Data Breaker

Dave Aju, Open Wide (Circus Company; circusprod.com). A tech-house album
constructed entirely from San Francisco producer Dave Aju’s oral
cavity, Open Wide transcends its gimmick to work as a left-field
dance gem. Björk tried a similar stunt with Medulla to
mixed results (she used guest mouths), but Aju proves himself to be a
remarkable mimic of “real” instruments like drums, synths, and myriad
percussion toys. His singing voice (imagine Sly Stone’s at its most
lackadaisical) rides atop bumpin’, low-lit party cuts that are not
so much peak-time as freak-time. It’s safe to assume that the
disc’s tongue-in-cheekiness is intentional.

Squarepusher, Just a Souvenir (Warp; warprecords.com). You probably don’t know
Squarepusher anymore. Twelve years after Feed Me Weird Things,
the mad drum ‘n’ bass scientist has morphed into the mad jazz-rock
fusionist. What a long, strange trip it’s been. Just a
Souvenir posits the question: What would a record made by
spazz-rockers Hella, the late punk-jazz maestro Jaco Pastorius, and
prog-rock speed demons Magma sound like—if it came out on ECM?
The disc bears Tom Jenkinson’s patented perversity, extreme mood/tone
shifts, vaunted bass and beat-programming virtuosity, and an oddly
alluring melodic sensibility. Just a Souvenir has little
coherence (an oft-overrated commodity), but its radical stylistic
jump-cuts offer an absurd amount of thrills.

Various, 1970’s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground (Sublime Frequencies;
sublimefrequencies.com).
Rai—which originated in Oran, Algeria, in the ’30s
and is translated literally as “opinion”—is essentially popular
folk music that has assimilated various styles over time. Its profile
skyrocketed in the ’80s despite government suppression; Algeria’s
Islamic leaders forbid dancing and lustful lyrical content and rai is,
at base, irresistible id-centric music. Sublime Frequencies (via
compiler Hicham Chadly) focuses here on obscure 45s from the decade
before. Rai’s often-bawdy subject matter is buttressed on these eight
tracks by hypnotic organ and accordion drones; mesmerizing, serpentine
darbuka rhythms; and triumphant, elephant-roar horns. Above it
all are masculine vocals reeking of passion and sometimes sadness.
Groupe El Azhar’s tempestuous “I’m Still Getting Drunk… Still”
deviates with its male/female vocal volleys, and it’s one of the LP’s
strongest cuts, fusing the most compelling qualities of African and
Arabic musics. Cheb Zergui’s “I Cuddle Myself” surprisingly introduces
a wah-wah guitar to the genre, lending it a fluid, psych-rock burble
while a mantric bass line and hand drum lock into a gripping groove.
Momentous cuts by Bellemou & Benfissa and Boutaiba Sghir fill out
the album’s too-brief running time. Because it’s on Sublime
Frequencies, I expected 1970’s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground to
be a wilder listen, but it’s still another enlightening excavation
by this Seattle label renowned for its treasure-digging expertise.
Act fast, as this is a (180-gram) vinyl-only release limited to 1,500
copies.