Article
Ten Questions Eric Quach

Albums
Actress
Ellen Allien
The Alps
Aniline
Anodyne
Tommy Babin's Benzene
Maya Beiser
Pier Bucci
Budd & Wright
Celer
Ceremony
Richard Chartier
Deceptikon
Deepchord & Echospace
Marcel Dettmann
Dirac
Efdemin
GéNIA
Guillaume & C. Dumonts
Hammock
Helvacioglu & Boysen
Richard A Ingram
Inhabitants
Marsen Jules
Akira Kosemura
Manual
Dom Mino'
Teruyuki Nobuchika
Nono/ Wakabayashi
Olan Mill
Originalljudet
Fabio Orsi
M.Ostermeier
Rene Hell
Jeffrey Roden
J. Rogers
Roll The Dice
Secret Cities
Soundpool

Compilations / Mixes
Main Control Board
SEED X: Part I - III

EPs
Alternative Networks Vol. 2
Aural Diptych Series # 1
Aural Diptych Series # 2
Celer
Deerhoof vs OneOne
Filterwolf
Incite/
Ketem
Kogumaza
Yann Novak
Poratz
Quiroga
Repeat Orchestra
Sepalcure
Sub Loam
v4w.enko
The Zeitgeist EP

DVD
Stephen Vitiello

Aniline: Pixelated Orchestra
Unnamed Label

With Pixelated Orchestra Aniline members Alex and Flo make their full-length debut on Unnamed Label Records, also home to Phasen and Purse Candy. The Lyon-Poitiers, France-based producers' melodic-electronica sound is straight out of the classic Warp songbook with the recording's fifteen tracks offering updated riffs on early Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Plaid. The style is familiar—pretty analog synth melodies, jittery breakbeats, chopped vocals, occasional injections of acid gobble and mayhem of one kind or another—but the boys nevertheless bring a goodly amount of energy and enthusiasm to their material.

“Argile” immediately drops us into the middle of Richard D. James territory with a smattering of breakbeats and synthetic melodies, while the Plaid-like “Turquoise” splatters its synthesizer patterning and buzzing breakbeats with all manner of tomfoolery (a child saying “I have to go potty”). Elegant and even dramatic, “Prune” shows that Alex and Flo can exercise restraint when the mood strikes. The pretty “Méthylène” likewise charms with an uncluttered display of electric piano and synthesizer melodies, while “Ébène” is so iridescent it brings back memories of the short-lived Plone project. Radiant tracks “Ivoire” and “Écarlate” also exude a child-like wonder that enhances their appeal.

Pixelated Orchestra doesn't stray much beyond Aniline's clearly marked-out territory. A few moments of acoustic piano at the start of “Caramel” hint that it might take a surprising detour into experimental electro-acoustic music-making but the song quickly reverts to form when a funky beat structure and an array of synth melodies takes over. The album isn't without a withering moment either. “Zinzolin” revisits the kind of manic, amped-up silliness that sent many listeners running in the opposite direction when the Squarepusher-styled drill'n'bass style first surfaced. Thankfully, it's largely the exception to the rule on this otherwise fairly well-controlled collection. The release of Pixelated Orchestra suggests that with enough time having passed perhaps we'll soon see a resurgence of acid-IDM electronica in the early Warp mold, with outfits like Aniline, Kettel, and their ilk leading the way.

June 2010