From GD Sent Wed, Nov 5th 1997, 03:23
From GD Sent Wed, Nov 5th 1997, 03:23
Got in this 10-track demo CD (+2 bonus unlisted tunes) last week from our very own Kent Williams and it's good shit. The general style of the tracks ranges from a Squarepusher stylee (but with more of an inclination towards techno as opposed to jazz), to somewhat funky techno. A fair number of the breaks used on the tracks start and stop rather than carry a constant rhythm, which gives most tunes a nice jagged feel to them. Here's the play-by-play: 3rd Eye - Muted/reverbed amen breaks underpin a nice piano/string/synth bass melodies. Chair Crusher - Collab. w/Rob Williams. A distorted synth/Clavichord line cuts a swathe through piles of shattered and tweaked beats. Gig1 - Floating piano, xylophone, and string bits drift among the wreckage of splintered beats. The programming has an AFX-ish sensibility to it, what with the breaks coming at you from all angles in the form of laser blasts, maraca hits, and other distorted percussion. Sweatbox1 - Collab. w/Mike Dvorkin. Arpeggioed synth line, clanky percussion, and shuffling snares keep this track moving along, interweaving eliptical patterns of rhythm. TbTest - Bleepy techno number with a "woofing" synth bass line and a bit of syncopated percussion to go with the fotf kick. Sweatbox2 - Collab. w/Mike Dvorkin. Highhats on the backbeats and steady kicks keep the time as bits and pieces of twisted/filtered synths wind in and and out of the mix. Lucas - My favorite on the whole disc because the melody's really pretty and the superb programming fits it perfectly. Kicks into a nice squawky synth bass part halfway through. Somewhat in the vein of Aphex Twin's recent "Flim" track. Inbox - Techno in a BDP sorta way, but with the snare and percussion programming following more of a quirky breakbeat sensibility. Bleepy synth lines follow the rhythmic progressions while a muted synth sweep works its way through the background. Photoshopped - Collab. w/Ian Williams. Monk-style piano motif starts this off while beat-box drill-n-bass programming occupies the foreground. A well arranged track - it slows down nicely at several points and pauses for synth melody refreshment before continuing with free jazz piano riffs. The Wrong Trousers - Collab. w/Mike Dvorking. Filtered drum'n'bass breaks shuffle along while deep bass lines peep in and out. Low-res samples of what sounds like Homer Simpson come in from time to time. All in all a very enjoyable and well-produced demo. Check out the Real Audio samples of some of the tunes at http://soli.inav.net/~kent or mail Kent Williams at xxxx@xxxx.xxx for details on getting a copy. GD