Sutemos has been busy in these past 8 months since
the debut Intelligent Toys compilation made its
magical presence known on the scene earlier this year
– this is clearly evident when examining the list of
artists offering their free exclusive tracks whether
they are familiar frequent fliers or debuting virgin
soundmakers.
Marsen Jules brings his lush Autoplate netlabel
minimalist sensibilities with him as he opens our eyes
to the world awaiting discovery in “Brouillard,” whose
gentle, womb-like slow motion pulse triggers our
forgotten fetal memories buried in our collective
subconscious. Vesna’s “Setmsk” grabs our attention
with its collage of random robot-like noises randomly
placed atop a playful drum track that makes me wonder
if the robot in question short circuited in the toybox
after it had the mystery contents of a sippy-cup
poured all over it. The same could be said for the
speaking learning device spewing hilarious lewd
advances on Sense’s “Oh Yeah Baby,” which I’m sure
will hatch some clever schemes in the underground
world of digital pranksters.
A path paved with candies and sugary icing leads the
way to Mint’s “When I Was Yours,” probably the most
playful electronic track ever written. ML continues
their streak of catchy compilation tracks here with
the plainly titled “Song,” whose nods to classic
electro intermingling with edgier new-fangled sounds
belie the title’s simplicity and will have you humming
its synth bass line for a day or so after hearing it.
Novel 23 put broken crystalline shards of sound back
together with “Waiting for Touch.” Manual contribute
2 standout tracks with the Cocteau Twins guitar
styling of “A Real America” and relaxing ambient water
samples of “Crystal Pier.”
The promising sounds of fresh ideas are included in
exchange for usually absent batteries with tracks by
NDelay and Liudas Svirskas. The carefully composed
“Generic Host Process” shows NDelay has much to offer
despite being an unfamiliar name, and hopefully that
will change after listening to his balanced mix of
chiptune sounds and crisp percussion. The graceful
piano solo with laptop accompaniment on Liudas
Svirskas’ “V Impro” summons images of a graceful
porcelain ballerina music box with the chiffon of the
ballerina’s tutu replaced by strung together IDE cable
and a USB port where the wind-up key should be.
Sleepy Town Manufacture makes another visit to toyland
with 2 new creations, with the latter remixed by Unit
21. “Restrained Ambitions” and “O Nei” each hint at a
new direction in their intoxicating style, with
shuffling upfront drum sounds replacing elegantly
muted snares and their consistent focus on melody
relaxing a bit and allowing room for experimental
vocals. The remix of “O Nei” dispenses with all the
rhythmic elements of the original as if they were
irrelevant and what remains is a beautiful droning
closer that reminds us we’ve come full circle from
Marsen Jules’ comforting opening, and it’s time to
reluctantly go back to our everyday lives.
As with the first installment of Intelligent Toys,
Sutemos thoughtfully includes a virtual gallery of
visuals inspired by the naive world it explores.
These range from artful black and white candid photos
of children to a glorious depiction of a hideously
coked-out Barbie doll beach party complete with an
inexplicably decapitated Ken doll. Whether Sutemos
decides to turn the Intelligent Toys series into a
trilogy or not remains to be known, but with this
current installment, they’ve managed to increase my
expectations and hopes that utopia is only a few
clicks away.
