Benge, B.D. Edwards’ new Meme Tunes is based on a self-created digital
language. Open the accompanying booklet to connect the dots for
yourself. Dare I dabble in calling this a happy-go-lucky disc, one with
vibrant twists, pops and beats-a-plenty. Benge, having recorded for
such labels as Sub Rosa and Bip-Hop, has made some of the finest quality
electronic music in the last decade. We are kept at a familiar
listening distance with tracks like “Faun Six” which bleeps coolness.
Seemingly using the sounds of a department store with a signature beat
and minimal vinyl degradation Edwards cautiously arranges each piece
like an individually wrapped chocolate. In a way the sound seems that
precious to me, that superimposed from the norm. With delicate and
bright harmony tracks like “Ajax” goon raise the roof to the infinite fun
one can have with knobs and wires. It has you moving and daydreaming
Technicolor. This latest venture in the ongoing Benge catalogue has a
more serious plot as heard in pica unit. There is a sci-fi thriller
unfolding, amoeba hatching, cautious posturing. This disc actively
takes its time to unfold. In a voiceless work this recording plays on
children’s nursery rhymes vs. architectural themes on tame/rude image.
“Proton” is the journey home on this giddy-up and go-go ride. It cleverly
uses the Powerbook in ways that you might expect spoons to be wielded in
the mysteries of zydeco. Benge has created a new idiom of sound art for
the modern day routine.
