Twenty-five years since Aim’s Cold Water Music came out on Grand Central? Who can forget the retro-styled cover with its nod to 60s library music sleeves and photograph of a suitably icy Arctic (or Antarctic) vista or indeed the enthusiastic sleeve notes from (as I consult my copy while typing) WRUV-FM’s Benge Newman which so capably conveyed the musical vibe. And of course it was really all about the music, which managed to have one foot in downtempo 90s trip-hop territory and the other in 90s underground hip-hop. This duality was best exemplified by the two most memporable tracks, the unmistakable orchestral breakbeat horror of the Halloween I and II dialogue-sampling Demonique and the effortlessly cool Ain’t Got Time To Waste feat. rapper YZ. It was a triumph, with an underground UK producer achieving success on both sides of the Atlantic and selling north of 150 000 copies just via word-of-mouth. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the aforementioned Ain’t Got Tim To Waste featured on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or that besides YZ, the LP featured rap vocals from AG of Showbiz and AG and JVC Force’s Q-Ball and Curt Cazal. Still a quarter of a century, eh? Probably worth remastering and rereleasing for Christmas 2024 yeah? With a brand new Arctic (or Antarctic!) sea vista cover picture? On ice-blue double vinyl? Yeah, that should do it.
(Pre-order HERE on ATIC Records)