Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives

by John BushWarp's second 2001 release by a stateside producer (after Richard Devine's Lip Switch) is one of the most enjoyable works of experimental techno heard in several years, a combination of tough, underground hip-hop and the fractured neo-electro of Warp favorites Autechre and Plaid. Scott Herren, the lone figure behind releases as Delarosa & Asora, Savath & Savalas, and Prefuse 73, constructs raw breakbeat tracks, cutting and splicing vocals, beats, and pianos over and over until what may previously have been a straight-ahead hip-hop rhythm track gets reconstructed into a symphony of deeply groovy musique concrète. Herren calls on the raw repetition of DJ Premier and the catchy finesse of Timbaland to create a collection of tracks that could appeal to fans of DMX just as well as AFX. Just slightly more experimental than the increasingly fractured productions you'd hear on a mainstream rap station, Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives is also much more fun than the notoriously academic cast of techno producers led by Autechre and Richard Devine.