Hey club kids. Maybe you hung with N-Soul's Nitro Praise Christmas and thought, "Yeah, that was kind of fun." But, like the beat fiends you are, you needed a stronger dose. You needed something harder. Your prayers look to be answered-and not necessarily under the auspices of your brothas and sistas in the Lord (how you gon' know with instrumental music and the anonymous nature of so many dance acts?)-by Acid X-Mas.
As the title implies, the burning tones of the Roland 808 (or machine replicating the same) is all over this collection of 12 seasonal re-interpretations by just as many acts (unless some are doubling or tripling under aliases-again, how you gon' know?). As high concepts in dance electronics go, this isn't quite so simple as it appears.
Which is to say, there are both variety and surprises here. Those who hold Christmas music in some kind of sacrosanct reverence won't find anything here done "straight," but in relative terms, D.J. Demonixx's "Carol Of The Bells" takes a hyperactive, uncluttered breakbeat techno approach, and The Torres Bros.' "Nutcracker Suite" plays with the original melody in a similar context, right before the most familiar motif from the ballet score kicks in.
In some cases the acid tones take the melody; in others, a supporting role. One of the most successful types of the latter is Noel W. Sanger's "Greensleeves" in a cerebral drum & bass reading where the tune you know sounds to be plinked out by Paul Hardcastle deep in the mix. In more organic tinniness, Beat Dominator gives the melody of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" to the sound of steel pan drums.
Since most or all of the Acid X-mas acts hail from Miami, it's not surprising that many find the common rhythmic ground 'tween techno/rave's house and breakbeat roots and the streamlined electro-hip-hop that gave birth to their home turf's bass music. Sometimes, it's fun, as in George Acosta's "Jingle Bell Rock" (with sweet uncredited female vocals), and is elsewhere more arch and menacing, like Elf 7's fragmented "Come All Faithful." If there are any (that word again) straight house numbers among these yuletide trinkets, they have more to do with what Miami natives The Murk Brothers/Funky Green Dogs' experimental side rather than Chicago, New York, or London notions of the form. The wailings of Sunny (not the wrestling babe, although that would have been a blast) on D.J. Voodoo Vs. Mr. Knightlife's "Little Drumma's Dub," where girlfriend gets obsessed with the Harry Simeone Chorale's original "rum pa pum pum"'s, comes closest to currently housey diva vocalizing.
Only Friction & Spice's "Frostie's X-mas Dub" veers from taking any recognizable element of known holiday tuneage; but even then, they might be taking chords of the snowman's song which I can't identify properly in its mutated version. Even Acid Factor's titular ditty figures "White Christmas" into its acidic soundscape, which must surely have Irving Berlin spinning in his tomb.
Acid X-Mas will find favor with you aforementioned clubber kiddies as you do your dances. Or, for more nefarious fun, slip it on in the midst of your folks' Kenny G and Amy Grant aural holiday smorgasbord. Just be polite enough to clean up the egg nog spewing from the guests' mouths as they gasp in frightened bewilderment.
