Geometry

This cd is quite frankly one of my all-time favorites, It hasn't gotten far from my cd player in months. Jega really comes into his own in this album. The production value is just outstanding, quite an improvement from the slightly raw Spectrum. The range of frequencies you'll hear on this album go from the lowest bass imaginable to the highest gentle tones. The rhythms are probably the best thing about it. You won't hear beats like this on some house record, and melodies and general musical value are not lacking either. The really fascinating thing about it is the theme. It really *does* give you a feeling of geometry, and the names of the songs seem very apt at times. Recursion really does recurse. Inertia picks up steam. When I started looking through some of the other reviews here, I was surprised to see that some people cited the title track, Geometry, as a standout track. I think it's decent, but possibly my least favorite on the record (either that one or Binary Space). When people cite a variety of tracks as being the best, it is often indicative of the overal quality of the album, and this is no exception. IMO, the BEST tracks are (1)Alternating Bit, (3)Recursion, (7)Breakpoint Envelope, and (11)Post Mid Arc ... Breakpoint Envelope in particular is amazing. The landscape of sounds is incredibly diverse, but what really makes this song so unbelievable (yes unbelievable) is the mood it creates. It's dark and sinister and gives you a dirty kind of feeling that is very tough to describe adequately in words. And like many songs on the album it develops as it goes, building climax upon climax. Provided you have an open mind, I really can't recommend this album enough. I'll tell anyone who'll listen to buy this album and keep playing it until they like it.

Yes, it is an IDM album. But no, it's not [their typical] music. There's definately an established breakbeat rhythm to almost all tracks on the CD, and the groove is really funky, in a sci-fi futuristic kinda way (James Brown in Afrika Bambaataa clothing). It could be played on a dance floor -or- listened to. The REASON why people would associate this EP more along the lines of an experimental album is because the overlaying melodies and tones around around the established rhythms are shifting in what appears, skin deep anyways, in chaotic flux. Listened more deeply to, [...], the chaos is removed to reveal a very lush dance album that makes perfect sense to both your feet and your brain. Trust me. By the end of the album, your brain starts to hurt and the album will make you tired. You'll need a time to rest to get through this one. But it's well worth it. The textures used in Geometry that best stand out in my mind are: symphonic - strings und stuff; arcady - it sounds a little pacman/spaceinvaders-ish; and sometimes like someone it just sounds like a guy with a garbage can and a flailed drum stick. Great stuff!!! Four stars? Why? Put simply, nothing's perfect. Besides the old lady down the street said it sounds like Noize, and I trust her opinion. Anyhow, i'm tired of seeing people putting five stars on everything. It makes you want to buy stuff; but try to get a chance to listen to this album somehow anyways if your into breaks or IDM, or both. p.s. if this is a yin, than Boards of Canada's Music is Made for Children would be a very good yan. find that one too.

Here's a brief history of Planet Mu, which is very much relevant to Jega. Planet Mu was born in 1995, and was originally setup as a sublabel of Virgin Records, on which it initially planned on releasing music by µ-Ziq (Mike Paradinas), and similar artists. The experimental electronic genre that initially was vultured upon by the major labels never took off in the United States, and Virgin gave up spending their marketing dollars on this back-shelf product. In 1998, Paradinas decided to take on the label single-handedly, and, prefixing the releases with ZIQ, released Jega's Type Xer0 as the very first 12-inch. This teaser was followed up with Jega's debut album, Spectrum (Planet Mu, 1998), and from that the rest is history. Prior to his signing on Planet Mu, the man behind the Jega moniker, Dylan Nathan, has already released material on none other than Skam Records. There, with his two EPs, Phlax (Skam, 1996) and Card Hore (Skam, 1997), Nathan fit along perfectly with such contemporary abstract and experimental IDM artists as Bola, Lego Feet, Freeform, Boards of Canada, and of course Gescom. On Spectrum, Nathan rips through melodic breakbeats with newly perfected IDM elements, fitting right at home with Paradinas' µ-Ziq style. Glitched out percussion draws influences from Aphex Twin and even some leftfield downtempo beats ala Amon Tobin, whose first release, Bricolage, came out a year prior on Ninja Tune . Two years later, and a few EPs in between, Nathan releases his sophomore album, Geometry (planet Mu, 2000). This album is much different in tone, and immediately made its impression on me. A lot darker, machine-like chopped up percussion, jitters its way through the cold corridors of sonic spectrum towards the experimental Autechre sound. Although a few atmospheric melodies remain throughout the album, the deep electro beats and metallic effects hold their solid ground. Geometry is definitely among my list of influential albums. In 2004, Jega showed up with a Theme From 1998 on Planet Mu's compilation, Children of Mu. Another track, Aerodynamic, appeared on the label's compilation, Sacred Symbols Of Mu, two years later, in 2006. In 2003, as Nathan was working on his third album, Variance, a copy leaked out onto the sharing networks, and Nathan had to scrap and rework almost all of the tracks. The album is definitely still in the works, and Paradinas mentioned that Variance Vol 1 and Vol 2 will be released as a double album sometime in July, 2009 (!!!). As a matter of fact, Jega showcased his upcoming work during his exclusive set on BBC Radio 1 Experimental on March 11th, 2009 (do your own digging on the planet-mu.com forums to grab a recording). I hope that bit of news got your juices flowing, as I'm sure I'll be reviewing the album once I get my dirty hands on it.

