V/A: Ischemic Strokes 1 12" (Schematic SCH007)
Takeshi Muto: Swollen Glances 1 12" (Schematic SCH008)
Phoenecia: Odd Job 12" (Schematic SCH808)
One thing that can be said about idm musicians is that they know how to
fall into a pigeonhole. Those who were paying attention might remember
four 12"s by a then unknown Miami based label. These records managed to
grasp the sound that was popularized by such UK artists as Autechre and the
Skam label and twist into a distinctly American sound. Unfortunately,
those days seem to be over, judging by the recent Schematic output. Now
it's just one 'Chiastic Slide' sounding workout after another. Sure, most
of the 'Swollen Glance' tracks exemplify the programming prowess that is
demanded in today's IDM scene, but where's the heart, originality, or for
that matter, melody? Has the entire Schematic posse forgot how to write a
melody? Now that I got that out, let me say, to be fair, this trio of
twelve inches really aren't that bad, they just fall well below the
standards of early Schematic (which are among my top records ever). The
standouts in the whole pack are the two remixes on 'Ischemic Strokes'.
First up is Freeform's reworking of Takeshi's 'Mud Dauber', which starts
out fairly bland, but quickly falls into standard chaotic terrain that,
once again proves that Simon Pyke not only lives up to his name, but has to
be one of the most underrated musicians around today. This single track
shows exactly what's wrong with the other nine here.. it's got FUNK. Of
course, average Joe-IDM-Listener is thinking 'who cares about this funk
stuff, I don't here any DSP fuckery here', but forget him for a moment.
Then comes a Push Button Objects remix of Takeshi, which probably proves
that the recent PBO 12"s really do consist of older material (so what's the
motivation for releasing 2-3 year old tracks?, don't ask me), as this
(along with his recent Guineo remix) is another fine slice of hip hoppery,
reminiscent of his debut 12". Then flip it over for a Phoenecia remix of
A1 from the first Metic 12" (which I now know is titled 'Phase INV'). Boy
it's a good thing Phoenecia managed to completely remove the melody from
this track, the original version was confusing me what with all the
simplicity and beautiful pads. Those Phoenecia boys know just what to do
when it comes to turning a wonderful song into a bland 'Chiastic Slide'
outtake. Slow down the bleeps then bang on the keys for six minutes. Then
I think the records over when, hey what do you know, a hidden track?! hmm..
this sounds a bit like Cylob- wait it is Cylob. Cylob has officially
managed to out do Aphex Twin in the 'my remixes sound just like my regular
recordings' category, in that his remix actually IS one of his regular
recordings. I guess that's why it's unlisted. Not listing it is MUCH
easier than submitting an actual remix.
Next up- Phoenecia's 'Odd Job' 12" consists of two remixes by 'Soul
Oddity' (which, strangely enough, are the same two guys...). Just like
Soul Oddity's Astralwerks album, it's some nice electro fer the dance
floor. Enjoyable, but nothing outstanding. Oh yeah, the design is amazing,
by Antenna Devices, and it's a slab of meat with embedded speakers,
brilliant!! (Potential) Label owners take note, this once again proves
that your local design team will ALWAYS outdo the way expensive import tDR
graphics (which, btw, are also pretty nice in their own right).
There's also a Takeshi Muto record, but if you don't have anything nice to
say.... I think this, more so than the other two, drove me on my little
tirade at the beginning of the review. With the exception of the amazing
'Ntak', which is a reflection of the early melodic Sch days. The other
three tracks are like Richie Devine, but not nearly as exciting. With the
HUGE schedule of forthcoming releases (two more 12"s in each of these
series, plus Phoenencia's "Brown Out" LP), I think it's safe to say that
Schematic has hit the quantify outweighing the quality point. Of the three
above 12"s, they probably could have compressed into one amazing 12", but
hey, as long as IDMers keep buying it, who's to stop them?
V/A: Anticon Presents Music for the Advancement of Hip-Hop CD
(Massmen/Anticon MM003)
People were sick of modern day hip-pop, so was borne the 'underground'
scene, labels such as rawkus and fondle 'em shined amongst like minded
individuals. But what is the result of those outraged by this underground
scene. Enter the Anticon posse, which, in structure, bears a striking
resemblance to the recent up rising in indie IDM CDr labels, not only in
the pretentiousness (advancement? intelligent?), but also in closely knit
Internet based assortment of artists, many of whom exist without a 'scene'
to provide support (read: white suburbanites). However, unlike in IDM,
where the elitism is spawned from the fans, here the artists are the ones
holding their heads above, what label head Sole, in a recent
Rec.Music.Hip-Hop rant described as "indy boring hip hop". It should be
mentioned that former Massachusetts resident, now relocated to the bay
area, Sole is best known for his 'Dear Elpee' diss track, in which he tears
apart El-P (of Company Flow), and to a lesser extent, Rawkus and Fat Beats.
(This track appeared exclusively on the 12" EP predecessor to this CD,
'Hip-Hop Music For The Advanced Listener').
