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Laurent Garnier - Tales Of A Kleptomaniac - 31-Aug-09 07:58 AM
I have regarded Laurent Garnier as one of the best DJs in the world for about the past 15 years. There are very few other DJs who have been able to acheive such a level of success while playing such an eclectic selection of music. As a producer Laurent has always tried to incorporate his love of diverse musics into his long players with the exception of 'Shot in the dark' which was a straight up house album.

I can't think of a single other producer out there that could build elements of Techno, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Drum n Bass and IDM into a single album and make it sound cohesive but 'Tales of a Kleptomaniac' acheives just that. The level of production is outstanding with so much depth and movement in every track. He has also managed to avoid any of the cliches of the moment. The techno is anything but minimal. The Drum n Bass combines hard, floor-rocking noisyness with jazzy undertones. The Hip-Hop brings funky French rhymes into the mix.

The disc also include a link to 'Opendisc' and a whole other album of music which shows the other side of Laurent's music. Soundtracks, Post-Rock style experimentation. Head music that defies categorisation. There is a certain sleazy, sexed up vibe that is near to his 'Cloud Making Machine' album.

It is also interesting to hear that Laurent sees his true fans as the ones that go out and buy the CD as opposed to downloading. I couldn't agree more. Pay that bit extra and support musicians!

This is Laurent's most fully realised album. One of the very best releases of 2009 in any genre.

Move D / Namlook - Move D / Namlook XVIII: Sexoid - 22-Jun-09 02:08 PM
It really is amazing that despite these guys prolific work rate they continue to produce albums of such an amazingly high standard. I have followed Move D since the mid nineties but have always found Namlook's work hit and miss so I'm a recent convert to this collaboration.

Sexoid moves from the gentle rise and fall of ambient textures to warm deep house grooves, shimmering techno, strumming middle eastern strings and filtered vocal experimentation before it arrives at a stunning apex with 'Retro Future' which is one of the most soulful and life affirming pieces of music I have heard in years.

On the strength of this release I have already bought the 4 most recent Namlook / Move D albums and all are outstanding but Sexoid will take some beating. These CD's do not come cheap and the 'dts' CD does not play on my stereo but when this music is good money is no object. Outstanding.

Joris Voorn - Balance 014 - 05-Apr-09 01:36 PM
It has been a few years now since Richie Hawtin dropped his first DE9 mix which represented a significant step forward for the art of DJing. Taking loops and samples from dozens of tracks and creating something entirely now from the result. You might say that Voorn has done the same but there is one big difference - variety.

Whereas the tracks on Hawtin's mix were almost entirely culled from minimal Techno artists, Voorn takes in Basic Channel, warm IDM, Tech-House, Detroit, Club Techno, Ambient, Soulful House, Wonky and even appearances from Goldie and Radiohead. To take tracks from so many influences and to come up with something this cohesive and engaging was nothing short of genius. Each newly composed 'track' is typically made up of anything between 1 and 8 other tracks showing a dizzying amount of intricacy and intuitative understanding of the kind of elements that can work together in the right hands. He is not afraid to drop in beatless, string laden segments amongst the flowing, constantly evolving grooves. In fact, balance, this the right word for this mix becuase it covers so many different moods without any overstaying their welcome.

Sure, this is a technical masterpiece but more importantly it's a musical one too.

Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.2 - 07-Feb-09 10:06 AM
Make no mistake this record is a landmark release in the history of electronic music. At times I have felt that many of the releases on Mille Plateau and now Raster-Noton have been experimental at the expense of being musical. When electronic music looses any sembelence of soul it ceases to be music. That is why this release it so important.

Volume 1 took samples and reduced them into a sea of fizzes, spray and static. It sounded totally unique. An otherworldly soundscape of expansive electonic sound. Volume 2 reaches further. Here an unpredictable widescreen journey with many twists and turns unfolds. At times impossibly dense layers of fuzz and static put you at the centre of a vast electonic storm but before long you reach the eye of the storm. The music becomes spacious, warm, comforting. This release has more soul, depth and innovation going on than anything I have heard in a very long time.

I understand that this is only the second in a series of 5 Xerrox releases - that makes me very happy! Stunning contemporary music.

Robert Hood - Deep Concentration: The Grey Area Mix - 31-Dec-08 07:50 AM
This ultra limited mix from Robert Hood, all signed by the man himself, is the finest Techno mix CD I have heard since Francois K's 'Masterpiece'. The fact that there is no track listing only adds to the mistique but I recognised tracks by Patrick Pulsinger, Richie Hawtin and Rob himself. Pretty much the full spectrum of club techno is covered. From Basic Channel to stripped down, locked groove minimalism and a couple of cutting edge vocal tracks. Hopefully this will be the first in a series of mixes on M-Plant - keep your ears peeled!

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