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

Eliot Lipp: Steele Street Scraps
Hefty

Memo to Hefty: Maybe including a word like ‘scraps' in album titles isn't such a great idea, if, that is, you want to avoid suggesting that a given release is a collection of leftovers. Some of Steele Street Scraps EP slips easily into that category, specifically half-minute fragments (“Gangsta Shit,” “Moog”) that feel like sketches Lipp could develop into finished tracks. His half-hour follow-up to the splendid synths & beats phantasmagoria Tacoma Mockingbird also features two remixes: John Hughes' Slicker-styled makeover of “Tic Tac,” which offers an appealingly laid-back jazz-funk spin on Lipp's superior original, and Hefty label-mate Victor Bermon's “Glasspipe” version which is decent enough but dilutes the original's purposeful flow with hazy digressions.

Luckily for Lipp, there's enough here of value to justify the acquisition. The standout is the opener “Illa Than” where Lipp and Chicago compadre Earmint weave a mesmerizing soul-funk cocktail from a shark-like sub-bass, an oscillating synth siren, voice wails, and a slamming hip-hop break that's worth the price of admission all by itself. At the opposite end, “Harmonix” shows off a gentler side not heard on Tacoma Mockingbird. Some tracks come from the Tacoma Mockingbird sessions and definitely sound like it. With its crisp beats and neon synth layers, “Flashlight” clearly sounds like one candidate while “The Intro” with its Tarkus-styled synth snarl and swinging shuffle groove is likely another. That's no bad thing in these two cases whereas “Next Break,” while fresh enough, sounds a bit too much like a retread for comfort. All told, Lipp fans won't be disappointed by Steele Street Scraps but may not be enthralled either: the crisp beats still sound fabulous but only about half of the EP is essential listening. That ratio pales alongside Tacoma Mockingbird which is totally solid from beginning to end.

November 2006