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Ten Questions: Manual

Albums
Alejandro & Aeron
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Jeremy Bible
F.S. Blumm
Cadence Weapon
Cataclyst
Cepia
Chloé
Cooler
Disinterested
edIT
Erik Enocksson
For Barry Ray
Ernest Gonzales
Grand National
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Halou
Frode Haltli
Arve Henriksen
Ielasi & Ratti
Jumpel
Lawrence
Lickets
Manual
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My Fun
Marissa Nadler
Prints
Rekalix
Remote_ vs Ontayso
Will Saul
Sixtoo
Small Sails
Songs Of Green Pheasant
Christian Wallumrød
White Rainbow
Xeltrei
Yndi Halda

Compilations / Mixes
Paolo Mojo
Ewan Pearson
VA: 5 Years Get Physical
VA: Monza Vol. 2
VA: U-cover mix 01 [a]
VA: U-cover mix 02 [d]

3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Ateleia
Pier Bucci
Cio D'Or
Cloudland Canyon
Curium
Laurine Frost
Dave Graham
Hakobune
The Infant Cycle
Lerosa
Lullaby Leagure
Mole Harness
Mowbray & Sullivan
Ontayso
School of Seven Bells
Science Teacher
Sleep Robot
Unwed Sailor
VA: Spies & Lies
Rick Wade

Jumpel: Samuel Jason Lies On The Beach
Hidden Shoal

Though Jumpel (Jo Dürbeck) isn't well-known in North America (at least not yet), he's clearly a familiar face in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK where he's played over 400 gigs and issued three albums and seven singles (with EMI Germany). Having initiated his foray into electronic music in 1986 with the acquisition of a Commodore C-64, Dürbeck played keyboards, samples, and loops in the band Bones before striking out on his own. In short, he brings a wealth of musical and life experience to this meticulously crafted debut album. He's clearly mastered the technological challenges involved in merging acoustic and electronic sounds into compositional wholes and does so deftly throughout, without succumbing to excess or self-indulgence.

Dürbeck's electro-acoustic meditations manage to be both minimalistic yet symphonic too. Strings and especially piano form the nucleus of many pieces, though not so often that the album lapses into predictability. The range of sounds is rich, with subtle acoustic and electronic accents of vibes, tremolo guitar shadings, acoustic bass, drum brushes, gravelly voice samples, and occasional field elements augmenting that pristine core. Moods range from dreamily meditative (“Bills Block”) to melancholy (“Rainday”), and styles extend from a slow-motion dirge (“Raum”) to jazz-blues (“Cleo”) and laid-back funk (“When Does J Come”). The peaceful feel of “Inlinked Castle” is belied by the understated hint of dark portent that seeps in when haunted strings appear in a tentative waver, while the elegant piano ruminations at the heart of “No. 5-11” call to mind the elegant music Philip Glass composed for The Hours. Over the course of the album, Dürbeck reveals himself to be something of an obsessive miniaturist, as he packs the maximum amount of detail into each setting, regardless of length. Even so, Samuel Jason Lies On The Beach feels intimate despite its broad spectrum of instrumental colour and occasional cinematic ambiance.

October 2007