Anticon tries simultaneously represents cultural revolution (and
ultimately appropriation), and your everyday white boy pimple faced
Internet geek (FYI, Sole was the former webmaster of truehiphop.com,
Sixtoo(6.2) runs triple-bypass.com). Then, why it's it that so many of the
tracks end up sounding like no more than Project Blowed** cum pretentious
pseudo-complex bullshit? Sure the best tracks were retained from the
aforementioned EP, such as Alias' brilliant 'Divine Disappointment', in
which he rhymes from the perspective of God frowning on his creation, and
'Holy Shit!', the ultimate Anticon posse cut, featuring The Sebutones
(Sixtoo & Buck 65), Sole, Circus (of the Shapeshifters) and Cosmic
Lovefuck. Aside from the fact that anyone who already bought the 12" six
months ago already has most of the tracks, the new ones lack the depth of
earlier stuff. Sure, you know these guys are sitting there writing rhymes
saying 'ooh yeah, this is some deep shit', but they are ultimately empty.
Refer to the opening line, where Deep Puddle Dynamics (Sole, Dose, and some
other people) take Rakim's classic verse and twist it around to tell us 'I
take seven MCs put 'em in a line/ shoot 'em and sell their clothes to get
my wisdom teeth pulled'. What the fuck? Logic is ignored in favor of
useless complexity (the hip hop equivalent to bland DSP workouts). And
while I'm sure that Sole could justify that line with more
Pseudo-Intellectual ranting, who really cares?
Other than that, notable tracks include the choppy rhyming over even more
choppy, incohesive, beats on Them's aptly titled 'That's Them'. Or the
bitter irony of how newcomer Mr. Skurge comes off sounding like Jay-Z, if
he suddenly decided to rhyme about not being 'you're normal flannel shirt
NRA member'. Although I haven't decided whether either of these things are
good or not.
On the whole, Anticon does deserve respect for trying to pull of such an
admirable record of off kilter and conceptual rhymes in a hip hop world
flooded with jiggyness and worn out topics. Unfortunately, they often
shoot way over the mark, by compromising listenability for experimentalism.
And, unlike the Project Blowed posse and like minded artists before them,
the Anticon roster, whether intentionally or not, completely manages to
obliterate hip hop in it's pure essence. Hey maybe I'm just too much of a
conformist to 'indie boring' shit, but I think at some point a line should
be drawn as the scene buries itself further and further underground, and
simultaneously makes itself increasingly less accessible. It's one thing
to not have jiggy beats, it's another to write rhymes so abstract and
'intellectual' that they would leave even Ras Kass with a furrowed brow.
*check
http://x25.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=506211218.1&CONTEXT=934601452.618463242&hit
num=8 for the whole post, in which Sole defends his crew against 'Blowed
Biter' accusations.
**oft overlooked LA weekly(?) open mic session, which spawned Freestyle
Fellowship, Abstract Rude, OMD, and basically the entire LA underground
scene for years to follow.
and finally, one review that isn't completly cynical ;-)
ChimChim: To Have A Christmas Tree With Satan On Top CDr(Toast & Jam T&J 4)
Accelera Deck: Echo Economy CDr(Toast & Jam T&J 5)
Yet another IDM CDr label to pop up with the recent success of Phthalo,
Kracfive, Underscore, etc. However, for once, this label takes advantage
of the low cost of CDrs, by selling albums for only $5 and EPs for $3.
That's right, you can snag this stunning pair of CDs for only six bucks.
You can get the whole catalog for what it'd cost ya to get one Phthalo
release! But beyond the cost, the music is great, too.
Aside from the fact that ChimChim's title, hand drawn artwork, and general
concept bears a striking resembalance to V/Vm's Xmass 7"s, musically it's
worlds away. Pretty much standard fare IDM, but with variation, ChimChim
avoids pigeonholes, jumping back and forth from upbeat electro numbers to
melodic ambient pieces to noisy breakbeat workouts. Like most artists,
ChimChim isn't afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve (which isn't at
all a bad thing when done efficiently, just ask Funkstorung) Overall a
very good release.
However, Aii/Pitchcadet artist Accelera Deck (aka Chris Jeely) completly
switches gears, heading into the digi/glitch/noise area on his 'echo
economy', an experiment in the effect of loops on one another (visit
http://216.71.15.38/aii/digital.html for the full details on this concept).
The end result is a very strange noisey glitchy work out ala
mego/oval/etc. One thing worth mentioning is that Chris is one of very few
American producers to explore this genre, which, up until recently, has
been a mainly European based. While often the high pitches can get on the
nerves (which i guess is the purpose), the majority of this nine track
50minute EP is lush digital ambient, like if oval removed the clicks, but
didn't end up as boring as 'Dok'.
T&J is yet another fine label to join the ranks of the American CDr
militia, and hopefully other labels will follow the trend of having quality
material for a budget price. There really isn't any excuse for not
checking this stuff out. Visit
http://members.xoom.com/headphone for more
info.