Herbert
Secondhand Sounds: Herbert Remixes (Peacefrog)

In his relatively short career, Matthew Herbert has crafted his collection of techno blips, odd studio and household noises, and the body's natural rhythms into some of the deepest and most delicate house music most in sync with our current existence. His mixture of the technologic with the organic creates a sound that floats on cybernetic breath, fusing aspects of lounge jazz with stuttering and, at times, completely unrelated sound bytes into a complete and natural entity. His efforts have earned him the respect of musicians the world over, as demonstrated in this 2-disc collection of remixes that showcases work he's performed over the past five years for other like minded artists like Presence, Recloose, Nils Petter Molvaer, as well as Serge Gainsbourg and Louie Austen, who flow through entirely different vein. Throughout this collection, Herbert sound is confident and pronounced enough to be recognized as signature, though restrained enough so that he never simply takes over the track, but instead retains enough of the feel of the original as to retain the artist's voice. Though not intended be a proper album Secondhand Sounds holds together as well as any other, and works both as an introduction for new fans and a must have for fans of old.
-KJ

Journeys By DJ
(Coldcut)

As far as DJ mixes go, this sonic carpet ride through funk, techno, hip hop, reggae and everything but the kitchen sink - sliced, diced and thrown in - makes a very enjoyable release. There are a total of 35 tracks - too many to mention - that comprise this mix. It is sometimes hard to know when one track ends and the other begins. And there are all kinds of tempos here. That’s part of the pleasure of this audio stew. Coldcut simply knows how to get down. Easily one of the CDs that gets high rotation in your CD player and there’s always something else to penetrate. Works on many levels.


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