Hello. Welcome to the landscape of change. Life is change. Is there anything alive that doesn't change? Stop and think about it. You can't really stop can you? You can only slow down.
'Stop And Think About It'
When an album opens with introspective lyricism such as this, yet overlays it with the laziest, low-slung instrumental arrangement and heavyweight beats, it is impossible to ignore it. So Rob Rives' Floppy Sounds project returns after the critically acclaimed 'Downtime' LP and almost an age away but bites back like a starved Rottweiler with 'Short Term Memories' a fiercely challenging album that straddles heavy techno, mellow esoteric, Eno -influenced ambience, burbling tech-house and the dirtiest of deep house grooves without flinching.
No matter whether you're a devotee of The Orb, Brian Eno, Carl Craig or even ON-U-Sound there is something here for you to get your teeth firmly locked into. Check 'Team Realness' for a touch of tough tech-house with a sweet melodic twist. Or experience the cinematic wonders of 'Clear,' its wintry, beat-less ambience frozen like droplets a branch. 'Complex' is a dark, funky-drummed break-beat driven excursion which has more than a little ON-U-Sound influence whilst 'Entertainment' (featuring top New York spoken word artist, Sarah Jones) flips the script and delivers a speaker-phreaking slice of throbbing, distorted house.
Rives' pedigree is enviable, since he is known not just for his work through the Wave Music stable but for co-producing remixes for artistes as diverse as Kraftwerk, Underworld and Can amongst others. He also has a top-drawer solo recording career with forthcoming releases on the ultra-cool Yoshitoshi and Junior.
Encompassing themes of alienation and decay and Philip K Dick's science fiction now with the abstract angles of deep and hard house grooves in one album is a tough remit but one that is totally rewarding to the ear. So stop and think about it this could be one of the best albums you've bought all year.
