i wrote (foolishly)
quoted 1 line combinatining "Modus Operandi" and "K J Z" (Kirk's Jazz) is brill
>combinatining "Modus Operandi" and "K J Z" (Kirk's Jazz) is brilliant.
there's a new one. . .
it should be "combining," of course.
or - better yet - "juxtaposing."
typos, typos...
and that's a good enough excuse to post a few more reviews.
these written for the Big Takeover (#41) (reposted with permission)
i think i posted a few of these on Ambient-L. sorry for the repeats.
as one
the art of prophecy
(Shield Records FR)
KIRK DEGIORGIO is to techno what Coltrane was to jazz, one of the most refined,
eloquent, and outspoken statesmen of the form. The comparisons don't end there;
Degiorgio's unique art may well be the jazz of a new technological age.
Syncopated machine rhythms, the soul of Detroit as translated and encoded by
Europeans, describe helices of controlled energy. Individual beats and
every synthesized sliver of melody is calculated according to Degiorgio's
distinctive geometry. Seeming randomness crystallizes in the blink of an eye,
revealing intricately defined structures built from innumerable rhythmic and
melodic layers. Call these tracks 'Magic Ear' paintings, or refer to them as
Degiorgio's legendary label dubbed its releases - A(pplied) R(hythmic)
T(echnology). (Shield Records, POB 141, 59433 Halluin Cedex, France. v/f:
+33.3.20 03. 94 51)
susanne brokesch
sharing the sunhat
(Disko-B GM)
Virtually MIA since her 12" as SIL ELECTRONICS (S?kh?), the enigmatic Brokesch
bows with a curious but wonderful full-length. Disko-B is best known for fierce
Acid mayhem, making Sharing the Sunhat all the more unusal. How odd is it? Well,
there are TWO long tracks titled "A TV-Set On Fire and an Introduction to the
Term: 'Something is Not Approximately Something Else'." Huh?! Can't help you
there... sorry. 'Can tell you that "Part I" is a quirked-out 'scape of scuttling
beats and modulated wails. "Desde Que Te Conosco" is even more peculiar, adding
dugi-dugi and tiptoeing bass to icy drum programming. "What's In The Pantry
Today?" stumbles into its subsubsub-bass demarcated groove. The title track
scrambles a lovely symphonic romance with slapdash marimbas in a cold skillet.
Yes, this is definitely "something else!" (Lindwurmstr. 71, d- 80337, M?nchen.
F/ ++49-89-5438-441
dimitri from paris
sacrebleu!
(Yellow Productions FR)
Monsieur Dimitri's tongue is planted so firmly in-cheek that it's a wonder he
hasn't choked! From Continentally-clich?d cover art to the prologue dedication
to "English-speaking people who want to talk to and be understood by jazz
musicians, hipsters, and juvenile delinquents," Sacrebleu! masquerades as an
exercise in grueling retro-kitsch. Au contraire, mon ami! Dimitri packs a
fantastic musical punch, covering everything from torch-song tackiness ("Nothing
To Lose") and loopy B-Boy cool ("La Rythme Et Le Cadence") to funked-up House
("Free Ton Style") and beyond ("Le Moogy Reggae," "Un World Mysteriouse") with a
wink, a chuckle, and a show of serious turntablistic talent. Mon Dieu! Dimitri
has the skills to play this juggling act of the sublime and the ridiculous
brilliantly. Move over, La Petomaine... Paris has a new master showman. C'est
magnifique! (no address given) <--- anyone have the address for YP?
dol-lop
cryptic audio
(Swim~)
dol-lop is YOSHIWO MAEDA, a young Tokyo DJ whose spin on slinky, dubby, jazzy
breakbeat caught the ear of Swim~'s Colin Newman and Malka Spigel. There's
nothing terribly cryptic about (i)Cryptic Audio(p) - it's smart and original,
definitely not difficult to love. The joyous flute loops on "Stem" wind
themselves around an addictive Eastern motif. "Quoke" uses minimal techno
phrases and awesomely deep bass to carry the listener along its buoyant curves.
"Bluehouse" is an eddy of pianos, guitar streaks, and luscious basslines.
