The following are some quick reviews of a few things I have bought
recently. Not all of these things are brand new and some have been
covered before. They are here just in case you missed them when they came
out <like I did>. Now for the reviews:
* RL-002 Burtt/ Sharp/ Williams - Bento Box ep <12 inch>
This is a collaboration between Jason Williams <velocette>, Jonah Sharp
and Kevin Burtt. It is on the Parallel label <which is run by velocette>.
Quick review:
dot to dot- this is a electro inspired techno track. Something I would
expect to hear on the drexicya cd. Though it does not sound as dated.
Very
nice. by j. sharp/ k. burtt
unexpected visitor - this is electro funk inspired techno track. Reminds
me of something that clear would have put out a while back. Also conjures
up images of dr. rockit. by j. sharp/ j. williams
schizophrenic disco - the weakest track on the ep but still pretty good.
Basically it is your basic tech house track. by k. burtt/ j. williams
also included are 2 loops which are in locked grooves.
their is a url for the label as well:
http://home.earthlink.net/~parallel/
* O'Rang - remixes from the album fields and waves <12 inch> on hitit
First of all this is nothing like orang <comprised of members from talk
talk>. There is no tribal amibience and the patented orang sound.
Instead it is 2 tracks that have been remixed by boymerang and dose. The
boymerang mix is fast paced and dark. This is what jungle should be
doing. It is ecletic enough to keep your attention without going off the
deep end. The dose mix is also very good. Just as dark and experimental
as the boymerang mix. This 12 inch reminds me of why I liked the darker
side of jungle in the first place.
*Thievery Corporation encounter in Bahia 12 inch. <esl music>
This is a very solid downtemp/abstract hip hop ep. All the tracks are
smooth and flow nicely. These guys do not get enough credit for the music
that they do. Easily competes with the more laid back vibes of the mo wax
label. Well worth checking out.
*electric company/furry things - The Kahanek Incident <trance syndicate>
This is furry things <ken gibson of 8 frozen module> remixing the electric
company and the electric company remixing furry things. The furry things
remix sounds as if ken gibson was really in his 8 frozen module guise. If
your a fan of his 8fm stylings you will like this track. The electric
company mixes are done in that electronic/post rock vein. At times they
approach jungelish rhythms. Worth it alone for the ken gibson remix.
*lesser 3.5 - welcome to the american experience cd <vinyl commuications>.
Lesser recently has been praised as a fast rising idm star. I do not see
that happening and the only reason is because he is to extreme for most
people's tastes. He makes Alec Empire in his dhr guise look weak.
However I really like this cd. It has it all, logans run samples, jungle,
skipping cds, noise and a general wicked sound. This thing is constantly
moving. Once a groove is found it is killed and replaced by something
you did not expect. This is a highly imaginative cd. The use of a
skipping cd for effects, noises and beats alone sold me on it. I know
oval has done things like that in the past but I think lesser does it
better. However, lesser is anything but ambient.
*cEvin Key - music for cats cd <metropolis records>
For a long time I stayed away from cevin key. This is due mostly to his
affiliation with the much acclaimed Skinny Puppy. Skinny Puppy for me
was
something I listened to when I was a kid. A kid I no longer have anything
in common with. However, I recently picked this cd up because of it's
title. I am glad I did. This is a long way from skinny puppy and the
distorted ramblings of ogre. The music on here is ecletric and ever
evolving. Several times familiar techno elements are combined with odd
sequencing and noises. The result is a startling journey through the
experimental techno genre. Fans of industral will like this and fans of
IDM will like it as well. There are no lyrics except for some spoken word
of Genesis p. Orridge. It might of some interest to some of you out there
that this cd was recorded between 1994 and 1997. As such, d.r. goettel
is featured on some of the tracks.
*download iii cd <Nettwerk>/ download - charlies family cd <metropolis>
These are fairly old but after hearing the music for cats cd I had to seek
out some of cevin key's recent work. Download III is definitely been
inspired by the techno genre. It has elements of detroit, basic channel
and autechre mixed into it. At first listen it seems pretty standard.
But after sitting down and really listening you can hear the subtitles of
it. The patterns are always changing, noises are mixed in and there is
movement. Definitely a dance oriented cd that was made to be listened to.
Charlie's family is a different sound all together. It would delight any
coil fan and anyone into dark ambient. At times there are glimmers of
light brought in by recognizable beat patterns but those lights are
extinguished by noise, synth sweep and overall dread. A must have if your
into coil or like things that go bump in the night. A very disturbing cd.
-daniel