Monday, July 09, 2007

Xela – For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights

The four years since Type label boss John Twells’ initially released his debut full length have been intriguing for the electronic music world. A slow dissolving of checkmark genres have left behind an aesthetic that’s difficult to summarize. Having moved even further from the dance floor, new electronic works are often held together by the poetry of tone. Frosty Mornings sits comfortably alongside up-to-the-moment releases, contrasting with last year’s more individual, dense and frankly menacing The Dead Sea. It also hints at Twells’ points of entrance through the digital looking glass. “Japanese Whispers” has a slightly retro sound that runs a shiver between a snail’s pace trance and hip-hop backbeat. “The Long Walk Home at Midnight” also threads together Mille Plateaux/Raster-Noton clicks and pops with a cool after-afterhours jazziness. The reissue also compliments Type’s growing catalogue of releases that highlight individual visions over collective solidarity. Twells’ is a fine label boss to lead by setting the example of “no example necessary.”

Type

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