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Baker's Dozen

The Centre Of Everything: John Frusciante's Favourite Electronic Music
Brian Coney , September 23rd, 2020 08:56

Electronic music isn't some casual fling for the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist. From synth-pop and ghetto house, to old-school UK rave and hardcore, it's long been a major preoccupation. As he prepares to release his thrilling, jungle-inspired new LP Maya, he guides Brian Coney through 13 indispensable titles from his collection

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TDK & Bizzy B - 'Warp Factor One'
The first electronic music I got really into was synth-pop. A lot of what drew me in initially was melody. As my tastes got more refined over the years, I developed something of a distaste for melody. So when I come across jungle things that can speak so much without depending on melody, it's actually what I prefer. Aaron Funk got me into Bizzy B and Remarc back when we were first friends. In terms of being on the really experimental side of a type of music that is already one of the most experimental forms of dance music that's ever been, they are stand-out artists.

This TDK collaboration is a not as well-known thing, it's not on any of the compilations that have come out, and it's just really fast and weird. The Captain Kirk sample wins me over, then the drums come in so hard and fast, faster than jungle would normally be. Some jungle, especially when it gets a little more drum & bass, might sound like a lot of other things. But on the likes of 'Warp Factor One', it's its own thing. I bought this around a year ago on Discogs. I have a friend who has got 10,000 jungle and hardcore albums, released between 1991 and 1996. He said he reckons he only has 60% or something of what there is, so I have a long way to go.