VORPAL

This guy is basically a computer freak who programs his outdated PCs [not Macs, you cry!] and comes up with some of the weirdest break- noise, dance-beat, click-pop music around. I kid you not! The man is all over the place. From the loopiest break beats of "track 13" to the most logic-defying poundings on "Autechnicolor". What's great about the record as a whole is the fact that you can't really pin him down to any one genre? Is he an instrumental hip- hop dude? Is he a plunderphonic artist in disguise [check out his adept borrowing methods of Eric Satie's "Gymnopedie v1.01"]? Is he simply creating massive break-beat, cut'n'paste collages for his own enjoyment? Or could this stuff also work on the dance floor? Finally, is he trying to re-program the world to his way of thinking? The answer to the last question is a definite yes. One of my favourite moments on the record is "Crash up against the inevitable". As the chaotic drum'n'bass beats die down, they're replaced with some live upbeat drumming and an almost live-orchestral wind sound. It's almost as if Vorpal wanted us to inhabit his own quirky world - a world that only resides in his mind. Considering this is a debut, Vorpal has already covered a lot of ground. I predict the road ahead will prove to be a fruitful one for him.



- Tom Sekowski Gaz-Eta webzine