Search - Mira Calix :: Skimskitta

Junkmedia.org Review - Showing potential

junkmedia | Los Angeles, CA | 03/24/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A couple of things about Mira Calix, before we get started: her name is Chantal Passamonte, she used to be the press officer for Warp records, she's a native of South Africa, and she gives the annual "women of IDM" pageant its characteristic flair and appeal. When her good friend Andrea Parker (MoWax) shows up, the kids cry for more. Her new album, Skimskitta, is composed of twenty-one tracks. "Twenty-one tracks!" you might say; however, the average track length is completely misleading. The pattern of organization is such that six or seven compositions (the ones over four minutes) are placed among shorter interstitial bits. Despite the effort of composing an integrated whole, there's a very clear divide between the "songs" and the "bits." Exceptions to this rule occur late in the album, where two bits seem to flow into each other ("Suffix" into "Simple (Almost Mix)"), immediately followed by two full songs that flow together ("You Open Always" into "Little Long Gone"). The material that is thrown into this jolting pattern is, unsurprisingly, somewhat jolting itself. The bits go from "Flicker," a free-for-all of ethnic-sounding instruments, to "Clement," strongly characterized by machine noise, to the abstract dissonance of "Suffix." There are many sunny moments interwoven as well, like the childlike melody and vocal of "Pearl," the solo piano of "I May Be Over There (But My Heart is Over Here)," and the oceanic outro of "Two Seasons." The songs, which are longer and generally offer more than the bits, nevertheless have a similar heterogeneity. In a disappointing twist of fate, many of them include the electro elements of Andrea Parker's "Melodious Thunk," though the result is less oriented toward the dance floor (see "Poussou," "SixNot6," "Distracted 2," and "You Open Always"). Present in these tracks are classic 808 bass, dramatic yet downplayed film noir string sounds, and, in quieter moments, a nod toward the icy coolness of Arovane. As a further nod to IDM, the pinball beats of "The Wolf, The Sheep, and The Door" point in the direction of labelmates Autechre, while clearly avoiding their tendency to overkill. In sum, this is an ambitious album that aims high but falls short. The sketchbook form just exacerbates this effect. Since Warp Records, one of electronic music's most prestigious labels, is apparently quite excited about her, let's hope that Mira Calix's vision continues to evolve and distill. Ben Gill
Junkmedia.org Review"

Skimming Skimskitta

Catfood03 | in front of my computer typing reviews | 12/07/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Within the closing seconds of the opening track SKIMSKITTA emits a jarring squeal of electronic feedback. Its an uncharacteristic outburst that betrays the musical template set forth by the remainder of the record. The scraping, rustling, and rattling sounds throughout SKIMSKITTA gives the music an earthliness typically unassociated with electronic music.SKIMSKITTA is Mira Calix's second full-length CD. Clocking in at just over an hour, the recording consits of lengthy compositions interspersed with brief interludes of nursery melodies or experiments with ambient noise.Highlights of the CD include "Six not 6", which uses clicking percussion that could be the amplified communication of insects sending messages to one another. "I May Be Over There..." is one of SKIMSKITTA's simplest melodies, yet beautiful. "Distracted2" has great tribal-like percussion to move it forward. Most striking, however, is the eerie "The Wolf, the Sheep, and the Door" which sounds like the soundtrack to a twisted bedtime story with the sheep ending up on the wolf's dinner plate. If SKIMSKITTA has a fault its that Calix seems to run out of fresh ideas midway into the album. The symphonic synth flourishes, beautifully introduced in the above mentiioned "Six Not 6", become too commonplace thereafter to have the same emotional impact, and the shorter interludes begin to outstay their welcome a bit towards the recording's closing stretch. Still, SKIMSKITTA is a recommended, if not an essential, listening experience."