Maeda's breakbeats are unusually clean, traditional beats fractured and cleverly
manipulated. Judged by its economic flow, dol-lop's music is a derivation of
instrumental HipHop (most noticeable on "Hybrid" and "Doum"), abstracted to the
point at which it becomes a new musical form. (3575 Cahuenga Blvd. West Suite
450, Los Angeles CA 90068; swim@world-dom.com)
farmers' manual
fsck
(Ash/Tray UK)
rehberg & bauer
fa?t
(Touch UK)
Meet the Megos, PETER REHBERG and RAMON BAUER. These new records find the
Austrians away from their home-base label, but it hasn't really affected the
music. (i)Fa?t(p) was created with scraps of (other musicians'?) DAT refuse and
failed tracks. Full of distortion loops, puttering electronic bells, bloops,
bleeps, whistles, and whizzes, and lacking the kinky beats of other Mego acts,
the album is difficult but still fascinating. There's no question that it's a
Touch record. (i)fsck(p) is no less demanding, but at least those loose-screw
rhythms are present. Very abstract techno and even more abstract manic drum n'
bass grab your ears and drag you along through 99 tracks of impressively
(sur)realized electronic turbulence. (13 Osward Road, London SW17 7SS, +44
(0)181 682 3414 - dist. by Dutch East)
flare (ken ishii)
grip
regrip
(Sublime JP/UK)
KEN ISHII has flirted with worldwide success (his "Extra" video is an M2/AMP
mainstay) and established himself as a world-class DJ/musician. He continues to
release less commercial recordings under the Flare signature. Ishii's elaborate
melodies and articulated polyrhythms are trademarks, both evident on the
excellent Grip. Ishii goes a step further with Re-Grip, turning the remix craze
on its head by inviting emerging Japanese producers to retool each of Grip's
tracks. EYE YAMATAKA mixes up a primitive noise/funk collision which is odd but
effective; DR. SHEEPMAN, CHILD'S VIEW, and YOSHIHIRO SAWASAKI all turn in fine
drum n' bass reinventions; TSUCHIE takes "Transition" Downtempo on a lazy HipHop
trip; AKIO MILANPAAK strips all but the high and low extremes from
"Parts&Wholes;" and CO-FUSION opts for a martial filtered-4/4 techno retake.
(fax: 0181-960-3834;
http://www.musicmine.co.jp/label/sublime.html)
brani ifgray
le mutant
(S?kh?/PUU FI)
The "sleazy-listening" electronic lounge stylings of Finland's JIMI TENOR are
the sounds around which cult audiences are born. Fellow countryman Ifgray is
Tenor's first prot?g?, an ivory-tickler who croons his rather senseless lyrics
in a tone halfway between Tindersticks and Tom Jones. If not for the everpresent
pulse of machine rhythms (Tenor produces and PUU is, after all, a sublabel
of the relentlessly bizarre S?kh?), Ifgray's tracks could slip innocuously into
AM radio playlists. Filled with dry but genial melodies, Ifgray 'mutations' such
as "Belle" and the Lennon-esque rag, "Music At Night," provide a charming
alternative to the impermeable unhuman-ness of so much electronic music.
(Per?miehankatu 11, 00150 Helsinki; t/f: +358-9-6225640)
impulse
one-six-four-one-seven
(!K7 GM)
!K7 is known for the X-Mix and DJ Kicks series, but its infrequent signings are
always worthy of attention. Impulse (DJ MART and SVEN SOUTH) have an indefinable
quality which makes them unique. You've heard the post-Kraftwerk (three "Train"
tracks allude to "Trans-Europe Express") electro-funk shtick before but never
quite the way Impulse deliver it. They're too fresh and creative to settle for
the straight-ahead White HipHop (an oxymoron?) which too many European peers
emulate. The influence of experimental music (Cabaret Voltaire's spirit
permeates these tracks, particularly "Eno's Bill"), an Industrial edge
(reminiscent of Autechre, who have remixed "One-Six-Four-One-Seven"), and
respect for the pioneering sounds of Detroit's UR and Drexciya more than
justify Impulse's place on (the highly selective) !K7's roster. (Leipzigerstr.
