PREFUSE 73 & THE BOOKS
Prefuse 73 Reads The Books EP
WAP189CD
CDS
Warp Records 2005

Originally scheduled as a teaser for his recent Surrounded By Silence album, this eagerly awaited collaboration between Scott Herren, in his Prefuse 73 guise, and folk experimentalists The Books is finally seeing the light of day.

While high-profile records have firmly set the Prefuse 73 brand in motion and raised Scott Herren’s profile to the rank of genius, The Books have consistently expended on the sample-infused broken folk template of their chaotic debut album, Thought For Food, released in 2002, first on the stellar The Lemon Of Pink album, and more recently on Lost & Safe.

Prefuse 73 Reads The Books is therefore nothing short of a monumental collision of talents. On first listen, this EP proves a tad disappointing. Articulated around eight tracks, or pages as defined here, including Pagina Dos already featured on Surrounded By Silence, this collection of off-beat pop is firmly set in Books territory and doesn’t appear to leave Herren with much space for manoeuvre. Yet, on closer inspection, the surgical cut’n’paste that as much defines the work of Nick Zammuto and Paul De Jong as that of Herren, establishes a fertile common ground for this collaborative work to flourish. Crafted out of broken beats, sparks of conversations and film dialogues and acoustic instrumentation, the eight vignettes featured here appear to develop from a same point, each telling a particular story. Pagina Ocho, which concludes, also features Claudia Maria Deheza, who provided vocals on two songs on Surrounded By Silence.

As inspiring and captivating as this EP is, it somewhat doesn’t appear as the true melting pot of ideas it promised to be. Herren’s impact on these eight compositions appears disappointedly negligible. Yet, The title of the EP is not innocent. While apparently taking the back sit, Herren cleverly manoeuvres his way through these eight tracks, providing a superb companion to his recent album.

FOUR TET
Sun Drums & Soil Sa Ra Remix
RUG204T / RUG204CD
12” / CDS
Domino Recording Co 2005

Undoubtedly one of the busiest men on the electronic scene at the moment, Kieran Hebden has recently been spotted playing live about everywhere, alone or with legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid, with whom he has also recorded enough material for two albums. This glorious EP is however more than just a tiny reminder that Four Tet has, in between all this, released his fourth album, Everything Ecstatic, only a few weeks ago.

Taking Four Tet’s original Sun Drums & Soil, also included here, and turning it on its head, Sa Ra Creative Partners capture and celebrate the spirit of Four Tet and his flair for jazz hybrid formations, and inject a massive dose of fun and groove to the track in the process. Very much in keeping with Hebden’s overtly extrovert recent album, Sa Ra cram various atmospheric components, rhythmic structures and sonic textures in just over six minutes, hinting in turn at Afro-jazz, electro, hip-hop and soul.

Four Tet’s own take on his original, renamed for the occasion Sun Drums & Gamelan, is more hypnotic with layers of tribal percussions and hyperactive club beats constantly fighting for the spotlight until the rhythmic sections whirlwind ever closer to each other and appear to collide.

This EP provides an opportunity to contemplate Four Tet under slightly different lights. Building on Hebden’s potential, Sa Ra unveil a truly exiting version of Sun Drums, while Hebden’s own version is energised by the more experimental side of his work.

MUSIC A.M.
My City Glittered Like A Breaking Wave
QS163
CDS
Quatermass 2005

Trio formed by Mogwai’s fiddle player Luke Sutherland, Tontraeger’s Volker Bertelmanna and Kreidler mastermind and To Rococo Rot member Stephan Schneider, Music A.M. first appeared toward the end of 2003 with the delicate A Heart And Two Stars album, released on Sub Rosa’s sister label Quatermass. Combining folk and electronic influences in a series of offbeat pop songs, Music A.M. created an interesting soundtrack, rooted as much on German electronic tradition and on British folk and pop.

A year and a half on, Music A.M. return with more airy atmospheric pop. Featuring five songs originally recorded during the A Heart And Two Stars sessions, and consequently reworked by the trio, this EP is more than just a companion to the album, but also reveals a more light-hearted spirit, at least on Mermaid and Elle. On both tracks, electronics and acoustic instruments play hide and seek with each other, giving these composition some interesting substance. Supercharger, I Love You, a reworking of Supercharger, featured on the album, denotes a more refined approach, and is perhaps the more accessible moment of this EP. Don’t Keep Me Waiting So Long, which closes My City… is a subtle and introvert piece, with sumptuous guitar and piano underlay. Stripped down to its bear essential, the track evolves gently from its glitchy opening, with Sutherland soft voice repeating the song title again and again.

With this second release, Music A.M. surely reassert their sonic realm and confidently move forward. While not necessarily letting much know about future developments, Music A.M. propose with My City Glittered Like A Breaking Wave a beautiful collection of reflective songs, build around dense, yet airy, soundscapes.