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(in this issue)
Autechre : Tri Repetae (Warp)
The Electric Family : Mariopaint (Irdial-Discs)
Gregory Fleckner Quintet : A Gentle Introduction To.. (Clear)
Beaumont Hannant : Notions of Tonality Vol. 1 (GPR)
MuZiq : In Pine Effect (Astralwerks)
::: Autechre : Tri Repetae (Warp WARPLP38)
Autechre make an astounding return with Tri Repetae. After the somewhat
dissapointing Anvil Vapre doublepack, I was really beginning to wonder
what happened to Autechre and here they are with what is in all
probability their best record to date. Dael kicks things off with a
beautiful combination of metallic percussive elements, a growling beat,
and a bizzare talking synth line that says something different to me
every time I hear it. From there it just goes on and on. The sweeping
synth of Clipper, the serene melody of Leterel, the transforming tones of
Eutow, and the crunchy beats of Rotar. It comes wrapped in some
impressive artwork by the Designers Republic and I have to say, that
after more than a weeks worth of feverish listening it's still very
possibly the best thing I've heard all year. Whether or not you should
buy it isn't even as issue, the real question you should be asking
yourself is with surface noise or without?
::: The Electric Family : Mariopaint (Irdial-Discs 55ird com3)
The Electric Family consists of Anthony Manning, Beautyon, Spy vs Spy,
Mrs Mimi Magick, Ray Tracing, Spacemole, The Gas Man, and 2007. As
previously mentioned, the sole machine used for the Mariopaint project
was a Ninetendo Famicom running the Mariopaint music sequencer, and each
artist was given four days to assemble a track. As you might expect, for
the mainpart it sounds a lot like video game music. The best constructions
come from Anthony Manning who takes the full on childrens video game
approach, Mrs Mimi Magick who manages to squeeze a little funk out, and
Beautyon. Somehow I'm still not totally convinced that all these sounds
came from a Nintendo, but it's a nice concept and an interesting record
nonetheless.
::: Gregory Fleckner Quintet : A Gentle Introduction to the Gregory
Fleckner Quintet (Clear CLR418)
This new one from Clear is a taster for the full-length by the Gregory
Fleckner Quintet, titled Monkey Boots, which is also out now. It opens
with an amazing Plaid remix of Juicy Jazz Gins that starts out quiet and
builds into a breathtaking assembly of bass kicks, snare rolls, and
dissonant piano playing. The last track, EDP Blues, is remixed by Doctor
Rockit and Hal and is another masterful assembly of sounds. It opens with
the chugging of something being poured from a bottle, a popping cork, the
clinking of glasses, and someone saying "cheers." The samples are then
assembled into a delicious ultra smooth jazz track. Unfortunately, the
two non remixed tracks don't stand up quite as well as the remixes so
I'll be giving Monkey Boots a good listen before deciding to take it
home. Not the best way to plug an album but it makes a great 12".
::: Beaumont Hannant : Notions of Tonality Volume 1 (GPR GENP[X]39)
A somewhat more flavourful Beaumont Hannant returns on GPR with what
looks like the beginning of another series of releases. It opens with
RS 364C (looks like an R&S cat no.?), a bit of trancy idm with a soft
string background and a strong tonal melody. It's followed by Hum,
a nice funky track with a breaking beat, bubbly percussion, and droning
synths. The flip side opens with a straight forward idm dance track and
then moves on to The Morning After, a slow moving breaking beat that
really gives that feeling of winding down in those early morning hours.
A few nice tracks and a rather striking cover make it worth the buy.
::: MuZiq : In Pine Effect (Astralwerks ASW6155)
Mike Paradinas with yet another new record. After hearing plenty of
fairly negative opinions on In Pine Effect, I really didn't know what to
expect when I first heard it. I was hoping for something as brilliant
as the opening track Roy Castle which appeared on TEEX3, but it didn't
quite turn out that way. It seems to me that what we've got here is a
fairly mixed bag of tracks - some excellent, some average. What's worth
noting, however, is that what is average for Mike Paradinas is still
pretty damn good compared to a lot of what's out there. Tracks worthy of
mention include Melancho, Iced Gem, and the MuZiq jungle of Dauphine.
This certainly isn't another Tango or Bluff, but it is still packed with
those distorted beats and zany melodies you love so much - it just hasn't
got much unity to it as a whole, a symptom that may be explained by the
supposed fact that the tracks were selected by his friends. Little more
than average then for Mike Paradinas but when taken out of the rather
large shadows cast by the two Rephlex lp's it does stand a little taller.
:: Alan M. Parry
:: fluid@hyperreal.com
:: <finger me for PGP key>
::
http://hyperreal.com/~fluid