Reclamation: 1997-1999

Album Review

During the late '90s, Stewart Walker proved to be a difficult figure to pin down, in the geographical sense and the discographical sense. While his profile was increased tremendously in the dance music underworld — due to a gaggle of 12" releases on labels like Tektite, Matrix, Background, and Belief Systems — odds were fair that he'd pass you on the freeway while en route to his next temporary place of residence. (And that's residence in the living sense, not the DJ sense.) Fully realizing the difficulties associated with keeping tabs on such a label vagabond, Walker set up Persona to use as the primary outlet for his sharp, exacting productions. After kicking the label off in 2001 with the Pinocchio-themed Pleasure Island EP, Walker issued Reclamation: 1997-1999, an assemblage of tracks that are evenly split between previously released and previously unreleased. Much like his LP for Force Inc., Stabiles, the workman-like quality is more than apparent throughout. Though excellent tracks like "Meer-Mir," "Damaged People," and "Intonation" represent the immobile nature of Stabiles, much of the just-as-top-drawer remainder is more suitable for hip shaking. In the process, Walker demonstrates that he's equally adept at crafting crisp tracks of both varieties, proving once and for all that the producer is a follower of none.