth flow is preferred to the ups and downs excesses of late '90s trance. The multiple appearances of producers/remixers John Debo and Steve Porter give an idea of the sounds one can expect, typical of their era. One track on each disc features a Rasta man, which makes for a personal touch.

Fortier is, however, even more smooth than his predecessors, for it is hard to identify much of a climax at all in these two discs. Like the mix by Jimmy Van M before him, Fortier's BEDROCK seems like a creation of a DJ always acting as a warmup to bigger-name acts, while the progressive house CD market is full of mixes by people working large-scale magic. Even Jimmy Van M structured his first disc in an epic fashion (with Jimmy Van M feat. Terra Deva - "Love Like Sleep (dub)" as its one big peak).

I couldn't recommend this mix unless you are a completist of the era. I myself used to buy up everything in series like this, but time has really shown me which are the few essential mixes and which are lesser creations.