This CD is definitely one to purchase for the serious IDM fan. Touches of the latter day RDJ and clearly influenced by AE's Tri Repetae++, the beats are fast and furious at times and always creative. Much of the album, ie. tracks 1,2 3 proceed at a frantic pace yet have some nice ambient textures underlying the sick, i repeat, SICK, drum patterns that Nathan creates. The slower tracks, ie. 4, 8, work just as well as the crazier ones, they sooth that twisted brain of the IDM fanatic and present idyllic images for one to relax to, if that's your thing. If you dance to IDM you are even crazier and more twisted than me and that, I thought, one could humanly be (if you do i'd like to watch as i could use some good laughs). A few of the tracks, as may have been noted elsewhere, sound like video games circa 1984 and can be trying on the ears and mind, but overall, Jega's Geometry is a worthy album and he seems to be on his way to the top of the IDM/Ambient crowd with other nutty characters like Kiernen Hebden (Four Tet) and Brothomstates - both sick, sick dudes...Jega is clearly progressing from Spectrum and is coming into his own as a unique talent in this field...

People are as constantly saying "blah blah this isnt as good as aphex" or that this other person might do something better. But people have really lost the scope of what electronic music is about. Electronic music is about using your tools to create whatever insane weird thing you could ever possibly think of. I would say that Jega's Skills are definately on par with that of Aphex Twin's and Squarepusher's but he has a much different approach to his music. This album totally fits the label of being "freeform" electronica. There is very little of anything like it before and little like it since including his first album spectrum. Jega singlehandly takes the definition of music and turns it on his head. Unlike his previous album spectrum this album is straight up Dark and Moody. You arent going to hear any lighter tracks like "bikini ski boat". Using combinations of non-percussive sounds and synths, He seems to warp the very fabric of pitch/time by creating surrealistic effects to his music. Sounds will slow down and then speed up to sync perfectly to the tempo, entire parts of songs repeat and skip with insane precision, and he fills up his sounds with rich effects for a mix that sounds plain "phat". I dont really think there is an electronic album that is as pure and well made as this album. I am a huge fan of other electronic greats on warp and planet mu, But this album has a sound above all others that appeals to everything I love in music and it holds a special place inside.

An incredible album full of electronica genius and absorbing, unique, atmospheric sounds. It's great to see how many reviewers here seem to really understand and appreciate the music, as it is something a bit different which has clearly had a lot of time and effort put into it. The music reflects the properties of electricity via sound, and I imagine Jega's architectural roots played a part in programming equations to create original soundscapes. Just awesome, and in its own world.

I really like this album, though some tracks I can do without. It opens strong with alternating bit, and track 4, Geometry, is an amazing piece of art. The first time I heard it, I was deeply touched because it had an emotional quality lacking in almost every other piece of e-music. I would suggest downloading these two tracks before spending a lot of money on an album, because they are the two brightest spots. Jega really is amazing, and it's to bad he isn't puting out music today...

3 1/2 Not as engaging as his first highly underrated disc of pulverizing old school IDM, the electronic twiddler tries to mean too much to too many sub-genres here, allowing limitations to show when pursuing more hyper-experimental work attempting to emulate king programers like Autechre and Aphex. Still, individual tracks show enough fine production and alluring outlines to beg consideration.