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Top 10 Recent Articles Shop at Squidco The Squid's Ear Presents Chris Abrahams (of The Necks) Solo and Trio Erik Friedlander Maldoror (Brassland) Mochipet Randbient Works 2002 (btrendy records) Satanicpornocultshop Anorexia Gas Balloon (Sonore) Darrell Katz The Death of Simone Weil (Innova) The Wild Man’s Band The Darkest River (Ninth World Music) John Zorn 50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 1: Masada String Trio (Tzadik) Derek Bailey Poetry and Playing (Paratactile) US Maple Purple on time. (Drag City) Revolutionary Ensemble The Psyche (Mutable) Stan Tracey Evan Parker Suspensions and Anticipations (psi) Milton Babbitt/Morton Feldman Septet But Equal/Fourplay/Instruments I/Three Clarinets and Piano (CP2) Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band Dichotomy (Ozit Morpheus Records) The Jeff Kaiser Ockodektet 13 Themes for a Triskadekaphobic (pfMENTUM) people band 1968 (Emanem) Mount Washington Mount Washington (Reify Records) R. Stevie Moore Nevertheless Optimistic (Innova) Jacqueline Humbert Chanteuse (Lovely Music) psi - Black American Flag(Evolving Ear); Ernesto Diaz-Infante/Chris Forsyth - as is stated…before known (Evolving Ear); Chris Forsyth/Chris Heenan - Chris Forsyth/Chris Heenan(Reify); Terry Hall & Mushtaq The Hour of Two Lights (Astralwerks)
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Mochipet Randbient Works 2002 (btrendy records)
Mochipet's Randbient Works 2002 is a fun and wacky exploration of a wide array of electronic (and non) genres. While the album as a whole feels a bit like Squarepusher on speed, longtime fans of breakbeat (circa 1992) will enjoy this excursion into the past. The album is interesting in that it plays double duty as an introduction into the world of laptop music making while being a unique illustration of using the sounds of the past with present-day production. The tracks are accessible, the melodies are catchy and the samples don't stray too far away from the familiar. "Adventures of Flamenco Boy," for example, plays on Flamenco guitar riffs and a variety of breakbeat patterns, a la Sonz of a Loop de Loop Era, but the production and technological benefit from the many years passed: the production quality is high and polished, the finer percussive sounds are articulate and clean, and the synthesizers have a much greater variety of sound and warmth. One can't help but enjoy the battle between the appealing violin melody strung throughout "Doboro" and the bordering-on-obnoxious percussion. Mochipet definitely has a sense of humor with his music and enjoys wildly contrasting sounds thrown against each other. The huge variety of samples and sounds he has at his fingertips, which makes for an entertaining ride through each track. But he has a penchant for pretty melodies, something that many laptop musicians miss but which gives his compositions a somewhat consistent theme. Still, some of the pieces are simplistic compared to the other albums in the same genre. The idea behind "Dessert Search for Techno Baklava," for instance, is inspired and enjoyable, but he uses what sounds like pre-set samples in a Roland JP8080. Randbient Works 2002 is indeed random (as the title perhaps suggests) and shows off Mochipet's skills and creativity. It would make any long-distance drive fun; just watch the speedometer. It's an enjoyable compilation of fun and spirited tracks. Those who find the genre foreign may be entertained by this album, but fans of Squarepusher and Photek may be left with a craving for more experimental sounds and consistent composition. - Vanessa Wang
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