To anyone who wants to give Radiohead's "Amnesiac" the prize for mostdisparate, disconnected release of the century: "The Limits of Paintingand Poetry" has it by a longshot. This, the second release by The PilotShips, follows their brilliant 1997 debut album. It's familiarterritory for the Ships, as nothing here is really very shocking from asonic palette perspective. What's interesting is the variation of songstructure and instrumentation. It's as though, at times, the Shipscannot decide what kind of music they want to make. Piano starts thesong, but then it's interrupted by processed and delayed guitar. Andwhat is that buzzing, exactly? "The Limits..." is an amazing release,however, as each song, as disconnected as it is from every other on theCD, is a full and complete listening experience. For the most part it'scinematic in tone -- this release could easily be the soundtrack to afine movie about the dissolution of human relationships or the decay ofthe land around us -- and the combination of unrelated sounds is a joyto minnow through and pick apart. Listening to this release onheadphones is a special treat. A song like "Knotted," for instance, hasso many sounds present that when one appears, randomly, and is thennever heard again, you have to rewind the track and make sure it wasn'ta noise outside your window or in your room. Then the static fadesdirectly in to "Sides," the next track, but it's changed, somehow. Afascinating listen, and no one who hears it can honestly justify whyit's taken this long to release.
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I'm awake already! Kate Mosh is a new alias for the twenty somethingGerman producer best known as Panacea. "Dynamo" is the debut releasefrom Killer Pimp, one of two new labels (the other being Turbo Pimp)under the Brainwashed umbrella. K-Pimp's motto states "There is no suchthing as love, only varying levels of obsession". Kate Mosh is obsessedwith overdrive. Most everything is intentionally in the red: synths,samples and beats for over 73 minutes of dance floor hardcore. Apounding thud is the rapid heartbeat of most tracks as layers ofelectronics blister and peel on the surface. Part 1 of "Crawford'sTheme" drops the beat for ambient noise while part 2 dabbles in drum 'nbass. "The Fire This Time" injects some explosive hip hop attitude. Theaptly titled "Manic" dances with synth notes and an onslaught ofrhythm. And for "Across the Universe" (no, not a Beatles cover as faras I can tell), "Kate Mosh", "Genesis", "Solar Death" and the titletrack, think dramatic rave techno dipped in white noise. Alec Empirewishes he was having this much fun. Next from Killer Pimp is a fulllength CD version of Noise Girl's "Discopathology"
Jirku's third full-lenth release is the second for Alien8's newSubsctractif label. Much like Tied and Tickled Trio [see below], Jirkuhas chosen this round to focus on less songs, developing them more.(Thank you! In the end, it's quality, not quantity that matters.)Immaterial is four 10+ minute songs, with a strong laptop glitcheryfoundation, completed with a healthy amount of field recordings and dubeffects. Track one, "Meson," is the score to a late night robbery scenein a dark, frightening future, while track two, "Gluon," could easilyunderline a night on the operating table drifting between consciousnessand unconsciousness. "Baryon," track three is an explicitlypornographic seduction from a space alien and track four, "Pion," Icleaned out the tub basin and hung a new shower curtain to. All fourtracks take their patient time to develop and skillfully ease into thenext, while the final ends with a calm rain storm which subliminallyand skillfully morphs into a seemingly endless stream of white noise.Jirku is young still, but he is showing a much more mature approach tocomposition and structure. 60 second samples hardly do this discjustice.
This album is the auditory equivilent to a free vacation or perhaps thesoundtrack to the afterglow of an exceptionally good lay. The 3rdfull-length from Laptop wiz-boy Fennesz finds him taking time out ofhis busy schedule of collaborations and multimedia orchestrations tofinally bring us a follow-up to "Hotel Paral.lel". Consisting of amagical assortment of clicks, heavily processed guitar strummings, andPita-esque distorted strings, it is surprisingly upbeat compared tomost of the Mego camp. It's very detailed, as you would expect fromFennesz, but also contains many freeform/pseudorandom evolvingelements, digitally tweaked for maximum ecstasy. Simple melodiesreverberate and repeat while detached particles of sound swirl and buzzin a fog around them creating dense, yet listenable structures. 
The Latest from John Hughes III under the Slicker incarnate is anothermilestone for him, with zesty electronics accompanied by thick low-endgrooves, continuously evolving songs and sprinklings of organic Chicagopost-jazz instrumentality. There's never a dull second over the courseof 51 minutes, as the sources, programs, tempos and feel varies fromtrack to track. From punchy techno "jams" to low-cool dub grooves,Hughes is a master at the mix. Additional contributors on the discinclude pianist/saxophonist Christopher Case, vibe player Rick Embach,drummer Kevin Duneman and a mysterious guest samplist named Mat Mos.Hmmmm,... Somebody's got a lot of great friends! =) Hughes hasadmirably embraced some of the best aspects of the 'Scarlet Diva'triumph without alienating the sound for which Slicker is known. Thingswill get confusing when the follow-up gets released as kids will stillbe asking for "The Latest" in the shops. Great f'n album, Hughes, sillytitle!
After last year's stunning self-titled debut, Fontanelle return in 2001with this EP of songs they've recorded over the last three years. Aninteresting line-up featuring three keyboards, two guitarists and twodrummers, Fontanelle create soundscapes that never annoy and alwayschallenge the listener. The mixture of live drums with electronicinstruments is not new sonic territory, but listen to the samples andyou'll see that Fontanelle does it like no other band. Sounds arewarped, wah-wahed out, meticulously planned and timed, and ingeniouslyexecuted. Or are they? On this release, we're told that this timeFontanelle is showing off their more improvisational side. The resultsare similar to the songs on the first release, as the music was createdat the same time as the debut, for all intents and purposes. However,the debut seems more spacey in nature next to these songs, with thekeyboards being reduced to background orchestral fodder on some tracks.On "F," they're more in the foreground on every song, making theireerie impression felt. The songs are also shorter than those on thedebut, which helps, as they do not grow as monotonous as some on thedebut got after two or three listens. "F" stands up well even afterfive or six, and it leaves you wanting more. If this is truly animprovisation-based release, it bodes well for the next Fontanellefull-length. The band seems to be finding that happy medium between thekeyboards and guitars on "F," and as a listener, you feel this releasesucceeding in ways "Fontanelle" didn't, particularly where the linesbetween the two blur. Stronger melodies emerge, too, making this andexcellent release well worth listening to, for where Fontanelle are,and where you know they're going.
The long-awaited remix CD follow-up to 1998's seminal "Attention: Cats"LP on Reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge has more big names than one wouldthink possible or necessary to stuff on a single CD: Cex, Fennesz,Thurston Moore, Pita, Pimmon, Push Button Objects, Kid606, FarmersManual, and many other lesser-knowns, with even more promised to be onthe upcoming LP release (consisting of, it appears, different tracksfrom the CD). 
It's four a.m. and I haven't slept and have no desire to. My moonshadow accompanies me as I wander through a snow-covered forest. My footsteps leave a muffled reminder that I am still alive. I am not lost but have no idea where I am. Time and Space have given up their eternal battle for dimensional supremacy and have abandoned me. I eventually find my way to cabin that appears to be vacant so I take a respite from my journey and enter. The interior is dark with only a bed and a table, however on the table is a CD by Tor Lundvall entitled The Mist - it has a fascinating cover featuring subtle images of a winter landscape. I put the CD on my walkman and lie down to rest - the music envelops me in a dark desolate mindscape that is hauntingly benign radiating a warm emotional state. I decide to while a way some time by writing about the songs in my journal - here are my observations.
