SEMANTICA 10.VII Vvaa 2017 Semantica Records [ timeline music | ]

UNO Vvaa 2012 A QuietBump [ electronique ]

THE SILENCE WAS WARM Vvaa 2010 Symbolic Interaction [ textura | freakout | rockerilla | chroniques èlectroniques ]

HEFTY 10 DIGEST+HISTORY IS BUNK - Vvaa 2006 Hefty Records [ basebog | tinymixtapes | thetripwire | soulseduction | orlandoweekly | disc-jockey | billboard | nero mag | justaddnoise | cyclicdefrost | mosoul | fly | krunger | zap! bang! ]

CONDOMINIUM -Vvaa 2004 Mousikelab [ ]

OUTPUT01 - Vvaa 2002 Sintesi Archive [sonomu]

RECYCLING BUZZ - Vvaa 2002 Amanita Records [ skynet ]

IMMEDIATE ACTION - Vvaa 2001 Hefty Records [ periferal |noego ]

TRUTH IS SILENCE -Ep 2017 Substato Rec. [ bunker |seek sick sound |beachsloth |ARTSTYLE TECHNO |]

OCTAGON -Ep 2015 Eklero Rec. [ resident advisor |newnoise |wicked style | igloo mag. |]

DE OCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA Vol.1 -Ep 2015 Semantica [ straylandings | electronique | the new noise |]

IA TUNEIA TUNES#02 -Ep 2006 Hefty Records [ indiework shop | nero mag | liverock ]

IA#9 -Ep 2004 Hefty Records [ grooves ]

ART STYLE TECHNO

Az olasz veterán Techno duó Retina.it  bejelentette soron következ? kislemezük,a  ‘Truth is Silence’ megjelenését. A 4 számos anyag május 12.-én érkezik a Substrato gondozásában. A korai 90-es évek óta aktív duó számos kiadónál jelentetett meg az évtizedek során (Stroboscopic Artefacts, Semantica, Hefty Records, Mousikelab, FlatMate/Störung, Glacial Movements),illetve olyan el?adók társaságában lépett fel mint Kraftwerk, Matmos, Telefon Tel aviv, Plaid, Apparat, Biosphere.

BEACH SLOTH

Paranoid, anxious, and eerie, Retina.it’s “Truth Is Silence” possesses an unusual nimbleness, resulting in a sound akin to sonic ballet. Beats ping and bounce off each other with great regularity. The bass dominates the proceedings yet above this anchoring rhythm are countless counter-rhythms that merge in fantastic, kaleidoscopic ways. Opting for a fleeting nature to many of these patterns nothing remains constant for too long within the evolution of the sound. Such crystal clarity comes from these tracks for the production quality is magnificent with the crisp sound working into the mind.

“Language Of An Inner World” starts the collection off on a high note. Shards of melody work together to create a hesitant, almost glitch-like effect. At times referencing a nearly industrial tinge to the sound, the piece comes together in a graceful, stylish way not beholden to any one genre. Far heavier in temperament is the pounding pace of “How We Learn Reality”. Various tiny details work together to create a rich, all-consuming sound. Rather cryptic is the stately riff of “Word As Sound, Sound As Word”. Within this singular piece Retina.it constantly increases the tension as it churns away into a hypnotic cycle. Easily the highlight of the collection is the closer “Here And Now”. For this song Retina.it lets in a little bit of light as the song possesses a strong sense of purpose as it grows in scope.

SEEK SICK SOUND

[Premiere] Le titre d’introduction du prochain EP de Retina.it sur Substrato

Le duo italien signe le prochain EP chez Substrato : de la dub-techno on ne peut plus prenante

Le duo italien composé de Lino Monaco et Nicola Buono s’est créée une identité propre depuis le milieu des années 90 avec cette approche spécifique cherchant à entremêler synthés analogiques et digitaux. Grands scientifiques de la techno, leurs premières productions ont attiré l’oreille de labels italiens et espagnols tels que Semantica, Flatmate/Storung, ainsi que l’américain Hefty Records. Mais c’est surtout en live qu’ils auront marqué les esprits, notamment pour avoir partagé la scène avec ni plus ni moins que Kraftwerk, Matmos, Plaid ou encore Apparat, et ce sur des festivals prestigieux comme Storung ou Sonar.

Truth in Silence, cinquième sortie pour le label Substrato, couple quatre titres du duo italien qui s’aventurent dans diverses formes, modernes ou non, de la techno actuelle. Nous vous proposons comme aperçu de ce très bon EP le titre d’introduction, « Language of an Inner World ». Avec sa ligne mélodique variable et ses roulements de kicks juxtaposés par-dessus un high-hat léger mais donnant tout son rythme au morceau, ce titre détient une réelle capacité d’envoûtement. Il ouvre aussi la voix aux autres titres de l’EP, tous aussi prenants et tous composés avec cette recherche de cohérence qui caractérise tant le travail de Retina.it.

BUNKER

Substrato Records Announces New EP By Retina.it

Substrato Records, commonly known for its quality in ambient techno, has returned with another release, titled‘Truth is Silence’ by Italian veterans Retina.it. The label’s sonic exploration of earthy elements takes its listeners into a cold, introspective journey for their 5th edition. 

The duo dive into dark rhythmic soundscapes, and open with the finely composed ‘Language of an Inner World’, which is followed by the blend of whirling synths and eerie drones on ‘How We Learn Reality’. On the B side, ‘Word as Sound, Sound as Word’ takes death bell rings and bleeping modulars to create an incredibly immersive and dark track, while ‘Here and Now’ steps back from the traditional 4×4 kick on the rest of the EP and experiments with a more IDM-inspired effort.

The EP as a whole provides a perfect insight into the skilful capabilities of Retina.it, as they lay down textures upon textures, to create immensely moving and exploratory techno tracks, establishing themselves once again as a true force of atmospheric and dark techno.

 

RESIDENT ADVISOR

Over the past few years, Retina.it has taken their sound in a heavier direction. Once known as purveyors of lush IDM and minimal, the Naples-based duo have been switching things up with dark, cerebral productions that explore the fringes of techno. A collaboration with Dadub on Stroboscopic Artefacts in late 2013 first pointed to this updated approach, and last year's two releases of mind-bending, mostly 4/4 music on Semantica, De Occulta Philosophia Vol. 1 and a split EP with Donato Dozzy, seemed to seal the deal.

The duo's Octagon EP, for low-key Roman label Eklero, further embraces abstraction, and the results are compelling. "Reflection In A Symmetric Space" is high-tech broken-beat that thumps, squelches and grinds in a manner redolent of Alva Noto's hard-hitting output. When pitched up, it should work well for those seeking some clinical but confrontational DJ fare. The shorter, more experimental "Cellular Structures" unspools long sequences of syncopated percussion, bubbling bass and heady electronic noise. It's all easy to get lost in and impossible to resist.

