Joakim Lone Octet

Rather than a remix project, this second release from the French production team serves better as a sampler of Western Europe's techno-jazz movement. The mix of jazzy instrumentation and micro-sonic manipulations makes up the dominant sense of aesthetics that's heard throughout the disc, and while sometimes it comes off a little too dense in its plasticity, a significant portion of the cuts are interesting to the ear. 4 Hero's Dego strips "Twice Thinking" down to snares with an abrasive treatment and a bop bass with keys that reminisce on Carl Craig's "Bug In The Bassbin," with stronger melodies. Fellow Reinforced colleague Seiji deconstructs hand claps and reassembles them into one of the most kinetic percussion patterns to be heard in the scene this year and then builds them up with a slap-bass and sinister synth theme. "Reve 1" gets a housed-up treatment from Restless Soul, but its emotions are much more restless when Chateau-Flight throw the drums into phase and lets the listener watch the echoes rise. Delit-K takes the title track in a similar direction, but with greater rhythmic agility. The treatments from Sci-Clone and Catalyst aren't anywhere near as dynamic, but that's not as disappointing as the fact that even after listening to this disc, one still doesn't have any idea of what Joakim Lone Octet's tracks sound like. Given their low profile, it would have been worthwhile to put some of their original, or else alternate, takes to supplement the stronger versions.