Search results: M-System

Review: Loraine James continues to trust her instincts and serve us some of the most honest and original music within the leftfield electronic sphere right now. Having recently paid tribute to the work of Julius Eastman on Build Something Beautiful For Me, now she retunes to Hyperdub with the record she claims the teenage version of her would have made. The label text makes explicit reference to the likes of DNTEL and Telefon Tel Aviv as well as math rock, but James is also way out in her own zone metabolising such influences into unique expression. There are some wonderful guest spots from the likes of RiTchie, Marina Herlop and Eden Samara, while James herself centres her voice for some of the album's most poignant moments. Gentle Confrontation is another outstanding chapter in James' ever-intriguing story.

Review: The third album by IDM's next-gen darling Loraine James is here and similarly to her last works, Gentle Confrontation is an ever-shifting, collaboratively-focused album. If the name is anything to go by, then the aim of the game is to offer a sonic blueprint for artists trying to quietly, subtly, resist the status quo, while also keeping the family close and remaining level-headed and happy. Examining her past and present, James offers with everything from transstep trances made with RiTchie and George Riley, to math-rock and emo-infleuenced tracks ('One Way Ticket...') and even self-sung ballads ('2003').