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Hatchback
Dennis Wilson
Michna Top 10

Albums
Alpha Aesar
The Alps
Anduin
Beaten By Them
Bible & Henry
Bird Show
Bitcrush
The Boats
Boduf Songs
Budd & Wright
Callers
Derek Carr
Matthew Robert Cooper
Cristal
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Gore
Hatchback
Inverz
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Miya Masaoka
Michna
Model 500
Mr Cooper
Near The Parenthesis
Patron and Patron
Procer Veneficus
Raglani
Red Snapper
Max Richter
Roots Manuva
Michael Santos
Sempervirens
Shed
Sleepingdog
Spect. Lore / Underjordiska
Andy Stott
Taub
The Third Man
Uzi & Ari
You May Die / Gifts Enola
Zèbra
Zilverhill

Compilations / Mixes
DJ /Rupture
Diaspora: Cottage Ind. 5
Total 9

EPs
John R Carlson
Intrusion
Keenhouse
Joe Lapaglia
Model 500
Duncan Ó Ceallaigh
Frank Omura
Shigeto
The Sight Below
Steinbrüchel
Van Der Papen
Warez

Andy Stott: Unknown Exception
Modern Love

For those who missed out on Andy Stott's vinyl-only releases comes the next best thing: Unknown Exception: Selected Tracks Vol. 1 (2004-2008). Though the CD can't match Modern Love's thick slabs for capturing Stott's trademark massive bass lines, it does deliver seventy-three minutes of his finely-crafted material in one convenient package. The dozen tracks also expose the listener to Stott's evolution with the material variously drawing more from one genre at one moment and a different one the next. Most generally, one might hear Stott as an inspired amalgamation of multiple styles: from techno, we get minimal beats; from dubstep, cavernous bass lines; and from dub, instrument-related detail and production treatments that lend the material a deep, even panoramic feel. Listen closely and traces of Detroit techno, Chicago house, and Chain-Reaction “heroin” house invariably surface too.

“Fear of Heights” finds Stott in quasi-minimal mode, with the cut stripped to a dubby bass prod, skeletal hi-hat and kick drum elements, staccato chords echoing into the distance, and a descending melodica-like theme. “Handle With Care” exploits atmospheric dub production effects to the maximum, with the tiniest of percussive sounds (hi-hats, snares) seemingly ricocheting off of the studio walls, while a sub-bass line surreptitiously threads a jaunty path through the underground. “Credit” shows off Stott's muscular side with a colossal techno groove and hyperactive percussive array steamrolling over a bed of silken washes. Here and elsewhere, a main theme rises to the surface of the broil every now and then to give the track melodic heft but, in this case at least, the focal point is the steamy pulse that pounds for a mesmerizing seven minutes. Close your eyes and Stott's sublime dub-techno workout “Massacre”—especially in stripped-down mode—sounds uncannily similar to Monolake's Hong Kong, with both releases featuring no shortage of classic metallic chords clanging over propulsive dub bass lines and infectiously percolating pulses. With its quietly flickering house groove and warm melodic accents, “Long Drive” suggests a tranquil night cruise more than a frenzied race down the Autobahn—at least, that is, until the skipping beats jack up the intensity during the cut's second half. “See In Me” opens at a crawl, like a “heroin” house track nodding off in a drug-induced stupor, before picking itself up and lurching on its way; if the tune's lugubrious vibe feels excessive, at least it offers contrast to the collection's otherwise uptempo character. Unknown Exception also includes jacking, dizzying techno stormers such as “Hostile” (apparently the vinyl pressing sold out in a day) and “Fine Metallic Dollar,” and, interestingly, the album closes with Stott's first release, the irrepressibly funky “Replace,” which shows that Stott had things royally sorted out from the outset. As stated, for those without the vinyl releases in their collections and for Modern Love devotees in general, the collection could easily be deemed essential.

October 2008