Pleasures of the flesh

The gap between trip-hop and nu-skool breaks was filled with some awful, awful music.  The fact that Big Beat as a genre has completely disappeared into history is a testament to the awfulness of the bulk of it.  

Around the time Big Beat emerged, Torque dropped this utterly brilliant mixtape.  This tape is most definitely not Big Beat, at least in the Fatboy Slim sense of the term.  But what we do have here is a blindingly good mix of mid-tempo breaks and electronic funk - perhaps an alternative, cheese-free Big Beat from a parallel universe.

I can't say much about DJ Torque.  He sort of appeared on my radar out of nowhere, dropped this tape, then disappeared into obscurity again.  I might also have seen him play at one of those squillion stage Freaky Loops/Astrofunk-type parties at the Wentworth Centre.  Of course, as this interview from 3D World attests, he was around the traps long before I was.  It wouldn't surprise me if he was still kicking about somewhere, doing his own thing.

Even if this tape doesn't sound like it's your own thing, I urge you to give it a go.  It really is freaking awesome and not quite like anything else.


Download Torque's "Pleasures of the Flesh Side A
Download Torque's "Pleasures of the Flesh Side B