Plug
Drum and Bass For Papa
(Nothing / Blue Planet)
Luke Vibert (aka Plug and Wagon Christ) is the first of tons (a couple others are Squarepusher and Autechre) of electronic artists to be picked up by Trent Reznors Nothing label and set for release domestically. Like the other artist he's been touring with (Aphex Twin) as of late, Luke Vibert is one of notoriously busy artists who releases under a variety of pseudonyms. Besides touring, he already released an album called Big Soup this year on Mo Wax, as well as several songs on compilations.
Like the title of the album suggests, though, Plug is Vibert's drum and bass outlet. Instead of producing streamline LTJ Bukem sounds, though, this guy really likes to funk up the mix. On this 2-CD set, his other most noticible influence is lounge. Most of the very long songs creep through haunting, spacy intro's before busting into schizophenic snare lines and beats. To make things even more interesting, the drum beats hardly never stay static for a few moments. Like his fellow dicer Thomas Jenkinson, Vibert has spliced his beats together intricately and interestingly. Whether you call it drum and daze, drill and bass or whatever, it rocks either way.
Rating: 8
