Warp's latest signing is a young Frenchman going by the name
Jackson & His Computer Band. Something of a prodigy, he's been making tracks since the age of fifteen and getting them released since the late '90s. But it's his most recent output for French imprint
Sound Of Barclay that brought him to Warp's attention. His debut release for them is the
"Rock On" three track EP, which features compressed, distressed disco beats, juddering post-
"Windowlicker" edits and the sort of dense, mangled soundworld that reveals his obsessive production techniques. Apparently his tracks are built-up through constant layering and re-recording, either at home or in 'dingy Paris studios' and the resulting "antique futurist" vibe is certainly impressive - mutant French disco colliding with the complex recording processes of established Warp artists like
Boards Of Canada and
Chris Clark. The sleeve design is pretty striking too, featuring a blurry painting of some depraved sex-dungeon with a man tied-up in rubber bondage gear, a hint of stocking-clad female thigh, machine guns and...a corn on the cob?! Kinky bugger! This EP is a taster for his album entitled
"Smash" which is released on 19th September. I haven't heard that yet, but Warp's press release describes it as
"magnificent and messy, daring and original....the record electronic music has been crying out for for far too long...four years in the making...heralded by those who've heard it as one of the finest debuts in years." Crikey, better watch out for that then!!
