The Unknown Wanderer - Don't Start Just Finish It

This fifth release from Pnuma, put together by The Unknown Wanderer, kicks off with a remix of the title track by Alex Smoke, instead of the original. Smoke's interpretation runs it through the Frankenstein machine to give birth to some monstrous techno/electro. Pulsating, crunchy bass is bashed off the speakers, gradually becoming more refined - it's the sound of doors being slammed, bins being kicked over, and mutated overhead airplane groans. But just when you think everything is doomed forever, synths - reminiscent of Laurie Anderson's O Superman - creep in for warmer, lingering tones, alongside a beat which picks up to hold it all together. Later, Living In Concrete Houses' bouncing beats inspire images of, well, house construction, at least as it might sound recorded in a vacuum: hammer strikes briefly resonate before being sucked into nothingness. The melody is at once staccato and vibrato at the same time, streaking notes across the air. The organic feel to the beats, more tongue drum than drum machine, keeps the rhythm curious and interesting, transgressing between tribal, techno and electro. Dear god, have we arrived at 'telectribal'? [Struan Otter]