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

Rumpistol: Dynamo
Rump

With Dynamo, the third Rumpistol album and first after a three-year interval, Danish electronic producer Jens Berents Christiansen shows he's kept his ears to the ground and nicely expanded on his past work, particularly in the heavier rhythm emphasis that pervades the new material. More specifically, the Rump Recordings head bolsters the album's eight songs with bass-heavy funk and dubstep grooves, a move that reaps significant rewards.

He often exploits the contrast that naturally arises when gentle, melancholy melodies butt up against aggressive rhythms, and when traditional instruments (piano, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, melodica, strings) merge with synthetic (electronics, synthesizers, drum machines). Hear, for instance, in “Beito” the distinctive result that comes from pairing delicate string melodies and a whiplash dubstep groove. In like manner, the nimble pluck of a thumb piano melody glides over a surging throb in “Transit” while “Mobile” pairs elegant piano playing while a bomb-dropping funk pulse. Check out as well the pile-driving groove that thunders through “Refleksion” and the serpentine beat flow coursing through “Dynamo.”

He certainly hasn't retired the detail-packed style of his previous Rumpistol output. In fact, Christiansen packs such an incredible amount of detail into the latest tracks, one sometimes longs for a few moments of empty space to provide some breathing room. That's pretty much the only downside, however, and he's also to be applauded for the album's concision; so few albums weigh in at forty-four minutes these days, Dynamo stands out for being the rare and welcome exception .

November 2008