Tag: Nicky Skopelitis

Posted on

One from the vaults: World Destruction by Time Zone

Needed a bit of adrenaline on top of my caffeine today, pulled this one out of the vaults for a quick boost. “World Destruction” is a single from Time Zone, a collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa, John Lydon, and Bill Laswell.

The track also features frequent Laswell collaborators Aiyb Deng (percussion), Bernie Worrell (synths), and Nicky Skopelitis on guitar. Lydon and Bambaataa share vocals, with Lydon contributing his unique frenetic delivery.

Nothing not to love about this one, it’s got a driving beat and catchy chorus. Lyrics seem just as appropriate today as they did when it was released in 1984. If you’re a Sopranos fan, you might recognize it from the first episode of season four.

The reconstruction is not bad, but IMO doesn’t add enough as a remix to recommend it. The “Mr. Reagan” sample dates the track tremendously.

But the A-side is all goodness. Stick it in and crank it all the way up.

[bandcamp width=400 height=208 album=4061577253 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=small]

Posted on

Nicky Skopelitis & Raoul Björkenheim: Revelator

Revelator by Nicky Skopelitis & Raoul Björkenheim

Bill Laswell has been a busy fellow lately, pushing out a lot of stuff on his label (I guess?) to Bandcamp that’s been out for years or even decades but no longer in print. I’m really enjoying Revelator, a collaboration with Nicky Skopelitis and Raoul Björkenheim. I’d never heard of Raoul before, but I’ve picked up a couple of things by Skopelitis over the years and really enjoy his work.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3161926210 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

This one is from 1998, but sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. Some really lovely guitar work on this one, it flows really nicely. If you enjoy instrumental multi-genre jams, I would recommend checking this one out. It works as background music, but also rewards close listening.

Posted on

“Ekstasis” by Nicky Skopelitis (No. 79)

Nicky Skopelitis Ekstasis album cover

On the off chance that anyone is actually playing along at home, I feel bad about listing records that you can’t easily find on Spotify, Google Play, or other digital music services. Yet, like Prison, I can’t really leave Ekstasis off the list. (You can find it on Bandcamp, though.)

Ekstasis is in a similar vein with Hallucination Engine, being a heady mix of funk, jazz, rock, world music, and the kitchen sink if it adds anything. The album is credited to guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, but the cast of characters contributing looks a lot like a Material album. Continue reading ““Ekstasis” by Nicky Skopelitis (No. 79)”