Photek – KU:PALM

The first record of Photek's I've bought (albeit from a bargain bin) in over 12 years. The last three tracks are atrocious, but the rest of it is actually rather good. Nice beats in a varied technoey kind of way.

Photek returns to digital breaks with KU:PALM, not quite getting up to speed, but keeping his own unique vision of electronic music intact. "Signals" kicks things off with some jittery digital electro, while "Quadrant" slows things down, offering up some darkness with an occasional dancehall snare to keep things crisp. "Aviator" sees him returning to mid-tempo house rhythms, though if you're looking for a slammin' floor-filler, it probably won't do the trick (go straight to "Oshun" if you want that), and "Pyramid" has a more syncopated jazz beat to accompany the Middle Eastern strings. But the grandeur of the piano intro of "Munich" stands out even more, even after the beat thumps in. "Quevedo" has an appealing shimmer to it, while "Mistral" goes for the acid. Linche offers her Janis Joplin-esque vocals to the dubstep-inspired "Sleepwalking" (Ray La Montagne will do the same for "This Love") while sampled vocals filter onto "One of a Kind." I'm glad to see Photek continuing to explore different sonic territory at his own pace.

still waiting for MO2