ARTICLES
Ten Questions: Fat Jon
MUTEK 2006
ALBUMS
65daysofstatic
A Cloud Mireya
Ambarchi and Ng
Another Elec. Musician
Derek Bailey
Band Ane
Barzin
Black Gold 360
The Blow
Boduf Songs
Childs
Darc Mind
Dosh
Duopandamix
Fat Jon & Styrofoam
Liam Gillick
Shuta Hasunuma
Tim Hecker
Ilkae
Jack's Son
Richard Jäverling
Jazzkammer
Junior Boys
Last Days
Hanno Leichtmann
Luomo
Mandelbrot Set
Mountaineer
N.Phect & Dizplay
Part Timer
Karsten Pflum
Benoît Pioulard
Plus Device
+/- {Plus/Minus}
Relay
Saroos
Seht
Shedding
So Percussion
Sybarite
Trio Vopá
Marshall Watson
Weather Report
Donato Wharton
Christopher Willits
Xela
COMPILATIONS/MIXES
ESL Remixed
Four Tet
Garnier & Craig
Ginglik Saturdays
Michael Mayer
Henrik Schwarz
3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Colleen
Delano and Xpansul
Detritus
Ed Devane
Eskimo
Feathers
Goldmund
Ezekiel Honig/Graphic
Ezekiel Honig
Eliot Lipp
Robert Lippok
Alejandro Lopez
Evan Marc
Porter & Carr
Sebastian Russell
Somone Else
Spaceships & Pings
SplitEP3
Simon Whetham
VA: SplitEP3
Ai Records
Ai Records continues its output of ultra-refined electronic music-making with SplitEP3, the third chapter in its split series vinyl project. Shifting gears from the two-artist format, the disc features familiar (FZV, Jacen Solo, Sinner DC, Michael Manning) and new artists on what's more a 40-minute mini-album than EP. The collection nicely showcases the label's range, from pulsating beat physics and clickety techno-funk to orchestral mood music and vocodered blissouts.
On the tougher tip, FZV's opener “ARC_B-REEDIT,” a querulously brooding excursion into spectral electronics and rough-edged beat crunch, upholds the high standard of Richard Herbert's 2004 full-length Precedent while Yerk's future-techno cut “Pursuit” weaves hammerhead breaks and ornate synth filigrees into an aggressive Blade Runner-type vibe. At the opposite end of the spectrum, simulated strings weep over a candle-lit base of piano ruminations and electronic flickers in Blodyn Tatws' (Geraint Francon) lovely “Brand” before the set cools down delectably in Michael Manning's angelically wistful “Flytothemoon.” Somewhere in between lie Jacen Solo (Doug Adamson), whose “Shake Remix” stirs subtle hits of acid into slippery techno pulses, Jensen Sportag's “Just A Part Of Me,” a juggle of skipping electro-shuffles and vocodered singing, and Sinner DC's “Northbeach,” a staccato fusion of wordless shudders and combustible simmer. As per usual, the run's limited—500 copies on standard black and 150 on blue vinyl—so be quick.November 2006