I realise I'm a bit late with _I Care..._; exams and all that you see...
--
Aphex Twin : I Care Because You Do (Warp)
I don't really know what to write about this LP. In some ways its
similar to his other LPs but in most cases the opposite is true - you
won't have heard anything like this before. I don't know how he does it;
its obviously RDJ but at the same time he's pushing forward the cause of
electronica in totally new ways. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised;
he does it with practically every release. And like those other releases
_I Care..._ has its share of dodgy parts; _Ventolin_ is the grating,
malfunctioning piece of noise it always was and _Cow Cud is a Twin_ is a
drawn-out, messy trip-hop affair. They're still innovative and in his
own way, unique. However, forget about any weak parts, this is an album
of varied, yet precise music. _Start As You Mean to Go On_ is the track
_73-Yips_ should have been, dreamy and concentrated but sounding as
though it's been shat from the arse of a Gundam robot. _The Waxen Pith_
and _Icct Hedral_ merge freeform strings with lo-fi hop beats; _Next
Heap With_ is a symphonic _SAW2_ left-over. And then there are the truly
outstanding tracks; spacial melancholy in _Mookid_, out and out
industrial sheer bloody-mindedness in _Come On You Slags_ and one of my
favourite RDJ tracks ever, _Alberto Balsam_. Fusing cheesy beats that
sound as though they were constructed with kitchen utensils with one of
the most beautiful, moving pieces of melody EVER, this is a very special
piece of music. After I listened to _I Care..._, I read his interview in
Mixmag where he cheerfully lied and dissed his music and other people.
He might well be an arsehole; I simply don't care. Creating music this
good, entitles him to do pretty much what the hell he wants IMHO. It still
doesn't excuse the cover though...
Bochum Welt : Scharlach Eingang (Rephlex)
I've bought some pretty damn good 12"s recently. The problem with them
however was that they were just that, good. I like 'good' 12"s; I
*prefer* 12"s that blow me completely away. This is one such release.
Three of the four tracks on this EP are end-themes to an as yet unmade
SF film. Just listening to these tracks evokes images of chrome fighter
spaceships, speeding over alien terrains. There is a hint of AFX in the
precise and epic melodies; this is what I thought RDJs techno material
would have sounded like if the only release I'd heard of his was
_SAW 85-92_. Its expansive, emotional, airy techno and it is brilliant,
inspiring stuff. You also get a beatless, heart-rending Kinesthesia
remix as a contrast. I just hope Rephlex flow some more stuff from this
guy.
V/A : Likethemes (Likemind)
A four track EP with a line-up to make you orgasm (Tura (Plaid), Redcell
(B12), Stasis and someone called Nuron); all the tracks seem to be cast
from a similar mould of lushness too. Witness the moving chords on
Tura's _Reishi_, the isolated desert island warmth of the Nuron track
and the chrome-plated freshness of the Redcell track (a better track
than any on _Electro-Soma_ IMO). The Stasis track sounds more like B12
than the Redcell one but works beautifully, falling into place at the
end. An top EP for those lazy summer evenings.
V/A : Language Sampler (Language)
Another four track EP; this time its a taster for the _Miscellaneous_
LP. Whereas _Likethemes_ had tracks that sounded vaguely similar, this
EP has tracks that couldn't be more different. _Aea_ by The Circadian
Rhythms is an opulent, Black Dog tribute and along with the amazing (in
the sense that it manages to pull it off) track by Tranquil Elephantizer
which fuses jazz, hip-hop, jungle and acid into a compound statement about
electronica in the nineties, makes this EP an interesting and varied
buy. The other two tracks are less memorable; a (quite literally) mad
workout in noise from Bio Muse and a rather lack-lustre acidic dub track
from The Arc. Buy it for the other two tracks though and watch out for
any future releases from them; they could be very tasty indeed.
Pogomax : Actionbird (Zonetripper)
Subtle, chilled beats feature heavily on this remix 12" from Norway. The
first _Actionbird_ remix is a fast, liquid-cooled track - borrowing the
good parts from European trance and fusing it with crisp chords. The Per
Martinsen remix is a slower, more expansive, drifting Speedy J style
remix; an avalanche of sound in slow motion. Both remixes have a
super-chilled, glacial quality to them (or maybe I'm reading too much
into the Norway connection :-) and benefit from this as a result,
avoiding the cliches of European trance. Finally, _Short Wave_ is a cut
'n paste, dubbed up phreak of a track; pitched drum sounds are stapled
to a glut of background effects and it all trickles pleasingly into your
ear. This is a 12" that points at something interesting coming from
Norway - providing an intelligence to the primarily dance-oriented
continental Euro sound. Telephone Zonetripper on +47 22 205190, or
fax 'em on +47 22 201430.
Patrick Pulsinger : Porno (Disko B)
Pulsinger turns his hand to seedy minimal and dark techno on this, his
first LP. Irritatingly, he speeds straight past the funked out, 70s cop
show themes he does so well on his Cheap label and opts for some intense
minimal workouts. This LP takes a great deal of listening to; extracting
any form of light or carefree emotions from it is a hard task. This is an
LP for cruising grimy city streets on a rainy night. Accompanying the LP
is a tongue in cheek booklet detailing Patricks efforts to secure his
very own racing car by employing the uh, 'talents' of some women. However,
rather than amusing with its attempts to combine porn and poor Hollywood
script-writing, it adds to the general all-pervading seediness of the
project. This is an intense driven affair with Pulsinger as pimp; you
might want to buy the Sluts and Strings 12" to provide some post-coital
fun afterwards.
Russ Gabriel : Future Funk Volume 1 (Input Neuron Musique)
Much as you might expect from Russ Gabriel. 909 driven funk is the key
here and as on the JackTronic release, Russ Gabriel hits you hard with
driving beats and percussive jazzy hits. _Melody Maker_ surprises with
its funky mis-timed hi-hat pattern and Morganistic style filter effects,
there is some nasty electro bass on _Work Horse_ and some gorgeous acid
on _Steam Roller_. Nothing outstanding, just accomplished dancefloor
fodder; Russ Gabriel just refuses to put a foot wrong.
Mark Broom : Emulate EP (Cosmic)
DJ Mark Broom ditches the dark chaos theory of his Ifach and Pure
Plastic output to concentrate on his more dance-floor oriented material.
It kind of works but its a hard, relentless EP, losing the subtleties
and nuances of his previous material. If you revel in the dark,
dystopia of the Ifach sound you'll be right at home, however I much
prefer the quirky Ifach/Pure Plastic material which relied on innovation
rather than a 4/4.
Stuff listened to but not bought:
Black Lab : Black Lab (Trope)
Hard but uninspiring acid-trance from Heckmans' label. Disappointing.
St. Germain : Boulevard 2/3 (F Communications)
More light housed-up jazz. No great departure from 1/3.
Perbec : Perbec EP (Ifach)
More conventional than IFACH006 but still very much in the Ifach stylee.
Synectics : ? (Rephlex)
Light techno. Rather too light; it drifted by effortlessly...
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