Electric Independence

Even though the hottest Now Wave acts like Fischerspooner and Chicks On Speed are being praised for re-injecting fun into electronic music, some of the best live shit I’ve seen recently wasn’t performed by humans at all. The User is a Montreal duo made up of architect Thomas McIntosh and composer Emmanuel Badan. Their latest opus, Symphony #2 for Dot Matrix Printers, is one of the sickest things I’ve seen/heard in a long time. Imagine a dozen old-school printers programmed to make some of the funkiest minimal techno this side of Cologne! To those sad bastards who didn’t catch the live performance, don’t fret. New York’s Asphodel label is releasing the symphony on CD. Shit is so funky it gives Brinkmann a run for his money!

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n electro, Ersatz continues its dominance with two new shit- hot releases. Ever since the UK’s DMX Krew dropped the ’80s genre-hopping masterpiece We Are DMX on Rephlex three years ago, Ed DMX has fully represented all things neon with bomb releases on Turbo, Ghostly, Gigolo, and his own ruffer electro-acid-techno-bass label Breakin’ Records. With his new Ersatz 12”, “Touch Me,” Ed rocks the vocalized synth-pop sound, moving from the upbeat robo-rock of the title track to the Depeche Mode-ish dark wave of “Soul Miner.” Also keep an eye out for his 21st-century booty bass releases under the MPC Trax moniker. Massive! Responsible for one of the best tracks on the Ersatz Misery Loves Company comp a few months back, newcomer Goudron finally gets a proper release with the Horses & Chariots EP. This Detroit native has been rocking live since 1996, and with his angular synth lines and tuff-ass bass beats, he’s a welcome addition to the Ersatz family. Speaking of electro, the Little Computer Person himself—Anthony Rother—is back with a brand-new full-length, Hacker, on Psi49net. After wowing headz with the playful lo-fi electro-funk-pop of his Little Computer People releases, this German producer is moving toward a more brooding and futuristic sound. Rother combines his signature punchy beats with ill atmospherics and quasi-industrial vocals (complete with German raps). It sounds like a future world where Giorgio Moroder, Mike Oldfield, and Kraftwerk form like Voltron to fight Blade Runner replicants. Although not as catchy as his LCP shit, this album is great for anyone into the darker side of electro. Rephlex has been busy lately with several heavy-hitting releases. First up are the D’Arcangelo brothers. Their new full-length, Broken Toys Corner, sees them mellowed out considerably since their 1999 drill ‘n’ bass epic, Shipwreck (also on Rephlex). But make no mistake—this ain’t cheesy listening trip hop! Expect the same expertly programmed rhythms and glassy melodies, but this time with more laid-back funk. Also flying the Rephlex banner is the latest effort from Transllusion (and sadly, perhaps the last, as James Stinson, a.k.a. Transllusion, passed on in September due to heart complications). Though he made albums for Warp and Clone, this Detroit producer was most recognized for his deep submarinated efforts under the Drexciya moniker, with several releases on seminal German techno label Tresor. With his last album, L.I.F.E., Stinson twisted techno and electro into a beautifully melodic hybrid. It’s an essential release for contemplative listening, and Stinson’s sound will live on forever. You’ll also want to run out and snatch up Mas Confusion, the latest comp from !K7. Switching between tracks culled from the demo bin at Funkstorung’s Musik Aus Strom (MAS) label HQ and unreleased tracks by IDM heavyweights like Lusine Icl, Funckarma, and Funkstorung’s Michael Fakesh, this comp is heady without sounding overly processed or programmed. If you want to turn the “relax” knob to 11, pick up the latest from Japanese wunderkind Susumu Yokota. You may remember him from the massive Grinning Cat album from a few years back. On his latest disc, The Boy and the Tree (Leaf), Yokota continues on the ambitronic tip, lulling the listener into an opiated dreamstate with organic percussive textures and melodic repetition. No wonder Philip Glass is all over his shit!
If you want to crank the “relax” knob until it breaks the fuck off, then make sure to grab Avec Laudenum by Stars of the Lid. Originally released on the obscure Belgian label Sub Rosa two years ago, Avec Laudenum now gets a wider North American release through Chicago art-rock label Kranky (also home to the first three releases by premier avant-rockers Godspeed You Black Emperor!). Avec Laudenum is a haunting exercise in melodic repetition and drone-based layering. Definitely a must for any ambient fan. Finally, after seven years in rare-release limbo, Boards of Canada’s fabled Twoism has been remastered and reissued by Warp Records. First released on their own Music70 label long ago, Twoism is classic Boards: haunting melodies and ghostly analog atmospheres create unsettling and hypnotic moods while solid backbeats get heads bobbing.