This record blew me so far away that it took multiple days to get back from the flying-monkey-infested place that I had been blown away to. DJ FULLTONO (described by his current collaborators @ ORANGE MILK RECORDS as having “been described as the godfather of Japanese footwork”) is a new name to be me, but clearly in actuality not a new name at all! Operating BOOTY TUNE RECORDS since 2008, and with four previous EPs under his belt, FULLTONO is in full effect. And if that weren’t outwardly apparent to begin with (it is), all you have to do is listen to MY MIND BEATS VOL. 1, the new EP in question (#5 from the man) and there is no way that there will be any doubt left in your mind as to how “in effect” DJ FULLTONO is.
Probably my favorite electronic dance music record of the year, and maybe my just-plain-favorite record of the year, MY MIND BEATS VOL. 1 is a scintillating blend of footwork, synth-sploration , awesome bass tones, and the kind of wonk-technot that CONTAINER, FYOELK, GOBBY, FORM A LOG, and UNICORN HARD-ON are currently pitching (and that DJ Nate once pitched . . . where the fuck is DJ NATE?). At only five tracks there is sadness due to the album’s brevity, but otherwise there is very little sadness because this is wondrously weird electronic dance music that would lift my soul (if I had one. None of us do, sorry everyone).
Syncopated madness of the variety that doesn’t come along often enough for me is what’s being served. The kind of dance music that favors those with only one leg, and/or very short people. In fact this music is special because it reduces all listeners to a wobbling mess, thus breaking humanity down to its essence, its nasty, funky core. Each track is a stunner, but my favorite track by a hair is probably “The Walls,” the EP’s final track. This one’s a moody, synth-laden, almost ambient-feel wobbler. Ancient drum-machine patter minces with the gnarly but seductive synth, leaving a massive eternity of space for psychedelic electronics to float free in. And they do. One hell of an end to an all too brief but still massively powerful set of songs.
Originally released digitally on FULLTONO’s own BOOTY TUNE, this ode to the beauty of early Chicago footwork (and beyond) is given the cassette treatment by ORANGE MILK. Hopefully someone will have the good sense to press these sounds to vinyl in reasonable quantities at some point.
Plea to DJ FULLTONO: Get in touch when you next come to the USofA. Please!
