tyrant 2 reviews

[Nolimit]

Released May 20, 2002 on Fabric

It’s not often I sit for so long considering the most appropriate words to describe the nature and essence of each release, but unfortunately the latest offering from the Tyrant boys is causing me to do just that. Call it creative block, but I can’t find an easy way to sum it up, there’s so much to say, but where to start. It’s chock-a-block full off nuances and every listen reveals more and more levels to the music. Bear with me though… here goes.

Following on from the original Tyrant album, released in 2000, this double CD and triple pack vinyl release, called Tyrant 2 no less, is finally with us after the original release was pushed back to allow for some last minute changes to disc 2. Perfectionists? Probably. Thank god!

Now I can tell you from experience that when you bung Craig and Lee together in the DJ booth you’re entering a frightening territory where anything goes, and ‘everything’ usually does. They get a vibe off each other like no other DJs I’ve seen. Musical genres and styles are blended and blurred, you’re left dazed and confused… but you know it’s been exciting and that you sure as hell enjoyed it. Thankfully that formula is extended onto the release, so there’s no one DJ per disc here, it’s Craig and Lee all the way, joint input, singular result.

And that ‘result’ is simply outstanding. Tyrant 2 is perhaps the most polished and accomplished piece of work I’ve had the pleasure of listening to for the past couple of years. There’s no pigeonholing the musical genre, but it’s the Tyrant ‘sound’ no doubt.

Funky, wobbly, groovy, trippy, minimal, layered, heavy, dubby, harmonic, harsh stabs, strange popping noises, reggae, scary vocals, rolling basslines, melting synths, photon torpedoes at the ready, it’s spaced out and fucked up. It’s an aural contradiction, and it works.

Both CDs showcase amazing tracks that will have you shaking yo ass for some time into the future, but you won’t know why. There are no standout tracks here, no ‘underground anthems’, you just need to slip the discs in, hide the remote, sit back and enjoy the ride. Skip backwards and forwards through tracks at your peril. You’ve just lost the flow.

For the final piece in the puzzle Craig pops his ‘art’ head on and designs the sleeve, while Lee presumably encourages speedy track clearance for the re-jigged CD2, with a baseball bat.

Tyrant 2. Wonderful track selection, flawless mixing. Craig Richards and Lee Burridge - I salute you.

Catch the Tyrant Soundsystem at Fabric, Tribal Sessions and The Bomb. And I do mean it… catch them.

And should you want to get yourself a copy of this release for free, you can always enter our competition to win one by clicking here

Rating: 10 / 10

Review by: Andy Kinsella

so far i've only heard cd1 a couple of time and it just keeps getting better with each listen. these cats never cease to amaze me.

[phrankadelic]

i know i'll be gettin this shit on vinyl too!

[joeygk]

I've been waiting to get my hands on the entire album. I want to hear the whole thing.

Does it sound just like more of the same from the first Tyrant? I'll be honest I thought the first Tryrant was great, but I'll be disappointed if they just turn out a mix that sounds exactly like the first. I keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they pull a 90 degree turn and take their fans for a real ride.

[phrankadelic]

here's the cover:

[digital7]

Joey, don't be dissapointed, I'm not!

[calix]

downloaded cd1 yesterday. I'm dying to listen to it. haven't really had time, though. I'll do it today. Can I have a tracklisting please????

[loraine]

so this means both cds are available online ?

ofcourse I'll purchase it once it's released cos we gotta support baldie and co.

[bbflux]

same here....I'll definately be heading out to purchase this one. I was just listening to this afternoon and.....WOW!!!! Pretty fierce shit!

By the way, that was my post up there not Chris'

I forgot that he was the last one on yesterday evening. oops...

[Treepwood]

here is the track listing Barb,

Thanks for Uploading it but i had gotten it the night before =)

its well appreciated that you uploaded it.

Also Sounds of Cosmos is in there.

Tyrant 2 - No Shoes No Cake (Disc 1)

01 - Tribalation - Falling Down

02 - Nathan Coles - Raasbucket

03 - Samneric - Crazed Cello

04 - Jefferis Lee - Echo Jazz

05 - Idjut Boys - Energy

06 - Lee Burridge - Lost and Found

07 - DJ Linus - KBS Groove

08 - Coast 2 Coast - Rock

09 - Kenny Hawkes - Ashley's War

10 - Second Hand Satellites - Orbit 1.3

11 - Omni AM - Beat Dis

12 - Sounds From Around - Things Fall Apart

13 - Mark Farina - Chick N Stew

14 - Callisto - Resistance

15 - Sieg Uber Die Sonne - Hot

16 - Soul Patrol - Love Variations

Disc 1 Total Playtime - 73:58

Tyrant 2 - No Shoes No Cake (Disc 2)

01 - Panoptica - And L

02 - Martin Landsky - Pshey

03 - Terry Lee Brown Jr - Lost and Found (Steve Bug Remix)

04 - Swag - Love Struck

05 - JT Donaldson - At Ease

06 - Hakan Lidbo - Root Syndicate

07 - PJ Stroller - Gravy (Rocky Mountain Remix)

08 - DJ Garth and Eric James present Rocket - Standby

09 - TGM and Teknostep - Spandia

10 - Hush and Chop - Drummer's Dawn

11 - Ivan I - All Tings Dub

12 - Nectar - Concussive

13 - Sound as a Pound - 11

14 - Karnak - Black Rain

15 - Orion Music presents - Alone

16 - Plantastik - Familamily

[digital7]

Thanks for the tracklisting George. I'm almost done downloading cd 1, no DSL makes it hard, ya know?

