LUKE SOLOMON – The Difference Engine – Redux

The Difference Engine – Redux
Label – Rekids
Released – 9^th November 2010

Released two years ago, Luke Solomon’s groundbreaking ‘Difference Engine’ album was heralded as one of THE albums of the year. Originally released only in a DJ Mix format digitally and physically, on Radio Slave’s cutting edge and highly acclaimed Rekids label, the album attracted a huge amount of attention and established Luke as a solo producer in his own right. Now, after much public pressure, the album is to be released in individual-track format. Luke has been busy in the studio reproducing, re-editing and reduxing tracks for this Reduxed version of the album.

Luke Solomon’s name had always been previously linked in reference to his band The Freaks, or with the ground breaking record label Classic Recordings he co-founded with Derrick Carter. However, since the release of The Difference Engine, Luke has been regarded as a solo producer in his own right. Luke has since gone on to co-produce and co-write several tracks on Damian Lazarus’s highly acclaimed ‘Smoke The Monster Out’ album alongside Arthur Jeffes (son of Simon Jeffes from the Penguin Café Orchestra), and also on work co-producing The Whip.

When originally released the album grew support from a wide range of fans, and received great praise in the press:

“2008” first classic album” I-DJ (Cover); ‘Inventive and astonishingly hooky” Guardian; “Much more sonically interesting than most techno albums” Q Magazine; “Abundantly clear this is far much more than a premium house album” I-DJ (Album of The Month).

So now Luke has returned to his seminal first solo album, which one is one of the most interesting, complex and diverse pieces of electronic music for a long time, with a re-vision in mind. Originally set out to be a DJ mix of original music, Luke has now re-approached the album, separate out the individual track, re-editing and extending several tracks and re-producing the others to produce a fresher, better sound to the album. Tracks such as ‘The Difference Engine’, ‘People Place Thought and Faces’, ‘Martin A Cello and Me’ & ‘Liquid’, have now taken on a new lease of life. They revision of the tracks has produced a more sonically powerful feel to the album. Whilst the re-editing of tracks such as ‘Top, Bottom’ and ‘Out Of Control’ has created an inspiring new feel to the album. The Redux version of the Difference Engine is now much more DJ friendly than the previous DJ Mixed format, and this was one of the reasons, after countless requests, that Rekids released the new version at behest of the DJ’s. 

Luke began his professional DJ career in 1990 with a residency at Middlesex University, which is where he met cohort Justin Harris. He later went on to work with the highly influential Rob Mello and Kenny Hawkes at Freetown Records where he met a certain Derrick L Carter. After realising they shared a similar vision for house music, they co-formed Classic Recordings and dominated the underground house scene for a decade. Many crazy nights followed. He’s also the leader of the band The Freaks (alongside Justin Harris) who have a huge cult following and a recent top 10 hit to their name with “The Creeps‟, they are currently working with a 7-piece band and co producing a new album with Peter Hoffman of Richard X fame.This Reduxed DJ friendly version of the Difference Engine is focused much more on the dancefloor, than it’s original predecessor. The hallucinatory journey of which was in no doubt a deep trip, focusing on the mind just as much as the body. Luke here once again demonstrates his unique production talents on breathing new life into his great debut album.

Tracklisting

01.  The Difference Engine (Redux)
02.  The Beat Goes
03.  People, Places, Thoughts And Faces (Redux)
04.  Skin
05.  Top, Bottom (Version)
06.  Martin, A Cello And Me (Redux)
07.  Out Of Control
08.  Spirits
09.  Open Fire
10.  Junkie & Whores
11.  Liquid (Redux)