Now in his 70s, the uncompromising Arne Nordheim may be Norway’s closest equivalent to Stockhausen. The 12 pieces collected in this beautifully packaged CD-standing out even among Kim Hiorthoy’s typically beautiful design work-offer spacious musique concrete miniatures from the late ’60s/early ’70s. Defying the Norwegian trend of the time towards neo-folk classicism, Dodeka is strung through with an ambient spirit of hovering tintinabulation. In this, it comes closest to approximating a music box concerto of fluttering analog seagulls. Rarefied and beguiling.
Evolution Control Committee Plagitarythm Nation
The ECC arguably first infected the Net with the “mash-up” technique-still best heard on their classic 1993 “Whipped Cream Mix” of Chuck D rapping over a Herb Alpert big-band jaunt. Plagiarythm Nation is an assortment of their MP3 “hits” that sometimes proves that “copyright infringement is your best entertainment value,” as Negativland told us. “Rocked by Rape” stitches Dan Rather’s depressing headlines over an AC/DC riff, as if he’s crooning at a shit-kicker bar. Elsewhere, Janet Jackson and Gloria Estefan hits mutate into oddball ditties that resemble the Residents. Basically, this album is between-song, gag filler for late-night college radio.
The Soft Pink Truth Do You Party?
Drew Daniel was the first “glam skater” I ever saw in SF. The Matmos member was decked out in a Thrasher shirt, acid-washed jacket, ripped stockings, and checkered lowtops with his face smeared with hot-pink mascara. This juxtaposition of urban grit and discount-store beauty abounds in his microhouse incarnation The Soft Pink Truth. With his hacked-up snares, ditzy electro-funk melodies and divas reduced to stuttering androids, Drew eliminates the need for electroclash. Granted, his sound is way too art-damaged for most dancefloors and homecoming nights, but it’s hard not to smile as you listen, whether it be of delight or bewilderment.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Electroclash Mix By Larry Tee
Larry Tee is arguably the Patient Zero of the whole damn electroclash virus, and his mix of who’s-who in the said genre reveals its Achilles’ heel. These bandwagon pioneers’ dour, awkward Casio melodies and plodding 808 beats set above vocalists trying to sound detached from the sleaze they champion is music one must pretend to enjoy enough to dance to. That’s why irony is so, like, totally hip. Some highlights: Bis’s Super Mario disco on “Shack Up,” Vostak’s Euro-trash travelogue on “Airplanes,” and Adult.’s leafblower-moog treatment of Felix Da Housecat’s “Silver Screen.” Tee’s showcase, like any 15-minute moment of retrophilia, seems frozen stiff-just like its inspiration from ’80s fashion magazines that can do nothing but yellow.
Ultra-Red Amnistia!
Amnistia!, Ultra-Red’s recording of an NYC rally for undocumented immigrant workers’ amnesty on May Day 2000, is more likely to be enjoyed by noise fetishists than the blue-collar proletariat. However, it’s still dazzling for reproducing the same intensity that arises between street protestors and riot police. Amnistia (“por Nueva York)” recalls the ambient-Marxists’ Seattle WTO protest mixes, with its microhouse concoction of clicked beats, DSP scrapes and crowd chants. The vibe then darkens with collages of rally speeches that arise from a murk of feedback drones. Overall, UltraRred presents the event as a hallucination rather than a journalistic dispatch.
Push Button Objects Ghetto Blaster
As his album title suggests, Push Button Objects makes “glitch-hop” by having his hip-hop blared over by competing boomboxes on the playground. His latest joint is divided between a variety show of who’s-who in indie rap, and abstract beat explorations tagged with noise bursts. Things pick up midway with “Air,” featuring beats that slam like a strait-jacketed uncle in the attic, and “Sleep,” which scratches an MC’s voice into that of an eight-headed jabberwocky. Ghetto Blaster finally sobers up at “Washington Ave,” a space-out with DJ Shadow-esque scope, before UFOs arrive to end the world. Werd!
Spirit Speedlife (Hammer 9)
Spirit is definitely at the top of his game these days, and while the latest from Inneractive retains his trademark ultra-cool crisp breaks and haunting atmospheres, he’s definitely displaying a new sense of urgency that lifts these bits into something potent and powerful. Twisted beats, chest-trembling basslines and an almost infectious energy make this one of those rare releases worth buying on sight.
Infekto vs. Will Power Don’t Rush Me
Since his debut cut on Passenger, Finland’s Infekto has been causing quite the stir in the nu-skool scene. With everyone from Gilles Peterson to London Elektricity wanting a piece of the action, it’s no wonder Aquasky pushed through this follow-up single ASAP. Good for us, because it’s nothing short of straight dancefloor mayhem. With his mastery of warping hooks, playful beats and bone-crushing basslines, this cat is here to stay.
Gridlok Under the Knife
Oakland’s own Gridlok continues to spread the disease, dropping a pair of hallucinogenic bits designed to set the dancefloor dreamers on fire. “Under the Knife” stands out as the top cut, centered on heavy-duty atmosphere that slowly evolves into the full-blown beast at the core. Partygoers best look out for the drop, because that bass will suck the air right out the room. Big tune!
Various Nowe:Lle
What we have here is a failure to communicate. With Nowe:le, the microscopic Vivo label pulls off a gutsy heist of the Clicks & Cuts template, uniting artists from Poland, Japan and the United States under one pseudo-experimental banner. Dime-a-dozen digital effects abound here, but Texas’s Yume brightens things up with some inspired use of wind chimes as both percussive and harmonic instruments. Like too much computer-made music these days, Nowe:le plays like nothing more than middle-of-the-road esotericism, proferring seemingly aimless, unfinished pieces. Where’s the love?
