Outa Intelligence – Foolz Gold

Amongst the many exceptional hardcore releases from 1993, this one has always stood out to me as something special.

On the A side, "Fools Gold" is similar to many other contemporary tracks, focusing on rolling amens and atmospheric pads. But whereas some tracks in this vein restrict this to a few simple chords, what makes "Fools Gold" so amazing is the way it progresses. it starts out very warm and uplifting, with a simple tinkling melody, soon ed by soaring strings. As it moves on those strings turn a bit more tense, and then altogether darker still in the middle break, introduced by a suitably sinister sample. A nice bleepy melody carries the track along to the last breakdown, where the strings turn back towards the light for an epic conclusion. All flowing together in a way unlike many other tracks of the time. And whilst it might be a darkside classic to some the reason I love it is because it really does cover the dark and light side of hardcore. One you really have to play from start to finish.

"Tales Of The Unexpected" is a bit more stripped down, ditching the epic strings in favour of some creepy atmospherics, but mostly focusing on the breaks. But where it lives up to its name in the middle, when the breaks suddenly switch up to something more jazzy, before dropping back into the amens. What makes it really stand out is that this break is in a different time signature. Even at a time when many producers were chopping breaks into new, more elaborate shapes, I think this might be the only one to divert from 4/4, even if just for a moment. And it really works, adding a nice trippy feel to the track without being too abstract.

Even for the high standard of the time this EP is really different and creative. And very affordable compared to some of its contemporaries - for now, at least!

i thought sample was from the movie children of the corn

Tales From The Unexpected samples "Charade" by Ronnie Aldrich & his 2 pianos and the London Symphony Orchestra. As found on PFS 4064 or SPA 160.

Jeez...I'm a geek!

sample is from tales from the crypt

One of the all time darkside classics, came out in 1993 on the legendary Back 2 Basics label. "Foolz Gold" contains this little sample, really sinister and spooky. Don´t know where this sample is from though.

"Children, we have gathered here today to drink from the fountain of death. You are now entering the dark zone..."