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Reviewing something like this is almost completely pointless, as thefans will have jumped at the opportunity to buy this while the peopleon the fence probably couldn't care less. I, personally was a bigPixies fan during their heyday and am completely thankful to them forhelping end the reign of hair bands with makeup. This CD is the muchpassed around untitled 'purple tape' which includes nine songs fromtheir demo cassette not appearing on the eight-song album 'Come onPilgrim,' first released by 4AD back in 1987. The recordings match upperfectly together and the songs present a fine archive, released herein stunning demo tape glory without the wear of a cassette passedaround for over a decade. Much of the tunes are in an embryonic stage,just as raw as 'Come on Pilgrim' and more ballsy than anything FrankBlack Francis has ever recorded since their split. This may be thedownfall, however, as all of these songs (with the exception of oneexclusive: "Rock My Soul") were recorded and improved upon and releasedmuch later. In addition, the 18 minutes of music contained hereinalmost doesn't justify the $12 sticker price, so I say give it a whilebefore it pops up in the used bins. It's not going anywhere fast.
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'Technoir', the first Hymen Records compilation was one of the best experimental compilations ever. Showcasing then-nobodies along with exclusive cuts from the popular Ant-Zen post-industrial roster, critics everywhere began to pay attention to the growing Hymen sub-label. 'Masonic' has a hard act to follow, but Hymen's evolution into "IDM for Rivetheads" and its ability to distance itself from the parent label paid off. With even the best of compilations, there are going to be at least some misses among the hits, so rather than humiliate those who do not shine as brightly (or are as dim as eclipses), I'll only focus on some of the very best of the bunch. If I had to choose the best track of the entire CD, then Beefcake would take the proverbial cake... errrr yeah.Hymen
Being completely fascinated by the consistently incredible output of these sleek plunderphonic masters, it was hard not to fall in love with their eclectic contribution to Disc One. Imagine an ADD-afflicted music prodigy composing a 4 minute track, and you'll get a sense of "ct2": DSP-effected drill n' bass, cinematic strings, and some jazzy horns. The king of sub-bass, Scorn (a.k.a. Mick Harris of Napalm Death and Painkiller), graces the same disc with more of his highly original dark dub on "The Distance Between". Picking up where his last Hymen gem ('Greetings From Birmingham') left off, this should hold over his fans temporarily until the 'Governor' EP and 'Plan B' CD, both due out shortly. Funkstorung's "Beinh" (from one of their Musik.Aus.Strom 12" releases) mixes machine clangs with overdriven bass pulses and clever lowpass filtering. Schizophrenic breakbeat wunderkind Aaron Funk drops another bizarre cut entitled "Parasitus" under his Venetian Snares moniker that is very much in line with his Planet Mu material. The disc ends with Sonic Draglogo's dirty 80's-esque pop song "Sister". Infested with distortion, banging drum loops, and quirky guitar hooks, this is quite possibly the weirdest thing Hymen has ever attached its name to... and I can't stop playing it. Gridlock open the second disc with the ambient "36:6:115." For the uninitiated, this track might almost be seen as uncharacteristic of the Hymen sound, but then the duo's rhythmic barrage bursts out of the speakers sometime around the 3 minute mark, and it all becomes clear. Somatic Responses offer "Whatever," a shattered breakbeat track with otherworldly strings and relentless noisy squelches. I never really got into their 'Augmented Lines' album, but now I understand what the fuss is all about. While the electroclash movement has embraced some of the crappiest retro new wave garbage possible, acts like Lilienthal, Red Sparrow, and Bochum Welt entertain with their respective oldschool sounds that are far more deserving of the attention wasted on the likes of Fischerspooner. In the midst of all this 8 bit glory, Xanopticon plops out a heaping pile of Squarepusher diarrhea on "Phase", exploding stuttering beat fragments and undigested corn kernals all over the place. This guy could be the next Venetian Snares. And you can fucking quote me on that. In that same vein, Fanny (formerly of punk heroes The Exploited) closes out this beefy compilation with an incoherant slab of cut-up, mashed-up electronic junk noise rhythms. So in conclusion: Hymen makes Warp seem gay as a cricket, and Alicia Keys is really hot. I mean, she's really really hot.