On remix duty are Acronym and Ntogn, two Swedes who have each played a role in developing today's deep-techno scene. Acronym flips the mood of "Reflection In A Symmetric Space" with a warm and airy remix that's as straightforward as Octagon gets. Ntogn proves a perfect match for "Cellular Structures." A devoted proponent of rhythmically intricate techno, the Hypnus boss stretches Retina.it's source material into a slithery groove. Like his label's ritualistic output, this one's probably best heard during a romp around a bonfire.

 

NEWNOISE

Infaticabili ed esemplari i Retina.it. Il duo campano torna questa volta in formato 12” grazie alla romana Eklero, dopo la collaborazione con Donato Dozzy per la spagnola Semantica (recuperate l’interessante split trasparente dal titolo Officine Di Efesto) e alcune date in giro per l’Italia, nonché al Tresor di Berlino. Octagon consta di un paio di pezzi inediti sul primo lato, riproposti poi nel secondo in versione remix: il primo di questi è del producer svedese Acronym, che rende il tutto ancor più ritmico ma meno minaccioso rispetto all’originale “Reflection In A Symmetric Space” (take inesorabile, dritta come un palo che non riesci a smuovere), espandendolo fino ai nove minuti di esercizio; il secondo è di Ntogn, che in un certo senso problematizza maggiormente su ritmiche ed atmosfere di “Cellular Structures”, la traccia in origine è disturbata e ritmicamente complessa. I producer, chiamati ad operare sulla materia dei due, non a caso pubblicano proprio per la Eklero, che in pratica mette su una joint-venture per farli conoscere ai più. Su Lino Monaco e Nicola Buono davvero non devo aggiungere altro, se ci leggete da sempre sapete bene di quanto li rispettiamo.

 

WICKE STYLE

I Retina.it – al secolo Lino Monaco e Nicola Buono – sono assoluti veterani, attivi dai primi anni novanta, sempre in bilico fra techno e scene più sperimentali. Adesso su Eklero sfornano due tracce, “Reflection In A Symmetric Space” e “Cellular Structures”, original mix il primo in tonalità 2B e a 120 bpm e l’altro in tonalità 6A e a 130 battute al minuto. Le sonorità sono molto sintetiche e iterate nel primo caso, più cupe, urticanti e fratturate nell’altro, mentre nei remix Acronym è più sognante – seppure ancora scuro e molto astratto e cinematico – seguito dal più sinuoso Ntogen, ipnotico e allucinato, infine il nostro preferito del cespo per originalità e coinvolgimento. Le technoheadz amanti delle sonorità più concettuali ma crude sapranno sicuramente apprezzare.

 

IGLOO MAGAZINE

Dialling up .it, Retina.it, in fact, we find the Naples-based duo via Rome’s Eklero. They’ve been switching things up lately with dark cerebral productions at the edges of techno—an SA collab with Dadub, and a Semantica brace—De Occulta Philosophia Vol. 1 and a split with Donato Dozzy. The Octagon EP further embraces abstraction—with compelling results. “Reflection In A Symmetric Space” is high-tech broken-beat that thumps, squelches and grinds. The more experimental “Cellular Structures” unspools long sequences of synco-percussion, bubbling bass and heady electronic noise. Northern Electronics ace, Acronym, flips the mood of “Reflection In A Symmetric Space” with a warm and airy remix that’s as straightforward as Octagon gets. A devotee of rhythmically intricate techno, Hypnus overlord Ntogn proves a match for “Cellular Structures,” stretching source material into a slithery neo-ritual romp.

 

Straylandings

Retina.IT have had a strange relationship with the public. Never been a true household name yet not completely estranged from the spotlight either, the novel nature of their work has earned them slots alongside the likes of Kraftwerk and even an appearance on MTV. But their presence in recent years seems to have evaded the public eye, and the duo are long overdue for commemoration.
Since the infancy of the project in the mid-90s, Retina.IT have grounded their work in analogue hardware. This gives their sound a rich, sturdy quality, but there is also a clear ‘live’ kind of feel to it as well. You can hear each composition unfold at a natural, organic pace. Take ‘Logos’, for example, with its proliferating layers of fractal patterns. Or the corporeal hums of the EP’s finale, ’Aesculapius Dreams’.
Let’s take a step back for a moment to admire the audacious title of this EP: The Occult Philosophy. What on earth could this refer to? The spirit of their musical ethos? The transcendental nature of music itself? The sound itself does have something inexplicable about it. The synths feel familiar and recognisable, and yet the grooves are unmistakably modern. Indeed, for all their linkages to the past, Retina.IT remain a contemporary outfit. Their last EP, ops_ci was available on cassette - which has become an ironic emblem of stylistic modernity in 2015. The EP also has clear nods to Rrose, Demdike Stare and the Stroboscopic cohort, who also seem fixated on occult aesthetics.
What we have here is not a relic from the past but something from pioneering musicians with years of practice under their belt. The most important thing is that they are still looking for ways to mess with our expectations.

Electronique

I Retina.it approdano sulla Semantica Records con De Occulta Philosophia Vol.1, EP che racchiude quattro brani techno dalla pasta ruvida. Allontanandosi in parte dalle astratte inclinazioni sperimentali che contraddistinguono il loro progetto musicale sin dagli albori, le tracce presenti in questo nuovo disco sprigionano vibrazioni oscure molto decise, esprimendo per certi versi quella che è l’essenza subliminale e penetrante della techno odierna. Come consuetudine, ogni atto del duo campano nasce dal virtuoso rapporto tra menti genialoidi e hardware roventi, ma in questo caso qualità e incisività degli elementi sonori spiccano sulla metrica.

‘Melancholic Daimon’, connubio sinergico tra elementi distorti e risonanti, trova il suo punto cardine in una baseline roboante che ben avvicenda il susseguirsi di chord metallici e synth spaziali distanti come piccoli satelliti nello spazio più remoto: una sequenza aspra che stenta ad arrestare il suo moto perpetuo. Allo stesso modo, i seguenti tre brani fanno perno su linee di basso costanti, differendo, invece, nei vari innesti sonori che li caratterizzano: proprio la seconda composizione, ‘Psicopomp’, ci proietta in una dimensione più calda e organica, nonostante l’ambiente sia denso di oscurità. Distorsioni e materia grezza aprono, invece, il lato B con ‘Logos’: tra mitragliate raw e cambi di ritmo improvvisi, qui la tensione è alta, una vera iniezione di adrenalina. In ultimo, ‘Aesculapius Dreams’, saturo di delay e riverberi ariosi, ci riflette in un viaggio ipnotico che lascia respiro e decomprime l’atmosfera.

