firemusic » unified theory

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:35:07 +0000

Today’s offering is a synthy nugget from Sauveur Mallia on the legendary French library label Tele Music. So many library tunes have a couple of bars of minimal sexiness before drifting off into whackness, but thankfully here he just sits on the break and lets the groove do its thing. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday and ripe for re-edit… Monsieur Quaid?

Sauveur Mallia — Double Polygone

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:33:12 +0000

Cheeky one from Ian Carr’s Nucleus, shame it isn’t just synth all the way through, but still a sweet groove from a UK legend.

Ian Carr’s Nucleus — Heyday

FRIDAY FUSION (MUSIC FROM THE FUTURE SPECIAL)

quaid — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:43:46 +0000

Had to have one from ‘Battlestar Galactica’ in the series. Like the previous Music from the Future post it’s once again Stu Phillips at the controls – though all the synthy tracks I can find off the score seem to have a similar feel to that ‘Something kinda Funky’ vibe from ‘Buck Rogers’, so my guess is he’s got Ian Underwood in the mix too.

And like Buck much of the soundtrack is predominately orchestral with an obligatory spacey disco track thrown in. But digging a little deeper I found this gem which is a more noodly proggy synth piece, hence bringing it back ever-so-tangentially into the fusion sphere for today’s FF post.

Overall, though there are some electronic moments in the score, particularly in the SFX, it’s hardly noteworthy when compared to the out-there futuristic vistas of ‘Logan’s Run’ or the analogue madness of Gill Mellé’s ‘The Andromeda Strain’.

But to my mind this track at least feels like something you should be hearing on a Cylon Base ship, even if in the rest of this future the music is fairly predictable.

Stu Phillips — Galactic Rock

FRIDAY (COSMIC) FUSION

quaid — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:19:41 +0000

Something from the mighty Goblin this week. Taken from the soundtrack to the 1980 Sci-Fi/Horror flick ‘Alien Contamination’ this track is more Prog than Fusion, but like a lot of music from this genre & era the boundaries are often beautifully interwoven. A combination of the steady build over a classic arpeggio with those cinematic choral voices put this little baby high on my ‘please sample me’ list. So until it gets completely butchered let’s give props to the original.

Goblin — Connexion

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:28:43 +0000

Promised u some synths last time & as always we’re true to our word — today’s post is from Japanese keyboard master and synth pioneer Jun Fukamachi. The track’s taken from his 1980 LP ‘Quark’ and features just himself getting busy on the keys. It’s a deep 10 minute cosmic/jazz journey and well worth putting the time in, the perfect prelude to the gig I’m going to later — watching Kubrick’s masterful ‘2001′ with a live soundtrack from the Philharmonia Orchestra, shame Jun’s not about to put some synth stabs in there…

Jun Fukamachi — Perpetual (Movement)

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:26:53 +0000

Little Polish number this week from Michał Urbaniak. It’s a fairly classic affair, but the palette feels right for today (more synths next week). Image by Ryan McGinley.

Michał Urbaniak — Strife

FRIDAY FUSION (VINTAGE FOOTAGE SPECIAL)

quaid — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:09:12 +0000

Special treat this week — rare footage of Herbie playing live at Soundstage in Chicago from 1974. Get the full download here but we’ll probably be posting highlights in the coming weeks…enjoy!

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:07:03 +0000

Back to Brazil this week with another Azymuth classic. Inspired by a week of clear blue skies & cosmic rays, it’s the 12″ version of the fusion/disco anthem ‘Jazz Carnival’. Image via

Azymuth — Jazz Carnival

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:38:21 +0000

Spiritual force, inspirational band leader, cosmic philosopher, alien-abductee, composer, fashion criminal… take your pick. The being known as Sun Ra took the concept of fusion to another level, and quite possibly another planet, coming out of a hard-bop background he introduced electronics, vocals and an avant-garde cosmic concept to his Arkestra to create some truly unique music.

To be honest a lot of his output is a bit left for my ears, but here’s a couple of favourites from Lanquidity ‘78 and Sleeping Beauty ‘79 two of his more soulful offerings… Space is defintely the Place.

Sun Ra — Twin Stars Of Thence

Sun Ra — The Doors of the Cosmos

FRIDAY FUSION (SUMMER LOVING…)

quaid — Fri, 21 May 2010 08:13:12 +0000

Finally getting a taste of summer on our little island, time for something a bit more chilled to take us into the sun-drenched weekend. This cut is by Polish jazz singer Urszula Dudziak, and strikes the right balance between her ‘vocalising’ & the groove beneath it. Sadly the former often takes precedence in her work leaving little room for anything else, but there are a handful of tunes that cut it and she’s done some interesting electronic experiments — ’79’s ‘Future Talk’ LP is a good example.

This cut is from ’75’s ‘Urszula’. Enjoy the weekend.

Urszula Dudziak — Butterfly