 
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The vast worldwide sea of laptop and desktop musicians has simply become far too predictable with atonal noise-bursts and rhythmic clicking. While the revisit of Klang Krieg's 'American Breakbeat' album has some wonderful highlights, it's almost way too excessive at a staggering 34 tracks. Presented here are remixes and reinterpretations of the original release—29 contributions from North American electronic artists—by electronic artists from (almost*) elsewhere in the world. [*Note to Klang Krieg: Mexico is still part of North America.]Klang Krieg
Tracks like the reinterpretation of Matmos's "Count Tweekula" from Japan's Sonic Dragolo add a clever and even more comical twist by hijacking j-pop and exotica influences, cutting and pasting them into a vocalized mix that would make Ms. Solex proud. Chris Wood's string arrangement on Timeblind's "Jitter" is possibly one of the most beautiful songs on the compilation along with Syntetika's labelmates, Ambidextrous, (do yourself a favor and re-read the Syntetika review) make a serene, languid, melodic reconstruction of "Salty" by Blink Blink. I'm also epecially fond of "Melancholic Music Box," the Rosy Parlane reinterpretation of Hrvatski's "Insect Digestion Melody," reformatted for a thunderous music box and the Fibla remix of Marumari's "Super Botany," with pleasant Morr-like guitar sounds that easily jumps the tracks from the nerdy laptop boy express into the chin-scratching pseudo-electronica post-post-post rock shuttle. There's too many electro-fart remixes of Kid 606, however, and the good parts just don't seem to go on long enough. At the super-cheap price I paid for this set, however, those few low points can easily be overlooked.
 
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- Buug - Kaylek 2 (remixed by Plastacas)
- Matmos - Count Tweekula (remixed by Sonic Dragolo
- Timeblind - Jitter (remixed by Chris Wood)
- Marumari - Sonic Botany (remixed by Fibla)
 
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"Hey you! Come on ever here! You've just been chosen!" Dance punkwaving away from retro futurist flourescent arcades of dayglo nothingbrought into the radioactive bubblegum world by the TV eye trio Enon -bright corners of 'High Society' seem rerouted from obvious drug pun.Initially "Old Dominion" rocket-rushes from speakers in chunky rockin'populous frenzy, twisting and spitting tuneful as if atomic men hadshaved the cartoon kitten, and brought on irreal visions of facelessladies walking poodles. These are the finest rockpops tune vibrationsto wobble my eardrums since that Wire EP you should all have heard bynow. You know John Schmersal used to be guitarist in that greatBrainiac band from Dayton, Ohio that stopped just as they peaked whensinger Tim Taylor's car crashed and killed him? John's been busy sincethen, relocating to do the Enon thing in New York, with a clutch ofseven inches and between two and five albums depending on which way youcut it. To find out which way you'd cut the cake, visit the band'shyper TV hellnation website (www.enon.tv),where you will also find more sounds including monthly net-only tracks.Since the excellent quirky 'Believo!' album there have been at leastthree big shifts in Enonsound. There's a catchier pop approach togadget strewn mix'n'scratch songfighting and a fuller, heavierproduction, courtesy of Girls Against Boys' Eli Janney. Newbass-singer-synthist Toko Yasuda, formerly of The Lapse and BlondeRedhead, brings some high vocal counterpoints and leads to offsetJohn's increasingly all over the range bunnyhop singing. She takes thelead on four of the fifteen songs, and the first of these, "In ThisCity," is a surprising sugarpop confection with breakbeat backing andan almost 'J-Pop' feel. Lots of silly effects are chucked on the John'svocals, and often the sillier the better, as on the mostBrainiac-Electroshock friendly tune "Native Numb," but Enon can just aseasily play it straight and get away quick after writing a killer tune.Just take for instance the insanely catchy hi-energy summerfun tones of"Salty" (Toko's finest lead) followed languidly by the almost RayDavies bitter mellowness of the title track, with it's sax and strings.Take the sweet drowsy lullaby "Count Sheep" and put it in your pipe andsmoke it before "Carbonation" business kills the radiopop active-kids.Meanwhile "Window Display" seems tailor made for radio stations toblitz the airwaves, even if it seems to be a song about marrying anandroid and breaking her remote control. Toko seems to play the part ofthe remote malfunctioning