Unstoppable Phax Machine is a continuation of Ceephax’s mad eyed vision of acid music, uncompromising and uncensored.
[Purchase] Before all this acid resurgence there were a few UK artists messing around with the machines of house. The likes of The Railway Raver and Mike Dred have always had a fixation with the 303. One artist with an almost unhealthy fixation on the Roland equipment is Andy Jenkinson aka Ceephax Acid Crew. Armed with the vintage machinery of his older brother, Squarepusher, Ceephax started out on DMX Krew’s Breakin’ and has over the past thirteen years released a torrent of acid on the likes of Rephlex, Lo Recordings and Planet Mu. The rogue musician has dished up soulful techno, hyped up house and down right nonsense in his time. For his latest, Unstoppable Phax Machine, Ceephax has made a short ferry crossing to The Netherlands to hook up with Utrecht based 030303.
Ceephax switches on with “South Bank.” You’re never too sure what to expect with this 90’s rave revivalist. The opener is a rich medley of analogue depth. Jenkinson’s playfulness is embedded within, Amiga inspired synth noodling accompanied by 707 and 909 beats before feeding it into his Commodore and giving it a decent 8bit churn. The island in amongst the extremes is “Testing Ground.” Warm analogue tones drench the speakers in a beatless display. “Nigel Ringtone” is of quite a laid back disposition, a pleasant low tempo piece with just enough punch. “Refresher” ushers in the party, with Jenkinson rolling out a cacophony of melodies and beats before blitzing them in his over-active way. A team of reporters, armed with an SH101, enter the newly formed “Russia” in 1992 for the next piece, a track blending Ceephax’s silly humour with a note of sincerity. Ceephax’s underlying nonsense finally rises from under the duvet with “Woof Acid.” A mock Tudor melody is powered through as beats and bass pummel this florescent jacket clad stomper.
Ceephax is a bit of an anomaly in the serious world of electronic music. I saw a great interview with him on Motherboard, and Jenkinson sums up his sound and philosophy very succinctly. For Ceephax music is about fun, creating music he likes and making people dance at parties. Yet, there is a deeper side to his video game inspirations. Ceephax did things with vintage electronic equipment that had never really been done before. With his sea of hardware Jenkinson took the constructs of acid, house and techno, fed them into his Nintendo brain and love of experimentation to make Ceephax Acid Crew. Unstoppable Phax Machine is a continuation of Ceephax’s mad eyed vision of acid music, uncompromising and uncensored.
Unstoppable Phax Machine is out now on 030303. [Purchase]
Ceephax Acid Crew – South Bank by 030303recs
