Hrvatski | Irrevocably Overdriven Break Freakout Megamix
Entschuldigen | CD
Forty minutes of irrevocably overdriven break freakout from one of electronica's more versatile musicians.
Keith Fullerton Whitman's capacity to shift abruptly between boundaries is well-documented, with releases ranging from the shimmering drones of his widely praised 'Playthroughs' on Kranky to the careful field recordings of the excellent 'Dartmouth Street Underpass'. 'Irrevocably Overdriven Break Freakout Megamix' sees Whitman veer unashamedly into no-holds-barred mash up territory, its title wearing its heart on its sleeve.
Indexed across 91 points 'Irrevocably...' documents a performance at San Francisco's RX Gallery that would doubtless have been a joy to witness live. Hrvatski lists source material as "otherwise unreleased tracks and reworkings of classic anthems", however, most of this is gloriously corrupted beyond all recognition. Whitman states: "It helps to think of this release as essentially a 'bootleg'... it should be dully noted that [it] is certainly not long for this world".
It's difficult to resist making comparisons. Think Kid 606 circa 'The Action Packed Mentallist Brings You The Fucking Jams' and you'll have a fair idea of the journey Hrvatski makes, although his audio collisions are handled with an arguably higher degree of particle accelerator precision.
At index point 37 we drop into frenetic drum and bass - fast forward congas which slowly submerge into a wide open expanse of gloriously detuned radio static - sustained, it stretches out for a seeming eternity before an echo-soaked dub chasm splits open to swallow a child-like melody that recalls the Aphex Twin and Mike Paradinas' memorable collaboration 'Expert Knob Twiddlers'.
The pace is relentless with pauses few and far between. A sustained aural assault that pleads to be pumped out at speaker-shuddering high volume and left on repeat.
Whitman's attention to detail extends to the packaging which offsets a carefully positioned sticker listing all credits with a series of five different inserts ranging from 'silver metallic oxidized paper insert' to 'blue gold metallic super thick cardstock insert' - all equally delicious.
Marvellously mangled mayhem. More please.
