From henrik str0mberg Sent Mon, Sep 13th 1999, 21:06
scanner "lauwarm instrumentals" sulphur on "lauwarm instrumentals" robin rimbaud has almost totally stopped using scanned mobile phone conversations in his music. the result is to the music's advantage, it gives it more focus. and scanner har really grown as a musician on this album. not content to be pigeonholed as an industrial ambient an techno musician, he draws heavily on influences of modern classical music - do i hear steve reich influences on the first track? the stunning "lithia water" contains classical strings, howling guitars and massively phat dark breakbeats. the way scanner on the symphonical "vertical line" puts a very slow rhythmical bassline, to mix different musical genres, evokes strong emotions in the listener and make the album the triumph it is. it's currently battling for my "best album of the year (so far)" award with cabbage boy's excellent "genetically modified". kid loco "blues project" (yellow/eastwest) a minialbum instumental hiphop with blues pretensions, a la dj cam and dj shadow. sampled capitalistically religious americans bring on that southern feel - not in the music, but in the experience of it. even if you can tell the tunes are from 1996 it sounds very good - much better than kid loco's long player of last year. a well motivated re-issue. michael wells presents s.o.l.o. "out is in" (sulphur) micheal wells had (has?) with robin rimbaud a club called the electronic lounge. which is also an exellent description of this album: electronic lounge music - sampled bits of lounge tunes and electronic rhythms. similat to and a development from well's latest signs of chaos-album, "departures". shame i didn't much like "departures". "out is in", though, is likeable (a-little-more-than) background music. even though it contain a porno flick sample (lukewarm). the swarm "forsaken: the music" (no bones) maybe you miss something when you don't, as i don't, play computer games all day long. "forsaken" is a game with apparently a somewhat good soundtrack, and of course the music is now available on regular cd, with remixes by people like t-power, russ gabriel (ferox), bedouin ascent and andy hughes (the orb). the best track is the first track, "pure bitch power", a lovely red snapper-reminicient stomper with mc burglar on ragga vox. the rest of the cd is filled with lite drum'n'bass/techno, pretty nice but not super-impressive. reviews written and translated from swedish by henrik str=F6mberg hs _______________________________________________ the soul is just a waste product that disperses in the atmosphere and jams the tv broadcasts.