ALBUM REVIEWS
Danton Eeprom Blockhead
Yes Is More The Music Scene
Infi ne Music Ninja Tune
Less is more Alt. hip-hop is back
It’s clear that French producer Danton Eep- Although it’s doubtful whether Ninja Tune will
rom is trying to expand his remit from house ever return to its mid-’90s pomp, the label
and techno confi nes to a more eclectic and has been releasing some staggering records
eccentric role. However, ‘Yes Is More’ does of late. Blockhead’s third album for the label
not use Eeprom’s undoubted talents in an is another. A bold, inventive record it takes
effective manner. hip-hop’s pre-blueprint, erm, blueprint of
A shame, as there are highlights here. The musical collage to some welcome places.
gothic vocals and dark undercurrents on The fi dgety opener, ‘It’s Raining Clouds’,
‘Desire No More’ could be a genuine pop hit — begins life as a perky, found sounds groover
like a more considered, less pompous Sisters before mutating into LTJ Bukem liquid drum
of Mercy — while Eeprom’s best-known track, & bass, ‘The Music Scene’ is all baroque
‘Confessions Of An English Opium Eater’, psych-pop over crushing beats, while the
is a cavernous, building techno track that amusingly-titled ‘Which One Of You Jerks
dispenses with mnml niceties to deliver a Drank My Arnold Palmer?’ employs Mariachi
killer blow. horns and off-kilter strings.
It’s a pity that he loses this edginess for The album’s pivotal track, however, is ‘The
the rest of the album, trying his hand at Daily Routine’ — a mood-shifting, ominous
burlesque pop songs, art rock and jazzy exploration of drug addiction, it samples
workouts and the kind of polite techy house real-life addicts verbally beating two shades
that a renaissance man like Eeprom should of shit out of each other while a choral refrain
not countenance. Richard Brophy chimes with grungy keys beneath. Jim Butler
Consequence
Live For Never
Exit Records
Emotive electronica epic
Tok Tok Jori Hulkkonen
Bullet In The Head Man From Earth
Tok Tok Records Turbo Don’t ask us to label exactly what
they’re putting out, but we’re pretty
Shooting blanks The incredible Hulkkonen sure dBridge and Instra:Mental’s
Club Autonomic/Exit/Non Plus axis
‘Bullet’ is the fourth album from Berlin duo Jori Hulkkonen has been making beautiful is uncovering some of the most unravelling hidden layers of emotion
Tok Tok, so it’s disappointing to hear that electronic music since the mid-’90s when he vibrant, vital and forward-thinking listen after listen, the aquatic cruise
they are still making the kind of pulsating emerged from a tiny town in deepest, north- electronica on the planet right now. A of ASC collaboration ‘From A Distance’
electro techno that they became known for ern Finland to record on Laurent Garnier’s belief strengthened by this unexpect- tugs equally at soaring hope and
at the start of the century — check the title seminal F Communications. edly faultless offering from unknown refl ective melancholy, while ‘Feeling
track and ‘Tripping Unit’. Now having made a home on Tiga’s Turbo, New Zealand talent Consequence on Like We Do’, with dBridge, is an im-
They also seem to be caught in a glitch time- he comes with ‘Man From Earth’, his tenth dBridge’s Exit imprint. mersive, bittersweet electronica epic.
warp, with ‘Bubble In The Head’ sounding too (count ‘em) longplayer. Rendering crude one-word genre What they build towards is an elec-
close to much of Bpitch’s back catalogue from Opener ‘I Am Dead’, boasting a gorgeous vo- depictions entirely obsolete, Con- tronic longplayer in the most classic,
the early noughties. cal turn from Jerry Valuri and fl ashes of Van- sequence’s diverse explorations of complete sense.
It’s a shame that they have focused on these gelis, is at once melancholy and anthemic. oceanic electronica, deeper reaching Strewn and sewn with highlights,
sounds because they’re also capable of pro- Slow burner ‘Dancerous’ builds and builds dubstep and future wave d&b glide ‘Live For Never’ is at its most uplifting
ducing killer club music. The rolling groove of then drops into the most unlikely breakdown, seamlessly into the Autonomic-cast when enjoyed start to fi nish, time and
‘Umda’ sounds like a cross between Norman ‘The Other Side Of Time’ layers rave stabs frame of endlessly blurring sonic again, and even tougher moments like
Nodge’s tracky techno and Modeselektor in atop trance pad sounds and a jacking Chicago landscapes. eerie minimal tech-stepper ‘11 Circles’
abrasive form, while ‘Hazil Tonk’ brings LFO’s groove, ‘Ridge Over Troubled Forrester’ starts But what really strikes and stuns is the and the cinematic cyborg rib-rattler
bleep techno template into a raw contempo- all looping techno before bringing the soul, boundless depth of emotion wrapped ‘Pseudo Echo’ invite — and reward —
rary setting. while ‘Bend Over Beethoven’ is a spooky, up in each richly textured composi- repeated absorption. Simply stunning.
As such, ‘Bullet’ is a great EP masquerading arpeggiating acid monster. tion. The synth-shimmered bliss of Allan McGrath
as an album — time for a rethink guys. Hulkonen damn well deserves full recognition opener ‘Long Lies’ has a knack of
Richard Brophy for this outing. Ben Arnold
www.djmag.com
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