Quest’ultimo lavoro dei Retina.it nasce da impulsi cupi e molto profondi, presentandosi come sublimazione di un ‘essere’ tetro e misterioso, per l’appunto occulto. Magia nera, esoterismo, misticità: diverse le fasi che si riflettono in questo viaggio, tutte volte alla ricerca di una spiritualità che sembra perduta. Un punto chiaro però c’è: i due artisti riescono a trasmettere ed esprimere significato anche attraverso sonorità riconoscibili e familiari, segno di solida esperienza tra i sintetizzatori e consapevolezza dei propri obiettivi.

The New Noise

Torna il duo pompeiano con questo nuovo 12” per la spagnola Semantica Records (uscite per Vladislav Delay, Surgeon, Abdulla Rashim). È un periodo fecondo per loro, da poco aveva visto la luce la cassetta per Joy De Vivre (Ops_ci), va dunque sottolineato il fatto che i due non stanno mai fermi, hanno ancora quella voglia e quella “urgenza” di guardarsi attorno, di cambiare (e scoprire) nuove prospettive, ed i più attenti se ne sono accorti. Questo De Occulta Philosophia Vol. 1 (ispirato dal celebre testo cinquecentesco di Agrippa von Nettesheim) conferma tutte le peculiarità del loro percorso, anche se pare di avvertire questa volta una voglia di pestare più duro del solito: l’incipit di “Melancolic Daimon” va giù pesante grazie a corpulente virate aero-techno e “Psicopomp” è una marcia inesorabile e minimale verso lidi poco raccomandabili (forse anche qui c’entra la mitologia). Il secondo lato si fa, se possibile, ancora più deciso nei toni: “Logos” è sempre metronomica ed inesorabile allo stesso tempo, mentre “Aesculapius Dreams” è più distopica, poco definibile, sembra una rilettura electro-techno fatta da un marziano. Per l’ennesima volta, Nicola Buono e Lino Monaco hanno fatto un gran bel lavoro.

TIME LINE MUSIC UK

......Then Oscar Mulero ups the tempo again, this track is awesome, its pumping but understated, it kind of reminds me of System 7 Alphawave Plastikman remix, it sounds a bit like the good old days of techno but futuristic at the same time. Retina.it are a duo hailing from Italy, their track Ecate Trigemina starts a bit like the micro sample, minimal wave that came out all those years ago, but it turns into so much more than that. Very clever track, proper intense, hypnotic but with an insistent groove. Very impressed!..........

Electronique

......I Retina.it al solito in fortissima affondano sui bassi in un brano limpido e profondo caratterizzato da piccoli frammenti sonori brillanti e secche bordate di cassa. Sul finale l'ingresso delle risonanze metalliche ne arricchisce ancor di più il tutto..........

Textura

......Comparatively speaking, the activity level heats up a bit more during the second half and the stylistic range broadens too by including drone (Line Spectra's ten-minute interplanetary sojourn “III”), IDM-electronica (Amorph's “Waves,” Maps And Diagrams' “A View From Below,” Set In Sand's “Relax on a Deeper Level”), and even a smattering of dubstep (the wiry funk and beat crunch of Ard Bit's “Tois,” which adds a welcome harder edge to the compilation). With icy winds blowing across its pulsating beats and acidy synthesizer patterns, Retina.it's “We've Seen Things Hit Jupiter Before” lives up to its title; smothered in wind and hiss as well is Yu Miyashita's ambient electronica setting “Telomere Stop.” Standouts include thisquietarmy's (Montreal-based Eric Quach) “Sunday Regenerating,” a beautifully modulated setting of ghostly, guitar-generated ambient-drone drift, and The Hopeless Local Marching Band's guitar-heavy closer “And the Man Cannot Describe Himself.” The Silence Was Warm Vol. 3 will appeal to Symbolic Interaction devotees, of course, but it's also wide-ranging enough to satisfy adventurous listeners of the general kind. One hundred minutes of new material from the Symbolic Interaction camp is always welcome, but never more so than when it's timed to help one survive the icy winter chill.........

FREAKOUT

Un lungo viaggio (doppio CD, ventidue tracce in tutto) attraverso alcune delle più interessanti espressioni dell’elettronica di ricerca contemporanea. E’ così che si presenta questa bella compilation della Symbolic Interaction. Nomi legati al roster dell’etichetta, artisti della scena underground giapponese e non solo, per una raccolta che, pur evidenziando la mancanza di eclatanti novità tra le produzione del genere, si fa ascoltare con estremo piacere.
Impossibile descrivere le singole tracce, ma vanno senz’altro segnalati i dolci ricami sonori di Melodium, gli estatici paesaggi ambient di Taishin Inoue e Hakobune, la malinconia electro-acustica di Talvihorros, il piano struggente di Teruyuki Nobuchika contornato da un leggerissimo pulviscolo elettronico, i field-recordings immersi nei suoni ultra-terreni di Shotahirama, i glitch che s'insinuano nelle austere note di piano nella splendida "Caster" di Konntinent, così come i sinuosi arpeggi di Umin. Le atmosfere sono quanto mai varie: si passa dai drone cupi di Line Spectra alle eplosioni post-rock dei Hopeless Local Marching Band, dai beat acidi di Ard Bit, a quelli “frantumati” di Flotel, fino a quelli dolcissimi di Amorph. Unici italiani presenti, i "nostrani" Retina.it, con la spettacolare "We've Seen Things Hit Jupiter Before", trip spaziale sospeso tra oscillazioni analogiche, pulsazioni digitali e sospiri cosmici. Bon vojage!

ROCKERILLA

CHRONIQUES ELECTRONIQUES

........Le deuxième disque s'ouvre sur F/Re d'un certain Umin, où on pourrait croire en l'impossible rencontre entre la guitare de Manitas De Platas et des sonorités 8-bit. Aucun doute, cette deuxième partie va se révéler définitivement plus électronique. Avant que Maps & Diagrams ne distille une électronica brumeuse, absorbante et racée, le dark ambient III de Line Spectra aurait presque pu faire passer Svarte Greiner ou Lustmord pour de joyeux drilles en goguettes. Si les italiens de Retina.It bidouillent dans de venteux souterrains inhospitaliers (l'excellent We 've Seen Things Hit Jupiter Before), les surprenants Américains de Set In Sand empruntent des voies plus aériennes, plus rassurantes et donc plus pénétrables sur Relax On A Deeper Level. Retenons également le retour du drone et des fields recordings par Thisquietarmy (Sunday Regenerating) et des Waves synthétiques du Belge Amorph qui nous dessine cette fois-ci ce qui pourrait ressembler à un conte nippon................

