Revelation – Synth-It / First Power

Utterly amazing record. The bonus beats of Synth It seemed to turn up quite a bit in the following years, not on Youtube right now, but for anyone looking to use classic but under-the-radar sample beats this is interesting. Synth It is a phenomenal bit of minor chord poised techno with electro roots, with a touch of a squelchy acid line in the middle, and First Power (Domination Dub) is like the beginnings of a type of music that might be called something like bleepy dub trance. With a nice balearic tempo, no nosebleed bpm. Loved up and extremely original. I used to have a shonky Atmosphere Records T Shirt back then and I wore it with such pride mostly because of the two Revelation releases. Bless you Andre Estrada and Mondo Musique.

The greatest house record ever in my book : )

My copy has B side labels on both sides erroneously

Synth It was one of AFX's favourite tracks way back in the day.

pads remind me a tiny bit of CJ bollands Wonderland and then later Stereogens resonance

Basically one of the first examples of what could be considered "dub Techno"

The intro to First Power (Domination Dub) gives me goosebumps still to this day, and I've been rocking this since 1990! Absolute class!!

If Revelation's follow up release Chapter 2 is correctly entered as February 1990, that may indicate that not only it was possibly circulating before then, but I'd hazard an approximate of production or early pre-release circulation of late 1989 with this one specifically. That is one mean feat considering many productions around the same time weren't anywhere as advanced in ideas. Forward thinking is an understatement to say the least. This, the Buzz remixes / reissue from Belgium and Chapter 2 are some of my all time favourites related to this label and this artist.

Another darkcore/hardcore prototype out of NYC. Serious heat. Randall, Grooverider, et al. rocked this record.

First Power - Domination dub. Its one of those tracks that seems to define a part of my life when going out, clubbing and then DJing meant so much and it has had a huge influence on my musical taste. It is one of the most important pieces of vinyl that I own and I still listen every now and then to remind me of the enormity of a great tune - it takes me right back but still sounds fresh as a daisy. And lets not forget that production at that time was rudimentary compared to nowadays but it stands out as a simply beautiful and emotive piece of music.