(01.31.07) Although Peruments – a title taken by merging the words Peru and
government – is Daniel Meteo’s debut solo release he is involved in all
manner of musical ventures including promoting the local Berlin
electronic music scene and maintaining close links with his office-mates
at Shitkatapult. Aside from this, Meteo is also been a remixer for the
likes of DNTEL, Orb and Apparat, an international DJ, a member of
dub/hip-hop electronic group Bus on ~scape and runs his own experimental
dub label Meteosound on which he releases this, his debut album.
The story behind Peruments is that Meteo stored a series of ideas and
song fragments that didn’t fit with any of his other projects in a
directory of the same name on his hard drive, working on them if and
when he had time. The tracks included in the collection are split into
themed groups encompassing club, dub/downbeat, house and “Peru,” the
latter being Meteo’s own experiments with sound. The opening 3 tracks
(the club tracks – “Music Ohne Sound,” “Without Don’t It Ain’t” and
“Chop Stick”) are more on the classic chilled dub techno side of things.
For his quartet of dub tracks (“Ghost Story,” “1000 Miles,” “Save Music”
and “Rendered Buildings”), Meteo opts for a digital interpretation of
some precise bassy rhythms with some 70’s pseudo-futuristic
experimentation thrown in. Of these, “1000 Miles” and “Save Music” have
the most obvious reggae edge but all except the fuzzy metallic clatters
of “Rendered Buildings” have the right ingredients to create a modern
take on a classic style. Of the 2 house tracks, “(Peru arrives) Just in
time” is a more an uplifting excursion into Hawaiian dub and jazzy riffs
than house while “Peter’s Bounce (eps)” is in keeping with the style but
with slightly weird futuristic effects. The final 3 tracks fall into
Meteo’s own “Peru” category and are the experimental tracks; “It’s Maybe
Late for You” is a soulful excursion into dub, “Peruments” heads off
into pulsating distorted beats and experimental effects territory while
“Good Bye Nice Try” is a flowing track with gentle precise beats and
guitar melodies.
Meteo’s tracks are decided digital in construction but made in such a
way as to retain classic qualities that give them a cool retro feel at
the same time. A varied collection of tracks grouped by style that sees
subtle shifts in structure maintaining a decent level of consistently
throughout.
Peruments is out now on Meteosound. Buy it at Amazon.com
