resurface

Songs06.txt is up for immediate release (AUG 2007) and it is the French recording artist Vs_price return to the Expanding label. After his much talked about album debut on the same label in 2002 (wow, time does really fly when you’re having oh so much fun). Songs06.txt (an impossible title for an album, but never mind that) contains 10 collage-like tracks and they all have a strong work-in-progress feeling to them. And I for one am fully prepared to believe that their origin is supposedly mainly from various live performances made during the past years. This is also in my mind reflected onto the album itself and that is one of the reasons it displays several musical directions at once from the acoustic to the quite energetic and electronic. Where track number eight entitled Musicman is an example of the latter with its high paced beats and looped melody fused with a touch of glitch, completely contrasting the forerunners it is an interesting track. I can’t help but wondering if maybe Songs06.txt is the perfect testament to the breakwater that can be heard so clearly within the narrow field of electronic music movement dealt with here and where the “victorious” path is surprising or in any case disappointing. Let the machines, be machines… that aside, let it be said that Vs_price’s second full-length is far from being generic and that is is most definitely contemporary. The packaging with its classic striking front cover photograph is beautiful and the overall production is executed to perfection. Vs_price and Expanding line-up the 28th release and do so with grace.

Unstoppable Expanding Records second full-length release for 2003 and the first one was Vessels’ excellent “Dreaming in Pairs” reviewed here earlier this year. Vs_price who previously made a talked about contribution to the Bip-Hop Generation v.4 compilation now releases his first full-length album. It is an eight-track album and it is taking Expanding in a different, but as interesting direction. The opening track “Eponge” has got a lot of glitch and minimal rhythmic elements fused with dry beats carrying the track forward alongside a half-hidden and at times off-beat played bassline. It’s a very nice track indeed. “Hanta” starts off in a similar vein, but then breaks down into distorted noise, quite abusive noise at that. The mood changes and settles down in “Palm” with gentle, almost hesitant melody, glitch elements and melancholy it’s a beautiful piece of music. “Bretelle” which is French by the way, as is Vs_price and it literally means brace. It is a short up-tempo track with lovely atmospheric sonic constructions. The next song is “Matic02″ which intro is beatless, heavy deconstructioned and glitch-filled leads on to a structured melody and light-treading beats. Anyone tuning in to the T:COM Internet radio show on gaialive the past year or so has surely heard “Outrageous” a track epitomising Expanding Records’ very unique sound. The two last tracks: “Pass” and “Dither” are moving along the glicther side of things and the they’re both almost entirly loop-based and of general minimal nature. “Dither” however also has hint of beats and more solid structure, dying out and fusing in with the melodic elements and the track is reminiscent of a machine slowly coming to a definite and permanent halt. The output from Expanding always holds a high quality and their latest find Vs_price is definetly up to the challenge and what more is that his work also makes him the one pointing out an uptil now unknown direction for Expanding. Where to next?

Please refer to the review of the CD version of this album. Vinyl tracklist: a1: eponge a2: hanta a3: palm a4: bretelle b1: matic02 b2: outrageous b3: pass b4: dither