Prickle by Mira Calix
2001, Warp, Two tracks at 25 min.
Intelligent dance music---or ‘IDM,’ as critics and fans have so dubbed it---can be a fickle genre of electronic music. Aphex Twin, the genre’s poster boy, is very representative of that fact. One can listen to the enlightened ether of “Flim” and then immerse themselves in the abrasive aggression of “Tamphex.”
Mira Calix (real name Chantal Passamonte) is somewhat a rare entry in the IDM field, as she is one of the few female participants in the intellectual beat-mixing fray. This might be due in part to her marriage to Sean Booth of Autechre, another IDM pioneer. Regardless of Passamonte’s methods, she has come into her own as an artist, releasing several LPs, as well as a few seemingly accessible EPs. One such EP is 2001’s Prickle.
Containing only two tracks, Prickle begins with a nearly-nineteen-minute excursion divided into four parts: “i. Miliaria,” “ii. Giggle And Hide,” “iii. Lalela,” and “iv. What Are You Afraid Of?”
It’s difficult to tell when each movement begins and ends unless one plays close attention; and, honestly, I failed to do so as the music strikes a fine balance between ambient and noticeable. After a few minutes, a childlike voice appears (Calix's own), and, following that, some retro beats and synthesized orchestration, which tastefully melts to a point. After said portion ended, I said to myself, “Hmm, is this almost over?”
No; but I’m glad the track did not end there, since I was soon taken into a Twilight Zone forest, an automated factory, and a stereo snowstorm by Calix’s darkly tranquil brew. For such a long track the listener not acquainted with IDM might think fickleness would be a necessity; but no, Calix is able to successfully melt the lonely comforts of the multiple atmospheres together without sounding like an electro-Sybil.
The second track, “Skin With Me,” remixed by Andrea Parker, is less interesting and a bit sluggish at six minutes long. An indecipherable vocal sample is backed blandly, but the song seems a tad finer if listened to immediately following the first track.
Prickle is a nice presentation of Calix’s talents, and while it’s not something I would recommend to an IDM first-timer, I do suggest a spin or two by those more familiar with the genre.
RATING: 4/5
Post new comment