SampleScience
"PlastikDisc" CDR
Brown Coffee Recordings
Genre: IDM, minimal techno,
techno
Aug 28 2008 |
Montreal-based electronic artist SampleScience (a.k.a. Pierre
Parenteau) takes obvious cues from compatriot
Plastikman, but also culls influence from IDM stalwarts like
B12, The Orb, and of course Aphex Twin. In fact,
PlastikDisc is a great throwback to the ambient and IDM music of
the nineties, emerging as a fine record that greatly surpasses
expectations given its low-scale release.
Made entirely on computer and composed mostly of samples,
PlastikDisc is for the most part a very chilled-out album.
Rhythmically, the songs are straightforward though not stellar, but
the way Parenteau builds the tracks up piece by piece is what
makes them satisfying. "Bamboo" is a good
case study - it is nothing more than a simple rhythm and some synth
and bass lines, but it turns out melodic in a manner akin to Warp's
Artificial Intelligence series. Also strong are momentous "Retro & Sad(ik)" and unconventional
"Magic Spell Rounder."
Of course, the disc isn't uniformly superb, but what
some tracks lack in
instant appeal, they make up for in chill-out
value. Admittedly, these songs do seem a bit
fragmented because of their short durations (only two tracks pass the
four minute mark), but the hefty number of
compositions provides the listener with a lot of content and
variety.
PlastikDisc is a blast from the past, for sure, and the fact
that any of these tracks wouldn't sound out of place on a mid-90s Plus
8 or Rephlex compilation may mean SampleScience will have
trouble finding contemporary fans. Still, in an electronic music
market heavily saturated in big name club DJs and all that electro
miscellany, it is refreshing to hear an album that harkens back to
techno's humbler beginnings.
82%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 15 tracks,
48:25, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |