Customer Reviews

My Way

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"My Way" was put together by sampling radio waves, slicing these sounds into small parts (voices, flashes of static, a bowed string, a vocal line, computer blips and the like) and reassembling them into house-inflected techno. It sounds like the radio waves have a secret life of their own when they aren't doing their jobs broadcasting Top 40 drivel--and boy do they like to cut loose.

Akufen never lets his experimentalism get in the way of a good time. All of these tracks groove in the funkiest of ways. Highly recommended.

Akufen. As all the reviews here basically sum up, his style is basically if John Oswald, Todd Edwards, Larry Levan, Daft Punk, John Cage, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton (along with Parliament/Funkadelic), James Brown, Avalanches, (Matthew) Herbert, Scott Herren, and Matmos all decided to cram themselves in a studio equipped with several AM/FM radios and make an album. In other words, Mr. LeClair has made an excellent, beautiful and groovy-and-funky-as-hell album worthy of being a legend. It's in heavy rotation in my domicile....

Not only is this cd good, but its a good example of technology in motion without you even knowing it. Marc LeClair has single handledly taken pop culture and compressed it in a very accesible house album. Can you recognize the vocal snippets of Steve Perry of Journey, Janet Jackson, and Jewel on "Heaven Can Wait" ? I didn't think so. Which is another thing about this CD, you could honestly spend hours trying to find what is what. Akufen continues to be one of my favorite producers, because in the House genre, it seems producers think less and focus more on the big body shakin' sound. However Akufen doesn't neglect this sound, he just takes it further. Along with the growing catalogues of such labels as Mille Plateaux, Perlon (Which Akufen has contributed his 'Quebec Nightclub' 12"), and Kompakt, this album is a shining example of how house doesn't have to be uniform.

There are plenty of artists out there using samples in effective, if predictable, ways, but there are only a handful of artists who I consider sampling innovators. DJ Shadow, Daedelus, and Prefuse 73 spring to mind. Count Akufen in with them. It's not simply a matter of his source (who else samples exclusively from the FM?), or his precision (there are plenty of microsamplers out there) - it's how he puts them together to form a gestalt.

The result is much less fractured than one would imagine. I will go as far as to say that the sliced up samples have flow - real musical flow. Achieving a sense of measure to measure, beat to beat flow is difficult when you take into account the variety of sources, their variance in amplitude, not to mention the zipper noise that is the bane of anyone who works with many tiny samples. When you listen, you almost have to remind yourself that you're hearing many small segments of second-hand music, as opposed to something expressly recorded for this particular album. I don't know how he does it.

Above all, "My Way" is very listenable. His technique may be experimental, but the music enjoyable, danceable, and fun. It's also great for just listening. That's really my criterion for any sort of electronic music with a 4/4 bass drum foundation - is it something I can sit down and listen to with interest? Akufen delivers on this point.

I can partially understand why some are driven to call this music "house." The BPM fits squarely in the house range and it's 4/4 bass drum can give the impression of house music, but that's really just the shell containing Akufen's excellent and unique music. It also serves to stabilize his experimentalism. Often times when artists use innovative production techniques, the music can suffer if the whole thing begins to become more about the technique than the music itself. The palatable "house" container on these tracks help to make the music more inviting to a larger audience.

While I might not recommend it as an essential purchase for casual listeners, those who enjoy innovative and experimental electronic music should check out Akufen.

Isn't it odd? A few years ago, any so-called "serious" music fan would have been crucified for admitting he liked a genre as bland and repetitive as house, and not unjustly so. With the exception of Leftfield, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and a select few other artists on whom it left a minor influence during the early 90's (Primal Scream, Massive Attack, The Orb, Underworld, etc.), it is widely acknowledged as a stain in the history of electronica.

Quite surprising then, that two the most innovative and vital artists in the underground community right now produce... house. The first of these is Matthew Herbert, who under several different aliases is creating a stunningly consistent body of work, basing himself on an anti-corporate manifesto that includes sampling broken cans of coke and modifying regular kitchen appliances - in order to extract the desired sound, then disembowel it until it becomes something different altogether. But while some avant-garde noisemen would content themselves to leave it at that, Herbert balances this radical post-modern approach with a love of jazz and melody (and the striking vocals of Dani Siciliano) that bring a heart-warming humanity to his music.

The second is (you guessed it) Montreal based glitch-house producer Akufen (born Marc Leclair), whose vision is quite similar to that of his peer. Aside from the identical clinically delivered 4/4 click-beats and the occasional melancholy synth fills, he also shares a passion for sonic deconstruction, albeit in a divergent manner. Where Herbert's sources are always spontaneous and "real", Akufen samples everything indirectly: radio shows, TV programs, some unremarkable random noise during a commercial, etc. This procedure is hardly fresh (think Scott Herren), but Leclair brings it to new levels by concentrating the samples to a dizzying point, and by doing it well. I don't know how much time or patience a production as dense yet cohesive as "Deck the House" requires, but it certainly is impressive.