GROOVES MAG

Continuing the red installment of its diverse Immediate Action 12-inch series, Hefty presents us with a three-way split disc that cross-pollinates genres in the subtlest of manners. Three of the five cuts are from Victor Bermon, an Australian producer who mangles the standard instrumentation of jazz music, squeezing nearly all affect from bass, sax, and drums. The remains are lifeless shells, tools without their masters, memento mori of golden years past. The imagery of film director Werner Herzog comes to mind as dusty loops whirl endlessly like unmanned automobiles and eddy-fettered river rafts.

Pompeii’s Retina.IT contributes a single track on the flip side, similar in structure to the static Bermon pieces, but utilizing an electronic and more deliberately textured sound set. Buzzing drones serve as a backdrop for a muted violin, as various chirps act as foils. Samadha’s “Anonyme” closes out the EP with still more drones, although they play a secondary role to somnolent piano, sax, and acoustic guitar, gently optimistic accompaniment to a foggy Saturday morning.

INDIEWORKSHOP

Being no stranger to the Immediate Action series in its more conventional form, Retina.IT get in on the IA digital releases. Six songs, ranging from danceable IDM fun to spacious atmospheric jams, this Italian duo continue to craft engaging electronica without succumbing to cheap tricks and dated melodies. I'm always up for an electronic album that doesn't rely on restructuring past influences and I'm always a fan of producers who carve out their own warmth and feel. These guys have been in this game for years, and they show with this EP that they still have the chops to out wit more than half of the scene out there today .

NERO Magazine #9

LiveRock

Immediate Action #012 è la quinta uscita a firma Retina.it per la statunitense Hefty, ma se le quattro precedenti collaborazioni avevano la forma di altrettanti 12”, quest’ultima produzione si caratterizza per essere disponibile, già dal mese di marzo ormai, in formato mp3 su iTunes, e, a partire da giugno, come CD Ep.
Il suono del duo partenopeo è decisamente personale e di difficile descrizione, elettronica minimale sempre più intelligente e sempre meno dance, qualcosa di simile a certe produzioni dei Matmos, o dei Mouse On Mars, dove queste rimangono pure indicazioni per il lettore, un tentativo banale per spiegare sommariamente i territori in cui Lino e Nicola si muovono. In questi sei nuovi pezzi sembra prevalere il lato più acido del progetto Retina.it, sia per la scelta dei suoni e delle ambientazioni che per la quasi totale assenza di melodie. Tetsub è lo spettro della techno, una ritmica ridotta all’osso, che suona come un osso, un gommoso loop di basso sintetico, rumori a sfregiare il suono, mentre aperture drone più melodiche svoltano il pezzo verso una soffice cinematicità. Dronizio si muove sullo stesso canovaccio, il ritmo è sgretolato tra i glitch, la cassa è una pulsazione soffocata nel liquido amniotico, un contrappunto di synth disegna ombre acide, qualcosa di non lontano dall’Afx del progetto Analord. Pick si muove ancora su territori i.d.m. con quei synth acidi a ricordare quello che in principio era techno, poi un loop di basso, ritmiche taglienti. Zilencer diventa ossessiva nella sua ripetitività, un drone elettrico fa da sfondo a una ritmica rotolonte e a quelli che sembrano suoni casuali, elettroniche improvvisate e rotte, qualcosa che si spezza tra i beat e nei bit, digitalizzazione casuale di 0 e 1, una versione gentile e aggraziata dei finlandesi Pan Sonic. E infine Oiu, giocattolo finale, melodie elettroniche come messaggi nello/dallo spazio, un senso di analogico, vecchi sequencer, note abbozzate, l’ombra di una melodia. Ora, viene chiedersi spontaneo, a quando il terzo album?

FLY

“History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history that we make today.”
The quote ‘History Is Bunk’ is accredited to Henry Ford (Chicago Tribune, 1916) and what a good title for Hefty Record’s two-part CD set of ‘collaborations, re-interpretations and new compositions’. Hefty is based in Chicago and is to be forever thanked for re-issuing Carlos Niño’s favourite album by Phil Ranelin Vibes From The Tribe.

While this compilation showcases a whole list of artists, Daedelus and Telefon Tel Aviv are probably the most well known. As part of the ‘underground’ scene, these albums act as a reaffirmation of where the label and artists have come from and were they are going to after some fifty releases.

For me, Ranelin’s trombone stands out on his contribution to the Chris Chase track ‘Deluge’ as it’s the closest to a ‘jazz’ track. As a (breakable) rule, the label features mostly electro-downtempo IDM artists. At the far end of that, the best example here of the minimal electronic ambience is the seven and a half minute Ryuichi Sakamoto remix of the Telefon Tel Aviv track ‘Sound In A Dark Room’ and a remix of ‘Axtel’ on Part 2.

Following on from having a track picked for inclusion on the Bass-Ment Classics CD, Dabrye has a remix of a track called ‘Snowbreaker’ on Part 1 which is a fine example of Detroit electronica with a hip-hop attitude. Dabrye was recently interviewed in Hip-Hop Connection about his new album Two/Three which got a top review on Fly.

Other exponents of forward looking experimental electronic music are Slicker (who kick off Part 1 with a fine electro-broke blip-bop instrumental and have a couple of remix tracks included on Part 2), Spanova (‘Absentminded’ is a little downtempo electro dubby jazz track) and Retina.it (particularly liked ‘Anticamera Dei Dubbi’ with its modern Eno/Byrne groove with a touch of No Wave).

Some tracks get a little too close to authentic 80’s electro pop for me but at the other extreme, there’s a track by L’Altra called ‘The Last’ which is a more Rough Trade indie electro with strings (very emotional).

The best of the lot for me is the Daedelus remix of Savath & Savalas (aka Prefuse 73) with ‘Paths In Soft Focus’. Other ones look out for are the ‘Super Group’ of STS9, Slicker and Retina.It on ‘Mackinaw Peeper Division’ and Hefty Cut Up Remix of ‘Outer City Sound’ (Jimmy Edgar).

