Antimatter vs Antimatter

by François CoutureAntimatter vs Antimatter is a very interesting album from Antimatter, a nicely conceived project that stands somewhere between a best-of collection and a remix project. It could have been dangerously narcissist, but on the contrary, Antimatter vs Antimatter manages to present a representative cross section of the artist's easily available and rare material, highlighting both his crowd-pleasing and challenging features, all that boiled down to a continuous hour-long mix. Antimatter has a knack for perverting IDM ideals to take the music elsewhere, be it into musique concrete territory or noise or techno-world fusion. Each track has its good features, but the CD works best as a continuous listen. Like that, Antimatter's talent for balancing a set shines. The shifts between thumping numbers, chill-out pieces, and more abstract constructions keeps you hooked on. Highlights include "Phosphor" (yes, it's guitar and electronics, but everything with this instrumentation doesn't have to sound like Fennesz), the bagpipes-led "Rangefinder," and "Deturn" (nice sitar in there). The murky, echo-laden atmosphere prevailing through most of the set will appeal to dub fans, while the glitchy interpolations and filtering of instrumental melodies have potential with those in search of a lighter form of experimental electronica that still goes beyond IDM's cold diktats. Recommended.