The Answer Is In The Beat

Christoph de Babalon: 044 (Hilf Dir Selbst​!​) (AD 93, 2021)

November 9, 2021 at 7:02 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Christoph de Babalon perfected the bleak, soulcrushing side of breakcore with his classic first album, and his work from the past decade has taken his signature sound to cinematic heights. This EP obviously sounds more high-definition than the lo-fi early stuff on his debut or the many archival releases that have since appeared, but it’s in the same spirit — unrelenting grimness, no way out, yet not absolutely smothering you with cliched “woe is me, life is a living hell” mopery. His drum programming has honestly never been better, there’s a nuanced jazziness and even a bit of an old-school hip-hop/breakbeat hardcore slap to it, yet this is clearly stretching beyond the confines of any genre. Pure artistry. My heart is full.

James Fella & Gabriella Isaac: CCTK Music LP (Gilgongo, 2021)

November 4, 2021 at 7:44 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

On the first side of this LP, James Fella produces metallic tones with a cymbal and a kalimba, additionally using tape to further deconstruct. Gabriella Isaac processes the sounds and adds additional feedback and effects, and both artists process each other’s output in real time. We hear rumbling electric storm clouds, static spray, and a much clearer patch of rolling kalimba near the end, and it all resembles an intense, supernatural wrestling match using fire and black magic. This material was cut to six stereo reference lacquer discs, and those discs were the source material for a live collage performance. The B-side of the record is a studio recording using the discs, taking the duo’s own interactive noisemaking even further into the realm of the metaphysical. It’s the same sound material, but it hits you from different angles simultaneously, and sounds like more of an attack. Yet there is some structure to it, so that airs out right before it fades away at the end of the side.

Watkins/Peacock: Acid Escape Vol. 3 (Freaks, 2021)

November 3, 2021 at 9:02 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Zachary James Watkins (Black Spirituals) and Ross Peacock (Heaven’s Club) play a hybrid of analog and digital synths for their duo improvisations, and this is their first LP after two tapes and a digital release. Mostly channeling positive vibes, these are joyous explorations which verge on techno but don’t fully lose themselves to the beat. The flowering melodies and anxious drum machine pulsations of “Love” end in rumbling, subliminal bass before the synth blooms up one last time. “Fear” is digital dub with upbeat melodies and crawling tempos, slowly sliding off-balance as it’s becoming more intoxicated. “Hope” has heavier, more insistent beats, yet they still don’t feel like they’re aggressively pounding the floor, and the synths scuttle and sprawl on top of them, poised between a gentle touch and a frantic grab. “The End” is a slow cruise with electrifying sweeps of static and a more undercover, prowling feel. All four of these pieces slip by quickly, and you barely notice how long they stretch out because they’re so engrossing.

FFF: One Tribe EP (Lobster Theremin, 2021)

November 2, 2021 at 8:28 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

FFF used to be known for raggacore and noisy, violent breakcore two decades ago, but there was a definite oldskool rave bent to even his heaviest material. Now he’s easily one of the leaders of the neo-jungle scene, along with peers like Tim Reaper and Coco Bryce, who are also constantly hammering out high-quality atmospheric jungle and breakbeat tracks. This EP is straight-up breakbeat hardcore, filled with ravey riffs, slamming breaks, some acid bits, spacey breakdowns, the works. The title track has the heaviest breaks during its most intense section, but it’s all about the “one vibe, one tribe, deeper than you know, deeper than blood” refrain. “It’s Official” is acid house colliding with rave, and it has scratches, pianos, and rolling basslines. “Weak Capacity” is another winning combination of pitched-up Golden Age rap samples, rolling Amen breaks, and killer bass.

brin: Water Sign (sound as language, 2021)

November 1, 2021 at 7:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

The newest brin album is a whirlpool of samples and instruments, blending threads of sparkling melodies, microscopic percussion, nature recordings, and even children’s laughter until it’s difficult to tell exactly what’s sourced from what. Not quite as amoebic as its cover art suggests, it’s more fine-toothed but still fluid, hitting on shining moments and dwelling on them without hammering them in. Most of the tracks are brief and momentary, but the artist allows “Necklace” to stretch out into a 7-minute sound bath, and “Relaxation (Version)” feels more like a concentrated cloud with some gentle flanging effects, plus a coda of rainfall. What starts out jumbled ends up getting smoothed out and resolved by the end, and there’s something purifying about it.

Skeeter Shelton/Hamid Drake: Sclupperbep LP (Two Rooms Records, 2021)

October 30, 2021 at 12:35 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

As the back cover of the LP explains, Detroit saxophonist Skeeter Shelton and Chicago drummer Hamid Drake found themselves playing an improv gig at Trinosophes in Detroit after Drake’s partner fell sick. It was their first time meeting, letting alone playing together, although both musicians have AACM connections, and everyone who witnessed the performance was blown away. Drake then scheduled a day to drive to Detroit to record with Shelton, and after nine hours of driving due to a snow storm, he just decided to start playing immediately. The two ended up playing for two hours (with a brief pause), improvising as well as playing some of Shelton’s material, which Drake hadn’t heard. The album edits the session to showcase Shelton’s themes and melodies, and it opens with the joyous dance of “We Must Play Music For the Children” (actually written by Shelton’s father, Ajamaru Shelton) and “Attic”. “The Call” starts out reminiscent of the beginning of A Love Supreme, then zooms off into different directions with fractured drumming and angular, zig-zagging sax. “Tru” is a brief interlude of rattling, shaking percussion and mystical flute. After the sprawling, tumbling “Forest Dancer”, “Charles Miles” is significantly cooler and more subdued, calmly striding in the shadows but keeping a kick in its step. The second side lists two tracks, but it all seems to flow as one continuous sound stream, and it feels a bit more detached, unmoored, out in the unknown. Stay plugged in and it does end up bouncing off the walls with vibrant, kinetic energy, only to make a sudden turn towards solemn reflection by the end.

MF Robots: Break the Wall (BBE, 2021)

October 28, 2021 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Jan Kincaid, founder of British acid jazz mainstays Brand New Heavies, and vocalist Dawn Joseph (formerly of BNH) are the driving forces behind MF Robots. The vibrant funk/soul group’s second album is all about bringing people together through the spirit and joy of music, despite all the craziness going on in the world. There’s always going to be layers upon layers of conflict and chaos and tragedy and injustice, and there’s times when it’s necessary to stand up and resist, but there’s also time to celebrate life and remind ourselves why we’re here and what all this is worth persisting for. To that end, the band play their hearts out and sing nothing but uplifting lyrics. The intro catches the band in the middle of a heavy jam session, and there’s a spontaneous energy to their playing on some of the tracks, but they also focus on more polished, radio-friendly sounds, like the disco-pop jam “Crazy Life” and the ’80s boogie R&B of “Good People”. Albums like this can seem a bit too eager to please sometimes, and at almost 70 minutes, there’s a few tracks that can safely be skipped, like “Brand New Day”, which is bubbly and cheerful but a bit cloying. Taken a few songs at a time, though, the band’s music is an effective pick-me-up that goes down easily.