Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Oldham's Finest
Not exactly the first place that springs to mind when you’re trying to think of cities that produce fine quality music but there’s exceptions to nearly every rule and Mark Stewart AKA Claro Intelecto is the one as far as this post's concerned. He’s got a new 12" out this week which although in my opinion isn’t his best work it’s worth buying nonetheless, especially if you’re record collection doesn’t contain some of his previous releases. In fact, if you aren’t aware of his previous form then you’ve been missing out on some of the finest electronic gems of recent years!
It all kicked of with the Peace of Mind EP on Ai Records, an absolute belter of a 12 with all 4 tracks being of the highest quality. The two standout tunes for me are the gorgeous electronica of ‘Peace of Mind (Electrosoul)’ and the pure electro filth of ‘Tone’; posted below for your listening pleasure.
Now if that scared you a little and you like your electronics chilled then I suggest donning your finest trainspotting tweeds and going on a hunt for the highly limited ‘Lacan / Episode' release on Modern Love as the deep techno minimalism of Lacan will be sure not to disappoint.
Basically, all of this guy’s stuff is worth checking out and he’s one of the few artists I’m happy to shell out on without listening to the tracks beforehand so I suggest you raid your piggy banks and go out and get some.
The last track I’ll leave you with is another rare release by him, this time one which came out on a free CD to mark the hundredth release of De:Bug magazine; a fine publication although I guess most of our readers will find it easier to digest when they start doing an English version (here’s hoping!)
Claro Intelecto – State of Grace
