After days of quiet, minimal, altered dark ambience I treated myself to an earful of funky warm dub from Boston-based Gys (DJ Todd Gys). Wow, Beantown never sounded like this when I lived there! I guess we passed in the night as he relocated from the Midwest and I migrated to the Northwest. Alas, this fresh and inspired recording has ignited a friendly spark of bubbling micro-techno indicative of some of his influences like the KLF and FSOL, and just slightly leftfield. This is the latest in a series of really good records, including Proem and Codec, from the little label (from Connecticut) that once could, and now is, establishing themselves in a micro-genre of experimental minimal electronics. Gys creates illusionistic atmosphere. He has developed a style that makes you move and think and chill when you want to. It’s not at all in your face, but in all other parts of your body – like small pulsations and twitches. The disc incorporates nine tracks and three mixes by Twine, Phil Western and Substance. My favorite is the blurry liquid light of “Mor” that nods gradually in a tipsy way. It’s top-heavy humor blends perfectly with the scratchy vinyl beat. Twine’s “Dim” mix is an inebriated reworking/edit that takes you aside as it plots its structure candidly. “Gymnasium” gets a delicious, if not quirky reassessment by Vancouver’s Phil Western (Cleopatra/Subconscious). The addition of some floating, teeny vocal shoots the pop aspects of this version up a few notches, making a rather peculiar record a bit more accessible. When all is said if I can place my order for a long live set disc I am ready and waiting!
Art D’echo is available on Component / zer0gsounds [Bandcamp]