displaydroid on "Disposable Parts" where shesings of the futurejoy of replacing organs and limbs, whilst Johnmorphs into a impenetrable deep voiced daftbot. Underneath the almostchildish robot infatuation there are perhaps more serious themes ofalienation and disconnection lurking. Another song that'll have oldBrainiac fans grinning is the manic "Pleasure and Privelige," with it'surgent urges to wave fingers in the air. The most affecting song is theperky "Natural Disasters," especially the bittersweet reversesynthmiddle eight, and it's hard to hear the chorus without being remindedof Tim's tragic crash, as John sings a song of moving on, keepingplayful whilst some people want to draaag him back - it's probably thekind of anti-elegy Tim would've smiled at. Like the forthcoming Wiresmash "Nice Streets," this is an addictive pop fix that easily trouncesall those retrotrendy Electroclashers and rollrock-poseurs to amultifractured pulp. These songs hum with experigressive provivalistlife force and summertime hues. If this band aren't getting offered bigdollar studio deals, it's just more proof that biglabel A&R dudeshave ears full of pudding, as usual.
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"Our Noise"? Anything but. From the opening notes of this release, Iwas sold. This is the debut full length from Hermann and Kleine,recorded in their bedrooms in Berlin. This is really un-German soundingelectronic music, created with laptops and samples, and named"plinkerpop" as a genre, I'm told. True, it does have its moments ofpop splendor, but I don't remember enjoying an electronic record thismuch since Four Tet's "Pause". It's not as boring as Kleine's work onhis own tends to be these days, that's for sure. The beats are meaty inareas, simple in others, and the keyboards and samples laid on top ofthem are unobtrusive, often engrossing, and totally fresh. Each trackstands on its own, and has a life of its own, even though they may havesimilar structures or sound effects. The album opener, 'Drop', is aperfect indicator of what the record is going to be about. A simplebeat starts the track, then the bassline joins, and then distortedguitar. Before you know it, you're completely lost in a trance, movingalong to the music like you don't know what's hit you. And it neverstops or disappoints. The full beat eventually drops in on 'Drop',paving the way for the harder beats you'll hear on later tracks, butfirmly engrained in the groove of the moment. 'Her Tune' starts outsimilarly deceptive, with simple keyboards, until the big beat joinsin. It's all very impressive and easy to listen to for a variety ofactivities. Elsewhere, shuffling beats and big loud rock guitars areused to get the point across, or, as on 'Shuttle', a voice is heard onoccasion, although extremely processed and edited. When it was allover, I started it up to listen to it a second time. A great firstfull-length release from this unlikely duo.
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This four-track EP, the third release from Scott Herren on the Warp label under his Prefuse 73 alias, makes for a broad yet fleeting assortment of instrumental HipHop inspired music. The absence of vocalists and/or MCs has the listener focused on the behind the scenes make-up of some great compositions. Not to say that the right vocalists and/or MCs wouldn't enhance things, as evident on 2001's "Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives."Warp
The opening track "Desks.Pencils.Bottles" names the elements used to provide the busy melodic percussion and distant drones, anchored with a synth-heavy bassline and a shuffle rhythm (coupled with a human beatbox) which skips the tune along perfectly. "When Irony Wears Thin" kicks it with the big band-esque shots of a reworked horn section over Moogish sounds and the bells, bips and bleeps of a gear-shifting rhythm track. "It Never Entered" lays down an "old school" styled funk groove as the base for the calm and collected sampled progressions of what sounds like a choir, eventually going to a serene half-time feel. "Love You Bring" closes off the disc with a sampled string section, acoustic guitar, droning keyboards and some pleasant female vocal clippings over a groove with a kick drum that'll get you right in the chest. Being called a collection, one may expect a lot more than four tracks over a ten year period. This may be that Mr. Herren has been a busy guy with his other projects (Savath+Savalas, Eastern Developments label) which differ from Prefuse to accumulate a lot of extra material. Here's hoping for another full lengther.
