! Armchair DJ Review - Techno Unit 32: Misc. Tracks ! Larry Kucharz CD, International Audiochrome, USA, 2001
On "Audiochrome," his previous foray into electronic dance-music structures, modern classical musician Larry Kucharz stuck closely to a purist techno blueprint, both exploiting and corrupting the original Detroit ideal. On "Techno Unit 32: Misc. Tracks," the New York-based composer-turned-producer dabbles in a wider range of dance-derived styles, creating an album whose variety and tempos prove daunting but whose best tracks marry steely intellect to spartan beauty. On the first half of "Misc. Tracks," Kucharz tries his hand at everything from jungle to "classical progressive," a somewhat tongue-in-cheek new genre name he coined to describe some of his experiments in fast-paced tonal assault. There's nothing here as brutal as, say, the Aphex Twin at his most extreme, but the unfamiliarity of Kucharz's sonic palette may well prove disorienting. On some of his earlier, non-"dance" compositions, Kucharz played with rapid pulses whose noisiness was challenging; here, though, on tracks such as "U310," drum-machine beats provides a rhythmic framework for uncompromising textures. Although it's labelled "techno," "U955" is actually closer to hardcore, and when its furious oscillations drop away to reveal a static piano motif, the result is a moment whose beauty lies in its very brevity. At less than four minutes, "U969" is probably one of the shortest "drum & bass" tracks ever recorded, but its subsonic beat trickery falls somewhere between avant-junglists Spring Heel Jack and electro enigmas Drexciya. The prickly, oscillating "U313" may carry a coincidental reference to Detroit's area code in its title, but it's "U311," the seventh track, that marks Kucharz's return to the ominous Motor City linearity of the "Audiochrome" LP. From there on out, "Misc. Tracks" settles into less busy rhythms, from the metallic acceleration of "U311" to the elegant kraut thump of "U922." The last three tracks are the most beautiful, and also the longest: "U350," an eight-minute collision of classic house piano vamps and 3/4 time; "U921," a lengthy excursion into dubby atmosphere and tonal counterpoint; and the 14-minute murk of "U333," where melodic whorls and muted percussion flash by in patches, surrounded by aural fog. Although its first several tracks may mark "Techno Unit 32" a "difficult" listen, Kucharz rewards patient audiences with dreamy accessibility later on. Write to: International Audiochrome, Box 1068, Rye, NY 10580. Brian J. Dillard Armchair DJ http://www.armchair-dj.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- available from cdstreet.com http://www.cdstreet.com/artists/internationalaudiochromeinc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Armchair DJ Interview “CLASSICAL TO TECHNO TO CLASSICAL” Larry Kucharz interviewed by Brian J. Dillard “ ...After I complete a major project, like a CD, I sometimes reflect about the things I've done, as opposed to the things I'm "supposed" to be doing. One of the things that's different about my stuff is the sound. Club music "rules" state that you have to clear out the bottom. EQ Code Section 1035 (a) (1): Get rid of anything below 100 Hz for the kick sound. Problem is, I usually have lots of very busy stuff going on in that sonic area and just above it. (There are tracks in "Audiochrome" that have six parts.) This gives it a muddy quality at times. Maybe what I'm after is a "texture" and I just don't know it yet. Of course, having that many things going on down there breaks another "rule": Club Production Code Section 3089 (c) (3): Only have one bass at a time. If you have another bass line - fade one in and the other out. I don't fade in and out; I want the counterpoint. ...” complete interview at: http://www.armchair-dj.com/handler.asp?/features/interviews/larry_kucharz.asp --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
