Ascoltare: B E A M
Tripel

B E A M is a two-part collection of ‘minimal body jack music' by Ascoltare, with the first (‘Ufology') issued on 12-inch vinyl and the second (‘Exo Politics') available as a free download at www.myspace.com/ascoltarebeam. The A side opener “Exo On Ferric” works a minimal, Plastikman-styled kick drum pulse and trademark Basic Channel atmospheric haze into a forcefully jacking shuffle that eventually adds closing flourishes of low-level, dissonant squeals. The dub-house shuffle that powers “Semjase in Excelsis” works up a frothy head of locomotive steam too. There's an almost oom-pah flavour to the skanky backbeat that surfaces halfway through, and interjections of bleeps and voices keep things sounding unpredictable. On the B side, “Asket's Ship” steps out like a slow-moving steamroller moving through a busy carnival, and “Sky Fishing” adds Afrobeat energy, chanting voices, and assorted other wildness to his jacking style. Though the core of Ascoltare's B E A M sound isn't necessarily without stylistic precedent, the imaginative conceptual colour he brings to the release is certainly refreshing.

September 2007