new records: vladislav delay strikes again + kid606 + phthalocyanine

[david turgeon <david.t@xxxxxxxx>]

my roommates are confounded by the fact that i'm so crazy about the new
vladislav delay (or "uusitalo" rather) album on force inc ("vapaa
muaari" or something such, sorry my finnish is er, inexistent.)  knowing
it's a live set i had to buy it, still bearing in mind that wonderful
2-hour set i had heard at mutek.  this cd sounds like the end of that
set, when it had "finally" gotten housey (not like the first 2/3 were
"boring", of course), but in that totally alien vladislav delay way ~ as
if that needed to be said.

i have to confess that i'm finding the first track (out of 4) to be a
bit weak, but the rest of the cd is fantastic; as messy as _multila_
(chain reaction) but with beats (if you liked "huone"...), giving it a
dynamic edge contrasting with the contemplative lines of _multila_ or
_entain_ (mille plateaux), which my roommates are finding far more
interesting.  go figure.  so anyway, that's that.  personally it was
just the album i needed to hear.

the next vladislav delay i get may just be _sistol_ (phthalo) though. 
haven't made up my mind yet whether i want to dive into that luomo stuff
just yet...

also, i'm sort of surprised (though perhaps not so) not to find anyone
talking of the kid606 cd _ps i love you_ on mille plateaux.  the
bedazzlingly minimal (yet dangerously efficient) cover art by alorenz
which i'm not sure i should absolutely love or be scared of, is a good
hint at what you get: it's lovely & scary at once.  this is definitely
the most polished thing i've heard from kid606 so far but i can't say it
converted me, though most of the tracks definitely have something
personal & twisted about them ~ definitely kid606's biggest strength.  i
particularly liked the trio of minimal techno vs dsp/microsound (tracks
#2, #3, #4) & the fantastic sound of "now i wanna be a cowboy".  overall
i think this is an appreciable leap forward for kid606, not so much in
terms of genre (i still like "don't sweat the technics") but rather
effort.  just curious what others on this list thought of it...

& perhaps i should add, as a follow-up to my earlier enquiry, that i
have gotten phthalocyanine's new album _25 tracks fer 1 track_ (planet
mu).  it's of course beautiful throughout (up to the cover paintings ~
are those fergadis'?) & bursts with the kind of energy usually found on
the most radical free jazz records.  a completely overwhelming listen,
impossible to comprehend completely as it's so full of themes &
narrative.  not for "casual listening", yet with undeniable lasting
power.  you can't have it all now can you.

~ david