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Helicoids / Psychotic Breaks Mix CD - Alex Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Alex Young put together a special mix CD, combining tracks from his albums Psychotic Breaks (on camomille) and earlier Furthernoise release, Helicoids, for the Furthernoise London A/V net mixing event last year. The resulting continuous mix is an energetic assemblage of controlled chaotic broken beats/hyperkinetic drum and bass, glitchy goodness, and fuzzy tonal textures interspersed or even blended with melodic washes of smooth ambience and optimistic synthesizers. This twenty-nine minute voyage moves its way across a variety of sonic environments, none of them inaccessible (except for wholly insulated ambient-wannabes) and includes enough “musical” moments (yet never approaching the passé or the mundane) to actually induce a smile or a tapped toe now and then. Opening things up with pealing church bells segueing into a swelling drone which dovetails into a cavalcade of energy-infused arrhythmic beats we flow into an ebbing/flowing wash of synthesizers along with a pleasant sonar-ish retro tone reverberating against a midtempo trap kit rhythm track. A slightly darker tinted drone washes over the proceedings and unfolds into serene organ-like pads with a kiss of progressive fusion to them. Skitchy glitchiness emerges from this shadowy realm and this is one of those “oh yeah” moments I alluded to above. However, Young is just getting started as a deliciously lively and upbeat synth tone refrain dances lightly above the organ and drone swells. I couldn't get enough of this section of the mix as it infuses the air with a special type of contemporary yet retro “feel-goodishness.” Abruptly, Young swings back into the opening atmosphere (via some sampled dialogue and the sound of an underground riding the rails) of barely controlled ultra-rapid beats panning left and right in a dizzying display of rhythmic pyrotechinics. That he navigates this change in direction without alienating the listener is no small feat. Deftly, he then returns to calmer waters with smooth pads and pleasing electronic textures amidst a backdrop of glitchy and semi-drum and bass beats. The recording concludes with one last foray into an explosion of experimental noise, glitch and scratching effects, leaving this listener wishing, as all good recordings should, for more, not less. The CD was a great way to spend a half-hour under the headphones. By the way, for those who are uber-interested in the breakdown, the actual songs used for this CD include Subterranea and Naumanonics from Psychotic Breaks and from Helicoids, Brittlestar, Conch,” and Basketstar. Review by Bill Binkelman
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