Akufen is no one-trick pony either; even if he exploits his gimmick on each of the 10 tracks, he does so wisely, and it's with a welcome ease that you can discern every track from one another, which isn't necessarily true of every electronic LP being released lately. "Even White Horizons" introduces the album in a relatively understated manner, with a beautiful backing of strings and nicely placed evocative vocals until the light-absorbing "Installation" kicks in, deftly managing to hold attention with a finely executed glitch-rhythm and a few minimal motifs throughout its entire 8 minute duration. "Skidoos" continues in the same vaguely atmospheric vein, though with gorgeous synth washes to keep it afloat.

Yet it's the subsequent tracks that truly set the pace and mood for the meat of the record: the aforementioned "Deck the House" being the most extreme example, filled with more samples in 6 minutes than the Avalanches' entire "Since I Left You", and the similarly celebratory highlights "Wet Floors", "Jeep Sex" and "Late Night Munchies" keep the party rollin' with funky basslines, thumping grooves and, of course, engagingly weaved snippets of sound.

It all comes to a close with the somewhat straight-ahead techno of the title track, which provides a suitable ending to a brilliant, innovative record. Perhaps it's a tad too early to declare it a classic, but if the novelty of it all manages to be transcended, it might just reach that status.

My Way, the debut album by Akufen, was one of my favorite releases of 2003. And not simply because of Marc Leclair's amazing production technique -- his microsampling is an amazingly time-intensive process -- but because he knows how to craft interesting songs using those microsamples. Listen to how the bits and pieces keep building on "Heaven Can Wait." Akufen can kick out the jams like the best of them ("In Dog We Trust" is testament to this), but is also versatile enough to handle more ambient pieces, like "Even White Horizons." Tech-house can sometimes be heavy on the bass and light on the emotion, but "Late Night Munchies" shows that you can integrate both. My personal favorite, "Skidoos," is smooth tech-house all the way through, starting with song flanged out synth chords and building into a heavenly chorus. The Herbert mix of "Deck the House" (an addition to this edition) doesn't add much, but it doesn't need to. This album is fine on its own.

For the montreal elektro scene, there was a need for a disc like that since a long time. But now it's out and it proove one thing : the first Akufen's works/vynils were just crap compared to this. These were VERY repetitive and lacking of any kind of dynamism. Anyway they got very remarked for their unconventional use of sampling. Akufen's popularity grew and then came My Way. This album is something you'll never forget. The very dancy sequences on "Deck The House" are contrasting with the ultimately relaxing samplings on "Even White Horizons" and the incredible solo of pseudo-drums on "Late Night Munchies". Akufen used absolutely anything on the radio waves to make these jewels : commercials, songs, comments and distortions.

For quebecers, this disc is even more wonderful because we recognize some of our commercials that are being sampled in the songs as instruments. The effect is pretty weird.

Anyone who want to discover something else should check this disc up, because it rocks and it proves either that Marc Leclair is the God of the Sampling or that God is a Sampler.

Make a song - cut and paste, clip and stitch. Marc Leclair, aka Akufen, spent two years surfing the radio airwaves collecting sound bytes, any bits and pieces potentially music worthy, rather than noise. The results are astonishing. Microsampling is taken to new levels with the recycling of throwaways, breaking glass, and a ticking clock. More akin to Herbert in this respect than the Avalanches as he uses the entire household for background. A variable domestic STOMP with drum loops inclusive. Opening cut "Even White Horizons" is a salt of the earth dragging of repetitive bass, setting the tone. Little vocal whispers and echoes spliced in. Inventive, revolutionary, and a skip to the edge, it all comes home in the melodic "Installation" and "Skidoos". Next up, "Deck The House" is the designated single from the album and the prime sample of these forces at work. Remixes should have a field day. At first novelty, by the time you reach "Heaven Can Wait" and "In Dog We Trust" it all becomes a bit tiresome. Not to fret though. Fresh horses take to the tracks on the urban "Jeep Sex". "Late Night Munchies" is the frantic dismantling of song structure, more strung bits of odds and ends - controlled chaos. Closer "My Way", is the vocoder justification on this electronic journey. Better tabbed "home music" rather than "house". It's more kitchen floor than dance club. No matter where you serve your guest, they wind up here eventually, finding comfort in familiar surroundings, the subliminal gathering of everyday sounds. Put to rhythm and rhyme - a risky walk on the mild side. Give Akufen a double plus good for originality, tenacity, and persistence. MY WAY stands out from the crowd as one of a kind what-cha-ma-call-it. I was looking for something different. I think I found it. Go figure.

Akufen is, without a doubt, the master of "microsampling" - i.e. he records one second long audio blips off of the radio and assembles them into works of musical art. Artists like Akufen and Jetone are bringing innovation back to electronic music. Get this album!!

But...I must take exception to the first review on this page. There are plenty of "serious" music fans who DO NOT consider house music to be a "stain in the history of electronica". Quite the opposite in fact - house music has and continues to be one of the most creative and inspiring forms in popular music today.

It is NOT surprising that artists like Herbert and Akufen produce/create house music, as it's a form that has constantly evolved to accommodate a myriad of styles and offshoots. It would appear that this reviewer has minimal knowledge of house music beyond the pop/house of "Leftfield, Daft Punk, & Basement Jaxx", or he/she would know that it has had more than a "minor influence".

"Isn't it odd?" Yes, it is! That this reviewer would see fit to expose his/her massive ignorance on a form of music he/she seems to know nothing about...

Anyway - The Akufen record is quite good. I highly recommend it.