From david turgeon Sent Tue, Aug 3rd 1999, 18:46
From david turgeon Sent Tue, Aug 3rd 1999, 18:46
v/a _ischemic folks_ cd schematic, u.s. 01. [phoenecia] 02. [richard devine] 03. [push button objects] 04. [gliese] 05. (jeswa's wet majestic) [metic] 06. [richard devine] 07. [phoenecia] 08. [phoenecia] 09. [push button objects] 10. [gliese] 11. [richard devine] 12. screwy music pt.02 [david kristian] how strange is that? of all of autechre's albums, the one which really shaped american idm as it happens nowadays is the only one that's not available domestically, _chiastic slide_ - an album which also happens to be autechre's coldest, as well as the closest to purely academic music. does that say something? i wouldn't dare answering that. though, it seems like the message is going the other way as well: a recent twelve-incher on skam by push button objects entitled _a day in a life_, & persistent rumors that richard devine is preparing something for warp (not to count phoenecia's own warp ep, _randa roomet_) tend to have most believe that _this_ is indeed what the rest of the world may now acknowledge as american bedroom electronics. so, on to the music: the opener, a very fine phoenecia track (more complex than other things i've heard from them) provides the introduction: expect angular beatstry supporting very little melody. although that does its job in giving the compilation its theorical bases - & schematic being phoenecia's offspring, it's only natural they should be giving the directions - it's richard devine's first contribution which gives it its statement of purpose. his track is an immediate ear-catcher, perhaps the most melodically upbeat - so to speak - of the whole set. but you'll know if you like _ischemic folks_ or not by the third song, a percussive exploration by aforementioned push button objects. by then the compilation takes on a much more experimentative flavor: beats are deconstructed & glued back together in utterly complicated ways, amalgamae are made out of shick-shicks, krr-prts & other ppfr-bkk-bvvs. but finding exotic sounds is only being halfway there; the schematic crew makes a constant point of building their untitled compositions into the most abstract structures. & even though said compositions don't always make absolute sense, it isn't noodling, in the sense that a chain reaction song isn't noodling. perhaps actually this is one major discovery from the schematic camp: that beats being part of what we understand as musical structure, they can be complex & obscure at will without passing for merely random - _any_ beat will do just right. or perhaps that's just an unconscious continuation of the ill-fated genre that is drill n bass, except all the while coining a completely new sense to the word breakbeat. but nevermind the obscurity - schematic as a label is slowly achieving a status in the u.s. akin to the likes of skam & musik aus strom, with every release being cherished by every idm trainspotter as if godsent, & the sound spreads: those who have heard the most recent full-lengthers by proem (_burn plate no.1_, hydrant, u.s.) & jake mandell (excellent _parallel processes_, worm interface, u.k.) know that there's more than one use to the cut-&-paste-&-dsp trick. & the exercise doesn't have to be painful for your head, either. _ischemic folks_ contains many enjoyable moments for the casual listener; track 5 from metic (a jeswa remix), track 10 from gliese, & especially track 9 from push button objects, to only name (number?) a few, are really more soothing than aggressive. as a whole, however, if you don't know the schematic sound when you first encounter this album, be prepared for a shock; it comes after a leap forward. -- david