Electric Independence

AUTHOR: RAF + VINCE
SUBJECT: NEW YORK Along with a shiny new office in Brooklyn, Warp records re-releases a classic Richard James album Surfing on Sine Waves (Warp). It’s newly remastered with two extra tracks, so if you’re all like, “Ha ha! I already got it when it first came out!” I’d be all like “Well it’s got two extra tracks!” and you’d be all like “doh!” To top it all off Warp has cooked up several more wicked releases to take your hard earned music dollar. One is a new album from one of my favorite artists Scott Herren. After hearing some wicked organic/electronic shit from this guy as Delarosa + Asora and Savath + Savalas it seems like the guy could do no wrong. Now under the name Prefuse 73 his Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives (Warp) doesn’t disappoint as he reconstructs hip hop into something instantly likeable but with enough programming flair to keep the headz interested. Nothing totally new mind you, but still very wicked. Also new on Warp is the latest outing from ex-Black Dog members Ed Hanley and Andy Turner a.k.a. Plaid. At 19 tracks, Double Figure (Warp) is quite a marathon listen but there are some serious gems like the opener “Eyen” as well as “Zamami.” With this fifth release Plaid continue to take pages from techno past, present, and future and make little paper planes that sometimes land serenely on ambient pads and sometimes go down in a firey funky-break ridden heap of energy. For those who like their breaks a little more on the methamphetamine/crack side there’s the latest opus from Squarepusher. Go Plastic (Warp) is less rave than Big Loada (Warp) and less jazz than Music is One Rotted Note (Warp) and equal parts dub, drill n’ bass, west coast hip hop, and just plain sampler buggery. His signature sped up apache breaks are still there, but this time they’re accompanied by some of the most moodiest and melodic layers I’ve ever heard from Mr. Jenkinson. What can I say, this guy knows his fuckin’ shit. The two-step workout of the lead single “My Red Hot Car” will definitely find some play with some of the more daring DJs out there while Greenways Trajectory is guaranteed to blow minds and speakers alike. NYC is also home to Carpark, a young label quickly establishing itself as a musical force to be reckoned with. With the release of Supermogadon (Carpark) the 3rd cd by Marumari (my favorite artist on the label), Carpark’s rep grows stronger by the minute. Chosen to support To Rococo Rot on a US tour, Marumari takes the best of minimal techno, experimental breaks and DSP tomfoolery and drops a playful and engaging record. Speaking of playful, any one who’s into electronic music that’s slightly off center and doesn’t have a solid metal rod shoved way up his ass should pick the latest leaf compilation credited to The Noodles Foundation. The Complete Death of Cool (Leaf) features some familiar faces (Si Begg, Neil Landstrumm, and Jamie Lidell) and some not so familiar (The Buttmasters, Anal Parade, Barry Pseudonym). Mixing a little early Ninja Tune with it’s sampledelic-trixamological funxsploitationary-b-boy-yadda-yadda and a heavy dose of 60s, 70s and 80s exotica, The Noodles Foundation give the whole thing a run through the old digital audio software meatgrinder. Listening to this comp, you get the feeling that their tongues aren’t so much planted in their cheeks, but more firmly between the cheeks of what they call “a stagnant music industry” that is in dire need of a good rimming. Highlights are tracks by “Mou Ars On” (Mouse On Mars?), and “Zygmunt Janowski” as well as

“The Hibiscus Geronimo III Players.” On the more Actuelle tip comes a couple of albums worth checking out. The first is by Monstre a new artist on the Alien 8 roster. Sucre 3 is the music Indonesians would make if they had cheap Casio samplers instead of Gamelans and took waaaay too many hits of the brown acid. Definitely check it out. Fresh off a Japanese tour and a

Labradford/Surfers of Romantica 12” remix the group known as ENE release their Power is Burning album on new label Arms vs. Legs out of (you guessed it) New York. Based on their live shows, ENE use raw loops as a foundation while layering improvised organic tones and moods with an arsenal of acoustic and electronic instruments. Loose in feel, the tracks sway back and forth like ODB after too many colt 45s. It’s moody and groovy in a Warp vs. Kranky vs. King Tubby kinda way.

One album that seems to be getting continuous play on my discman is the latest album from Phoenecia: Brownout (Schematic). Perhaps the freshestthing to come out of Miami since a certain husband and wife duo known as Emilio and Gloria Estefan decided to create a certain musical tour de force known as The Miami Sound Machine, Phoenecia seem to make a break with their musical past and drop a hypnotic and heady album. Brownout combines the subtlety of Plastikman with the microscopic laptop gymnastics that would launch many a bald head from their respective black turtlenecks. Simply a must.

New shit to look forward too soon: Ovuca, Neotropic, and the long awaited re-release of Beth Edison’s Artemio album.

Email: twosixfour@sympatico.ca. Send 12”/CD promos to Electric Independence c/o Raf + Vince, VICE Magazine, 24 Mount Royal West, Suite 500, Montreal, QC, H2T 2S2, Canada.

HERBERT’S TOP TEN SAMPLING IDEAS:

Herbert is making another record and, once again, he’s sampling all kinds of shit that people send him from all over the world. This time, in order to make his next record he wants you to send him anything that’s broken. To help you out he’s taken some photos to give you an idea of stuff he samples himself (remember, this is the guy whose first sample ever was farting into a mic):

1 VICE

2 cigarette butts

3 paper rolls

4 shoes

5 pop can

6 tape gun

7 water

8 books

9 copy machine

10 people that interview you

Please send Herbert recordings of anything broken on any format, except MP3, to: Accidental Records, P.O. Box 24953,

London, SE23 3GS, England.