Kettel - Myam James Part 1 (Sending Orbs)

Reimer Eising, producing under the name of Kettel, is no stranger to the IDM scene. Since 2001, Eising has vigorously released a dozen EPs and nine full length albums on a handful of respectable labels, such as Planet Mu, Neo Ouija, DUB, Merck, Kracfive, and his home label (which he co-runs with his brother, Wouter Eising and Kristian Peters), Sending Orbs. His last album, Myam James Part 1 was originally scheduled to be an EP, but Eising's onslaught of his mind-to-music-stream has borne not one, but two albums in the Myam James series. Based out of Groningen, The Netherlands, Eising is a classically trained musician, growing up playing piano since he was five years old. His love for Bach is clearly evident through complex, mathematical, and harmonic progressions in the acid driven, micro programmed, and organically acoustic pieces. From the album page on Sending Orbs: "Kettel manages to squeeze uplifting, warm, cheerful and enjoyable music out of his kettle and pottery factory, which is sad, melancholic and sensitive at the same time." The tracks on Part 1 are as intelligent as Inteligent Dance Music can be, with excellent production, masterful effect control, and instantly memorable melodies. Towards the end of the album, the track My Dogan (from the album My Dogan, on Sending Orbs [2006]), gets a treatment by Phoenecia. We also get an excellent remix from Secede, of another track, Church. Highly recommended if you like Aphex Twin, The Flashbulb, Jega, Barry Lynn and Wisp.

myspace.com/captainkettel  |  kettelmusic.com
myspace.com/sendingorbs  |  sendingorbs.com

Gescom - A1-D1 (Skam)

Gestalt Communications returns after four years of silence, with two 12"s on Skam. The same release is repackaged into a mini white album with a clear sticker announcing in Braille its abbreviated name. The rest is just bar code and catalog number. The six tracks contain chopped up, effed up, transposed and twisted samples from classics like the 1978 disco, Space Dust, by Galactic Force Band; the 1994 acid track Downfall by Armando; 1993 ambient piece by David Byrne and Brian Eno, Come With Us; and a Chicago house track, No Way Back, from 1986 by Adonis. As always, the true identity behind the Gescom collective remain unknown, and we can only guess at the names of the usual suspects. Of course, Skam does not shed any light on the obscured artists either. What we can extract from this release is that it's as dirty, mental, and sick acid flashback as we could possibly anticipate. Whether Sean Booth or Rob Brown were involved, we can only presume, but will never know. What we can be sure of, is that A1-D1 sounds nothing like the 2008 album by Autechre, Quaristice. Perhaps Russel Haswell or Rob Hall had another hand at this. But since Gescom (aka, friends of Autechre) is a project of almost twenty different people, the digging and guessing is a moot point. Ignore the mystery and enjoy the release if you like abstract IDM by the above mentioned names plus AFX, The Tuss, Lego Feet, Jega, Clark, and Mr. 76ix. And I really dig A1.

skam.co.uk | myspace.com/gescomskam

Boxcutter - Glyphic (Planet Mu)

With the music community intensely micro focused on dubstep, it seems that everyone except me has thrown up Burial on the pedestal of their 2007 charts. Glyphic, however, tends to careen away from the mundane dark moods and breathes fresh elements into a spotlight style. The experience in production and techniques behind the album clearly shows Barry Lynn's artistry as he incorporates complex jazzy grooves, deep rumbling (and properly EQed) bass, and the detailed dubbed out breaks, with every track on an album offering a unique experience. Producing from Northern Ireland's Lurgan, this is Lynn's second LP on Planet Mu, which immediately falls into my category of intelligent listening music [hmm... perhaps this is my queue to trademark a new acronym]. Lynn is one of the artists who will propel the development of the genre, continuously exploring innovative approaches and push the envelope of its evolution well after the others have exhausted the winning formula. Watch this one. Favorite tracks: Foxy and Fieldtrip.

myspace.com/barrylynnmusic