Minidisc is either a quiet milestone or a complete prank. Autechre and sound artist Russell Haswell released the world’s first MiniDisc-only album in ’98. They splintered 45 tracks into 88 fragments, and instructed listeners to play the damn thing on “shuffle” to keep it interesting. The reissued Minidisc is a chicken-scratched mess of ideas choking a hard drive: nasally congested distortion, hip-hop beats that track mud through the house, LP5-era laser funk, and the sounds of musicians banging their heads on synthesizers, unable to play anything right. It’s a horror-show novelty better suited to gallery installations than the stereo.
Matthew Herbert Herbert100 lbs
Matthew Herbert can get away with producing silk-pajama’d house for any Macy’s dressing room and critiquing capitalism by crushing Coke cans and Big Mac wrappers. A decade ago, he began shaving away the fat from house while keeping its groove essentials intact-making music that lazy critics like me call “microhouse.” 100 lbs collects his three EPs of such sounds. “I’ll Do It” drops vocal fragments like specks of rain hitting a windshield, and “Pen” brilliantly struts to a bulbous cadence. This album is more pleasurable than hearing Herbert drive a tank over a dinner plate to protest Bush and Blair.
Macromantics Moments In Movement
Once a guitarist in Ben Lee’s Aussie pop-punk band Noise Addict, 26-year-old Romy Hoffman has suddenly become an MC to watch. Rapping under the alias Macromantics, this Melbourne denizen makes a solid case for why she’s “not your average chick.” Sure, her breath control could use a little work, but Miss Macro’s damn creative. Atop a mix of live and programmed beats, this MC spares the sex appeal and keeps things wildly imaginative-albeit sometimes morbid (see “Eerily Spookily”). Even her battle raps (“Scorch”) will have listeners doing a double take.”
Various Artists Nobody: Revisions Revisions
Given his history in the L.A. underground, Elvin Estela (a.k.a. Nobody) has surprisingly opted to remix very little hip-hop. Even still, this disc sees him successfully place his psychedelic, lo-fi stamp on tracks from artists as off-kilter as he is (Clue To Kalo, Pepe California, Her Space Holiday, et al). But whether Nobody is creating pop-rock from scratch (Clearlake’s “Good Clean Fun”) or adding a little flair to already fresh hip-hop (Busdriver’s “Unemployed Black Astronaut”), his remixes make for a pleasing aural experience.
Exile Dirty Science
After a few power moves (like Mobb Deep’s “Pearly Gates”), Emanon producer Exile breaks out with a dozen-plus guests by his side. While he doesn’t showcase a huge stylistic range, his chopped-up, bottom-heavy beats work well with MED’s hard-edged rhymes and even with the doo-wop vocal styling of Miguel Jontel; Slum Village gets the best offering with the megaton Detroit anthem “Time Has Come,” featuring a booming bassline and gleaming keys. But look past the couple of under-cooked tracks (i.e. “Pay the Co$$”) and Dirty Science shows a great producer in the making.
Lyrics Born Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live!
Live hip-hop albums are a rarity these days, but if any MC deserves one, it’s Lyrics Born. Few have learned how to engage a crowd like the fiery-voiced LB, and the two Australian shows recorded for Overnite Encore absolutely capture the energy of his sets. With his lady Joyo Velarde on back-up vocals and a four-piece funk band on the beats, LB tromps through classics (“Lady Don’t Tek No”) and newer material (“I’m Just Raw”) with undying vigor and a ton of call-and-response-as close to a Lyrics Born show you’re gonna get without actually being there.
Adrian Sherwood Becoming a Cliché
Becoming a Cliché might be Adrian Sherwood’s self-deprecating reference to his by-now trademarked post-reggae dub style. The On-U Sound headmaster’s second “solo” album again exhibits Sherwood’s signature melting pot of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and heavy Jamaican sounds. But it’s the sound of 2010: When one is as future-bound as this, remaining rooted in a singular vision ain’t a bad thing! That Sherwood’s new album is brilliant is no surprise; that his sonic stamp is more noticeable than that of his high-caliber guests (Lee “Scratch” Perry, Dennis Bovell, etc.) might be, but that’s okay, too.
Noiseshaper Real to Reel
Berlin digital-dub duo Noiseshaper has done a lot to make Real to Reel more than just a collection of its better cabinet-rumbling tracks. But not even the expert hand of Adrian Sherwood or guests like punk-reggae superstar Ari Up can rescue nearly half of Real to Reel from feeling pedestrian and passionless. Tracks such as the Tokyo Tower remix of “Rough Out There,” the digi-roots shuffle of “Bushmasta,” and the dub balladry of “Wake Up” (featuring Jahcoustix) beg repeated plays, but many others (i.e. “Rise” and “Jah Dub”) dance and dub with paint-by-numbers predictability.
Various Artists Plague Songs
Plague Songs-an accompaniment to filmmaker Penny Woolcott’s modern-day evocation of the book of Exodus-succeeds on many levels. As a suite of songs by artists from the legendary (Brian Eno, Scott Walker) to the merely brilliant (King Creosote), the 10 tracks, each corresponding to one of the plagues beset by God upon Egypt, are near perfect. From London gypsy cabaret freaks Tiger Lilies’ drug-addled take on “Hailstones” to Stephin Merritt’s Human League-esque dance party “The Meaning of Lice,” each artist’s approach is unique and often frightening. But more importantly, Plague Songs does for contemporary art-music what the plagues did for the Israelites: It provides the right setting for the system to be vigorously bucked, allowing everyone from grime MCs (Klashnekoff and his stuttering “Blood”) to milquetoast singer-songwriters (Rufus Wainwright) to set their creative energies free.
Djosos Kros No Sign Of Bad
Already proving their worth on dubby 12-inches, Copenhagen natives Pharfar and Filip compile their efforts into a dozen hypnotic tracks. A seeming nod to Thievery Corporation’s bass-heady productions, the resonance of Djosos’ handiwork echoes long in speakers and headphones. Of equal merit are their guest vocalists, especially Tuco on the deep “Straight Upfront” and Little Tasha with the most upbeat number, “Cover Me.” We can envision U-Roy when listening to toaster Jah Bobby’s laidback poetry (though the ragga star’s recent work with Nublu is slightly more interesting). Jah has arrived in Denmark and seems perfectly at home.
