Repeat-REPEATs
A13 Productions
A13 002 LP
TRACKLISTING:
'end up'
'g-thing'
'tuesday's hot hit'
'lilt-a'
'fish stew'
'hurrican felix'
'tomorrows people'
'deathbed visions'
'drifting sounds of waikiki'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
At last! A13 has finally released an album on vinyl! And not a bad one,
either. This is the debut from the Mark Broom/Plaid/Dave Hill
collective, and an impressive set of tracks. First of all, I was a bit
put off by the train set "idolised" on the cover & on the ad's in the
trade magazines, but after a couple of listens, I was sold!
The album comprises of dubby, bass sounds(a la Detroit, of course..), but
adds a real dark, jazzy texture to it. I'm not referring to Beyond
Records-esque basslines, but more of an electro twist. There aren't too
many "happy" sounding tracks on this one, but 'end up' has a salsa,
"lambada" quality to it. Something we have come to understand as a Black
Dog stylee.
'g thing' is very smoky, and more for listening rather than
playing out in a mix. As I listen to the track, I'm thinking about whose
doing what, and when in the mix. Quality abstract electronica.
'tuesday's hot hit' isn't really a scorcher, and is very "disjointed" in
its arrangement. Sounds more like the Plaid guys going retro--into
the BYTES era style. Not really a vibe to keep you entertained, but will
keep you listening.
Of course, everyone should know the main track, 'lilt a', with its warm
tones/chords, and detroit bass driven, mainly from the '91-'92 period. I
still love this one! I think REPEATs could have done without 'fish stew'
though. There's nothing to "lock" you into the groove, and is more or
less doodling than anything else. The track just doesn't go anywhere for
me. 'hurrican felix' is warm & melodious, and has an orchestral style
sound throughout. Top notch listening on this one, but what does it have
to do with Hurricane Felix? Something, I suppose...
'tommorrows people' is another one in the "weird arrangement" category.
A digital noise spurts in and out during the course of the track twice, then
disappears. Other than that, more dubby bass...And of course I save the
best for last(ironically, they're the last tracks on the album...)
'deathbed visions' has an eerie vibe reminescent of the soundtrack
to HALLOWEEN III:Season Of The Witch. And a "lost" backwards/reverbed
vocal in the middle. I loved this track most of all, so don't be
surprised if this track crops up more than once in my mixtapes. Eerie &
beautifully handled, from beginning to end. Good job!
The other, 'drifting sounds of waikiki' is fairly uptempo soul/R&B tinged
electronics, skillfully used pianos & sparse samples used to control the
vibe of the track, not the track itself. It also has a hip-wigglin'
bassline in the middle of track until the end.
Let's hope A13 can continue the trend of double-vinyl albums, I'm sure
with our support, more of this stuff can finally see the light of day.
Puulleeezzz press EXPERIMENTA on vinyl!!!!
8.5/10
Derek Jordan