Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Ant on Thu 05 May, 2011.

Mark Pritchard and Steve White make welcome return with some classy and diverse post bass/ post techno tracks. The upbeat electro of the opening title track hits the spot with intertwining melodies warping around one another with and acid bassline and filtered sweeping 909 claps. 'Do You Wanna Fight' mashes up elements of grime with liquid basslines, horns and future dread vocal. Meanwhile Out In The Streets adopts a classic Ini Kamoze vocal sample and gives it some hyper syncopated footwork percussion which is a genuine highlight of the set. 'Future Moves' is a disjointed stuttering tune that eventually comes together with elements of early grime and analogue sounds very much recalling Jack Dangers excellent 'Variaciones Espectrales'. 'Our Luv' is a warm loved up ride through neon lights and chrome skyscrapers recalling the highly underrated 'I Love You' by Juan Atkins from 2004. 'Spirit' looks to Africa for rhythmic and spiritual inspiration. 'Foot Step' deploys classic Unique 3 style bleeps over itch drum machine workout. 'Cyclic Sun' is a soulful jazz inspired cut, perhaps a nod to Sun Ra. 'Don't Fight It' On the other hand would slip in nicely with deeper Detroit house tracks. All in all a rich and engrossing collection of tunes which also flow well as an album digested as a whole.

· “I love it” – Zane Lowe (Radio 1) on lead single ‘Out In The
Streets’.

· ‘93 Million Miles’ is an unflinchingly ambitious product of
international globe-trotting that carves a new faultline into the
rapidly expanding terrain of bass music, or whatever it’s being
called this week.

· The first point of introduction for many will be the Ini Kamozesampling
behemoth ‘Out In The Streets’, played across
specialist Radio 1 with Zane, Gilles Peterson and Rob da Bank
all loving it. A combination of the ghosts of 1980s Jamaica and
the youth culture explosion of juke, it’s a track immediately
championed by ModeSelector, Kode9, Seb Chew, Diplo, Tayo,
Sinden, Laurent Garnier, Flying Lotus, Untold, Toddla T, Benji B
and Scratcha, amongst others.

· Africa Hitech are Mark Pritchard (of Harmonic 313 / Global
Communications / countless more psuedonyms’ fame) and
Steve Spacek (of Spacek fame and notable Dilla collaborator).
They began bonding over their shared passion for the
seemingly disparate spheres of bubbling Detroit techno, soul
and fierce Jamaican digital dancehall. Africa Hitech is the
moniker which represents both Steve and Mark’s love for all
things progressive within music, whilst acknowledging that the
roots of much of today’s popular music can be traced directly
back to Africa.