Articles
2014 TOP 10s & 20s
Dday One

Albums
2562
Poppy Ackroyd
Blueneck
Nicholas Chase
Vicky Chow
Carlos Cipa
Dale Cooper + Witxes
Dday One
Federico Durand
English + Vitiello
Everyday Dust
Eyck and Tarnow
Faded Ranger
Grouper
Robert Hood
Human Greed
The Invaderz
Thomas Köner
Kontext
Akira Kosemura
Heiko Laux
Norberto Lobo
Andrew McIntosh
Monolog
Aina Myrstener Cello
Northumbria
Michael Nyman
One World Symphony
Postma & Osby
David Pritchard
[.que]
See Through Trio
Dirk Serries
Jakob Skøtt
Miguel Zenón

Reissue
Hassell and Eno

Compilations
Air Texture Volume IV
Emerging Organisms 5
Hyperdub 10.4

EPs / Singles
David Ahlen
Blu Mar Ten
Boston feat. Solis
DIFFER-Ent (By DJ Bone)
Gone Beyond
Matthias Grübel
Lami / Ratti
Lubomyr Melnyk
Ryo Murakami
Om Unit
Pursuit Grooves

DIFFER-Ent (By DJ Bone): DIFFER-Ent
Don't Be Afraid

Detroit veteran DJ Bone typically issues music on his own Subject:Detroit imprint, which makes his appearance on the Bristol-based label Don't Be Afraid something of a surprise. That change in scenery isn't the only thing that's new: his latest material also appears under a newly hatched alter ego called DIFFER-Ent.

Certainly the A-side's “Differ-ent(hrall)” proves to be a, yes, enthralling enough listen. Minimal and sleek in design, the seven-minute tune gracefully glides with all the aerodynamic thrust of a space shuttle, powered as it is by a determinedly galloping beat, high-speed synthesizer pulsations, and a trippy two-note motif that intones at different pitches throughout. As the tune cycles repeatedly through its various patterns, it's hard not to feel the lure of its hypnotic force.

By comparison, the flip's “Differ-ent(ity)” is raw and earthy, its feet planted firmly on the ground. With a pounding kick drum pulse leading the charge, the material pumps like a furiously beating heart, its intensity bolstered by the gradual layering of myriad patterns and effects. Soft and hard sounds intermingle, among them muffled chords and an usual percussive effect that sounds like the repeated swish of garden shears.

December 2014