Hullo All, I just received my copy of Surgeon's ``Body Request'' album - his first on his own Dynamic Tension imprint. The album starts off with ``Hunger'', a foray into ``Red Two''-ish Clarkean techno with clinks and clonks thrown in for good measure. ``Setting The Scene'' begins with a clinging percussions and a hard beat, gaining momentum and reverb as the track progresses (reminding me somewhat of Beaumont Hannant's remix of Autechre's ``Basscadet'' - but the comparison is a bit shaky). From somewhere out comes the bell/string background, fading in and out of focus under the relentless beat and percussions. ``Fight Or Flight'' is very reminiscent of Surgeon's earlier work on Dynamic Tension - furiously repetitive percussions over a booming bass drum and a variety of shakers and hihats. A few detuned bellstrings in the background - similar to ``Setting The Scene'' but shorter and only momentary. ``Discipline'' lashes out hard and sudden with a bouncy percussive melody line, escalating to another furious in-and-out-fading hihat/shaker/snare workout over a booming bassline. ``Instinct'' is another tapping detroit repeating chord track with a rather interesting overlaid syncopated rhythm. Not a lot of variation here, nevertheless a good track with a snappish bassline. ``Stringent'' is very similar to ``Discipline'' - a bouncing percussive melody over a repetitive square bassline. Nothing new here. ``Sleep (Ultra Violet)'' is the definite high point of the album - starting off with a couple of minutes of buildup drums and percussions (but with that familiar Surgeon touch - very loose and open). The a string layer is added - just two chords repeating over and over - very similar to Claude Young's ``Angel'' on his third release on Deta or Ruskin's ``Prevention Beyond Cause'' on Blueprint. The strings fade out but then fade back in during a break from whence the track continues to its inevitable end - a symphonic chaos of strings and reverb and noise.
These were my first impressions as I was listening to the album, so take everything with a grain of salt - I think all Surgeon releases require more than one listen-to before all the nuances become apparent. All in all, a very good package. A tad too level and unsurprising when compared to Surgeon's latest work on Counterbalance, but nevertheless worth buying if you're into Surgeon, Ruskin, Ho and the like. DTRLP1 (Dynamic Tension [UK], 2xLP, 2000) Surgeon (Anthony Child) ``Body Request'' A1 ``Hunger'' A2 ``Setting The Scene'' B1 ``Fight Or Flight'' B2 ``Discipline'' C1 ``Instinct'' C2 ``Stringent'' D1 ``Sleep (Ultra Violet)'' If anyone knows if the CD has more tracks, let me know. Cheers, -- nuutti-iivari meriläinen gordon at diversion dot org http colon slash slash www dot diversion dot org slash
