Photo by Callum Toy
Cull of the Useless Eaters’ mix takes us back to the 90’s with this moody and politicized selection of house, breakbeat and hardcore.
Cull of the Useless Eaters (COTUE) is a London-based electro/jungle/hardcore project run by Gareth Cox. This is one of a few of Cox’s projects, some others being a dub techno project called “Houses of Joy”, and more. Cox considers COTUE the most personal of his projects, and a quick look at any of the social media pages for it will reveal why that is. It is a deeply political and deals with the predicament of people (The Last Men), in our inability to make sense of life within our post-it-all world. COTUE explores themes related to capitalist hegemony, control through individuation, mass surveillance and more. He entertains what are pejoratively called conspiracy theories, but rather seems to draw attention to the fact that these theories exist and are found plausible to many (including Cox himself). In the end, COTUE’s indictment against us, as societies of useless eaters, can be agreed or disagreed with, but for us what is rather more important is that a dose of 90’s UK electronic music can produce miracles. Cox, who grew up to a very telling and just as righteous combination of Drexciya, Bauhaus, the Cramps, and Acid House, certainly knows how to make sound work, as he has proved with his Cull of the Useless Eaters Parts I and II. His output will leave you nostalgic until you’re sore, as will this mix he’s recorded for us.
Secret Thirteen Mix 186 is a good reflection of what Cull of the Useless Eaters is musically - a melancholic combination of acid house, techno, breakbeat, hardcore, and other similar genres who saw their hayday back in the 90s. All of this is interwoven with snippets of political speeches and news reports, conveying a message that takes front seat in the vehicle that is music. There are quite a few legendary tracks on this: Move Your Body by the Xpansions, Gerald Simpson’s Voodoo Ray, LFO’s eponymous track, and more. These are supplemented with newer or more obscure tracks, including COTUE’s work, which fits right into this collage (to the credit of the artist). We start off on a lighter note with COTUE’s intro, featuring a backward speaking Obama, and meet our first rhythm with the aforementioned Xpansions track. The mix then gets more melancholic and dark through LFO, COTUE’s edited Knowledge song off his first EP, and a gloomy gem from Conforce. It is here that the tone of the mix changes again, and we are fed some brilliant bass from Akkord, which starts us on a somewhat different path. Here, we are treated to breakbeat/hardcore gems from Special Request, SL2, and Altern 8 among others, all worked into each other seamlessly and changing their place with ease - it is not unlike a dance-off in structure, but a very moody one at that. The mix closes with the beautiful synths of Cull of the Useless Eaters’ eponymous track flowing into N-Trance’s beautiful “Set You Free”, and drifting back into Obama’s possessed backward-speech. This is nostalgic, but just as great without that being the case. A must for anyone!
Tracklisting
01. Yes Wiccan - Thank You Satan Intro - Cull of the Useless Eaters.
02. Head High - Hex Pad [Power House, 2014]
03. Xpansions - Move Your Body [rista, Optimism Records, 1990]
04. Reggie The Movemaker - Get Your Money Man [Blackbart Records, 1987]
05. Levon Vincent - Double Jointed Sex Freak. Part 3 [Novel Sound, 2009]
06. A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray [Warlock Records, 1988]
07. LFO - LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix) [Warp Records, Outer Rhythm, 1990]
08. Cull of the Useless Eaters - Knowledge (Edit) [COTUE001, 2013]
09. Conforce - Underwater Settlers [Delsin, 2013]
10. Akkord - Megalith [Houndstooth, 2015]
11. Special Request - Amnesia [Houndstooth, 2015]
12. SL2 - DJ's Take Control [XL Recordings, 1991]
13. Altern 8 - E-vapor-8 [Network Records, 1992]
14. Skin Up - A Juicy Red Apple [Love Records, Polydor, 1992]
15. WK7 - Higher Power (Hardcore PCK Mix) [Power House, 2014]
16. Shut Up & Dance - I'm Raving, I'm Raving [Shut Up And Dance Records, 1992]
17. DJ Seduction - Hardcore Heaven [Ffrreedom, 1991]
18. 2 Bad Mice - Waremouse [Moving Shadow Records, 1992]
19. Lana Del Rey - Ride (Special Request Remix) [Houndstooth, 2013]
20. Millie & Andrea - Temper Tantrum [Daphne, 2009]
21. Head High - Hex Factor [Power House, 2014]
22. Cull of the Useless Eaters - Cull of the Useless Eaters. [COTUE001, 2013]
23. Set You Free - N-Trance - [All Around The World, 1992]
24. Yes Wiccan - Thank You Satan Outro - Cull of the Useless Eaters.
