For more than a decade Belgium’s WEME Records have been beavering away, bringing forth a spread of music from a rich catalogue of talent. The imprint has explored the patented “Rephlex” sound with artists like Ceephax, Global Goon and Cylob but has also been pioneering experimentation.
For more than a decade Belgium’s WEME Records have been beavering away, bringing forth a spread of music from a rich catalogue of talent. The imprint has explored the patented “Rephlex” sound with artists like Ceephax, Global Goon and Cylob but has also been pioneering experimentation, with the likes of François De Roubaix, and Detroit with Heinrich Mueller, Der Zyklus and DJ Stringray. It is to Sherard Ingram, aka DJ Stingray aka DJ Stingray 313, that WEME Records have given some serious new vinyl space to.
F.T.N.W.O opens with the ominous message that all is not well, that those with at the reins are corrupt and seek only self-perpetuation. With this oral message ringing it’s time for Stingray’s electro to be unsheathed. “Dark Arts” and “Room Clearance” boil down the machinery, Ingram serving up cold slices of electronics. Samples return with “Denial of Service,” fast-paced yet distant. Ingram uses this accelerated and alienated formula across the album, layering industrial echoes with a despondent futurescape. The drum machine is a core component to this lonely sound, driving forward in tracks like “No Knock,” but alongside the equipment is a polemic. Audio extracts are used to illustrate some of the issues arising in America, and Western society. “Reverse Engineering” sees Stingray team up with Austria’s Microthol for a deep work of electronics pierced with laser lines and a coursing rhythm, akin to the likes of Morphology. The political rhetoric is mirrored in track titles, with “Outsourced” really pushing the limits of electro. Cascading chords are twirled with snappy beats for a much more cerebral piece. The DJ’s pick closes. “Remote Viewing” comes from a similar place to “Outsourced,” reverberating synths with ricocheted beats to give a superb exeunt. [Buy at Clone]
For the next installment the acronyms leave the album appellations and are adopted by the artist. M.N.L.T.H.—aka Monolith aka David Barnard of Rephlex fame—offers up his Ages Sound EP. The four tracker opens with the title piece and the listener is transported to the 303 accented audio experiments of the Analord series. Juddering bass lines sit next strings and snares in a meandering piece that takes on electro, breakbeat, IDM and electronica. “Amsterdam” is more an expression of electro, MNLTH dabbing some colour into the less festooned corridors. “Ooh Rahzel” takes a soulful line and runs, injecting energy and impatience with pulsar beats and a “Tour De France” mirror sample. “Hugs 2″ is a wonderful squirming piece of electronics. Acid dipped and fast paced, this bright eyed track closes with the nostalgic countenance and fresh cheeks that began this 12” of past echoes. [Buy at Clone]
The WEME catalogue boasts an impressive roster of artists and sounds. The trailblazers of Rephlex are well represented, veterans of the Cornish imprint are still electronic alchemists and MNLTH belongs to that proud tradition. Ages Sound is retrospective, but looks back on a time and sound that had almost disappeared until a few years ago. Barnard belongs to the new generation of Braindance enthusiasts, EOD and Automatic Tasty to name but two, who have ditched the self-reflective genre tag and explored new plains. WEME has also sought the talents of the classics, looking to Detroit and its avant guarde for continued inspiration. On this front, DJ Stingray is the deliverance. Cold and calculated sculptures of electro are engineered by Ingram but are humanized by more melodic works that maintain that raw edge. Two top quality releases from a label that demands respect.
Both releases are available on WEME.
