(05.16.05) Although the press and jokey liner notes for Lost Recordings 2000-2004
are a lot of fun, don’t let them distract you from what becomes clear when
you listen to the CD. Despite the detailed biography of The Exposures and
the song history for their music, this is most definitely a new Jan Jelinek
record. More than that, though, it is far and away my favorite thing he
has done since his full length debut Personal Rock (as Gramm, Source
Records).
When I interviewed Jelinek a few years back he explained that he is listens
to a lot of rare groove, reggae and soul. Although the album La Nouvelle
Pauvreté (by Jan Jelinek & The Exposures, ~scape) started to reveal these
influences more obviously, Lost Recordings 2000-2004 is the first release
on which they really take over. I love all this stuff, as well as my nerdy
bleeps and bloops, so it’s almost like he was thinking “I’ll give that guy
down under exactly what he’s always wanted.”
Quite a few artists into bedroom electronics have taken to absorbing the
lessons of hip-hop producers, but this album is more of a parallel
evolution from shared influences. There’s a bit of the boom boom clap,
there are cut up samples from jazz, soul and funk, but no faux scratching,
no phrases out of rap acapellas, and no (head) nods to either the Neptunes
or Timbaland.
The other aspect of this recording that is worth picking out is that while
the overall sound is approachable and generally quite cheerful, the details
are quite prickly. Loops of sampled sound expand and contract across the
head-nodding beats. It’s a technique Jelinek pulled out on his
loop-finding-jazz-records, but is much more successful here, where it
lends a strange, artificial swing to the already funky source material.
I enjoyed the record so much I don’t even see the point in delving into
individual tracks. There are eight tunes on the short CD, in-keeping with
most other releases on Eastern Developments. All eight are very worthwhile
if you’re interested in an adventurous approach to downbeat music or other
releases by Jelinek.
Lost Recordings 2000-2004 is out now on Eastern Developments.
