A taste of Rio served Manhattan supper-club style, Arto Lindsay’s sleepy vocals and seductive beats take David Byrne’s formula and run…er, saunter with it.
Babbletron
Instrumentally sparse, lyrically thick head-nodders that — while decidedly unpretentious — exude the confidence of b-boys who know they’ll be around for a while.
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Magnus
Distant vocals served over cool techno and coupled with solid funk basslines and snappy guitars bring an old-school (circa 1994?) vibe to today’s dancefloor.
!!! (chk chk chk)
Post-punk disco dub replete with bongos and sleigh bells. Nothing new about the concept, but the execution sure is fresh.
Anna Oxygen
Bouncy, new wave stream-of-consciousness — as catchy as it is fleeting.
Thavius Beck
Collages of stuttering breaks and swirling samples, along with extended doses of “spoken word” culled from the underbelly of American pop culture. A potentially played-out formula turned downright entrancing.
TRS-80
I keep thinking CLOADM “donkey”…sorry. I actually played a Donkey Kong clone on my TRS-80, loaded from cassette. These tracks are much better than Donkey Kong; reminiscent of DJ Shadow’s work with UNKLE.
Sixtoo
Halifax’s art-hop pioneer evolves his doomsday mic checks into full-blown audio armageddon (see “Storm Clouds & Silver Lining”) for his Ninja Tune debut.
Four Tet
The “As Serious As Your Life” B-sides come in all flavors: Jay Dee and Guilty Simpson capitalize on the original’s funky underpinnings with b-boy savoir faire while the live version pushes the limits of both RAM and patience.
The Earl
Percolating jazzy breaks and clever cuts served up hot on a steaming bed of vocals. Recommended for fans of DJ Format.