Barbara Morgernstern: Himmel Mixe (Monika Enterprise) - 12” originally released February 2003

Superlative creative remixes. Ellen Allien does her usual emotive techno routine seemingly effortlessly, her stuff was always too sterile for my liking. Lawrence fares better with his usual trademark foppish subtlety. Whilst Tarwater get intricate and complex which posssess a wonderful Black Dog-esque vibe about it, but its the surprising epic turn from Dntel that carries this 12”.

Alva Noto: Transform (Mille Plateaux) - CD originally released June 2004

Like most of Alva Noto’s work, its impressive whilst its on, gets a bit annoying after thirty minutes and you hardly rush back to play it all over again when its over. This release from 2004 is just as cold and austere as anything recent. His collaborative work fares better and the welcome move into more ambient territory (with the Aleph series) is much more interesting. But this still has occasional bursts of academic funk, notably the opening track.