AUTHOR: RAF + VINCE
SUBJECT: I HATE TECHNO
Last month I hated techno. I thought experimental electronic music wasn’t going anywhere and used adjectives like “boring” and “played out” when people mentioned it. I guess that’s what happens when all you do is eat, sleep and shit techno and run a techno record store. But then one day I did something that turned that shit around right quick, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might start feeling the same way. First, get in a car with a bunch of annoying suburban trust-afarians. Then drive seven hours listening to them play the same fucking Phish tape over-and-over-and-over as they talk about how “once, at a Grateful Dead show, and they were like, peaking on acid, they felt Jerry actually levitate them off the ground with his guitar solo.” After that, I swear you’ll be all like “Bring on the fuckin’ Autechre clones!” and “I can’t get enough of this glo-stick show!” With this fresh new outlook on music, I now feel prepared to tackle the tons of new releases that have been piling up on my desk. So, here goes …
The “bastard child of America’s next wave”, Kid 606, has been a very busy boy. If he’s not jet-setting around the world and blowin’ amplifiers at music festivals like SONAR, he’s running a record label (Tigerbeat6), producing, and getting his last album (PS I Love You on mille plateaux) remixed by everyone from Atom Heart to Pan American. His latest offering PS You Love Me (mille plateaux) is chockfull of those very remixes and also some extra new shit. Highlights are the click-housed Farben remix and the deep pounding brilliance of the Rechenzentrum remix. Any of you that thought the Kid was losing his edge on the last album should go out and pick up the latest comp on his own label entitled Tigerbeat6 Inc. True to form, Kid 606 delivers a double cd packed with irreverent schizophonic blendered beats by the likes of Lesser, Twerk, Dat Poltics, Leafcutter John and one of my new favorite artists Blechtum from Blechdom. The bomb tracks here are Gold Chains’ eurotrash electro-pop ditty “Babylon Burn” and Cex’s tune “Furcoat” that opens with a hilarious “experimental techno awards” skit that would even make Prince Paul proud.
The nutters at one of my favorite labels Rephlex are up to their dirty tricks again. This time, on the Universal Indicator 21st Century Megamix, DJ Mike Dred mixes an hour’s worth of classic acid tracks that will bring you back to the days of smiley faces and squelchy 303 lines. Compiled of 21 original acid anthems from back in tha day, this ones strictly for tha headz. Also on Rephlex comes the highly anticipated third and supposedly final album from Bogdan Raczynski. myloveilove (Rephlex) rounds off the Boku Mo Wakuran (Rephlex) and Samurai Math Beats (Rephlex) trilogy without sounding redundant. Gone is the aggro +210 BPM digital assault that was the hallmark of his other albums, replaced now by accordians, acoustic guitars, trumpets, grade school flutes and a voice that’ll make a grown man cry (actually, I think it is a grown man crying). With a minimum of digital tom -foolery, Raczynski drops 17 tracks of gentle, sincere and intimate melodies. Pick that shit up if you just got dumped and your feeling a little weepy. Comforting and creepy at the same time, pray that this isn’t the last you’ll see of Bogdan.
If you’re beyond weepy and more in a dark n’ brooding mood, snatch up the latest from Montreal’s Scott Montieth (aka Deadbeat) whose latest album Primordia (Intr_version) is a dubbed-out cavernous universe of melodies and organic glitch picking up where the Chain Reaction camp left off. After a solid European tour and several dope 12” releases on Background and Revolver, you can be sure you’ll be seeing his name again in the future. Don’t sleep!
Montreal-based Jetone also seems to be representin’ big time for the land of igloos and eskimos. After his debut Autumnumonia for Pitchcadet, and some work for Fat Cat and Tigerbeat6, Jetone drops Ultramarin (Force Inc) and further solidifies his role as a major playa on the international electronic scene. Unlike other experimental artists, Jetone steers clear of the limiting minimal vocabulary and chooses a much larger sonic palette, continuously flipping the script throughout the album without sounding unfocused. Melodic and groovy, he dubs and granulates through 12 tracks of blissful techno and DSP exploration that owes as much to My Bloody Valentine as it does Wolfgang Voigt and Fennesz. Seek it out, this one’s a must. Also on the Force Inc. tip, ex-LFO member Gez Varley returns with Bayou Paradis. Nothing innovative here, just solid minimal ambient Detroit-style techno, perfect for short drives out to the country. On the same tip check out Greek-born Savvas Ysatis’ latest dubbed-out tech house venture Select on Germany’s Tresor label. If you liked Isolee or Luomo, this is just as smooth and groovy. Twerk’s new joint Now I’m Rendered Useless (Force Inc) is solid as well. One of the most talented, yet underappreciated, artists on the Force Inc. roster, he comes through in true form with more of the glitch funk click house we have come to expect from the San Franciscan. Upbeat, funky, and digitally crunchy, if Tron had a house band headed by George Clinton this would be their album.
Finally make sure you book some time off next October 11-21 to head up to Montreal for the FCMM New Media Festival. Confirmed artists so far are: Rechenzentrum, Twerk, Sutekh, Safety Scissors, and Felix Kubin with more to come. Expect a full report next month.
Email: twofoursix@sympatico.ca. Send 12”/CD promos to Electric Independence c/0 Raf + Vince, VICE Magazine, 24 Mount Royal West, Suite 604, Montreal, QC, H2T 2S2.
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