Hectic Mix Nominations: Part 1 ‘Snowbreaker’ (Dabrye Remix), ‘Deluge’ (Benelli Mix) Chris Case feat. Rich Embach & Phil Ranelin, ‘Paths In Soft Focus’ (Daedelus Wishes You The Best Remix) Savath & Savalas

Part 2: ‘Absentminded’ Spanova, God Bless This Mess, This Test We Pass (Haruomi Hosono Remix) Slicker, ‘Anticamera Dei Dubbi’ Retina.it

Reviewed: V/A - History Is Bunk (Part 1) & (Part 2) (Hefty Records) Cat. No. HEFTY052 & HEFTY053 Release Date: April 2006

BASEBOG

La Hefty continua il suo singolare approccio alle celebrazioni per il suo decimo anniversario con un paio di colpilation, "History Is Bunk" volume 1 e 2. Il lungo sottotilo è "Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Composition", in partica ci invita ad escoltare sotto una luce diversa l'offerta del catalogo dell'etcihetta con base a Chicago. In particolare il volume 2 si appoggia maggiormente sulle novità, sui nuovi artisti su chi la Hefty ha puntato. Spanova, Plus Device, Eliot Lipp, Some Water And Sun, Beneath Autumn Sky e, attenzione... Retina.it. Ci sono inoltre pezzi di Sliker, remix di Hauromi Hosono e Jan Jelinek, Daedelus, Dabrye, Telefon Tel Aviv, Savath & Savalas L'altra, insomma i soliti nomi che apprezziamo da sempre. C'è poco da aggiungere, se apprezzate la Hefty queste due compilation non possono lascirvi indifferenti. Se al contrario non conscete bene l'etichetta quale occasione migliore di questa.

BILLBOARD

Hefty Celebrates 10 With Two Compilations

Chicago indie label Hefty Records will celebrate its 10th birthday via a pair of collections. On April 4, the label will unveil the double-disc set "Hefty 10 Digest," which features a disc of highlights from artists such as Slicker, Telefon Tel Aviv, Euphone, Bill Ding, Ilium, Phil Ranelin and Scott Herren's Savath + Savalas project.

The second disc finds Herren (under his Prefuse 73 moniker) riffing on the mixtape concept by blending previously released tracks with rare versions and remixes by El-P and Savath + Savalas.

On April 25, Hefty will separately release two volumes of the compilation "History Is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Compositions." The first album boasts new music from Slicker and L'Altra plus a Ryuichi Sakamota remix of Telefon Tel Aviv's "Sound in a Dark Room," while the second is highlighted by Jan Jelinek's remix of Samadha's "Anonyme" and new cuts from Spanova and Retina.IT.

Beforehand, Hefty will on March 21 issue a 12-inch vinyl EP featuring one track each from Some Water And Sun, Spanova, Eliot Lipp and Slicker. Various Hefty acts are also planning on touring this year in tandem with anniversary shows in New York, Chicago, Berlin and Los Angeles on dates to be announced.

DISC JOKEY

Tra gli emblemi della 'neue electronica' c'è indubbiamente la Hefty Records di Chicago che non ha mai voluto confinarsi in un preciso settore musicale preferendo esplorare di continuo i meandri della musica prodotta con le macchine. Partendo senza troppe pretese nel 1995, John Hughes (noto come Slicker) è riuscito a fondare una vera e propria 'famiglia' che raduna attorno a sè un numero non esagerato di artisti che però sono riusciti a dimenarsi bene nello sconfinato mercato internazionale della musica.
La continua ricerca di un segmento che si allontanasse il più possibile dalla prevedibilità e serialità ha fatto si che la 'creatura' di Hughes divenisse qualcosa di rispettato e coinvolgente.

Hefty raccoglie consensi col post-rock, idm, down-tempo e jazz-funk dalle venature electroidi in grado di far appassionare anche i più restii. Per festeggiare il decimo compleanno, la label, 'mamma' anche dell'Aestuarium, rilascia un'emblematica raccolta che getta l'occhio al futuro della musica da ascolto.

Nel cd 1, 'Digest', il pfunk sposa il soul, il new jazz, l'acustico e il rumorismo tipico dell'experimental: a rendere possibili questi curiosi incroci sono pezzi come "Fahrenheit Fair Enough" dei Telefon Tel Aviv, "F Ride + Blues" di Savath + Savalas, "Red Blue, Yellow" di Euphone, "Amidha" di Samadha, "Our Lady Of Mistery" dei Retina.it e "Knock Me Down Girl" di Slicker che racchiude in sè echi daftpunkeschi.

"Hefty 10 Digest" ingloba al suo interno anche un secondo cd, 'Hefty Mixtape 10 Years', selezionato da Scott Herren, che raccoglie 21 tracce del catalogo tra cui anche alcuni interessanti unreleased. Tra i tanti "Nokia" di Eliot Lipp, "Agni" dei Retina.it, "Define" di Process, "Sound In A Dark Room" dei Telefon Tel Aviv, "Variokoppler" di T. Raumschmiere ed altri esperimenti dalla bellezza sopraffina firmati da Ilium, Phil Ranelin, Slicker e L'Altra.

In "Hefty 10 Digest" vive l'essenza del sound anticonvenzionale, non indicato alle piste da ballo ma non colpevole di un allontanamento. Perchè la musica si giudica a prescindere dal genere che segue.

JUSTADDNOISE

As somewhat of a companion to the Hefty Digest dual disc we talked about a while back, History Is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Compositions (volumes 1 and 2) continues celebrating 10 years of exceptional musical output by Chicago’s Hefty Records. But as Digest looked back over the past, the HIB series gives a glimpse of the label’s future with remixes of past material, collaborations between Hefty artists and friends as well as new material from the current roster.

Volume 1 kicks off with the experimental but jungly “Russian Icle Slide” by Slicker (label head John Hughes) which sets the stage for next 50 minutes of highlights. The mellow strings and soft boy/girl vocal harmony of L’Altra’s “The Last” are perfectly complimented by the restrained use of electronic bits and downtempo beat that only stays for the middle peak and the final Radiohead-ish eruption towards the end. This is also an early indication of the wide spectrum of sounds that Hefty’s “electronic” music covers. Dabrye’s brand of hip-hop infused into Some Water And Sun’s “Snowbreaker” is completely contrasted by the delicate piano and jazzy horns (over subtle atmospherics) of “Deluge” by Chris Case featuring Rick Embach and Phil Ranelin. “Mackinaw Peeper Division” by Sts9, Slicker and Retina.It combines a folksy guitar loop, bits of keys, random percussion and distortion over a crunchy bass beat to form a strange futuristic freak-folk.

After packing all that and more into the first disc, Volume 2 slows the pace a bit overall beginning with the (nearly ambient at times) downtempo beat and spacey vocals of “Absentminded” by Spanova. But the pace picks back up again immediately afterwards with the new wave-ish danceable “Compose The Beat” by Plus Device and old school hip-hopishness of Eliot Lipp’s “Heat”. Chris Case and Rick Embach return with very subdued keys, tiny blips and chimes over quiet washes of fuzz on “Axtel” that is counter-balanced by the choppy sound design of Retina.It’s “Anticamera Dei Dubbi”.

