Articles
2008 Ten Favourite Labels
Ten Questions Celer
Ten Questions Deadbeat

Albums
Anzio Green
Ariel Abshire
Osman Arabi
Arastoo & AEMAE
Asymmetrical Head
Benoît Pioulard
Bohren & der Club of Gore
Matt Borghi
Celer
Cubenx
Anders Dahl
Davis & Roux
Deadbeat
Feu Follet
Formication
Generic
Stefan Goldmann
Gultskra Artikler / Lanterns
Hauschka
Hexes & Ohs
Koen Holtkamp
I Am Robot And Proud
Illusion of Safety
Integral
Koen Park
Akira Kosemura
Koushik
Library Tapes
Lineland
Mamiffer
Melodium
Moon
Oppressed By The Line
Pillars and Tongues
Rumpistol
Kamran Sadeghi
Sans Serif
Signal Deluxe
Skogen
Saul Stokes
Matthew Sweet
Tapage
Thursday / Envy
Windy & Carl

Compilations / Mixes
An Taobh Tuathail II
Chaos Restored 2
DFPRMX
Kuniyuki
Message Subatomic World
Pero es olor en el cuarto...

EPs
Canyons!
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
Cubenx
Dokuro
Fraction
Lee Holman
Ikonika
King Midas Sound
Michael Lambright
Library Tapes
Lilienweiss
MRK1
:papercutz
Spencer Parker
Poratz
Spartak + John Chantler
Andy Vaz

MRK1: Get Out Clause / Infection
Earwax

On two hard-hitting MRK1 cuts, Manchester producer and Contagious label head Mark Foster draws from his considerable grime and dubstep skills to school others in how it's done (his material's been issued on Rephlex Records and Planet MU, among others ). “Get Out Clause” slams into formation with a beat so pummeling, its echo is almost as huge, and then switches it up for a monstrous wobble that's tough enough to single-handedly flatten rocky terrain. He also pretties up the scenery with voice swirls and synth whooshes that get sucked into the maelstrom not once but twice. The flip's “Infection” opens with neck-severing snares grinding out a woozy, half-step skank, after which a subterranean bass and bright glissandi bring contrasting detail into the mix. Throughout the tune, MRK1 works up a hypnotic head-nod while simultaneously fleshing it out with cymbal patterns and electronic spatter. Short but definitely sweet.

November 2008