 
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To Rococo Rot's Stefan Schneider is Mapstation, the solo project inwhich the bassist focuses more on the layering of electro sounds andtextures. At times minimalist in approach, this third disc continues inthe direction of an interesting compositional style. The introductionof what at first appears as simple sounding ideas are subtly built uponusing various rhythms, synth patches and digital found sounds untilthey have formed a beautiful soundscape. Each of the disc's eleventracks has a unique development and outcome. "Two Landscapes" openswith deep and lilting synth tones which act as a percussive elementwhile various patches drift in and out stating a general melody andmotif. "More People Than Two" is comprised of a lullaby-soundingrepetitive keyboard with a bassline that weaves nicely into the mix ofethereal chords and distant pulses. Reggae singer Ras Donovan guests onthe tracks "New Direction" (released as a 12") and "Wake Up," whichcould be seen as minimalist dub, maintaining the rhythmic keyboard ofthe style. This is definitely one for the headphones.
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Theelectro of Ersatz Audio's 'Misery Loves Company' comp is pretty damnthin. I don't really understand why, because all these artists (Adult.,G.D.Luxxe, Solvent, Gold Chains, etc) should be interested in qualityof sound, since they are, essentially, electronic musicians. But thebeats on this CD are SCRAWNY, and I don't know if it's the minimalaspect of these tracks (most songs are just a drum machine and one ortwo synth lines, with vox), or if Ersatz needs to start getting theirCDs mastered somewhere else (the Adult. full-length has a similar lackof punch). Or perhaps my ear is getting a little too picky. In anycase, sound quality aside, this compilation is fairly enjoyable butsomewhat forgettable. There's nothing groundbreaking going on here, but'Misery Loves Company' has done a pretty good job of compiling artistsfrom America and Europe whose approach to their drum machines andsequencers are roughly on the same wavelength: simpleretro-dance-electro, with a big nod to the Detroit sound (and a smallnod to Miami) and a slightly ironic presense. The obvious names standout with some of the best tracks (DMX Krew's "Touch Me" and Lowfish'sIDM-electro instrumental "Dead House"), but there are some intriguingnew names here, including Detroit's Tamion 12 Inch, whose "Thin BoysMurdered" straddles the line between being really irritating andstrangely charming. Other bigger names fail to deliver quality tracks,most notably Solvent & Skanfrom's collaboration "Expect Delays" andGold Chains "Could Care Less," which is the purported inspiration forthis disc. At its worst, this comp is a kind of redundant after awhile, as every song sounds pretty much the same. But most of thismusic doesn't take itself too seriously, thankfully, and overall it'spretty non-intrusive. I'd probably put it on at a party. Or maybe playit really loud while taking a nap.
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I really do sincerely hate name-dropping in music reviews, however,it's impossible to get around this one, like a dead animal on thesidewalk you simply can't ignore and have to step over. To theircredit, this Estonian group has come closer than anyone in making analbum sound just like 1990's 'Loveless' by My Bloody Valentine fortheir second full-lengther, and it's hardly surprising that the labelto release this mentions Slowdive in over half of their band's webpages on their site. It's so strikingly similar from the pretty fuzz,through the male and female soft vocals, down to the usage of a burieddrum machine on the final cuts. Give them a break, however, as eachmember was only 9 years old in 1990, therefore the chances of them everseeing a band live who has had such an apparently profound influence onthem are quite slim. The band sounds amazingly direct and sincere,however, and the tunes are indeed catchy and full of proverbialdistorted guitar, in a mesmerising fuzz like the glaze covering youreyes on a hot, cloudy, yet rainless day. Much like a number of releaseson Claire, songs can easily be picked apart and stand strong on theirown amidst an ocean of variety but a collection of ten of these in arow with so much in common can be only be, at worst, slightlycumbersome to wade through.
