Disquiet

Still (aka Hsi-Chang Lin) is the turntablist for Dalek, who is perhaps most concisely described as the rare hip-hop MC on Ipecac, the record label run by noise-meister Mike Patton (Fantomas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle). Remains is an EP-length (35-minute) solo album that Still is about to release on the Public Guilt label. And “Futility” (MP3) is a free download that Public Guilt has posted, one of Remains‘ six tracks, an exploration of acoustic texture. The underlying basis of the track is that furry sound of LP surface noise; various melodic elements make themselves heard (a bit of woodwind, some echoed horn tones, mallet-like reverberations) but they seep through without coming close to disrupting the sonic capillary action of the vinyl. The piece manages to lull and discomfort simultaneously. The full release is highly recommended. More details at publicguilt.com.

By Marc Weidenbaum