From Pietro Sent Fri, Nov 19th 1999, 01:47
I'm sure many of you are aware of the New Zealand based Involve label.. and i'm certain that i've mentioned Aspen's latest material, as well as the teaser 'Involve' compilation which featured Aspen, Jet Jaguar and Patio (combo of Aspen & Jet Jaguar). Jet Jaguar's new self titled full-length comes in a nice digipack with pink on white colors, and a picture (who i assume to be Michael Upton aka Jet Jaguar) on the cover. This release contains a slew of propelling digital experiments intertwined with a hiphop mood, and crunchy electronics along the outer edges. Much of this album spans through its quite moments, and at times stretches the beat- oriented envelope even further than i would have expected. As a whole, Jet Jaguar's latest is a thought provoking ambient-electronics hiphop album that is very smooth in its production value as well. Kudos to another list-member (and who happens to be working on an idm-list remix chain at the moment).. On the other side of the platter, Bevan Smith aka Aspen (& Signer) just supplied a primer cdr which features his deep-techno-dub influences and a few remixes from the 'Are You That Retail Snob?' full-length entitled 'My New Building'. Operating under the Signer guise, 'Giving It Up To Feel Effected' is the title for this release, and is packed with razor sharp techno, gurgling basslines, microscopic quirks and head twitching highhats. Lot's of Plastikman styled electronics with minimal techno much in line with Basic Channel material. Thoroughly enjoyable with subtle dub elements splashed in the voids of electronic debris. 'My New Building' contains new remixes and tracks by Aspen that follow a similar equation as compared to 'Are You That..' full-length. Digital trickery and an atmospheric backdrop of inducing melodies. It's always a great experience to hear new music that sculpts your thoughts in a coherent and often creative format. Involve not only creates a platform for this type of music to thrive in, it is a prime example of where electronics will (and should) eventually head. An Involve website will be up in early 2000, so you can contact Bevan (label head) at the following address for more details: xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx Pietro. ___________________________________________ p i e t r o d a s a c c o a u d i o - n i m b u s 9745 lynngrove cr, windsor, ontario, n8r 1b8, canada http://www.rain.org/~audio/grooves/ grooves experimental electronics music mag