From Philip Sherburne Sent Mon, Mar 22nd 1999, 17:47
From Philip Sherburne Sent Mon, Mar 22nd 1999, 17:47
i don't recall seeing much discussion about the Wunder lp on here. it's been out for several months, so perhaps i missed the initial mentions of it. but i just picked it up over the weekend and i want to recommend it to anyone that may have missed out on it at first. it's produced by Jorg (aka Saucer) of Karaoke Kalk. it differs quite a bit from the rest of the KK output in that it's largely sample-based. long fluid vocal lines, mellow breaks -- the gentlest plunderphonics imaginable. it's almost like a cologne take on dj shadow (kinda sorta). it's very refreshing to me to hear something that's getting away from the "Amber"-era sound of so much IDM -- in fact, there's not a single crunchy beat on it -- and doesn't resort to wistful, plaintive synth-pad melodies (like so much of the nu-IDM like funkstorung). and yet it's so incredibly warm and, i'm tempted to say, genuine. highly, highly recommended. there's a review up (by sean cooper) with audio samples at www.urbansounds.com. in a different vein, i received a promo of the upcoming We album, the Square Root of Negative One, and i've got to give an early nod to this one. they set themselves a bit of a challenge, putting out such a great first album, at a time when very few north americans were producing experimental drum'n'bass, and then waiting a couple of years for the followup (for the record, i wasn't at all impressed by the dj tools 12"). but they've certainly done it again. about half the album seems to follow the junglist tendencies of As Is, with even sharper breaks and heavier basslines this time out. there are a few drony ambient tracks, too, for good measure -- but the real pleasure, at least for me, is the increased dub influence on this one (and all dub-heads out there should check out the We remix of... oh, shit, i've forgotten, a chicago-ish indie rock band... anyone?). they're still working wonders with back-masked guitar lines and uneven tunings. and on top of all that, there's a bizarrely boards of canada-like patina to at least one track, probably due to the sample of a stammering child's voice. anyway. intelligent illibent? something like that. recommended. philip sherburne