Bounte- One

ARTIST: Bounte

ALBUM: One

LABEL: Positron! Records

REVIEWER: Matthew Johnson

DATE: 9-7-07

Chicago producer Bounte makes his Positron! Records debut with 10 tracks of solid electronics, ranging from melodic dance music to hard-edged but funky breakbeat compositions. Opening track "Glide" gets things off to a brilliant start with swirling female vocals; if not for the jazz-tinged keyboard solo on the bridge, you could almost mistake this for a latter-day Curve single. "Art.Love.Music" takes things in a more minimalist direction, with percussive experimentation taking place under a thumping house rhythm, while "Boat Beat" is more tribal, with a dark undercurrent of layered synth arpeggios giving things a more ominous atmosphere. Fans of big beat acts like the Chemical Brothers will get off on "Going Nowhere," all fat bass lines, slick female vocals, and looped rock guitars, and "Three Minute Miracle" is reminiscent of nothing so much as Fatboy Slim's "Praise You," processed pop vocals and all. Bounte is at his best, though, when he gets a bit deeper and darker; "Del Frompson" is an edgy trip-hop instrumental, with wah-wah-drenched guitars giving it enough conventional appeal to keep it out of abstract IDM territory, and "Voyage of the Blue Robot," despite its pleasant techno surface, keeps things just on the edge of nervewracking with frantic, dissonant piano loops. While Bounte's got enough complexity to appeal to electronic music junkies, you don't have to be a laptop fiend to dig this one. There's plenty of rhythm and melody for more casual listeners, as well. Dig on this if you like Massive Attack, The Crystal Method, or the aforementioned Fatboy Slim.

Check out Bounte at www.bounte.com.