Both discs blur the dividing lines of dance, experimental, ambient, hip-hop, pop and jazz, and each track in it’s own unique way. If you like it on the faster, harder side, choose volume 1. If you like it softer and smoother, choose volume 2. If you like many flavors of electronics, get both. You won’t be disappointed. History is bunk? Not Hefty’s history, and by the sounds of these, a bunk future isn’t on the horizon either.

Download Some Water And Sun’s Snowbreaker (Dabrye Remix)

ORLANDO WEEKLY

Ten years of experimental electronic music calls for a celebration that shouldn’t be without bottle rockets and Less Than Zero depravity, but a bulky commemorative CD set will do the trick. Chicago-based Hefty Records is celebrating its first decade, and these collections offer a sizable cross-section of what hands-on label head John Hughes is still putting out, as well as the significant contributions on which Hefty has built its prominent reputation. The Prefuse mix tape is a noteworthy bonus, too.

Hefty Digest features message board–burners like Telefon Tel Aviv and Savath + Savalas, but its 16-track spread also sheds light on names like Euphone, Retina.It and Bill Ding, whose “Just a Nick in the Car Door” 7-inch was among the first of the Hefty releases. Boasting three separate and distinct movements, Bill Ding’s multilayered “Bucket of Strawberries” falls fifth in the Hefty Digest lineup. Plucked from their 1997 Trust in God But Tie Up Your Camel album, its bold string-laden middle section, abstract vocal offerings from member/Hefty main man John Hughes, and boisterous cat noises in the background may serve as a comprehensive model of the label’s diverse output.

Scott Herren backs Hefty Digest with a mix tape segment under his Prefuse 73 alias. While it isn’t the kind of mix that’s peddled sidewalk-style, with D-Block exclusives and DJ Clue screaming all over it, Herren’s selections are just as tight, lined with unreleased cuts and outtake numbers. Some Water and Sun’s “Ah Oh” is a lively mesh of jumpy clicks, clipped vocals and scattershot beats, and Herren fittingly pushes it up against “Map of What Is Effortless,” a vast arrangement of atmospheric shuffles and film-score violins. This half is littered with natural blends and laptop madness; if only Herren traveled the mix-tape circuit more frequently.

The two-disc History Is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations, and New Compositions set culls new and old, with remixes of Hefty names and unreleased cuts from Slicker (a Hughes alias) and Eliot Lipp, among others. Brilliant West Coaster Daedelus adds percussive madness to Herren project Savath + Savalas for his “Paths in Soft Focus” remix on Part 1, layering a searing synth melody and a pitched-up vocal sample atop the already quivering structure. Dabrye’s work on Some Water and Sun’s “Snowbreaker” teems with icy, digital keystrokes, working logically alongside the vintage analog patches of Eliot Lipp’s “Hefty Naked Ninja Remix.” The 1970s aesthetic that honey-coated Lipp’s funky Tacoma Mockingbird LP spruces up an impressive batch of new cuts on Part 2, with lovely choral bits in Spanova’s “Absentminded” and jumbled minimal clicks as provided by Retina.It. In spastic portraits and moments of warmth that redden the cheeks, Hefty is aging like a tasty wine.

SOUL SEDUCTION

This essential EP release is LIMITED EDITION of 1,000 for the entire world.
At the tail end of 1995, out of his college dorm bedroom, aspiring musician & label owner JOHN HUGHES released a little album by his band BILL DING, kick-starting HEFTY Records as a fully functioning label, infamous for it's cutting-edge sound & aesthetic detail. Since then, HEFTY has become a respected and critically hailed label (from humble, local label beginnings to international recognition), having launched the careers of best selling, respected artists like SAVATH+SAVALAS (Scott Herren, Prefuse 73, Piano Overlord), TELEFON TEL AVIV, SLICKER (John Hughes), ELIOT LIPP, L'ALTRA, PHIL RANELIN, RETINA.IT, SAMADHA, BENEATH AUTUMN SKY, etc. We are proud to announce that from December 2005 through December 2006, HEFTY Records will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. It's been a wild, adventurous 10 year ride, thus far, and we're excited by what the next decade will bring. Throughout all of 2006, you will see 10th anniversary branding on all of our 2006 releases, heavy promotion/marketing, lots of touring and label showcases in key cities worldwide. To further emphasize the 10th celebration, HEFTY is releasing a string of releases (HEFTY 10 Digest [HEFTY 051], History Is Bunk,Part 1 [HEFTY 052], History Is Bunk,Part 2 [HEFTY 053]) which will highlight the label's past, present and future. The HEFTY 10 EP comprises music from all three 10th-related releases, along with a brand new, exclusive song by HEFTY's buzz-heavy instrumental hip-hop producer ELIOT LIPP. his strong EP also includes a burnin' hip-hop remix by DABRYE (Ghostly International artist) of a SOME WATER AND SUN original song, not to mention a luscious pop number by Japanese electronic pop act SPANOVA and an epic downtempo cut by SLICKER.

THE TRIP WIRE

....... Through the Prefuse 73 Digest 10 mixtape one can see how under-praised the label repertoire has been. The first track, which is part Mondii and part Elliott Lipp, is an exceptional blend of '70s synth-backdrop melody with an eclectic mixture of vocal samples and bouncy, fresh beats. Later burners can be found from Telefon Tel Aviv, Some Water and Sun, Slicker (Hughes' moniker), and in a L'Altra/Phil Ranelin mix of "A Day Between" and "Vibes From The Tribe," respectively. During the History Is Bunk series we see defining moments from an amazing cast of under-the-radar regulars like Lipp and Retina.It, and remixers including Dabrye, Daedelus, Jan Jelinek, Jimmy Edgar, and Ryuichi Sakamoto..........

TINY MIXTAPE

Hefty Records is the decade-young label of Chicago's John Hughes and he shows it off on this double disc anthology, enlisting the aid of Prefuse 73 as curator of the superb bonus material. Hughes started the label in 1995 as a vehicle for releasing his own stuff under the Bill Ding moniker. Since those early 12-inches, he has worked hard to compile an eclectic roster of artists that includes Savath & Savalas, Telefon Tel Aviv, Retina. IT, and a host of his own projects. The label is permeable, progressive, and patient: Hughes listens to every demo that comes his way, personally selecting the artists he will add to a crew whose collaboration and camaraderie he actively encourages. Due to Hughes' diverse tastes, Hefty releases have ranged from scratchy electro-acoustic experiments to Telefon's sophisticated compositions to remixes of jazz trombonist Phil Ranelin.

