Mathew Jonson / Her Blurry Pictures
CD / Digital / Vinyl
Crosstown Rebels / Released June 2013
As Crosstown Rebels continues its campaign for global independent record label dominance they welcome back Wagon Repair man Mathew Jonson for his first album on the imprint. Eerie, minimal, and poised, despite being released via one of the most prolific organisations in the house scene it’s definitely still born more from the leftfield sounds fans of the producer will have been hoping for.
Hardly the most accessible opening to an album we’ve heard this year, once the triplets Level 7, Illusions Of Control, and Sahara have finished with their respective glittering techno, broken electro, and atmospheric dark room house things do start to open up a little. Touch The Sky‘s stepping, comparatively bouncy rhythm, for example, is far less chin-strokey and moody. Although it’s probably wise to note it’s still very much in the odd-but-workable end of beats, rather than anything particularly predictable, thanks largely to the kind of subtle touches that have become Jonson’s calling card over the years.
Lightweight Champion is another case in point. A melodic, deep breakbeat track, the attention to detail is pronounced, with the aficionado responsible showing a clear understanding as to what needs to be added, or even removed, in order to emphasise the tune’s best assets. Whether it’s the timing of those snares, the spinning-top percussive notes, or indeed the heavy but sparse kick drum, it sounds like a complete, well-finished arrangement by all measurements. An exercise in studio excellence to say the least, we can only imagine both Rebels and Jonsonites benefiting from the overall contents here.
