Dirty Dancing

Swayzak | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: K7
• ASIN: B00006C2DI
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,235 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From URB Magazine

From the clean and pristine digital massage of "Make Up Your Mind," the cool lament of electro-love gone awry that opens Dirty Dancing, it's readily evident that Swayzak have come to play. Having already had a subtle but instrumental hand in the development of the sound currently being touted as "tech-house," James Taylor and David Brown have quietly (but ambitiously) developed into producers with real vision.

Dirty Dancing finds the duo flying back to the future, evidenced by songs like the monotone New Wave of "In the Car Crash" (hey — Gary Numan called and he wants his track back!). But it's that very punk rock-gone-underground-dance spirit that separates Swayzak's latest from the more rudimentary electro-art pack. "I Dance Alone" goes even deeper into the lonely trench-coat crowd of the late '80s, with Detroit godhead Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus laying down the law on the mic. Old-school goths will be crying beneath their capes for this baby. "The Punk Era" remembers the early days of Factory records and writing poetry to New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies. "Take My Hand" re-runs nostalgic reels of Depeche Mode when Vince Clarke was still in the band. But amid all of this looking back to move forward, new ideas are rapidly gestating.

Mining the classic tech-house (as derived from the Kraftwerk theorem) blueprint for the last track, "Ping Pong," Swayzak's undeniable might has the potential of being a vital bridge in the gap between the more cerebral dance floors, electro-clash hype and the seeds of a pop-culture paradigm shift. Imagine that.

Permanent Ink

Product Description

Swayzak Release their Album on Studio K7, featuring the Vocal Talents of Clair Dietrich, Klaus Kotai and Adult.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars flashback: 1982, October 25, 2002

By 

bowery boy (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Dancing (Audio CD)

even the title of swayzak's third full length offering is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 80s. this time around swayzak has almost completely abandoned thier minimalistic tech-house grooves for an disc full of electro style songs . . . yes, songs. all but three tracks are vocal driven and 'dirty dancing' comes across as a full fledged electro-pop disc. now, as a person who was a teenager during the 80s new wave movement, the recent revival of 80s electro synth-pop (miss kittin & the hacker, adult, ladytron) is cute and kitschy yet somewhat tired all at the same time. but this is swayzak we're talking about and they breathe new life into the already tired genre of electro. although it's not immediately accessible as earlier works, diehard swayzak fans will still be able to dig deep and appreciate the tightly structured, deeply rhythmic tracks offered up here.

`make up your mind' opens the disc and starts off sounding like a typical swayzak vocal track: dreamy female vocals, deep dubby bass, synth effects and 4-on-the-floor beats. Then about a minute into the track it takes on a Heaven 17-ish spin and ends up sounding like an 80s new wave song. Even the lyrics ("You're going out with her tonight and that's not good."), about an open relationship gone bad, are 80s inspired.

'in the car crash' is Front 242 industrial from the driving (no pun intended) percussive beats to the processed Richard 23-ish vocals and morbidly twisted lyrics. it's kind of a love song gone bad. a guy dying in a car crash thinking only of his girlfriend.

'celcius', the first instrumental track, is a green album Orbital sound a-like. close your eyes and you'll be hard pressed to tell if it's Orbital or swayzak you're listening to.

'i dance alone' (my personal favorite) is more industrial strength dance music. yet its hyper-drive percussion and synthesizer reminds me of the darker 80s industrial artists like Borghesia or A Split Second.

'the punk era', the second instrumental track, starts off a bit cheesy until it veers off into pure late night trance with it's vocal refrain "get up" inspiring you to get up and dance.

'sob 1' is the only track that's close to past swayzak. a hauntingly beautiful deep house track until four minutes in it turns into industrial trance. then clair deitrich croons in french over the beats and i swear it veers off into stereolab territory. i kid you not!

'ping pong' is swayzak's kraftwerk tribute. steady 4/4 beats and kraftwerk-esque vocals saying "Ping . . . Pong". A wonderful close to a suprisingly wonderful disc.

although this is a radical departure in what swayzak fans have grown to know, love and expect from this talented duo 'dirty dancing', albeit a bit commercial, is swayzak in top form. A must have for swayzak or electro loving fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like a flashback into the future.., November 26, 2002

By 

Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Dancing (Audio CD)

In the European electronic/dance scene rediscovering the 80s is no longer news (you havent heard of "electroclash"? You should..)..
Swayzak tread older grounds in a very refreshing way in this album.."In the car crash" will revive the fondest memories of your 80's electrogoth days , and if you werent existent back then no worries, it will break you into a sound you'll find hard to resist.
This album is by no means a monotonous affair of retro-sounding synthies. It shifts with ease from innofensive techno to trip hop and thrusts back forward to tracks that pay hommage to Anne Clark.
Curiously enough for such an album there are no fillers. Instead, the whole thing is an honest effort to keep the music interesting and flowing. Swayzak are a proposition that will smoothly fit in an alternative club as well as a mainstream dance club. And that, i think, says it and sums it up all. Nice, very nice indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Minimal tech-electro-clash-house-stuff, March 26, 2003

By 

Gertjan Hofwegen (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Dancing (Audio CD)

Sometimes thing are hard to label, Swayzak is hard to label, it's not techno, it's certainly not house, it's not ambient, it's not electro it's whatever. It is however very minimal clear cut tech, with a hint of electro (80's) and even goth (track #3)

I have to be honest, I never was a big Swayzak fan but this album it just excellent, every track is a mini electro diamond. It's excellent stuff you want to play after you got home from a night out but still have an hour of energy left.

Go get it, this probably will be a classic