CD REVIEW
Prefuse 73/Jaytram/Epstein
Asthmatic Kitty
A funny thing happened when Yeasayer drummer Jaytram and Prefuse 73 crossed paths to plunder the catalogue of Epstein, the sampler-based, echo-ridden solo project of Florida-born Roberto Carlos Lange (who also is the head honcho of Helado Negro). The end result of this collab was something far removed from Prefuse’s typically skittering, jittery beatscapes and Yeasayer’s worldtronica textures. With Epstein, the artists come off more DJ Shadow and RJD2 to deliver a downtempo-inspired delight that pleasantly meanders from brassy shufflings (“Learning Dream”) to hip-hop-inspired instrumentals (“Haunted Hotel”). Considering Jaytram’s homebase, it’s no surprise that his re-workings of Epstein material come off as more organic and warm (retro analog, anyone?), while Prefuse’s musical mutations (surprise, surprise) wind up more on the synthetic side of the scale with its bleeps and blips interspersing the orchestral flourishes. Those who fell in love with the nostalgia-indulgent Entroducing . . . or have let their MPC sampler gather dust will be gloriously inspired. (Michael Carlos)
