Two awesome production duos showcase some of their finest abilities on the latest Timeless 12″. First, “Humanoid” bounces in with a punchy grind bassline accented by eerie howls and oscillating midrange noises. Female and robotic vox balance out the tune, making it appropriate for more than one kind of dancefloor. On the flip, Digital & Spirit have resurrected their classic “Remote Control” under their Phantom Audio guise, adding extra rave flavor and perfect amen fills.
Amit Gatecrasher
With a superb intro melody, “Gatecrasher” creeps in on a half-time groove. Organic vibes unfold as horns weave between heavy dub bass and rave atmospherics. Amit’s signature style goes in deeper on the flip. “Pirates” rocks an unconventional break but still drips enough dub to see the rudebwoys slap down the walls.
Stringtronics Tropicola
The Holy Grail of library music is reissued at last-strong emotional content on a track where marimbas, strings, guiro and triangle drift along on a laid-back drums and picked bass. Perfect for when it rains.
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings What Have You Done For Me Lately
Probably the first time in music history that a cover of a 20-year-old track sounds like a 40-year-old record, and actually makes the original sound like a cover. Check the website for details on a lawsuit against Miss Janet Jackson. A great hoax, and a funky energetic 45.
Aja West In Preparation
Auto detuned vocals from Aja contrast with soulful female background vocals over a minimal beat and a deconstructed bassline. This is immediate underground funk, and it’s hard to get out of my head. As on every Mackrosoft release, prestigious guests turn up; the forthcoming The Olympian LP will feature Money Mark.
Various Artists Transatlantic Bass: The Mutated Sound Of American Breakbeat & Garage
Tough, heavy and deep-apparently, this is what makes breakbeat and garage distinctly American. Forget the fluffy, poppy two-step from the UK-this first release from the Urban Renewal label gathers only the dark stuff from around the country (and one from our friendly neighbors up north), the stuff more influenced by the likes of gritty acts like Zed Bias and Stanton Warriors than pop-garage wannabes Trusteppers featuring Victoria Beckham. All densely packed layers of bass, complicated breaks and sharp snares, Transatlantic Bass is nicely mixed by DJ Cooper, who maintains the album’s raw, gritty feel throughout.
Benny Blanko 8ft in the Air
Honey-glazed deep house shoulders up to hip-hop, laidback robo-funk segues into snappy house, clean click-house dissolves into hazy downbeat-does Benny Blanko fancy himself a master of all trades? Or is he simply a musical schizophrenic? One thing is for certain, however-the Homestyle label boss is clearly adept at working within established stylistic parameters, and he injects each track with buoyancy and flair. Though far from inspiring or innovative, 8ft in the Air is a gleeful little album, with enough variety and a surfeit of solid tracks to keep interest alive.
Mighty Math Experimental Child EP
Taken from last year’s excellent The Spangled Up Of A Tumbler album, this EP’s highlight is James Taylor of Swayzak’s remix as Darkfarmer. The original’s shy and retiring organ interludes are brazenly lured into a tight, microhouse mood. Including the glitchy “Neon Heart Cowboy” and the wonderful original cut, the Math adds up evenly here.
Dollboy Plans For a Modern City
Resplendent in all its languorous glory, Dollboy’s Plans for a Modern City aspires to a place in the pantheon of ambient music on par with classics such as Global Communications’ 76:14 or The KLF’s Chill Out. And while it falls short of that mark, it does so only by the slightest of margins. Luminous synth melodies, shimmering slide guitar riffs, matching piano couplets and muted trumpet refrains all play a part-you’d be hard-pressed to guess this could be the work of a live band without envisioning the four-piece slumped over their instruments on stage in turn. Navel-gazers take note. This record is your call to lie down and be counted amongst Dollboy’s fans.
Intricate In Pectra
From the ominous synth tones that open In Pectra to the stunted and splintered beat structures that are the album’s hallmark, Intricate wear their musical influences on their sleeves. Witness the loping stride of a Prefuse 73 rhythm here, a monochromatic Autechre melody there-this isn’t the sort of album that single-handedly carves out an entirely new genre, but it is one of the more sturdily-constructed experimental electronic full-lengths as of late. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Intricate have clearly mastered their machines without becoming slaves to software in the process-tracks such as “Squirl” and “Efforts” could easily hold their own against vintage Artificial Intelligence-era IDM.
