G-man, Kushti (Swim~)
Ammunition for the anti-electronic music brigade ahoy! This is everything that
those who see no art in the use of technology in music will hate. The first
track of the two on this cd is 23 minutes long, the first ten of which are
filled by a repeating drum loop, occasionally embellished but in the main
sparse. The effect of the loop is to lull you into a mildy hypnotised state,
totally focussed on the beat. All the more sensitive then, to the sudden change
in drum pattern which leaves you hanging at the end of each subsequent bar,
wanting and waiting for the original beat to return. Which it never does,
instead the new beat evolves and mutates in ever more melodic ways, dragging
you into its swirling embrace. It's almost heartbreaking when the track just
stops. The womb-like aural blanket is removed, real life returns with a bang.
"What have i been doing for the last 25 minutes? Jesus, the tea's on fire!" but
wait, calm down, track two has kicked in and it's 33 minutes of bliss...
Note:
I generally try not to read any of the press that comes with a record
until I've listened to it, that way I get a true idea of my
views rather than a mirror image of the promotion department
hype. That goes some way to explaining why I thought the G-man release
was a single, and why the review above talks about just two tracks. In
fact, this is a double LP--on one disc. G-man's minimalist style being
mixed to perfection so that there are never fewer than two tracks
being played simulaneously. Much as the review above shows I enjoyed the
disc, this extra information makes it even more impressive in my view.
Read the rest of Robots & Electronic Brains
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