Yam Yam

Jim Westrich (westrich@uic.edu)
Mon, 16 Sep 1996 10:24:42 -0500


I was impressed with Yam-Yam mix of Up, Bustle and Out's "Revolutionary
Woman at the Windmill" so when I saw Yam-Yam's "The Spectacle" 12" (Nation,
UK) I decided to pick it up. My guess is that this has been out for a bit
but I really don't know how long (1996 at least).

Well, I think it is quite good. The mixes by the two guys of Yam-Yam (I
don't remember their names) make extensive use of the drumming of Sergio
Mendes' "Fanfarra" and "What is This?" (highly praised on this list a few
years ago for the group drumming). The drumming samples dominate two of
the remixes which is OK by me (but make me concerned that these pieces will
never reach a wider audience because of the repressive copyright laws).
They are content to add little snippets of melody to the drumming and the
results are great percussion pieces with just enough melody to keep them
fresh. The other remix is much jazzier and more in the Ninjatune vein
(particularly 9 Lazy 9) which it compares quite favorably. The other tune
is Koloko and its more electronic. It won't have the longest shelflife but
it is quite interesting for a few listens. All the tracks are instrumental.
I hope to hear more and I hope they keep sampling.

Beats pumping, beats, beats pumping,

Jim

"Oh, money has its own way, and money has to grow"

--Malvina Reynolds