Disc 1, "Digest," proffers a tasteful, well-paced survey of each of these facets of Hefty's pliant identity, while also allotting time to spare, Germanesque glitch, poppified fusions of jazz and hip hop, and even Chicago post-rock. Generally, compilations and especially label samplers can be frustratingly streaky, but "Digest" serves as both a balanced documentary and a carefully-mixed album whose downtempo groove belies a boldly expressionist push and pull. "Digest" is, song-for-song, a convincing success, worthy of the high rating above; I was pumped to find that Prefuse 73's "Mixtape" confirms and deepens the quality of the first disc.

As usual, Scott Herren has found a way to make a large number of tracks (21) snap together like snake vertebrae, sliding past the listener beneath a sleek, sinister skin. The intriguing coherence of the mix is a testament to the mettle and malleability of the source material, as well as Prefuse's considerable skill as a (re)mixer. Polygonal shards of dance techno are locked in place around cleverly-arranged de- and re-constructuions of Ranelin's solos, Telefon's canny orchestration, and Herren's own signature stop-and-go beats. Frisky melodies point up the friction of hooks and rhythm structures, which scrape across each other before resolving themselves into delightfully complex patterns. The intrinsic sympathy between Hughes' and Herren's respective styles is apparent, and their collaboration here succeeds as an impressive demonstration of the Hefty ethos – one of its own artists leaning on and transforming the material of his colleagues to create something both original and captivating. A Hefty accomplishment.

NERO MAG.

JUSTADDNOISE

As somewhat of a companion to the Hefty Digest dual disc we talked about a while back, History Is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Compositions (volumes 1 and 2) continues celebrating 10 years of exceptional musical output by Chicago’s Hefty Records. But as Digest looked back over the past, the HIB series gives a glimpse of the label’s future with remixes of past material, collaborations between Hefty artists and friends as well as new material from the current roster.

Volume 1 kicks off with the experimental but jungly “Russian Icle Slide” by Slicker (label head John Hughes) which sets the stage for next 50 minutes of highlights. The mellow strings and soft boy/girl vocal harmony of L’Altra’s “The Last” are perfectly complimented by the restrained use of electronic bits and downtempo beat that only stays for the middle peak and the final Radiohead-ish eruption towards the end. This is also an early indication of the wide spectrum of sounds that Hefty’s “electronic” music covers. Dabrye’s brand of hip-hop infused into Some Water And Sun’s “Snowbreaker” is completely contrasted by the delicate piano and jazzy horns (over subtle atmospherics) of “Deluge” by Chris Case featuring Rick Embach and Phil Ranelin. “Mackinaw Peeper Division” by Sts9, Slicker and Retina.It combines a folksy guitar loop, bits of keys, random percussion and distortion over a crunchy bass beat to form a strange futuristic freak-folk.

After packing all that and more into the first disc, Volume 2 slows the pace a bit overall beginning with the (nearly ambient at times) downtempo beat and spacey vocals of “Absentminded” by Spanova. But the pace picks back up again immediately afterwards with the new wave-ish danceable “Compose The Beat” by Plus Device and old school hip-hopishness of Eliot Lipp’s “Heat”. Chris Case and Rick Embach return with very subdued keys, tiny blips and chimes over quiet washes of fuzz on “Axtel” that is counter-balanced by the choppy sound design of Retina.It’s “Anticamera Dei Dubbi”.

Both discs blur the dividing lines of dance, experimental, ambient, hip-hop, pop and jazz, and each track in it’s own unique way. If you like it on the faster, harder side, choose volume 1. If you like it softer and smoother, choose volume 2. If you like many flavors of electronics, get both. You won’t be disappointed. History is bunk? Not Hefty’s history, and by the sounds of these, a bunk future isn’t on the horizon either.

CYCLICDEFROST

Hefty Records are spending much of this year celebrating their 10th birthday, and these two compilations (I’m not sure why they didn’t just put out one double CD) cover much of that history, albeit in a somewhat revised form, as the subtitle would imply.

Hefty can be a difficult label to pin down, covering all the bases of Chicago music, from modern jazz to post-rock and “future roots music”, a term label boss John Hughes III coined for his 2004 Slicker album We All Have A Plan. In something of a coup, each CD features a remix by a Yellow Magic Orchestra member: on Part 1, Ryuichi Sakamoto turns Telefon Tel Aviv’s “Sound in a Dark Room” into something like minimal dub, while Haruomi Hosono’s work on Slicker’s “God Bless This Mess, This Test We Pass” is almost invisible at first — a strangely unradical interpretation of the original, although it’s nicely minimal. Daedelus, on the other hand, is in radical form in his reworking of Savath + Savalas’ “Paths in Soft Focus” (originally from the Rolls and Waves EP), doing his stumbling jungle thing, lots of fun.
Elsewhere, L’Altra’s contribution to Part 1 jolts a little with male vocals not entirely to my taste, but the strings are lovely, as is the production which I assume is probably Telefon Tel Aviv. Also on Part 1, Perth resident Victor Bermon presents “The Lonely Tired Dance”, very pretty with its guitar chords and subtly clicky sampled percussion, and STS9, Slicker and Retina.IT collaborate with some minimal hip-hop with guitars.
Japan’s Spanova open Part 2 with the lovely layered vocals on “Absentminded”, which eventually turns into a kind of funky ambient electro. Telefon member JLE remixes Slicker in familiar style, and Jan Jelinek is typically minimal in remixing jazz trio Samadha.
It’s a shame these two comps aren’t a double CD, because many listeners will probably, like me, find a few tracks they love on both and a few they don’t particularly care for. Still, they’re both solid compilations from a very fine label.

MOSOUL

Bleeps, electronic burps and flavoursome soundscapes are all present on Hefty’s 10 Digest, which celebrates a decade of releases from the label. Hot tracks include Telefon Tel Aviv’s boastful “My Week Beats Your Year” and Savath + Savalas’s heart melting “Folk Song For Cello”. Hefty contributor Scott Herren presents his own vision of the label on his cluttered mixtape, which accompanies the Digest. On the ‘tape’, Beneath Autumn Sky’s macabre jazz overhauling of Phil Ranelin’s “Black Destiny” features alongside Euphone’s stumbling guitared “New Dusk Policy”. Flitting between the old and new, this engaging Chicago label’s ‘History Is Bunk’ compilations feature exclusive cuts and cool remixes. The only problem is that it’s ever so easy to get lost in the dreaminess of it all. Volume one highlights come in the shape of Daedilus’s jittery smashup of Savath and Savalas’s “Paths In Soft Focus” and Victor Berman’s peaceful “Lonely Tired Dance”. The second instalment includes Slicker’s brooding “Lucas (JLE Remix)” and Retina.It’s menacing “Anticamera Dei Dubbi”. Hefty release downbeat, post hop and jaded guitar works for those who appreciate melody and like well-structured compositions.

