2350.org - Move D/Namlook II - A Day in the Live!

Another in that rare Fax genre, concept albums which work, A Day In The Live!, the fourth collaboration (chronologically speaking) between Namlook and David Moufang is a thoroughly enjoyable journey through a day in the lives of two of electronica's finest.

Complete with illustrations to complement each track, we accompany Pete and Dave through their day, from the soothing refrain of "Wake Up", "Into A Wonderful Maze" and thence via the EMC (where funk and strange noises abound, all intertwined with melody and some familiar notes) to a spot of chilling-out and string-playing, and finishing with a surprisingly upbeat number, a clever combination of what has gone before. An intelligent and involved work.

Overall - 8/10. Very pleasant indeed, highly recommended. :-)

(review by Martin Jones)

The second of the Move D / Namlook collaborations recorded under their own names ( the 2 previous efforts of course released under the Koolfang alias) has proved to be my favourite of those I currently own (vols 1 - 5 - yes I prefer it even to "Wired") and has earned a place in my top ten Fax releases of all time.

Recorded pretty much in one go apart from some minor editing here and there the titles of the tracks reflect different stages in the artists' day as they set about recording the album and by the sound of it having a great deal of fun in the process.

We first of all "Wake Up" still feeling pretty lethargic and stretch and yawn with some gentle synth tones to bring us round.

We then "Fall out of bed" with a thump - Ouch! Time to get up and make a move - how about a few beats over breakfast...

Out of the house and "Into a wonderful maze" - we're on a mission now, cue some excellent funky basslines and some more intricate percussion.

Things really hit a peak as we head "Down to the EMC" - the bassline grows ever more insistent, and some more excellent drum programming is thrown into the mix, whilst over the top, Pete lets loose with some soaring melodies (this is a really amazing track that has to be heard to be believed, the bassline struts it way out your speakers with so much attitude you can't fail to be moved and if you listen to the drum tracks on headphones there is actually a lot more going on than can be heard at first glance). After 11 minutes of pure brilliance we slow down for a while "Where we chill out", Peter does indeed "play the strings" (synth not guitar) for 3 minutes or so and then "At the end" Mr Moufang throws in some more funkiness and we head off into the sunset tapping our feet as we go.

Whilst perhaps not as technically polished as say "Wired", this release for me scores full marks for its sheer exuberance and for the fact it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

And for those who appreciate the Fax artwork as well as the music, this disc has a nice insert with a cartoon courtesy of Uzzell-Edwards and the back of the disc features the maroon Move D/Namlook circle set inside a larger gold circle. Not quite sure what the significance of this is, but this album is certainly worthy of a medal in my book.

(review by Richard Hughes)

Different than "Exploring", more beats, but not dance oriented... just to set you in a slow trance mode, so there are bass drums with synth and some of the "Exploring" "melody/sounds" but the drums are more up front ... Except for the "As Peter Plays the Strings" ( short strings interlude )

And the packaging is nice with the small "cartoon" that represent the 7 song titles...

(review by Maximilien Lincourt)