ARTICLE
2006 10 Favourite Labels

ALBUMS
aMute
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Asphalt Jungle
Joseph Auer
Avia Gardner
Tommi Bass
Caural
Cdatakill
Christ.
Conjoint
Contriva
Cursor Minor
DJ Soul Slinger
DJ Wally/DJ Willie Ross
DoF
Electric Penguins
Encre
Flashbulb
Fuckpony
Funckarma
Cedric Gervais
Eglantine Gouzy
Greater Than One
Greg Haines
François Houle
Housemeister
Jan Jelinek
Eleni Karaindrou
Kode9 + Spaceape
Takagi Masakatsu
Mini
Move D
The New Law
Nuuro
Qwel & Meaty Ogre
Rant
Max Richter
Janek Schaefer
Svarte Greiner
Thighpaulsandra
Unwed Sailor
Geoff White
Wilt
Yellow6
Jesse Zubot

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
4 Women No Cry Vol. 2
Analog for Architecture
Assemblage Sessions
Jimmy Van M
King Unique/Nubreed
Monza Club Ibiza
Pop Ambient 2007
Rub-N-Tug
Thankful
The Rorschach Suite

3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Baseheadz
Big Toe
Franco Cangelli
Richard Chartier
Deadbeat/Monolake
Depth Affect
Diebombshelters
DJ Koze
Eltron
Johan Fotmeijer
Hellothisisalex
Mitsuaki Komamura
Múm
Ozka
Seekers Who Are Lovers
Strategy
Tandem 5
Andi Teichmann
The Twilight Sad
Ray Valioso

Jan Jelinek: Tierbeobachtungen
~scape

In which Jan Jelinek plunges further into the hallucinatory vortex of Kosmischer Pitch, last year's homage to early Kraut-rock explorers like Amon Düül. The beat propulsion of Farben and Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records is but a fading memory at this juncture, with Jelinek currently more fixated on psychedelic soundscaping. It's not hard to understand why: his latest music's immersive quality is engrossing, especially when the intensity escalates as it does so commandingly on “A Concert For Television.”

The six pieces on Tierbeobachtungen (Animal Observations) follow a consistent developmental pattern: after beginning unassumingly, a piece gathers energy as it swells in volume and intensity, becoming a hazy slab of slow-moving drift; it eventually reaches a near-breaking point, after which the piece rapidly dissipates and expires; recognizable instrumentation is audible—acoustic guitar, vibes, synthesizer—but Jelinek liberally transforms their natural sounds. After “The Ballad of Soap Und: Die Gema Immt Kontakt Auf” opens with an acoustic marching rhythm ideal for traipsing through the mountainside, dense layers of smeary noise, whistling tones, and blistered distortion accumulate, massing into a lulling drone. Here and elsewhere, the concept is relatively simple, but Jelinek reaps the maximum impact from it. I'd be lying, though, if I said that I find this current phase as satisfying compared to the textural finesse Jelinek realized on Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records and Textstar. Of course, his sound is evolving and so it should but the inimitably unique character of those earlier albums cannot be denied.

December 2006