KRUNGER

ZAP! BANG! Magazine

History is Bunk is a collection of hip-hop, electronica and ambient music celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Chicago based record label Hefty Records. If Hefty Records means nothing to you then maybe a few of the artists it has farmed over the last decade such as Telefon Tel Aviv, Savath + Savalas (Guillermo Scott Herren) and Eliot Lipp, might. The double-disc collection comes in the form of collaborations, re-interpretations and a few new compositions and rather than pushing forward groundbreaking material offers a round up what Hefty is and has been about. Both parts of the compilation offer ‘off the shoulder’ style takes on hip hop and electronica that are unhinged through IDM bleeps and glitches and the odd disco beat. The tracks here are all pretty sharply cut and technically precise — the sort of craft you’d expert from a niche indie label like Hefty.

The presence of Scott Herren, if not always in form but in sentiment is heavy on Disc 1. L’Altra’s “The Last” could drop straight in on One Word Extinguisher with its clipped synths and ratchet bleeps all staggering along to a stunted melody. Chris Case changes the tone on “Deluge” undercutting the electronica vibe for some smoky piano refrains and bobbing xylophone. Not quite jazz, but this down tempo version of “Deluge” breathes easily amongst the IDM feel of most of other tracks here. Savath and Savalas remix/mash up of Daedelus “Wishes You The Best” takes a happy middle ground between the in-organic and organic, delicately placing the vocal sample between a set of horns whilst the bleeps sporadically intermingle. This ability to collect different sonic textures some obtuse others lackadaisical and then to maintain a flow that is reflexive but also fluid between the different textures is Herren’s genius and again he succeeds here.

Both parts of the compilation offer ‘off the shoulder’ style takes on hip hop and electronica that are unhinged through IDM bleeps and glitches and the odd disco beat.

There is something about the History is Bunk collection that sees its subtle variety and snippets of reverie creep up on you. Victor Bermon’s “The Lonely Tired Dance” is a good example. The mood perfectly encapsulated by its title, Bermon’s muzak veneer gives the body of the song a gauzy anachronistic feel simultaneously making it sound even lonelier. On Disc 2 Plus Device’s “Compose The Beat” pulls in some IDM disco flavour but fails to captivate. Slicker’s remix of Haroumi Hosono, is an interesting mix embodying tribal, trip-hop and jazz elements without sounding too clunky. You get the impression that this unwillingness to conform to specific genres and equal desire to pull from musical tropes all over the past century is why Hefty called this collection History Is Bunk. On “Anticamera Dei Dubbi” Retina It. again mirrors this ethos taking an electronic drum beat, giving it an ethnic live feel (even though it isn’t) and then transposing it against a minute scratchy guitar sound.

Between the two discs there are a few numbers that perhaps don’t do enough and suffer from a stunted IDM feel. However, the majority of History Is Bunk is interesting and rewarding. There is a real sense of group ideas being played out here and that resonates into some strangely soulful moments. Labels like this keep the music industry fresh, so big up Heftly and a happy 10 year old birthday even if it is a little bit late.

PERIFERAL

Questo doppio cd sulla statunitense Hefty Records rappresenta in pieno lo stile unico ed innovatore di questa etichetta, contiene la raccolta dei 12" della serie Immediate Action realizzata nell'anno 2000. Vede come protagonisti nomi ormai noti e apprezzati come savath+savalas aka Scott Herren (qui presente anche con le registrazioni live del progetto Samadha Trio) che con maestria unica si muove fra melodia, jazz e deviazioni sintetico-acustiche, Retina.it portabandiera delle vibrazioni magmatico-analogiche e sperimentali made in Italy, Bogdan Raczinsky folle e radicale sperimentatore drill'n'skizm di casa Rephlex, i grandi Beneath Autumn Sky con i loro beat hip-hop elettrocontaminati pieni di puro groove, Slicker in coppia con The Aluminum Group, Telefon Tel Aviv che apre il cd e molti altri.
Come avrete dedotto, vista la presenza di artisti di questo calibro, in questa stupenda raccolta, l'elettronica viene spinta oltre qualsiasi confine senza concedere spazio a facili classificazioni.....
la Hefty, esce da qualsiasi clichè e si rivela una delle label più interessanti di questi ultimi mesi. Naturalmente per il concept grafico di cover e packaging anche questa volta si avvale della collaborazione dei Graphic Havoc che già si erano occupati dei 12".
Una raccolta consigliata a tutti coloro che amano l'elettronica senza confini, che si apre facilmente anche all'ambient, al jazz o al post-rock... semplicemente DA AVERE!!

NOEGO

Raccolta della serie di 12" "Immediate action". Oltre a note figure del genere sperimentale/IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) come Savath & Savalas, T. Raumschmiere e Slicker, troviamo anche il progetto italiano Retina.it, falange armata della new wave sperimentale napoletana. Nel complesso un buon doppio CD che si presta bene a fare da bignami di un genere musicale anomalo, di transizione, ma che ha tantissimo da dire. Finalmente nuovi suoni, sicuramente orchestrati in modo psicotico ma a mio modesto parere aria fresca sul panorama elettronico. Non mancano iniezioni di jazz e down-tempo per cui se volete avvicinarvi al genere, scoprirete che non sarà un'esperienza poi così spigolosa.

SKYNET

.......Like it should be on a good compilation record are their some project and labels with some name and some totally new things on it. Within my case already heard; the reasonable acquaintance Alejandra & Aeron (have also the Luky Kitchen label) who plays with pulsing sounds, from deep bass tunes to micro electronic are weave to one conjuring pulse. Minimal solely with very many expression and tension are the contributions from Forestopper (Tête to tête label). For me unknown, but a record released on hefty mains already something, Retina with two tracks where basic, dry beat patrons standing central. The name Eardrum has I notice before in some magazines, and drum stood not for anything in their name, hilarity wacko sounds and whipping up drums. New surprising in the electronic sector are for me Colongib with two better abstract electronic tunes and the dark sound from Format who gets especially the attention with his openings track "n°7". ........

SONOMU

......Local boys Retina.it (part of the Hefty stable) go for some seriously sub-aquatic beats and squelches on "Lost in the Church", a real-time improvisation with a naggingly-familiar horn sample, beaming in from a radio station from another planet and a ticking clock giving colour to their beats and clicks. The twenty-minute piece is vaguely reminiscent of a gentler Two Lone Swordsmen on a very minimal tip, and as it expands and evolves over twenty minutes the listener’s attention doesn’t flag once, which is quite an achievement....