Jeff Samuel: Awt
Spectral/Ghostly International

Seattle-based Jeff Samuel delectably fuses artful nuance with funky danceability on Awt's meticulously crafted tracks. The intricately layered microhouse of “Moniss” and combustible, trance-inducing “The Zoop” both satisfy, but it's the opening pieces that really impress. The title track's beautifully modulated opening of sparse synth accents, reverberant thwacks, and minimal bass lines gradually deepens into a skipping groove of electronic squawks and spectral flurries, while “Heb.Gbz” sweetens rubbery rhythms with snippety, scissors-like patterns and then peppers them with sparse bleeps, whirrs, and shimmers. Awt ably showcases Samuel's consummate talent for imbuing machine music with sensuality and warmth.

October 2004