Monostereosis

by Live Human on FatCat Records

Released 01/03/1999

Following the successes of their first Fat Cat 12" and last year's two live UK dates, San Francisco hip hop / improv trio Live Human return with their second album, and the first to fully incorporate studio tricknology. Fifteen tracks augment the band's live drums / double bass / turntable improvisation with sampling and overdubbing. Retaining the free-flowing dynamics at their root, the enhanced production tactics allows the band to flesh out and more tightly sculpt their material, and the whole ripples and flexes with an awesome new sense of coherence. Whilst the album runs heavy on variety, including a number of more experimental ambient tracks, as ever it's the solid drumming of Albert Mathias and Andrew Kushtin's bass exploration that provides a shifting foundations upon which to work. But here, DJ Quest's scratchadelic turntable wizardry is corroborated by a dazzling array of fresh sonic events.