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In a musical landscape divided between 80s retro enthusiasts and a group of artists, labels, and even journalists frantically trying to come up with the next forward-thinking paradigm now that "glitch" has turned out to be less than the all-encompassing musical ideology it was originally proclaimed to be, very few records come out that hint at being able to create an impact that will last them after the current fads (both mainstream and avantgarde) withers away. 'Coalition 2000', a collection of material originating in two live shows done in Antwerp (Belgium) in October 2000, quite possibly may be such a record. To be sure, it features a few (admittedly delightful) instances of late 80s electronic disco getting deconstructed, and one could indeed argue that many tracks borrow rather heavily from the "glitch" paradigm. Looking at the overall picture, however, the amalgam of styles and ideas as a whole comes off not as some kind of obligatory cross-over festival, but rather as a powerful, focused artistic statement. This statement may not be independent of the time in which it was created, but it most certainly does more than express knowledge of what's fashionable. What retro contributes to this album is a heavy use of purely electronic sounds, most of which you've probably heard before. To these sometimes rather sterile synth pads "glitch" then adds the realization that manipulated white noise and accidental sounds can impart an organic feel that's difficult, if not impossible, to create with "pure" electronics. This is, of course, not a new combination: As early as 1974, Japan's Richard Barbieri, for instance, was modulating elements of his synthesizer pads with various forms of noise to give them a more random feel. It is, however, a technique that still is effective and one that has been evolving steadily since then, adding ever greater amounts of noise and randomness to the pure and clean waveforms produced by analogue and digital oscillators. Technicalities aside, the tracks on 'Coalition 2000' are also unashamedly musical. This, too, isn't unique - viz the output of, say, Four Tet, Arovane (the superb 'Atol Scrap' album), or The Third Eye Foundation. "Being musical", however, is not something you can fake: You either are or you aren't. L'Usine ICL has shown, on this release, that he can be. Whatever issues marred his previous offerings (excessively anal Warp-ish tinkering), they're absent on this release, making 'Coalition 2000' one of the finest and most musical releases of 2001 yet. Seeing as it is a limited edition, you would be well advised to go out and get it right now. If you miss it, you can only hope L'Usine's next "proper" offering will again be this good.
http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/l-usine-icl/coalition-2000/786/
Meer L'Usine ICL op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/l-usine-icl
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