 Satellite
Grooves
"Atoms, Molecules, and Rain" CD
Slide
The Needle / Skylab
Operations
Genres: idm, electronica
Slide The Needle
1318 Maryland Drive
Ladson, South Carolina 29456
Dec 2 - 8 2002 |
What's
with electronica these days? All the hardcore beat-ridden stuff is
German, all the minimal glitchscapes are Austrian, and all the
club-friendly hits are British. Isn't it about time North America got
involved? Well, here comes Satellite Grooves, the project of
now-defunct hardcore band Eurich's John Kale, so get
you're IDM helmets on and do a little glitch jig!
Oddly enough, Kale isn't the only newly-converted ex-punk
IDM-er involved here. In fact, the two co-labels involved also used to
be emo / hardcore labels - Slide The Needle used to be hc purveyor
Fragil Records and Skylab Operations was once known by the name Smooth
Lips. So then, why is this such a laidback, relaxed record? Perhaps
everyone finally just got tired of the boring old punk stuff?
Every tune here is like a dreary stroll through a park at night -
warm, synthesized melodies coupled with soft, trancey drums casually
waltz by and shifty electronics massage your subdued brain. The only
sign of Kale's past experience is the little bits of guitars
added to the mix of a few of the tracks (case in point: "Blissfull
[sic] Molecule"). With all sorts of influences, ranging from Orbital
to The Orb and even a bit of Pluramon, there is a lot of
appealing material on here. However, the occasionally all-too-familiar
beat structures and synth melodies may scare off IDM purists.
Altogether, this is a very pleasant album that will appeal to both
heavy electronica listeners and those unfamiliar with the genre. Its
sophisticated simplicity lends it a charming sense of depth that can't
be ignored. Nice.
83%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
9 tracks + 1 hidden; distributed by the
label;
released 2002] |
