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?
electronic desert ≡ revisited + extended