Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 04/30/2001
The second
Staedtizism compilation on
Stefan Betke's (
Pole)
~scape label again features some of the finest in becalmed,
dub-influenced
minimal techno. As the press materials for the disc intimate, tracks like
System's
"Red Click," Jan Jelinek's
"The Village Vanguard," and
Sad Rockets'
"Cascais" seem to fit the mood of a walk through a city just prior to sunrise. Actually, some resequencing would probably form a travelogue of sorts that would take the listener through early afternoon.
John Tejada's
"A World So Wide" is the peppiest of the gang, a cross between
Luke Vibert and
Durutti Column; a jumpy, squelching rhythm is accompanied by an articulate but simple guitar melody. The lighthearted nature is continued through the likes of
Nolte's
"21st Century Schizoid Man or How to Lose Your Head Baby," which thwarts gentle keyboard melodies with blebs of
glitch. Forays through a goofily warped vision of Jamaica flow throughout a handful of the tracks (
Burnt Friedman & the Nu Dub Players,
Beige), and the occasional dabbling with eerie
jazz fusion also finds a way into the mix (
Low Res,
Kit Clayton). One really can't have one
Staedtizism without the other; like its predecessor, it's a mere portal into the comfortably abstract sounds of
~scape.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide