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

Sideshow: Sideshow
Aus Music

Ninja Tune's Fink (Fin Greenall) conceived of Sideshow as a dance music vehicle as well as a departure from NT's turntable-heavy vibe. The self-titled set, a collection of new and previously-issued vinyl cuts alongside five remixes, has as much if not more to do with dub and bluesy soul than it does techno or house (even song titles like “Philly Soundworks” suggest as much)—not that there's anything wrong with that. The style is established at the outset in “Music For You” where Fender Rhodes, electric guitar, and female vocalizing sculpt languor rather than propulsion. The deep tech-house pulse in “Scary Biscuits” slams assertively while cowbell, handclaps, and a snaking bass line bring a slinky disco-soul feel to “Philly Soundworks.” Apparently inspired by a rendering of “You've Changed” by pianist Keith Jarrett, “You've Changed Dub” surprises with a fiery bass-and-drum attack that starts jazzily before morphing into a deep skank. The dubby treatment of Bhalobashi's “Mike Monday” impresses too.

Sideshow exudes an appealing live feel, as if the album was assembled from loose jams that were recorded unbeknownst to the musicians presiding. But such looseness has a downside. The album's not forceful enough and too often sounds too much like sleek background music. The ultra-tight funk pulse of “Polar Bear Dub” oozes incredible promise, but the song's ultimately a missed opportunity: rather than the track intensifying and building with dramatic tension, it coasts and then fades; likewise, “The Slide” may be elegant minimal house but it's also so chilled it verges on uneventful. This leaves ample room for the remixers to trump the originals, and sure enough My My's Lee Jones gives “Philly Soundworks” an intense house throb that surpasses the original, Mathew Jonson boosts “The Slide” with a 10-minute trance-house makeover, John Tejada brings his customary finesse to a synth-heavy “Scary Biscuits” mix, and Jesse Rose elevates “Philly Soundworks” with an infectious house strut. Tellingly, the remixes are significantly more than mere add-ons.

January 2007

This review also appears in Grooves.