Depth Affect: John Cassettes EP
Autres Directions in Music

Depth Affect follows up its strong Arche-Lymb release with a 48-minute collection of nine free-for-download tracks, including two out-takes by the group itself and a smattering of remixes. “Basic Illitch” and “Crispy Breakfast,” bold and bleepy slices of cuisinart-styled hip-hop madness and pounding dancehall glitch, sound like anything but leftovers from the album sessions while the interpretations that follow cast their net widely: D_Rradio transforms “Sarah Carbone” into a thrusting wonderland of sparkle and grime, Lena's minimal techno overhaul of “Vladgorythm Suicide” flutters merrily, and OffTheSky soaks “Blinzeln Blume” in a cement-thick ambient-dub bath. The three “Honey Folky” versions most conspicuously reveal the artists' contrasting approaches: Melodium adds a Euro-pop vocal slant to the original's hip-hop rhythms while Mitchell Akiyama's jackhammer version violently eviscerates it. The 'EP' highlight is Deluge's grooving techno treatment which skips and stutters with a locomotive intensity for a breezy nine minutes.

December 2006