Roel Funcken :: Data Curation (EC Underground)

Rarely adhering to one rhythmic construct within the confines of a song, individual phrases are crafted to their logical conclusion with real thought as to what should come next.

Like an art historian carefully selecting for a museum

When someone is as creative as Roel Funcken, it’s hard to keep up with all of their releases and it’s often not enough to rely on sites such as Bandcamp or Discogs to give you the full picture. With a bit of digging, it’s easy enough to piece it all together and get the fix you need by finding their output—it’s very easy to miss tracks you would otherwise have loved.

That’s why I wholeheartedly welcome his compilation release on East Coast Underground titled Data Curation. It’s curation that’s the name of the game here too, with a well thought-out collection of tracks taken from album and EP releases spanning the last ten years, with a weighting towards the last three.

I don’t love all compilations, as others find it’s all too easy to enjoy only a handful of pieces on a compendium, but that’s truly not the case here. Roel has done a fantastic job of actually curating the items within, like an art historian carefully selecting for a museum rather than gathering up whatever’s available for one massive package. The constant theme that is present across the 21 tracks is testament to his creative style, no jarring genre switches between pieces maintain a pleasant and constructive flow from start to finish.

I love Roel’s style—rarely adhering to one rhythmic construct within the confines of a song, individual phrases are crafted to their logical conclusion with real thought as to what should come next. Arpeggiation is all over the place, and there’s some really crafty call and response happening.

There are clear exceptions, however, “Semtinal Convex” being one of my standout favorites with its story-telling tone and excellent use of strings, it’s three minutes of pure bliss. “Zonic Emulsifizm” is another that errs on the side of caution—a strong recommendation for those that want a seriously stuck together and contiguous piece of music. For the chaoticians among you, pick from any of the other nineteen pieces that await; neither will you grow tired of or be able to predict what happens next.

Released in September, this is still available as a CD, and if you need any more reason to go get it, Roel’s most talented artwork adorns the cover of a seriously stylish piece of physical media.

Data Curation is available on EC Underground. [Bandcamp]