the first matrix record on cr, the one with the sort of melodic house cut (as someone put it) is a pretty far departure from the older chain reaction flavor. personally i'm surprised it was released on c.r., but things can't stay the same forever. it was on the heels of the fluxion 12" (which is the new artist who makes music most similar to older c.r., and does a good job) and the hallucinator 12", which again is a departure in the melodic direction.
the second matrix record has the track 'isthmus #fast' which is a grower imho. i'd recommend this one the most of the three matrix records. it starts out with a little haze and subdued percussive throbbing, then a bassline kicks in...yes a bassline in a c.r. record. but it's good. it provides good accompaniment for the chords over top, and then the percussion fades in, nice and not too overpowering. much like the first sleep engineer record on xplor. as a side note, i may be the only one, but i miss the silver-on-black / black-on-silver labels...and the font size has gotten larger now too. aesthetics...personally i think it has always played a big role in bc/cr, and for me the musical and physical aesthetics have taken a _slight_ downwards turn after cr-20. (i also liked the metal boxes even though they destroyed my cds) din, to me, still has it all in place. that arovane full-length 'atol scrap' is a very nice piece of work, and the design on all of the din stuff has been and continues to be great. arovane has proven to be something more than an autechre clone, which is nice to see. -dave np drexciya - black sea
