Rhythm & Views

Biowire

The first album released in the States from the Electronic Watusi Boogalo label was a great sampler showcasing the range of talents the label's various groups have. Now comes the first proper American release from the EWB (in conjunction with the great Athens label Kindercore), Biowire's Disparation.

Despite the water crossing, it sounds like Biowire's J. Crosse traveled the whole way here on the Trans-Europe Express, with stopovers in England to talk to Brian Eno and a quick chat with the Orb. At the very least he must travel by train a lot since nearly all the beats seemed to be pinched from the clackety-clack of the railroad track.

The melodies of these mainly instrumental songs (the only vocals are provided by a vocoded voice--think HAL from 2001) float around in their synthesized world sounding much like the opening theme of Dr. Who. Blobs of bass float into and around the melody like gobs of paint swirled around squiggly lines in Jackson Pollock paintings. Reminds me most of a downtempo version of the Daft Punk sound, last heard largely when DP's song "Around the World" was being driven down everyone's collective Autobahn.

The only down side to this is that, well, I have a lot of Kraftwerk. And so does anyone else who would be interested in buying this album. So if you're into the sounds of the robots, pick it up.