Expect More from a Past Life

Album Review

Two terms roughly define the Schematic label: dirt and beatitude. Dirt because they're based in Miami and their recordings have a tint of that Miami low-rider boom. The beatitude they earn on their own, however. What sets their clicks + cuts releases apart from the (predominantly European) pack is that they're not afraid to be lyrical. Expect More From a Past Life is the first CD release from Takeshi Muto, one half of the group Phoenecia, a stalwart of Schematic. While his offering on the Lily of the Valley compilation was a brightly suffused series of crackling beats, Expect More serves up a broad range of shades and styles. Cutting and pasting disco, hip-hop, and loads of electro, Muto's pieces chart in the six- to ten-minute range and are not afraid to go in for some repetition. "Tape Birth" jumps right in with some low-end deep beats tossed against glitch scratching and bursts of phased noise. Noteworthy track "Quilloid" works similarly ridin', but dark, beats with just enough distortion to approach metal. The album really doesn't stretch out until nearly the end, however, with a couple of simply wonderful cuts. "Fuqpulga" is crunked; "Ntak" manages to hit both dirt and beatitude. These are some of the best glitchwerks yet, and anyone who likes this should also check Muto out on the House of Distraction compilation (Schematic 2001).