Akufen - My Way

Akufen is one of the monikers employed by Canadian Mark LeClair, and My Way was my first experience with what seems to be getting referred to as microsampling, which seems to excite hipsters as interesting in and of itself. It isn't, no matter how many times you ramble about Deck the House being the centerpiece track of this album. It strikes me as well within the bounds of Plunderphonics, although as rendered by someone with severe ADD.

What is interesting is that he appears to have quite an ear for what he does with microsampling, which is to say he makes glitchy, yet fluid sound constructs from bits of across-the-band radio, shortwave and whatever else he is able to acquire as a sound foundation to deconstruct and lay over spartan house loops. Helped by some masterful mixing/panning technique, this record is a sleeper hit in the making. Repeated listens are necessary.

The album skates around minimalist house ideas, hints at dubwise, and alludes to some of the same dense atmospherics of Ben Watt, Leftfield, Adrian Sherwood and Wally Badarou.