Luke Vibert has long been living proof of what can happen when you combine computer software with a vivid imagination and a wry sense of humour. Perhaps it's a Cornish thing, since his pal Aphex Twin manages to come off much the same way.
Vibert may be more accessible and not quite as radical, but they both manage to pack more ideas into one album than many manage in a whole career.
So far Vibert has given us the ludic psychotic-ness of his drill 'n' bass Plug project; the skewed explorations of his Wagon Christ moniker; a Hawaiian slide guitar 'n' beats collaborator with BJ Cole; and compilations of rare recordings from music libraries for Lo. His debut LP for Warp - a label he has had a long association with - was always going to be an inventive affair.
His reputation for diversity and quality established, Luke doesn't really have to indulge himself in whimsical 'madcap' projects, yet he is unable to control himself. On this record he cheerfully and haphazardly revisits his own personal favourite dancefloor sound - acid.
A love of all things acidic and squelchy has always been apparent in his work - just like his adorable penchant for 'pings' and 'pops' - but on YosepH the 303s and 808s are given royal pride of place.
Luring us in with the slow-burning headnod of 'Liptones', Vibert takes us along a dimly lit labyrinth full of wildly oscillating basslines and superbly intricate beats. Plenty can be discerned within the darkness - the acidic leer of 'Synthax', the creeping monotony of 'FreakTimeBaby', the plodding proclamations of 'I Love Acid' - and of course, there are plenty of bleeps, beeps and fibrous melodic components to light the way.
As Doctor Spock (almost) said once: It's acid captain, but not as we know it.
