- Reissue EPs: invaluable rescuers of rare sounds or murderers of secret weapons? We won't take sides here, but For Those That Knoe, a new offshoot of Boe Recordings, shows such releases can both rehabilitate lost sounds and give DJs some mysterious firepower. Their first two EPs, which were just released simultaneously, come from a pair of '90s obscurities: Jaime Read, appearing here as LHAS, and Casey Tucker. The music, though, cuts right through the haze of time.
Read, perhaps best known these days for unwittingly reviving Joe Lewis' career, christened himself the Larry Heard Appreciation Society (which became L.H.A.S. Inc. when he recorded with Felix Dickenson). The three tracks that comprise Knoe 1/1, however, go beyond simple reverence. On A-side "Deep In Plumpton," Read lets his machines entangle in a way that would make his inspiration proud, but the track's momentum is all his own. Over nine minutes, it never quite drops, leaving you writhing in pleasurable anticipation until the fadeout. Infused with ethereal pads and acid bass, respectively, "On The QT" and "Mania" are more standard Chicago burners, but they're lifted by the sheer quality of Read's interpretations.
Knoe 2/1 showcases Tucker, who recorded with Richie Hawtin as 0733 and released two impossibly rare EPs on his own label before receding into the shadows. There's little darkness to be found here, though. "BST" is pure ebullience, setting pastoral strings against drum machines and one twisted 303. The only previously released track on the label thus far, "Habit Of Awareness" seems to have leapt through a wormhole from a rave of yore—and brought plenty of sweaty air through with it. In the aftermath of "Momentum"'s thorny drumming, you'll be left hoping For Those Who Knoe have a good bit more where that came from.
Tracklist A Deep In Plumpton
B1 On the QT
B2 Mania