Articles
2007 Ten Favourite Labels
Backtracking Greg Davis
Shackleton Interview
Albums
John Luther Adams
Joseph Auer
Commix
Dartriix
Floratone
Furniture
Shuta Hasunuma
Richard Hawley
Hologram
Icarus
Kiln
Kobol
Labradford
Last Days
M83
Mai
Darren McClure
Near the Parenthesis
David Newlyn
Objekt4
OK Ikumi
Ontayso
Wendel Patrick
Phon°noir
Pocahaunted / Robedoor
Poostosh
Prefuse 73
Quosp
Rapoon
The Retail Sectors
Skull Disco
Socos
Supersilent
Tigrics
Trentemøller
Zuydervelt / Baars / Veld.
Compilations/Mixes
Airport Symphony
Devil in the Detail
Dinky
EXPANSION | contraction
Funckarma
Little Darla v. 25
One Five Zero
Playgroup / Alter Ego
Signal Path
Soul Jazz Singles
U-cover Mix 03 [IDM]
Ricardo Villalobos
We Are All Cotton-Hearted
Well Deep
3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Basic Unit
Bodycode
Kit Clayton & Sutekh
Dartriix
Ditch
INKlings
Insanic4
Lackluster
Najem Sworb
Ontayso
Sutekh
The Tamborines
Telafonica
Zainetica
Najem Sworb: Hyrdrocarbon EP
Ai Records
Ai's recent focus has been more EP releases than full-lengths and, while there's nothing necessarily objectionable about that, a release like Najem Sworb's Hydrocarbon is so solid, it makes one desperately crave a fuller, album-length presentation. Currently Strasbourg-based, the French DJ/composer cites Maurizio, Autechre, and Carl Craig as key influences but the EP's material sounds more like a totally focused Vladislav Delay collaborating with Deepchord on a half-hour of concise cuts.
Sworb's material inhabits an immersive zone that obviously has more in common with Basic Channel-Chain Reaction than Minus, and nowhere is that more clearly heard than in the closing “Teranidian” where billowing washes threaten to consume the rumbling, bass-heavy beats. The title track establishes its deep vibe immediately with a brooding mass of rippling chords and Fluxion-styled techno beats. In “Not Only,” multi-layers of vaporous emissions execute churning paradiddles while a swinging tech-house groove moves the colossus forward, while “Verladcre” opens in stripped-down mode but quickly grows into a cyclone of billowing haze, thrumming beats, and stuttering synth streams. Thoroughly tantalizing.December 2007