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The "Plays" project came out over the course of 2001 on Bottrop-Boy(two 7" singles) and Staubgold (three mini-LPs). Each release in theseries consisted of two tracks. This CD is a handy way to get them allat once, and perhaps to understand the project more coherently. Whilethere's little information in the insert for those of us who can't readGerman, it's not hard to guess, given Ehlers's past form—particularlyhis membership of the defunct high-concept Mille Plateaux actAutopoieses—that there'll be some thinking behind it.
The Staubgold site helpfully offers this quotation from Ehlers: "The'Plays' series deals with 'reference' ... Everyone is sampling;sampling is the figure of historic devices in digital music. My idea isnot to sample, but to refer to historic places and figures." And so herefers not only to musicians (Albert Ayler, Cornelius Cardew, andRobert Johnson) but to actor and director John Cassavetes, and theenigmatic Hubert Fichte, who is variously documented on the web as aqueer theorist, an anthropologist, and a beat poet.
These referential intentions work well for the most part, reversing theusual process of listening to music based on sampled material: insteadof noticing or just assuming I'm hearing "quotations" from other music,I've tried to decode it using my knowledge—however pitiful at times—ofits subject.
Thankfully, though it may enrich it, knowledge of the five subjects'biographies is not essential to appreciating the music. "PlaysCornelius Cardew", one of the 7"s, and "Plays John Cassavetes", one ofthe mini-LPs, are basically drone and loop-based, using organs andviolins—sometimes as walls of sound, others more sparsely. Ehlers takesa much more interesting approach on the "Plays Albert Ayler" and "PlaysHubert Fichte" mini-LPs, confidently subjecting raw recordings to hisdigital knife. These are the must-listen highlights of the CD. "PlaysHubert Fichte" puts lazily picked guitar from Joseph Suchy in thebackground of a night chorus of buzzing and chirping modifications,like improvisation overheard on a hot evening. The meticulouslyarranged "Plays Albert Ayler" uses similar processing techniques but,being based on Anka Hirsch's cello and other orchestralinstrumentation, is more austere and graceful. You may have heard thissort of thing before, but here it's done with a taste and judgmentthat's far from common.
The CD closes with the "Plays Robert Johnson" 7", one side processedguitar fumbling, and the other a micro-house funk-out that's funny butdefinitely out of character with the rest of the series. Nonetheless,it adds to the diversity of this occasionally inspired collection,which confirms Ehlers as one of the best musicians working at thetheory-heavy end of the post-digital scene.
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After 1997's unimaginatively entitled third album, Download planned onreleasing two EPs ('Moth' and 'Resilient' if memory serves) that nevercame to be. More than likely some if not all of the material for thosehas resurfaced here, along with 'Effector' outtakes, on the thirdinstallment of the "From the Vault" series. From the get go I'mimpressed as these are finished tracks on par with or better than thosethat made the official releases, unlike the lifeless doodlings of thefirst Vault disc "Inception". "Sticky Glandstin" has all theessentials: a jittery bass heavy beat, bizarre samples and sounds andan amniotic atmosphere smeared across the stereo field. The next track"Dakota" is the first jaw dropper when it shifts gears and glides intoan elegant synthetic wash. Rhythmically "The Itch of Trepanning"swaggers and "Manmade" assaults while "Nor" caresses (it too dissolvinginto a howl enhanced ambient bliss midway through). "Walking, Talking"also beats you pleasantly senseless with an intricate mesh of metallicpercussion and electronic squelches over a groovy bass lead. "D.O.G."and "P.U.P." reference Key's longtime feline companions to which this45 minute collection is dedicated. With that in mind both take on asomewhat somber but thankful air, the rhythms tamed down some to focusmore on melodic feel. If you're remotely a fan of post-'The Eyes ofStanley Pain' Download, 'III Steps Forward' is very worth your while.
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