VA: One Point Two
Rednetic

Three years on from One Point One, the hefty, 73-minute collection One Point Two provides an encapsulating portrait of Rednetic's current direction. The disc's fourteen tracks show that the label's still aggressively waving the lush electronica flag while broadening its menu to include electro bangers.

Boltfish head Mint's (Murray Fisher) opener “Queasy,” a fast electro-tribal ride through a neon-lit metropolis, bodes well for the journey ahead, while compadre Cheju (Wil Bolton) heads out for a country spin in the exuberant “Hubl.” Traversing kindred terrain are Rednetic co-founder Joseph Auer's locomotive “Probes Off Io,” Inigo Kennedy's sparkling “ Faraway Towns ,” and Utility Player's (Simon Thomas) occasionally blazing futurama “Initiation.” Inhabiting more ambient zones are Boc Scadet (Lawrence Grover)'s “She Spoke of the Sky,” Vizier of Damascus's (Arfan Ezra Munir Rai) aptly-titled “Murmurs,” and Infinite Scale's atmospheric spoken word setting “Cell Out.” On the filthier tip, Liberation Jumpsuit's acid-electro banger “One Night Stand” includes gutter vocals that make the tune even sleazier.

Three tunes in particular stand out from the crowd: Plaid-styled melodies whistle gleefully during Sunosis' (Colin Welsh) “Leap,” Zainetica (Rednetic head Mark Streatfield) rouses the neighbourhood to action with polished melodies and crisp beat slam in “Awaken,” and London-based DJ/producer Tommi Bass (Paul Alex Jarvis) gets his Kraftwerk mojo working with the android hoedown “Electro Glitch 2007.” Needling synth melodies sputter and squirm over a robotic drum machine rumble in what may be the collection's freshest track, suggesting that Rednetic might be wise to pursue that direction a little more aggressively in the future.

September 2007