music :: reviews :: electronica

by Jason Newman

Various Artists
Simply Good Music: Volume One
Giant Step
The title of seminal electronica label Giant Step's compilation is all truth, no pretension, as some of their favorite artsist are culled together for an eclectic and essential listening experience. The lead-off track by Esthero, a scathing (and justified) attack on those who earned fame on her sound while her 1998 debut became one of the most slept-on albums of the decade, is worth the purchase alone. It will be hard, with this constant stream of quality songs and depth, to pick favorites, as the album seamlessly blends the dark, disturbing, dubby hip-hop of British MC Roots Manuva, the jazzy downtempo of Two Banks of Four and current R&B singers such as Sara Devine and Carl Hancock Rux into one cohesive whole that almost always lives up to its moniker. Giant Step ends the album on a high note with Danny Krivit's edit of RSL's "Wesley Music," an 8-minute house exploration that begs you to listen to it loud while dancing under the sun. You think I'm kidding? Listen for yourself.