s w e e t b e a t s
september.04.2002 - #1033
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artist : Stewart Walker
album : Reclamation 1997-1999
year : 2001
label : Persona
genre : Electronic
catalogue : PRS002CD
url : www.personarecords.net
quality : CD 192k HQ True Stereo
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01.Meer-Mir 06:30
02.Amateur Surrealism 07:52
03.White Noise on the Horizon 07:22
04.Ulm 06:29
05.Damaged People 05:58
06.Intonation 06:11
07.It's Process Not Substance 06:47
08.Circular Valley 07:11
09.Proof of the Long Dark Night 06:17
10.Something for You 06:20
10 tracks | 66:57 mins | 92,1 MB
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On his first full-length, the Alexander Calder-inspired "Stabiles,"
Georgia-born, Massachusetts-based techno producer Stewart Walker
explored all the facets of an individual sound - a sort of
spacious, micro-rhythmic ambient techno that prioritized
intellectual precision over all-out funk.
"Reclamation: 1997-1999," the follow-up, jumps around between a
wider range of rhythms, textures and tones that look toward the
dancefloor as often as they do the sculpture gallery. A mixture of
unreleased tracks and songs "reclaimed" from various 12-inches on
labels such as Matrix, Belief-Systems and Tektite, the album marks
the first full-length on Walker's own Persona imprint, on which he
plans to release all of his future material. A survey of the
artist's past rather than an indication of his present, then,
"Reclamation" charts Walker's earliest attempts to put a personal
stamp on minimal machine music.
"Amateur Surrealism," from 1998's "Stoic" EP, is a clipped,
metronomic thumper that slowly takes on hazy sonic layers over the
course of eight gradually ascending minutes. "White Noise on the
Horizon" and "Proof of the
Long Dark Night," both from 1999's "Jet Fuel and Longing" 12, use
messier analogue sounds, less aggressive tempos and more melody as
they move forward at a measured pace. "Ulm," from the same year's
"North" EP, gets even grittier and more atmospheric as its twin
bass rumbles overlap. "Something for You" plays with stereoscopic
effects, undersea pings and tribal percussion, while "It's Process
Not Substance" milks vague melancholy from a static synth motif
while limber syncopation threatens to trip over itself; both tracks
are from
"Abstract Symbols of Decadence," yet another 1999 release.
As for the previously unreleased tracks, they, too, map out a
middle ground between clubland utility and thoughtful rhythms and
timbres. The droning opener, "Meer-Mir," and the glitchy, Jake
Mandell-sampling "Damaged People" focus on the head rather than the
body, but the aptly titled "Circular Valley" sucks you into a
vortex of static, martial dancefloor beats. Best of all, though, is
the spooky "Intonation," which floats spectral sound fragments,
mournful chords, backwards beats and phantom oscillations over an
ever-shifting foundation of bass and space. Closer in spirit to dub
than many of the "dub-techno" records that merely borrow the
specific sounds of that genre, this track showcases Walker's canny
ability to uncover sonic terrain that's evocative rather than
overpowering.
The producer's most floor-friendly tracks still remain the
exclusive province of mix CDs and the original Tresor and Force
Inc. vinyl. Again, then, the CD-buying public is denied a complete
accounting of the Stewart Walker story. But with his
improvisational live sets scorching dancefloors around the world
and his future releases now firmly under his own control, Walker
looks set to close the introductory chapter of his career and move
into his mature phase with all cylinders firing.
-http://www.armchair-dj.com
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s w e e t b e a t s
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greetings to kw, dps, sour, diss, dh, ms, tr & ube
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