One Point Two is the most natural name for the sequel of the first Rednetic compilation One Point (you guessed it) One that saw the light if day in 2004 and was the second release ever on this not that old thriving yet successful label. There’s little point in denying it this compilation is very good and if it has any shortcomings they’re surely down to musical preferences and nothing else. The opening track Queasy by affiliated artist Mint of Boltfish fame and it’s the perfect lush opening for a 14-track session of contemporary electronics. Queasy strikes me as quite an unusual track for being Mint masterminding it somewhat less nice than his regular output. Boc Scadet’s She Spoke of the Sky is another emotive high-tech production by Boc Scadet and it’s not hard to understand how this track ended up on the One Point Two compilation. Polestar’s Retro Future is brilliant with warm lush sounds submerging the sonic picture as they are contrasted with crisp beats and plenty of forward motion a simply seminal piece of music. Zainetica’s Awaken track is classic Zainetica material and the bubbly bassline would grace any open-minded dance floor and the musical references are as vast as is the undeniable talent held by this artist. Cheju’s Hubl holds all the characteristics of a Cheju track apart from the bassline that is decidedly more 80′ like than I’ve ever heard before. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely a different approach for being Cheju. Vizier of Damascus’ Murmurs is anything and everything you would expect from Vizier of Damascus a great ambient track with an edge and the rhythmic work on Murmurs is excellent. However the track’s playing time is too short, weighing in at 03:12 it is much too short. The eleventh track Harajuku is an interesting collaboration between Joseph Auer and household name Lackluster. Actually it seems to be a remix by the ever so productive Lackluster, so I guess it should read something like Joseph Auer Harajuku (Lackluster Pitchmix). And as it turns out it was originally named Harajuku Rain and is taken from his Kyoto Tokyo 2001 EP released in 2004 on the very same label. In the remix Lackluster is opting for the big bass and the slow beats in this summery roller keep the bass heavy and the beats kind of hollow, ya’ll feelin’ it? Joseph Auer’s Probes off Io has all the qualities and the unmistakable sounds of any J.Auer track. It is a solid slab of Americana being served by the artist. Complete with lush strings and forward moving beats in perfect harmony. Superb production and another piece of fine music signed J.Auer. Inigo Kennedy’s Faraway Towns has a melancholy struck melody, crisp beats and massive amounts of bass. It is an unforgiving slightly distorted bassline that is a monster. In Faraway Towns you get the sweet with the rough in a brilliant way. You’ve been warned so watch those bassbins! Sunosis’ Leap is the last track on the compilation and it is taken from the lovely Warmed EP released (and reviewed) on Rednetic earlier this year. In conclusion: One Point Two – More Digital Listening Music from Rednetic (as the full title reads) is a definite show of force by Rednetic and a welcome as it is refreshing collection of tracks that rely on electronics rather than acoustic instruments in what seems to be an unstoppable wave of acoustic releases the past year or so. After all this is the E-desert!
electronic desert ≡ revisited + extended