Label: Output Format: 12″,CDS
Opening with an astrological description of someone with their aspect in Mars, “Glasshead” soon makes it like the groovy number to be expected from Four Tet‘s post-Trip Rock excursions in the last year or so, only here magnified, intensified and refined. Sonorous virtualised brass, real-world breakbeats and the strangely fashionable glass-chimes make for a propulsive undercarriage, circled by progressively wayward sax honks, nut-string stroke and all manner of carefully-crafted squeaks or strains. The whole effect is both energetic and laid back at the same time, which is quite some trick, and pops off in a few interesting directions before returning to the solid groove for the end.
“Calamine” declares itself to be a radio mix – and that’s because it does exactly what it says on the nifty packing-tape label on the sleeve – takes a funky drum beat, some ambient undertow, and then sprays it with static, atmospheric interference and dial-tuning sounds, making for a sweeping blast out of the airwaves. Negativland it isn’t, more like a band jamming in an electro-acoustic storm, but quite also refreshingly like a tape compilation filler – until it blends into the Speed Garage station, and becomes it, Four Tet style. Post-modern? Yeah, of course.
-Freq1C-