[staceyg5]

Originally posted by digital7

no DSL makes it hard, ya know?

um, more like next to impossible

look'ng forward to this one & hear'ng them live

[meng]

That tracklisting just goes all over the place doesn't it? I see some Hallucination reprezentation going on with the inclusion of Second Hand Satellites. I gotta hear this shit.

[calix]

Thanks for the tracklisting, George This is Barbie (BTW) not chris... I'm in too much of a rush to log out and then log back in....

[bbflux]

BTW, I just heard cd 2. It's even better than cd1. AMAZING!!!!!

[Nolimit]

cd2 is the best mix i've heard all year.

time to smoke a bowl.

[james954]

tyrant 2 is average at best. paul louth's 'funky logic' and bill brewsters 'house mix' is what tyrant could and should have been. craig and lee are falling into that sasha and digweed catagory.... brilliant solo, but leave much to be desired together. i also feel that tyrant 1 didn't hold up all that well either. nothing that a florida breaks dj couldn't have done, and done better. take it for what it's worth. louthy and brewster make this look like the silly subpar mix that it is, representing the true london underground. if dave christopher would've given them 'deeper', then maybe? this is the mix that they didn't want to release.

[james954]

oh yeah, that cover art above, is for cd 1 only.

[marick]

opps...

[bbflux]

Originally posted by james954

. . . louthy and brewster make this look like the silly subpar mix that it is, representing the true london underground. if dave christopher would've given them 'deeper', then maybe? this is the mix that they didn't want to release.

That was you, Marick...wasn't it? Only YOU are that sweet and subtle.

[patrickl]

I would agree with Marick's assessment of Tyrant 1, though I will certainly listen to 2 with open ears.

I still think Tyrant 1 makes a perfect sleep CD. I seriously do use it to ward off insomnia, it gets all chuggy and slow-breaky, I can't help but drift off.

[marick]

now i have no idea how the above post got mistaken for me when it clearly says james954 next to the post but to clear things up a bit that was not me! that was def. james!!

for the record, i don't fully agree with james on this but i am more on his side then anyone elses so far.

i don't believe craig & lee are even close to falling into that "sasha and digweed catagory...." in anything that they've done thus far but i do agree that they are much better solo then together. IMO craig richards fabric cd and his groovetech set are 100 times better then tyrant 2. and the tyrant essential mix is much better as well! both craig & lee have been ten times better when i've seen them on their own.

now i don't see how it can be said that tyrant 2 is "nothing that a florida breaks dj couldn't have done, and done better" when these cds don't have more then 3 or 4 breakbeat tracks on them combined. these 2 cds have mostly techy/dubby tracks on them with the odd breakbeat thrown in here and there. there were only 3 or 4 strait up breakbeat tracks on them that i can remember, 2 or so on each disc. and even though i don't think tyrant 2 is the greatest thing to ever come out i know for a fact a florida breaks dj couldn't even come close to doing what craig and lee have done here.

i've listened to both discs twice through now and although i think they are slitely better then average they are by no means "the best cd in the world" or "mind blowing" or anything even close to that. like i said above, IMO craig richards fabric cd and his groovetech set are 100 times better then tyrant 2.

i do agree with james in that louthys funcky logic cd is 10 times better then tyrant 2!! although brewsters cd is good i never thought it was better then fabric 01 therefore i don't think it's better then tyrant 2 or can even come close to louthys mix for that matter.

over all i give tyrant 2 a 3/5

its good but def. not great! i think they could have done MUCH better! like james said "this is the mix that they didn't want to release".

[james954]

just to clarify... i said that tyrant vol 1 was nothing that a florida breaks dj couldn't have done. personally i feel that brewsters is better than louthy's, but not by much. yet both are still far superior to anything craig and lee have released. anything.

[bbflux]

Originally posted by marick

now i have no idea how the above post got mistaken for me when it clearly says james954 next to the post but to clear things up a bit that was not me! that was def. james!!

it was b/c of the post right under james' that said "ooops". SORRY

[bbflux]

by the way, I'm downloading funky logic now. wanna hear for myself.....

Anyone heard Middleton's sound of the cosmos yet? It's kinda "out there" in my opinion..... he mixes in an old New Order track (subculture) with the new remix of sun glasses at night. WILD It sounds kinda cool but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

[badasspanda]

you don't know how you feel about that uhmmmmmmmmmm:afro: