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freeke reviews #5
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this time
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Snivillisation (CD) - Orbital (FFRR)
Sysex (CD/EP) - Sysex (+8)
Cowboyphunk/Elektrophunk (EP) - Hardtrax (Probe)
One Complete Revolution (EP) - Claude Young (Utensil/Dow)
Millenium (CD5) - Killing Joke (Butterfly/Zoo)
Space Grass (EP) - Space Grass (Telepathic)
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Snivillisation (CD) - Orbital (FFRR)
Boy, the prerelease stories we heard about this one...
"it's gonna be a jungle record!" and "they're big
Crass fans so there'll be lots of guitars!"
Instead, the first non-eponymous Orbital album is (surprise,
surprise) an Orbital album. Sure, the bits and pieces are in
different places, and the Hartnoll brothers pull some new
tricks out of their bags, but this record is composed with
the same attention to melody and detail as their earlier ones,
though they do venture away from the swirly cathedrals of sound
that they're best known for.
I'm also happy to note that, unlike so many of their
contemporaries, Orbital have not given up on rhythm -- indeed,
on this front the album takes some of its biggest chances:
as on the jungle-derived rhythm track on "Are We Here" and
the space conga of "Sad But True." Not everything
works, ("Quality Seconds" bites, but it's only 90 seconds long)
but the hit ratio is good.
While there's no immediate standout as obvious as the
Lush/Impact/Remind suite from the brown album, the
album has plenty of charms to reward repeated listening:
the panoramic sweep of "Are We Here", the jazz-inflected
vibe sounds on "Science Friction", and the nice melodic touches
on "Kein Trink Wasser" are but a few examples.
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Sysex (CD/EP) - Sysex (+8/Intellinet)
This one's actually been around a few months, but I finally
got around to picking up my own copy. Even though it's got
15 tracks and lasts over 60 minutes, it's packaged as an EP.
Most of the tracks are firmly in the acid realm,
but Heinrich Tillack varies tempos and approaches
enough to keep it interesting. He also knows when to give
the Silver Box a rest.
Standout tracks include the much-compiled "CR Acid Trax I"
along with "Intruder", "Pulsar Loops", and "Echoes".
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Cowboyphunk/Elektrophunk (EP) - Hardtrax (Probe/Intellinet)
I love singles like this. While artists keep prattling
on about how "restrictive" the bounds of the dancefloor
are, producing reams of admittedly pretty bedsit music,
gems like this one still pop up with regularity in the dance
arena, where the competition to stay current is fierce.
"Cowboyphunk" moves much booty, even at a positively
sedate 120 BPM, thanks to a subtly "off" syncopated
kick and some reverse gated drums. Regardless
of its title, at its heart this track is pure
bleep. The ingredients are all familiar, but somehow
the end result sounds very fresh -- definitely one of
my favorite tracks so far this year. "Elektrophunk"
on the flip is a shorter, housier take on things.
Oh, and I'm not supposed to mention that this is a
Richie Hawtin record. :)
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One Complete Revolution (EP) - Claude Young (Utensil/Dow)
Very deep, very basic, very Detroit.
Nothing particularly surprising here, just well-executed
midtempo housy techno.
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Millenium (CD5) - Killing Joke (Butterfly/Zoo)
The story on this one: Youth drags Killing Joke
kicking and screaming into the 90's... or something
like that.
Well, about half of this is in the sampled guitar/distorted
vocals style that I burned out on years ago (somebody please
slip Trent Reznor some happy gas), but the tweakier mixes
are just fine by me. The original version is a pretty
respectable piece of alternametal, if you're into that
sort of thing.
The Juno Reactor mix percolates along, playing the synth
textures off of the guitar lines to good effect.
The Drum Club mix isn't quite my cup of tea (to me,
their tracks always seem to run about twice as long as
they ought to) but does a good job of working with the
original elements of the song, once again putting the
guitars to good use. My favorite, though, is Youth's
own mix, a deep ambient dub excursion that takes off
into space and doesn't wait for the stragglers to catch
up.
Smart shopper's note: it appears that the US CDingle
collects all the salient bits from the multiple
UK singles -- all this for $5 woohoo!
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Space Grass (EP) - Space Grass (Telepathic/Intellinet)
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I wouldn't be freeke reviews without at least one Telepathic record,
right? :) It's not intentional, it's just that they're releasing
about a record a month, and I keep stumbling over them...
Anyway, the original mix is the real keeper here: a weird
semi-tribal rhythm and a swinging freaky melody, with
just a slight hint of acid. It's funkier and
more upfront than the typical Telepathic material.
The "Telepathic Space Grass" remix on the other side
adds a slightly cheesy melody line that doesn't quite
fit with the other elements in the track, and
adds a more conventional house beat.
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That's it. Send all hatemail/free records to:
_
freeke
c/o dave walker
p.o. box 271
lincoln park, mi 48146-0271
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dave walker, detroit art services _
marmoset@msen.com play sim freeke
<A HREF="
http://www.msen.com/~marmoset/">Dave Walker</A>