Wow. There seems to be no end to buried Jamaican treasures. This latest “discovery” from Pressure Sounds is a nicely put-together selection of hard-to-find dub sides from Joe Gibbs’s early productions. The 18 tracks on No Bones feature some of Jamaica’s best session talent, including guitarist Fully Fullwood, riddim twins Sly and Robbie, drummer Horsemouth Wallace, guitarists Tony Chin and Bingy Bunny, and The Skatalites’ sax man Tommy McCook, with Gibbs adding his trademark forcefield sound effects and studio cohort Errol Thompson’s brilliant engineering. The range of styles is all over the place: some cuts, like “Burning Version,” are deep, echoey affairs. Others are more whimsical, like “Informer Version,” which layers effects that make vocalist Joseph Hill sound like he’s singing in the bathtub. In a word: crucial.
Eight Frozen Modules Thought Process Disorder
Juxtaposing sharp-as-nails beat barrages with myriad gurgling, plasticene sounds, Eight Frozen Modules’ Ken Gibson seems to cross the line separating IDM-pop convention and experimental abrasion with every other step on this, his full-length debut. Each track overflows with sound and fury as Gibson chews up and spits out radically de- and-re-formed melodies, grooves, beats and basslines. There are enough fits, starts and hairpin turns to make you reach for the Dramamine, but somehow you’re still aching to continue the journey. Amidst a sea of high-voltage sticks, Gibson leaves you some tasty carrots, such as the title track and the final “Fucj Shif,” spurring you on to plunge once again into the sonic abyss.
Dino Felipe Xanaconversex
Early on, Miami’s Schematic seemed to take its aesthetic and musical cues from Warp, from its Designer’s Republic album covers to Richard Devine’s dense, Autechre-esque beats. However, the most recent addition to the Schematic stable, Dino Felipe, draws inspiration from rather different sources, looking more to Cologne than Sheffield for musical inspiration. Indeed, on the EP Xanaconversex, Felipe’s first release since his promising debut As Flim Toby, the standout tracks-“Slutt Petal (2 crunch)” and “Butterfri”-mix babbling, musique concrete-ish textures with eccentric, skittering beats in a manner that recalls the gurgling, quirky funk of Sonig stalwarts like Mouse on Mars rather than the brutally angular grooves normally associated with Schematic. Outstanding.
Fennesz Field Recordings 1995-2002
A compilation of Fennesz’s past work released in the wake of last year’s masterful Endless Summer, the Austrian guitarist’s paean to ’60s surf culture might seem destined to disappoint. But, thankfully, destiny isn’t everything, and Field Recordings is a first-rate collection of vintage Fennesz in all his hazy, fuzzed out glory. The disc collects unreleased and previously released pieces from various compilations and EPs. And yet, it remains remarkably cohesive even as it plots the disparate points in Fennesz’s musical career, from the relatively early series of “Instrument” 12-inches to his most recent work, a quite glorious remix of Stefan Mathieu’s “Codeine.” There’s nary a dud on this excellent retrospective, with the notable exception of “Namewithnohorse” from Ash International’s Krev X, which-unexpectedly-goes nowhere fast.
Various Artists Strewth!
In the past few years, there has been a slew of excellent electronic music releases from Australian and New Zealand artists, such as Oren Ambarchi, Cray, Philip Samatzis and Rosy Parlane, to name but a few. Strewth! provides further evidence of the wealth of musical innovation occurring Down Under. Contributors include not only the relatively well-known musicians mentioned above, but also lesser-known artists with names like Delire, Zy’zx, Zonk and Squinch. The artists’ music is as singular as their pseudonyms: the compilation verily roils with buzzing, insectine electronics from the outset before settling down with a series of delicate, minimal tracks by Ambarchi, Mike Thomas and Dion Workman (the latter of Sigma Editions and Thela fame). Ace.
Pure Noonbugs
Don’t let the name fool you. While a pseudonym like Pure may conjure images of cloudy ambient etherea or shoegazer guitar pop, the reality is rather different. Pure has a clear affinity for dark, ominous drones of the abrasively spine-tingling variety, comprised of fields of teeming, static-filled electronics. This is Pure’s second full-length release; the first, Low, was a compelling album of slow-moving, minimal drones released on the Dutch imprint Staalplaat. In comparison with its hypnotically spare predecessor, Noonbugs bristles with activity, incorporating a far wider variety of sounds. Unfortunately, in Pure’s case, less is most definitely more. The heavily processed strings, vocals, et cetera serve only as empty and patently uninteresting distractions, making for far less compelling listening than Pure in full-on drone mode.
COH Mort Aux Vaches
This latest installment in Staalplaat’s Mort Aux Vaches series of live recordings spotlights the prodigious talents of Ivan Pavlov a.k.a. COH. Pavlov is one of the lesser-known members of Berlin’s Raster-Noton collective and undoubtedly the most intriguingly idiosyncratic. The set here captures much of the wonder of COH (pronounced “son,” meaning “sleep” in Russian): the primal buzzing electronics, bursts of static and hiss and crackling percussion. Listeners who are already familiar with classic COH records (particularly Mask of Birth) will recognize familiar elements that have been transplanted into an alien territory of buzzes, pops and ringtones. What’s missing in this otherwise engrossing live set-sadly-is COH’s transcendent, gut-rumbling bass. This regrettable skimping on the low-end, however, should not dissuade those enamored of visceral, abstract electronics, as COH is still a force to be reckoned with.
Soulo Switch
Jameson is back in your face, and he’s not messin’ about. “Switch” is a sure-fire steppa’s anthem, dropping serious bass that surges over a Timbaland-style roll. It’s flipped by one of the sickest Soulo 4beat-roller rubs yet. For those who need it tuff.
Benny Ill & Hatcha Highland Spring
This heavyweight Horsepower vs. Big Apple soundclash results in a four-track EP that (aside from the title track) also features the pure vibes of “Crazy Intro”, the depth-charge porno 4beat of “Poison” and the cinematic “Stand Clear.” But watch especially for “Highland Spring” as it drifts out of South London to India, China and back to the Scottish mountains in vibe. Intrigued?
Mark One Tribesman
Manchester’s Darqwan ally maintains the Texture pressure with three dirty bombs. The long-awaited tech-garage of “Turn it Up” finally arrives, backed up by the addictive bad-trip 4beat of “Equalizer” and the soundtrack to the clash of civilizations, “Tribesman.” Mark One is one to watch.
