Like the best drum & bass musicians, Photek explores the nuances of the rhythms that most jungle musicians, blinded by dance-floor strobe lights, take for granted. His rarefied electronic tracks rarely overlap more tha... more »n a handful of discrete sonic elements. On "The Water Margin," for example, cetacean burbles bounce amid an extended percussion solo and a lone, vaporous, synthetic woodwind. And that's it. The composerly sense of musical development Photek brings to these skeletal constructions has lent his earliest recordings a reputation as the blueprint of avant-garde drum & bass. Four of those early recordings, "The Water Margin" among them, are collected on Form & Function, which also includes six appropriately uncluttered remixes (by J Majik, Doc Scott, Peshay, and others) and two brand new tracks, one spooky, one funky. --Marc Weidenbaum« less
Like the best drum & bass musicians, Photek explores the nuances of the rhythms that most jungle musicians, blinded by dance-floor strobe lights, take for granted. His rarefied electronic tracks rarely overlap more than a handful of discrete sonic elements. On "The Water Margin," for example, cetacean burbles bounce amid an extended percussion solo and a lone, vaporous, synthetic woodwind. And that's it. The composerly sense of musical development Photek brings to these skeletal constructions has lent his earliest recordings a reputation as the blueprint of avant-garde drum & bass. Four of those early recordings, "The Water Margin" among them, are collected on Form & Function, which also includes six appropriately uncluttered remixes (by J Majik, Doc Scott, Peshay, and others) and two brand new tracks, one spooky, one funky. --Marc Weidenbaum
CD Reviews
Argh - no, not quite.
chis@matrik.ndo.co.uk | Hants, UK | 01/03/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"First star off: no Ni Ten Ichi Ryu. This wasn't even on Modus Operandi, and it isn't here either!Second star off: not enough other real classics included, some that everyone needs to hear. e.g. Into The 90s and The Rain. Instead choosing to include the overly-repetitive Water Margin (the remix is a good one though), and the tacky UFO (these days, those sighting samples don't even sound quaint - they're embarrassing).But despite that, included here is the staggering Parkes hat-trick: Rings Around Saturn, his own remix of Seventh Samurai (making the original sound very VERY lacking by comparison - just a Ni Ten rip-off, in fact), and the totally, totally devastating Peshay and Decoder remix of (again) Rings Around Saturn.Santiago gets pretty close just by having the single greatest use of handclaps in a d&b tune, and Knitevision proves that Parkes is the only man who can make 7 minutes of - pretty much - only drums, sound fascinating.Throw in a couple more sorta-decent remixes, and there you go, you have Form & Function (although we could do without the remix of UFO - no disrespek to J Majik, it's not really his mixing, but the track that I dislike). Starting off very well but faltering from beginning to end between good and dodgy tracks. 3 out of 5 it the most I can give it. Grab Risk vs Reward (for the stunning Ni Ten Ichi Ryu) first, then pick up Modus Operandi. Only come here if you thoroughly loved both."
Middle of the line release from master of musical precision
John Dach | Ramona, Ca, USA | 12/16/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this CD soon after I bought Modus Operandi. And I would have to say Form & Function was a disappointment, but after listening to Modus Operandi, anything is a disappointment. I suggest you stay away from this alnum until you listen to M.O. because of the overbearing mechanical precison of this album leaves you feeling dry. Too much uniformity can be a bad thing if it's not backed up with enough variety of sampling. This CD does not have much listening life to it unlike it's exceptional predecessor: Modu Operandi. Form & Funcion was good but could have been a lot better. It just doesn't sound complete, almost as it was released by Photek unfinshed."
Meticulous
John Dach | 01/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"About a year agoA friend of mine told me of his Photek addiction. His began with the closing credits of the movie Blade which features a Photek tune. I watched the credits just to hear it, and immediately understood. Photek's music takes elements of minimalism, jazz, and electro-acoustic composition to new realms (3 areas of music where the same works seem to be repeating for the last ten years). I can't get enough of this disc especially "UFO". The art is in the simplicity."
Experimental breaks at their best
dan wilson | ? | 12/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In this album Photek has shown that there is no limit for finding new ways to produce an experimental drum and bass compilation he is always breaking new grounds and is a constant inspiration."
Too dry
chis@matrik.ndo.co.uk | 08/26/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'd get Modus Operandi instead if I were you. This CD didn't do anything for me; it only skimmed the surface, never really dive into anywhere"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1