Tomas Jirku is certainly one of the most challenging and groundbreaking producers today who makes minimal music for both listening and dancing. He is well known and his music has been realized on labels like Substractif, Force Inc, Mille Plateaux, No Type, and Intr_Version to name a few.
The music on Bleak 1999 is more on the listening side. All tracks from this album were produced in 1999 but are now officially released for the first time by No Type, obviously one of the bravest labels today pushing the limits of electronic music forward. And Jirku fits nicely there. The production of this new album is a bit rawer but it does not affect the depth of the music; a sound design of minimal rhythms balanced with bass lines, occasional obscure noises and a distant atmospheric flow, even dub sometimes; melancholic, desolate and accessible at the same time. The design of the CD-cover is by Tomas Jirku himself (who works as a designer) and it goes well with the music. Nicely designed musical textures from the outside and within.
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Books On Tape is Todd Drootin who is known from his MP3-label Subverseco. Todd also makes music as Click Tracy and is involved in few other projects like Dewey Decimator (with Kerri Kerrang), Sluts On Tape (with Eryk Salvaggio), Tape Science Version (with Dustin Craig) and Box Social (with David Klotz). You can find MP3s from many of these names at Subverseco.What’s important to say about Todd’s musical influences is that he’s a huge fan of Pavement, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Art Ensemble Of Chicago (and lots more) and calls his electronic music style “beatpunk.” It’s music with lots of energy, noisy beats and often unconventional rhythms –loud, beat-oriented and uncompromising songs. Not being a personal interpretation of a well known musical expression, Books On Tape goes in another direction – fresh, new, funny and yet very serious and adventurous. Sings The Blues is recommended for those who like great new adventures
in lo-fi music.