54, 10117 Berlin; f: 030-2044456; K7@contrib.de)
jeep grrlz
buckled
(el chocolates SPAIN)
Stay away if you don't like your grooves dirty and dangerous. EDDIE LOVE
CHOCOLATE and JAKE D:STRES are masters at work, grinding out the gritty
club-ready 'choons. Abandon any thoughts of braindead Details-plate teens high
on E and energy drinks. Buckled occupies a universe separate from 2-Whatever and
La Bouche. Maybe it's the welcome absence of yowling divas.... Scorching House/
disco-funk/jazz jams such as "Smokin' Daughter" and "Vanilla Shakes" really
deliver the chemical-beat goods. Over an hour of mighty rare-grooves which turn
your room into a sweatbath. It's unavoidable - you will work yr body; you will
look foolish; and you will have too much fun movin' to give a toss. Records like
this aren't just recommended, they're necessary. (t/f: 44 (0) 171 735 0798 /
dist. by Dutch East)
odd toot
bampot
(Recordings of Substance UK)
No matter how jaded you think you've become, a fabulous record like Odd Toot's
(SIMON SMITH) always comes around, generally out of left-field, to remind you of
the vitality and reinventive power which keeps you listening. The term "fungle"
has been coined for this bizarre hybrid of unhinged Jungle and ... whatever
other elements an artist decides to introduce. Bampot has some precedent in
Squarepusher's records, both using unmitigatedly funky basslines and dismantled
breakbeats. Odd Toot's result is radically different, however, perhaps closer to
?-Ziq's wackier moments. He's brimming with humor (the track titles are a
scream), and his live-sounding beats and jazz playing have a loose, natural
feel. The jam session happening behind "Noog" might even win a few reticent
jazz-purists over to the drum n' bass cause. (Winchester Wharf, Clink Street,
London SE1 9DG; 0171-357-9799; hydrogen@dukebox.demon.co.uk)
stone free
black lights jazz
piano breaks
street jazz
(Shi-Ra-Nui/Soup-Disk Japan)
A very exciting label, and one of the most original voice on the overcrowded
Downtempo scene. Soup-Disk's edge comes from a reliance on non-traditional
arrangements. RUF-NECK PIANO's (i)Street Jazz(p) is more art-gallery than Urban
chic, clusters of prepared-piano notes (and tones) played and/or looped over
sparse, heavily-compressed bass and drums. Twenty-two untitled tracks with a
distinctly avant-garde flavor. A joy to simply listen to, but the uncluttered
production also makes this a cache of riches for wannabe-Wu Hip{Hop}sters. Stone
Free Productions' original soundtrack to (u)Black Lights'(p) "battle-scamed
Newark on a stormy night... an unfolding shadow world" fleshes out those
wonderful "piano breaks" with much heavier beats, a restrained use of horns,
slippery wood bass improvisations, and a gripping musical narrative. Both are
absolutely superb. (206 Yamate Mansion, 19-5 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150,
Japan: tel: +81-3-3770-5721/fax: +81-3-3770-5726; dist. by Dutch East)
surgeon
basictonalvocabulary
(Tresor GM)
ANTHONY CHILDS' second album strives for a groundbreaking meeting of hard,
driving techno and experimentation. For the most part, Basictonalvocabulary
succeeds; but the ground has already been broken by his labelmate, Cristian
Vogel. Surgeon can't compete with Vogel's mastery of unpredictable
arrangements, though he shows considerable advancement beyond his primitive
earlier work. Tracks such as "First" and "Return" work fascinating changes
within his familiar loop-propelled framework. Surgeon's tweakings are effective
but a too cautious, audibly uneasy about disturbing the tracks' 4/4-ward
momentum. "Krautrock" (in name only), "9 Hours Into the Future," and "Depart"
are funk-flecked and teeming with micro-melodies, the later two laden with
gorgeous chiming tones (which reappear on "Waiting"). Surgeon sounds most
promising on "Rotunda," an explosive percussive pattern sparked by a stunningly
simple (but effective) bassline. He's definitely on the right track. (POB 360
428. 10999 Berlin)
paul w. teebrooke <-- (this is THE album to beat for '97, btw)
connections
(Op-Art UK)
You can't fool us, Mr. "Teebrooke." You're the one, the only, STEVE PICKTON
(known best as STASIS and PHENOMYNA). He's done it again, surpassing even his
remarkable (i)Fromtheoldtothenew(p) set (Peacefrog, 1996). What sets Pickton
apart from the maddening electronic crowds? Call it the 'Smile Factor'. Picton's
music truly makes you feel wonderful, carefree and unable to hide your Cheshire
Cat grin. More than "Just A Little Groove" - and a great deal of warmth - went
into this album. (i)Connections(p) is nothing short of monumental. It toes the
Jungle and HipHop lines without leaving Detroit's city-limits, a feat as unusual
as PILES HUSSEIN's live trumpet on the dazzling breakbeat shuffler, "Loose
Connection." The funktastic "Bush-Rebushed" and the other eight tracks are all
things of rare beauty and wonder. Pickton continues to sprint leagues ahead of
the pack. (POB 349, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6FB; art@opart.win-uk.net. tel/fax:
+44(0)181 948 3501)
cristian vogel
all music has come to an end
(Tresor GM)
An artist willing to make such an apocalyptic statement had best have the
material to back it up. Vogel always does. The Peruvian/English wonder-boy moved
from the Force Inc circle into Tresor's realm of hard techno, joining other
'jackers' such as Neil Landstrumm, Surgeon, and Pacou. But he hasn't forsaken
the brilliance and fearlessness which brings fans to their knees at the mere
mention of his name. Vogel's domain is a treacherous one, a juggling act of
floor-friendly force and mind-friendly experimentation. His beats thump along
with the best of the 4/4 brigade, but Vogel's tweaked programs, treating
percussive loops like so much saltwater taffy, and his untouchable machine-age
funkiness make his records so much more than just another collection of
energetic 'jaxx traxx'. (POB 360 428. 10999 Berlin)
l8rz-
GuerillaG2-G4
gg2g4ink@sprynet.com