Records which employ structures and rhythms typically associated with minimal techno tend to be recorded to sound sterile and detached. Polmo Polpo contradict this aesthetic. They combine sometimes driving rhythms and variation- based structures with a very natural and warm recording aesthetic. Their sounds have long envelopes, which often seem to have been created underwater. The resulting sound provides no obvious clues to how it was recorded, and the liner notes offer no information. The record resembles contemporary techno, especially on "Aqua", but it also shares common traits with the Dead C and with Yello's early records on Ralph. (audisensa@thpoon.com)
Music Reviews | No. 25
XtraKcts & ArtifaKcts CD
by Roman Sokal
King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto and Austin, Texas, engineer Bill Munyon have managed to modify their computers into musical electrocardiogram machines that output an array of avant-garde techno...