- Of all the acts who release music on SUED, none are more puzzling than PG Sounds, a collaboration by Philip Gelberg and label co-founder SVN. The duo specialize in drum sketches that are raw, un-quantized and weirdly pleasing. Their first EP, which came out last April on SUED, presented two cuts of hazy tribal rhythms with small splashes of synth. Around the same time, they released a record on Acido with under the name S.P. Posse. The sound was similar yet distinctly different: set against a wispy ambience, its rhythms were catchy and oddly angular, but this time perfectly on the grid. With six more tracks in the same vein, the duo's latest record on SUED offers a fuller glimpse into their sound.
All of these tracks have the same ingredients: scratchy live drums (presumably sampled), warm chords and odd synth frequencies that drift by like eye floaters. Stark and grainy as they are, the arrangements are wonderfully rich, their tactile percussion (woodblocks, cabasas, full drum kits) jelling beautifully with the surrounding electronic debris. Despite the narrow palette, there is an impressive range of tempos and styles. Some tracks feel hip-hop-inspired (the languorous A1, the Endtroducing-style B3). The first two B-side tracks have more African rhythms (B1 even has what sounds like an electric thumb piano, the fuzzy melody-maker at the center of Konono No.1's music). The A2 is a string of fluttering drum fills, almost like something you'd play on buckets, and the A3 is a warped, stumbling groove that seems totally removed from any existing musical tradition. Like SUED in general, these tracks are as enigmatic as they are addictive.
TracklistA1 Untitled
A2 Untitled
A3 Untitled
B1 Untitled
B2 Untitled
B3 Untitled