100 lbs
Label: !K7
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Reissue
WorkNameSort: 100 lbs
The reissue of Matthew Herbert’s 100 lbs follows quickly his secure place in the end-of-2006 crit roundup for Scale. The British electronic musician sampled 723 objects for Scale, collaborating again with Dani Siciliano for lovely results, as inspired by politics as disco. Hearing 100 lbs in 2007 is timely, then, for a look back to 1996, when three EPs (before they were packaged as the 100 lbs LP) simmering with warm bass-line melodies and house organ licks cast Herbert’s productions out into the dance-listening public for the first time. Excepting wonderfully aged, lush cuts like ‘Desireâ?� and the busy title track (and its soothing background loop), these early numbers might only serve as a worthwhile document for the longtime Herbert fan. The bonus disc, however, offers B-sides, rarities, and unreleased cuts from 1995 to 2000 to great effect, mashing erratic noisy trips (‘No More Bordersâ?�) with silky soulful techno (‘I’ll Do Itâ?�).
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2007.