Rubin Steiner

In an apparent direct response to evening news reports crying out at the ravenous effects of ADD upon today’s youth, the latest album by French sonic mad scientist Rubin Steiner shows the awesome potential of this horrible beast when applied to music. With the expressed goal of incorporating all of his musical influences into one cohesive project, Rubin has constructed in Drum Major a disc for the listener who needs to hear their entire library, now! Big band horns fall off into raw drum breaks and confused atmospherics, laidback jazz erupts into two a.m. drum & bass rinse-outs, and chaotic b-boy cut-ups meld seamlessly into easy going, Stereolab-styled grooves without a pause. On "Don’t Try to Copy Your Heroes,” the producer steps away from the beats and breaks to show his indie rock side, and the soothing vocal, subtle electronic drums and strolling guitar melody of "Que Bonita Es La Vida” serve as a logical meeting point between the albums extremes. What’s most surprising in all this is the ease with which Rubin plays with the many styles at work here. Album closer "Nylon” brings this baby to rest with a piano and phaser standoff that ends in a quiet hum, the final sound to be explored on this exhaustive sonic journey.