Bogdan Raczynski - Samurai Math Beats

  by Mark Rowland

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Rephlex
Format: CD

intro

A recent addition to the Aphex Twin's Rephlex label, Bogdan Raczynski is an angry man. 'Samurai Math Beats', his second album, follows on from where his previous release 'Boku Mo Wakaran' left off, an

A recent addition to the Aphex Twin's Rephlex label, Bogdan Raczynski is an angry man. 'Samurai Math Beats', his second album, follows on from where his previous release 'Boku Mo Wakaran' left off, and is a brilliant contrast of chaotic beats, wild screams and sweet kidpop melodies. Although obvious comparisons to the 'Twin can be made - the chaotic drum clatter, the pitched up vocals, the stuttering rhythms - Bogdan Raczynski is no mere Aphex plagiarist. For a start, 'Samurai Math Beats' is much less sinister than anything the 'Twin has ever done, and takes the Rephlex sound in a more drum 'n bass-y direction, using the standard drum 'n bass blueprint and distorting it with twisted synth squelches and xylophone tinkles. Then there's Raczynski's childish vocal sketches, notably present on tracks 1, 2 and 5, that give the album an odd innocence, and its heavy Japanese influence (The track titles are written in Japanese symbols, and the music is littered with squeaky Japanese samples and karate shouts). For any fan of Rephlex and Warp label artists this album is a must have. For anyone else, this is a great introduction to braindance and is well worth looking into.

Track Listing:-