well, my visa's maxed out. went on a fantastic binge in nyc this weekend,
and returned to find a nice fat package of goodies from modern music as
well. after rudimentary listenings, here are some highlights:
--we, "as one" (asphodel)
i can't stress enough how good this is. after hearing a lot of
recommendations for it, i must admit, i was a bit leery. but i finally
grabbed it at nyc's Other Music, and i'm so glad i did. a lot of people
stress how it incorporates so many styles (drum'n'bass, ambient,
hip/trip-hop), but what i think is even more important to emphasize is the
way it manages to cohere as a whole. all those elements are there, but it
DOESN'T come off sounding like a sampler, a "now we'll do a jungle track"
kind of thing. the breaks and sequences are complex and evolving. really,
really subtle. i think my favorite aspect of the record is the amount of
textual variation in the sound. as far as a "sound palatte" goes, it's all
over the spectrum. it's not just about mood, but about ideas as well.
just go get it. kudos to asphodel--another top-notch american release.
[now a question: what else is available from We, or from lloop,
olive & once11?]
--dog eat dog feat. RZA, "[hard]step right in," breakbeat science mix by
Dara & DB. (one-sided 10")
a breakbeat science (9th between 1st & 2nd? NYC) exclusive. some
creepy piano samples from the original, a little bit o' RZA's vocals,
plaintive tenor sax, and then some dark, nasty jungle breaks over a fat
flanged bass. very, very nice. if you're in the city, get yrself a copy.
--david kristian, "ectopic beat" ep (dropbeat)
his "strange mountaineers" was one of my favorite tracks on the
last Lo Recordings comp., _United Mutations_, and this goes even further.
Edgy drum'n'bass that gets props for not relying on tired loops.
Tightly-programmed, set-your-teeth on edge beats over stand-up bass and
droney treble tones. Wacked-out, hysterical strings like Fantasiac teapots
about to blow. The most important thing is that it keeps MOVING. Shifting,
blending--and it retains a sense of subtlety, of buried tones. Who wrote,
a few weeks back, abut d'n'b imploding? This is one of the records that
proves that theory wrong. For us Stateside-dwellers, it's pretty nice to
spend 6 bucks on a record this good.
--downpour, "windstorms broken microphones" ep (dropbeat)
noisy. nasty. evil. oh yeah. miles fucking better than panacea.
brutality with brains. distortion with restraint. oh yeah. dare i say on
a par with third eye foundation's "semtex" 12"? oh, yeah--it's also way,
way out there.
--bowery electric, "without stopping" witchman mix, "fear of flying" chasm
mix, "beat" disjecta mix
the first bowery electric album did little for me--droney out-rock,
heavy & psyche-laden but w/o the subtlety of labradford--and i haven't
heard the newer lp, _beat_. but this 12" attests to the true potential for
a collaboration between postrockers and dj's. much more than merely some
breakbeat loops pasted on top of moody wanking. the witchman track starts
out dubby, drenched in reverb & murk, and gradually picks up speed and
intensity, finally launching into pure head-crushing jungle madness. ok,
sorry for the hyperbole, but it's really heavy & really great. the chasm
mix (who is chasm?) is sorta seefeely, a-la _succour_. dubby & w/ hints of
my bloody valentine in the female vocals. the disjecta mix recalls
autechre in its use of distortion. simple building loops and a snippet of
vocals. doesn't do a hell of a lot, but i like it for what it is.
If anyone's interested, let me know, and i'll come up w/ reviews for some
of the following;
--V/A, Deep Conversation: the future of experimental hip-hop (Om), feat.
cut chemist, prince paul, x-men, lyrics born & lateef, etc.
--frontier, _heater_ (tug-o-war) --post-rock meets techno
--some 12"s (microstudio, jenkinson worm interface, a 1995 boymerang on leaf...)
Anyone heard the new Law&Auder comp, _east-westercism_ (or whatever)? comments?
thanks,
phil