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Mira Calix | Peel Session

12", Warp/PIAS

Tekst: Matthijs de Jonge

Publicatiedatum: 12 oktober 2000

Remember those sumptuous Peel sessions on Warp? Those tasty discs with impeccable live performances by electronica's finest that also happened to make exceptionally good decorative elements for your discerning, electro-minded living room? The series that showed that the Black Dog was not the limp-wristed bunch of clueless hippies they appeared to be on their studio recordings but - in fact - a formidable powerhouse of forcefully whipped-out melancholic mayhem? Or the installment that featured Boards of Canada focusing their playfulness into tracks that would have been pop except for the small matter of them being too jilted and obtuse to make it into the clueless charts? Well, it just so happens you will be able to pick up a new installment at one of the more sensibly-stocked record stores in your area. For the interior decorators among you: It's clad in an earthy red, so it should go nicely with both the burgundy of the Black Dog disc and the warm tan of the Plaid one. It doesn't quite go so well with the hospital green Boards of Canada or the grey Autechre though. Refer to the illustration next to this article for details. Oh yes, there's some music on it as well. It's by an outfit called Mira Calix. Never heard of them before, never want to hear from them again. There's a full-length album in the works apparently, but if this disc is any indication, it is going to suck big, fat, fried beans. What on earth was Warp - that institutionalized be-all and end-all of electronica - thinking when they deemed this fit for release? Sure, such uninspired, anal (in the bad sense of the word - leave Autechre out of it, will you?), electro garbage occasionally pops up in the demo pages of Future Music magazine where it gets torn apart faster than you can say "I'm heavily influenced by Aphex Twin, among others", but why should the home of Squarepusher go anywhere near this except when carrying a good sized flamethrower? I'm willing to bet Mira Calix construct their material by playing two of those cheap "electro construction kit" sample CDs for wannabe bedroom producers simultaneously and committing the uncouth result to disc. You will find no clever tricks, charming playfulness or sweet wailing here, just tired cliches and underproduced mush. If you're one of those music fans who happens to care about what he listens to, don't bother with this release. Just hope the next installment in the series will be better. But if you're looking for something that would go well with your new couch, by all means, give Mira Calix' peel session a try.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/mira-calix/peel-session/616/
Meer Mira Calix op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/mira-calix