| #594 |
|
2002 |
Perilous 594 So Boards of Canada’s long awaited Geogaddi turns out to be rather excellent. Although each individual track on its own is not particularly remarkable, it’s the overall effect of the album as a single listen that makes it so worthwhile. Yes, it is almost exactly what you’d expect and the lo-fi production values and that sound of a worn out cassette still prevails but this works to its advantage rather than its detriment. Another top release from Warp, a label whose year yet again looks bright with a new Squrepusher one-sided 12” which is more in the vein of My Red Hot Car, semi-garage mutiliation also out, and what should be an amazing new album from NY hip hop experimentalists Anti Pop Consortium due in a few weeks. Also looking good is the forthcoming release schedule from Anticon and Mush. First up there’s the debut ‘proper’ release from Sage Francis due in early April. Having won numerous MC battles and taken out Skribble Jam, Sage Francis has been releasing CDR after CDR of tracks and the best of these have been distilled down to a single album of relationship raps for Anticon called Personal Journals. Keep an ear open for his withering attack on the ‘war on terrorism’ on his contribution, Makeshift Patriot, to the latest Stealth Magazine CD also. This is preceded by the new cLOUDDEAD 10” on Mush and another un-hip hop side project from DoseOne and Jel titled Subtle, both of which should be around right now. On a more electro tip there is the Skanfrom compilation Hand Picked Fragments which brings together a set of tracks previously available only on limited 7”s and the like on his own label ADSR. Hand Picked Fragments is out on the Canadian Suction Records, the label run by Solvent, another early 80s electro sounding group. Skanfrom bring all the pop elements of vintage Kraftwerk and run them up against early video game sounds, computer voices etc and unlike, say, DMX Crew or the Breakin’ Records mob, Skanfrom’s tracks have those crystalline atmospherics that inspired those early Detroit artists, bringing a kind of serene melancholy. Twenty tracks in all and crammed into about 50 minutes it comes highly recommended. Last this week is another highly recommended release. The Mutek Festival in Canada has been growing a strong minimal techno scene in Montreal and the latest Force Inc compilation, Montreal Smoked Meat showcases some of the best glitch the city has to offer. Opening with a jerky cut up by Akufen it moves through to Crackhaus, Jetone, Steve Beaupre, alternating clickhouse reminiscent of Herbert to reduced techno. There are some great tracks here and enough variety to keep it more interesting than a lot of what is coming out of Europe in the same vein at the moment. Frigid over the next two weeks brings the Melbournian Mik La Vage complete with his homemade junk instrument Otis (after the lift company) on the 10th with live video from Layla Vardo and then launch of the local book freeNRG combined with the Labrats hip hop project Combat Wombat on the 17th. www.snarl.org Yellow Peril  Goto
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