1 disc evokes retro,
1 rockets the tempo

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By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

"I'm About to Break" Baby Anne (Moonshine)

Much is made of Baby Anne's Orlando roots, yet her new release, "I'm About to Break," has far less in common with the Florida booty bass of DJ Magic Mike than the classic electro sound-scapes of venerable Bronx b-boy Afrika Bambaataa and the Egyptian Lover's West Coast techno-hop. While the entire mix rides a succession of up-tempo nü-break rhythms, its underlying theme has a decidedly retro feel, complete with fuzzy bass lines, vocoder-assisted vocal snippets, Roland TR-808 rim shots and more primitive blips and buzzes than Donkey Kong. (In case you were wondering, that's a good thing.)

Baby Anne, who adds a few of her own original compositions to the mix, follows the great techno and electro pioneers of yore with the understanding that it's not the gadgetry that makes a funky track, but the person programming the machine.

"Relentless Beats Vol. 2" Misstress Barbara (Moonshine)

Judging by her choice in records, Montreal mixologist Misstress Barbara (a name that alludes to her hectic schedule, we're told: Miss-stress, get it?) is the kind of DJ you'd like running the show at 3 a.m., when the early birds have left the club and the all-nighters need a pick-me-up.

On the aptly titled "Relentless Beats Vol. 2," Barbara wastes little time in provoking listeners to get down with her hopped-up techno and hard house mix. Barely a minute into the disc, the tempo rockets into the upper BPMs and orbits the stratosphere for the remainder of the album.

Occasionally, as on Agoria's "Radio City" and Sharpside's "Space Cruising," the energy level is tuned down half a notch, only to explode again seconds later. Put this disc on repeat, and before you know it, the sun's already inching its way above the horizon.

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