From fix8 Sent Tue, Mar 16th 1999, 10:05
Cari Lekebusch - Precious Moments (DIUPL Sweden) Swedish producer Cari Lekebusch is renowned for his prolific output of hard, primarily percussive techno. While I was aware that he has produced some house records, I hadnt been exposed to them and this 12" came as somewhat of a shock. A very pleasant shock. While the Diupl logo resembles very closely the logo of Lekebusch's primary imprint hybrid, the shades of purple and the picture of a scantily clad waif suggest important differences in style: a more delicate, slower, melodic and vocal loop based approach. One Moment begins at melodic techno pace with a purpose maker like indistinguishable vocal loop. The sparse (by lekebuschian standards) percussion and loop is slowly joined by new layers of vocals, the occsional cow bell and muted clap. The piece really begins to groove (yes groove!) with the addition of a short bassline and the melodic content composed of low octave, long drawn out notes and echoing chords. The track is remarkable for its restraint and slow build. Snackan - contains some of the same samples as 'One Moment' and a similar organic melody, barely audible vocal textures, and intricate percussion. The B side of the 12" takes things in a slightly more abstract direction. Wipe Your Tears - Distorted and filtered vocal samples echo amongst the mid-tempo techno beats. A vocodered (in an extreme sense not in a quaint cher sense) sample of some-one singing 'Wipe the tears from your eyes' provides the main melody and focal point of the track, backed by synths and chords. Again - consists of another vocodered lyric loop, chord and synth melodies delicate 4/4 snares and the occasional bass beat. Throughout the 12" Lekebusch crafts sounds, effects and textures to create the sense of gentle sadness and a subtle funk. This unusual blend makes for an intriguing and moving listening experience.