Barem: Campo Madness
foundsound

More foundsound splendor, this time the vinyl debut by Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Mauricio Barembuem (aka Barem). Opener “Campoloco” is textbook foundsound, a subtly jacking marriage of slippery voice edits and jittery pulses, with a tightly wound bass skip giving it a slinky and elastic thrust. Istanbul, Turkey-based Onur Özer then remodels the tune into a dark and sleek cruise missile, upping the propulsive ante and bringing it closer, especially in its more locomotive second half, to the Perlon stylings of Dandy Jack and Dimbiman. Flip the disc over and “Cilindro” struts cheekily, kicked along by funky bass burble and jolted to attention by knocking noises Barem slips in between the chopped voices and smeared percussion effects. Merging foundsound invention with Plastikman minimalism, “La Frazada del Tío” brings the trip to an end with a more skeletal though no less scenic route. Though not included on the 12-inch release (available as a digital purchase at various mp3 sites), Fusiphorm's chugging remix of “Cilindro” makes for a natural complement to the vinyl tracks. Campo Madness hardly rewrites the foundsound template but label fans will be anything but disappointed.

September 2006