Got in this 10-track demo CD (+2 bonus unlisted tunes) last week from our very own
Kent Williams and it's good shit. The general style of the tracks ranges from a
Squarepusher stylee (but with more of an inclination towards techno as opposed to
jazz), to somewhat funky techno. A fair number of the breaks used on the tracks
start and stop rather than carry a constant rhythm, which gives most tunes a nice
jagged feel to them.
Here's the play-by-play:
3rd Eye - Muted/reverbed amen breaks underpin a nice piano/string/synth bass
melodies.
Chair Crusher - Collab. w/Rob Williams. A distorted synth/Clavichord line cuts a
swathe through piles of shattered and tweaked beats.
Gig1 - Floating piano, xylophone, and string bits drift among the wreckage of
splintered beats. The programming has an AFX-ish sensibility to it, what with the
breaks coming at you from all angles in the form of laser blasts, maraca hits, and
other distorted percussion.
Sweatbox1 - Collab. w/Mike Dvorkin. Arpeggioed synth line, clanky percussion, and
shuffling snares keep this track moving along, interweaving eliptical patterns of
rhythm.
TbTest - Bleepy techno number with a "woofing" synth bass line and a bit of
syncopated percussion to go with the fotf kick.
Sweatbox2 - Collab. w/Mike Dvorkin. Highhats on the backbeats and steady kicks keep
the time as bits and pieces of twisted/filtered synths wind in and and out of the
mix.
Lucas - My favorite on the whole disc because the melody's really pretty and the
superb programming fits it perfectly. Kicks into a nice squawky synth bass part
halfway through. Somewhat in the vein of Aphex Twin's recent "Flim" track.
Inbox - Techno in a BDP sorta way, but with the snare and percussion programming
following more of a quirky breakbeat sensibility. Bleepy synth lines follow the
rhythmic progressions while a muted synth sweep works its way through the background.
Photoshopped - Collab. w/Ian Williams. Monk-style piano motif starts this off while
beat-box drill-n-bass programming occupies the foreground. A well arranged track -
it slows down nicely at several points and pauses for synth melody refreshment before
continuing with free jazz piano riffs.
The Wrong Trousers - Collab. w/Mike Dvorking. Filtered drum'n'bass breaks shuffle
along while deep bass lines peep in and out. Low-res samples of what sounds like
Homer Simpson come in from time to time.
All in all a very enjoyable and well-produced demo. Check out the Real Audio samples
of some of the tunes at
http://soli.inav.net/~kent or mail Kent Williams at
kent@inav.net for details on getting a copy.
GD