MAURIZIO
Ancient rituals, righteous grooves.
Andrew Weatherall famously described raves as ‘secular transcendence ceremonies’, a form of collective out-of-body experience analogous to the religious rituals of the ancient Greeks or early Catholic Church.
My only issue with this analysis is the use of the word ‘secular’. I don’t believe it’s possible to transcend without establishing a connection to the divine.
But, broadly speaking, Lord Sabre and I are on the same page.
So if raves are the ritual and ecstacy the sacrament, then the music is also a crucial component of a liturgical framework that drives the ceremony forward.
Think of these records as ancient wisdom handed down through generations.
Like some kind of cuneiform tablet or Dead Sea Scroll.
Righteous grooves with mystical powers.
Preserved for posterity.
A glimpse into something ancient.
A gateway into another world.
MAURIZIO
I won’t go on at length about individual tracks this week.
Suffice to say I have been blown away once again going through the complete back catalogue of Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald. It really is extraordinary to consider the volume and consistency of output of these two master producers. How lucky some of us were to have experienced all of this first hand, fresh and new.
The Maurizio project alone would be enough to place any other production team into the ranks of the greats. To have it running in parallel with Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound, as some kind of casual side project, is simply astounding.
I’ve pulled out my favourites from the series below.
The best (in my humble opinion) comes last: M-7, oh my gosh…
As you listen, think about what I said at the start of this post: These are righteous grooves, created for ancient riutals, to achieve collective transcendence and a connection with the divine.
M-1 - ‘Ploy (UR Mix)’ (1992)
M-2 - ‘Domina (Carl Craig Mix)’ (1993)
M-4 - ‘Untitled A’ (1995)
M-5 - ‘Untitled A’
M-6 - ‘Untitled B’ (1996)
M-7 - Untitled B (1997)
Totemic.
Where it all comes together.
Finally, for those that made it this far, one more classic that had nowhere else to live in the series.
Quadrant - Infinition (1993)
It really doesn’t get much better than this.
Thanks for listening.
Until next time.
Peace and love.
Rubin