skoud
systems and drafts
( motivesounds ) 2005

According to the motivesounds website, Skoud's Systems and Drafts is "a collection of miniature electronic pieces that fuse the delicate melodies of Múm with the lush soundscapes of Boards of Canada underpinned with a rhythmic inventiveness which benefits from his background as a drummer." If it weren't for reading that bit I would have been confused by the song lengths, which are especially short in the world of ambient electronica where 7+ minutes is considered average. As the tracks here range from 1:42 to 3:45 (totalling at 34 minutes) I initially supposed they released a promo of "snippets" like are often available on websites. But these are the composer's complete "songs," although they mostly do have a truncated feel (there's even an audible *thunk!* as some of them are abruptly cut off), which we can attribute perhaps to the old cliché about drummers' attention spans.

"System 20 Live Edit," one of the most fleshed-out tracks, drops a pastoral and pretty guitar lick reminiscent of Lemon Jelly over a pleasing skitter and crunch, "Maida Vale" ventures into the noir terrain presided over by Amon Tobin, while "Fu" and the tail-end of "Lystandrige" challenge all but the most frenetic of dancefloors to move some booty to its barrage of electro rhythms worthy of Squarepusher at his most restrained. The standouts are "Thc' with its chopped-up and regurgitated house vocals and bubbly bass beat and the swooning gorgeousness of the MuZiq-esque "515 Jackie Adaptor."

Aside from the incomplete, sketchy feel of the tracks, they present a lushness of texture that is few and far between in the world of IDM today. Along with the aforementioned comparisons, a digital simulacrum of the analog workouts of Aphex Twin's early 90's alter ego Polygon Window is the closest reference point here, along with touches of the warm velvety squelch of Plaid and the soft glitch 'n' skip of minimalists like Pole, Pan American, Kit Clayton, et al (minus their dubbier sides). It's the ideal headphone candy for those 'Lectronica Lovers who are short on time in this quick-edit world.

beedub :: (12.26.05)