ARTICLES
2006 Top 10s and 20s
2006 Artist Picks

ALBUMS
17 Pictures
Angina P
Ateleia
Benni Hemm Hemm
The Boats
Cappablack
Celer
Dead Letters Dead Words
Deceptikon
Deerhunter
Denzel + Huhn
Displayaz
Dollboy
Drone
Eluvium
Emanuele Errante
The Eternals
Fear Falls Burning
Marcus Fjellström
Fonoda
Funkstörung
Goldfrapp
Gyroscope
Robert Henke
James Holden
The Idealist
Anders Ilar
Landing
LCD Soundsystem
Library Tapes
L Pierre
Lullatone
Tor Lundvall
Mad EP
Mahogany
Melodium
Mem1
Daisuke Miyatani
Mole Harness
Momus
Monoceros
Mormo
Mothboy
Original Hamster
Pierson & Horton
Prince Valium
Radical Face
Retail Sectors / Yaporigami
Rylander & Elggren
Scott Solter Plays PIM
Sideshow
Silicone Soul
Skream
Splinters
Mark Templeton
Thread Pulls
T. Raumschmiere
Tycho
Ultre
Virculum
Xela

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
AudioArt 03
Cumulous
Dubstep Allstars Vol. 4
Eriksen / Toft / Utarm
Katapult VA Vol. 3
Let's Lazertag Sometime
Mr Geoffrey & JD Franzke
Skagen / Halvorsen / Toft
Tectonic Plates

3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Gabriel Ananda
Robert Bardini
DAT Politics
Dead Letters / R. Sundin
Dogmixer
Benjamin Fehr
Fenin
HL
I Make This Sound
Zoë Irvine
Kyriakides and Moor
Lamont & 2tall
Ljud. & Piloten / Kama Aina
Jacob London
Sam Mcqueen
Miskate
Ryo Miyashita & Hiiragi_
[nara]
New Faces
Of / Greg Davis
Charlemagne Palestine
Phon.o vs Litwinenko
Portable
PostPrior
Samarah
Nicholas Sauser & Ditch
Someone Else
Hannes Teichmann
Tractile
Andy Vaz

IMAGES
F.S. Blumm

HL: Takuma
No Ground Processes

HL (Hurra caine Landcrash) is an alias used by Dan Hopkins who issues music on his own noground-r label, typically in the form of petite 3-inch discs. Takuma is no exception although, in this case, the 20-minute audio CD is accompanied by a DVD containing a 10-minute video entitled Fields That Speak that was also created by Hopkins .

The CD is named after Takuma Sato, a Formula One racing driver apparently renowned for “chaotic performances and spectacular mistakes.” You'd be wrong, however, to assume that the four tracks mimic the high-speed attack of a race car—quite the opposite: Hopkins' settings are uniformly lulling, even plodding, dronescapes filled with echoing Rhodes tones, ghostly guitar ambiance, noise textures, and voice micro-edits. The shuffling beat pattern that introduces the fourth song feels incongruous though its ominous synth sputter and obsessive voice-over gradually align it more naturally to the opening three.

What sounds rather sketchy on CD assumes more significance when paired with the DVD footage, despite the visuals' relatively static character. An affectionate portrait of the Somerset Levels, the peaceful locale where Hopkins grew up, Fields That Speak depicts the natural movements of the land elements (slow-moving cloud formations, tree branches, windswept fields) accompanied by music from the CD (the film can be previewed at http://www.myspace.com/landcrash).

January 2007