Sunday, November 7, 2010

Review: Simulacra

It's astounding how many talented and successful musicians have come out of my high school recently.¹ A pianist from my 80-person high school class, Alex Casnoff, is currently touring the country as a member of the indie-folk act Dawes. Dick Fink of Super Mash Bros. fame was two years behind me in school. And Wyatt Keusch, a good friend from my class, is now the owner/operator/curator of Khalija, an electronic music record label / musician collective based in Los Angeles.

I've done some work with Wyatt in the past - I took photos at a few of his shows and he used a couple of my photos for the covers of two albums he released. So when he asked me to write a review of his most recent Khalija compilation, Simulacra, I was more than happy to oblige.

Simulacra brings together tracks from twelve different artists, with music varying from relatively straightforward IDM to heavy drone to glitch. And all of these musicians are very good at what they do. (Many of them went to school to study music and have spent years perfecting their craft.) So the question in my mind when reviewing this album is not whether it's "good" per se. Objectively, in terms of the talent and skill of these musicians, this album is excellent - at least as far as I can tell without going out and buying much more expensive speakers than I currently have.

The real question, then, is whether you'll enjoy it. If you're a fan of Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre, Brian Eno, Fennesz, etc. etc. you'll enjoy this album. If you don't recognize any of those names, this album may not be for you.

Here's the test: download Simulacra (for free) and listen to one of my favorite tracks on the album - "Sub-Orbital" by Sam Jones. I think it is a beautiful track; it sounds reminiscent of some of the lighter Aphex Twin, or the less glitchy Autechre, with a little bit of post-rock mixed in. For the IDM uninitiated, this is a great starter track.

Next, give tracks 3 and 10 a try. The former - "Hearts of Space" by Wake - is a nice minimal, ambient piece, while the latter - "Matsan" by Team Champion - is a much dancier track with a driving beat and some very pretty synth.

Still into it? Time to give Alex Christie's "Motherlings" a try. This track is just really fucking cool. I highly recommend listening to it with headphones to get the full effect of switches between the left and right channels. You can easily get immersed in the track, feeling your way through the space built by the rapidly shifting pulses and clicks. The piece is completed by the addition of overarching, slow moving synth reminiscent of my old SNES days, which kicks in after about three minutes.

Alright, time to take the dive into the more drone and glitch side of the album. Personally, I have a much harder time getting into this style of music in general, though there are some important highlights on Simulacra. Wyatt Keusch's "Kairo," for example, integrates a wide array of ambient sounds, building from a recording of a public space jumbled together with a disorganized assortment of clicks and cracks into a heavy, pulsing baseline with a precise regularity and an altogether creepy voice creeping over the top of the track.

"Defective Vessel," by ACantor, is also a great piece. It's very taxing to listen to - it's almost harsh in its precision - but it is definitely an impressive piece of work.

I can't get into all of it, though. "Equation of State" and "Alloy," for example, are too much for me - too obscure, too ambient/droning, and just too difficult to listen to. I also really don't get the inclusion of "M-Clock" by The Sharx Brothers. After an album of academic-sounding IDM and drone, the straightforward 4/4 time and wobbly base just doesn't fit. Not to say I don't enjoy it - I actually do like it quite a bit - it just feels out of place. I'd expect to hear it in some hip, dimly lit dance club with a bunch of people dressed in all black with displeased or apathetic facial expressions - not on this album.

So with Simulacra, you get a nice range of high-caliber electronic music. To fans of the genre, it's a perfect fit: a wide range of styles, a high level of talent, and quite a bit of creativity, all mixed into one well-directed compilation. For the uninitiated, it provides a good barometer for judging your interest in IDM/drone/glitch. Simulacra presents the whole range of possibilities - everything from tracks that, with a four-to-the-floor beat slapped on, could sneak their way onto a standard dance club playlist (though not without some strange looks from the popped-collar bro-types) to tracks you might honestly confuse for a malfunctioning lawnmower. It's a great way to get a taste of this genre and experience what electronic music has to offer, and hey, it's free.

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¹Here's a list of the musicians that I know of from my high school, from my class plus or minus a few years. As pretty much all of these people (and many others) have been in multiple groups over the years (many of which broke up or fizzled out) I've only included the musicians that are currently active and producing new music. Please let me know if I've forgotten anyone.
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