Skee Mask loves electronic music. That becomes very clear, if you listen to his new album »Shred« on Ilian Tape He knows its development, he also knows a lot about it and distributes his knowledge over a span of 60 minutes. There is a large net that Skee Mask spins and there is a lot of stuff that he captures within it; Ambient, Dub, Techno, House, IDM, Acid, Drum’n’ Bass. There is something for everyone. The individual tracks are also technically well done. Particularly beautiful are the sound shifts, for example, when in »Backcounty« there is a four on the floor beat stomping along at 130 bpm and then it manoeuvres into the direction of a breakbeat, or the other way round when the »Shred 08« breakbeat changes into Acid House. On top of that, from time to time, there are spaces partly shifted by broken beats, like it’s 1992. And no it’s not only the structure, but also the sound design that changes. Skee Mask adapts it to the situation, at times he makes it seem dusty, foggy or glossy. Every piece in itself functions in its own microcosm. The only accusation which you can make here, is that with this approach any governing structure goes down the drain. Which sounds does Skee Mask stand for? Judging by »Shred« I can only answer that in an unsatisfactory manner. I wish he would make more concrete use of the chosen »Album« format. For the sake of electronic music.
Shred
