Eyephone - Reductive

hypnotism was a short lived label which was an offshoot of hyperuim, which tended to focus on electro industrial and "etherreal" dead can dance knock offs. this litte sub label however, had something very special going for it, despite being overshadowed at the time by larger labels like Warp, R & S and GPR. each (and every) release on this label was a quality forray into intelligent dance music. probably most well known for the two atom heart albums (AD and Bitniks) and the andrew lagowski record, nevertheless, there were some hidden gems as well. eyephone had a very short lived career, and only a handful of albums to his credit, with reductive being the first. i felt compelled to review this because as i was listening to it the other day, i felt like this is one of those overlooked classics from a period that was literally overflowing with incredible music. thus, it can be easy to miss titles here and there, and i have always appreciated people who have pointed me in the right direction of many such records. reductive is a very sharp, and precise mix. it can at times draw inevitable comparisions to amber by autechre, or some of the early, mellow, Rather Interesting material (think the mellower tracks from Interactive Music, say) but comparisions always feel a bit out of place, because this is certainly eyephone, through and through, and subtle similarities aside, this doesnt really sound like anything other than what it is: a moody, mid tempo romp with nary a stinker to be found on the whole disc. its pristine material that is worthy of your attention if you gravitate towards anything i have mentioned above, and worth tracking down.