The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only and MP3-only releases.

Lil’ Flip
This Faggot’s Locked Up
[DJ Envy & Big Mike – Ahead of the Competition 3.7, 2004]

More back and forth between Flip and T.I. about the identity of the true King of the South; the answer, as we all know, is neither. Not a lot of particularly brutal or heartfelt dissing going on here, and would hardly seem worth the effort if not for the handy free promotion. Not an especially Southern style production, but it has some nice sliding synths and jail door clanks. It’ll end in tears, mark my words.
[Scott McKeating]

Fisk Industries
The Isle of Wight
[Highpoint Lowlife Records, 2004]

Apparently Fisk Industries’ debut EP The Isle of Wight is supposed to evoke an idyllic weekend excursion with friends at the infamous locale but, on the evidence of these robust tracks, it must have been a rather intense and stormy stay. Londoner Mat Ranson slathers his electronic pieces with bright analog synths, snarling bass lines, shimmering washes, and crunchy breaks, and even finds room for some ululating Indian singing on “We Saw Orion.” While all six are strong, the best track might be “Poltype” which pairs castanet-like clicking patterns with blurry electric pianos and head-nodding funk rhythms. Ranson’s music is more aggressive than what normally passes for “warm electronica” but that’s certainly not a criticism.
[Ron Schepper]

Andre Kraml
Safari
[Firm, 2004]

Cologne goes a bit further towards refining the Digital Disco sound laid down by the now defunct Force Tracks label. Here Kraml enlists three singers for four smooth vocal-based tracks. “Feel Electric” sounds a bit like a mix between Dub Taylor and Date 80. And it’s easily the most palatable thing here. “Sleepless” and “Safari” feature Schad Privat, but I’m non-plussed on both his entries here as his vocals tend to run towards the narrative quality, a trend I’m not hoping bothers to catch on anytime soon.
[Todd Burns]

Decomposed Subsonic
Atlantic View
[Ware, 2004]

I’ve never been a huge fan of Wessling to be honest. He always veered too close to the minimal for my tastes. That’s why this one is such a nice surprise probably, as it continues the slight trend towards the incorporation of trance elements into the Cologne sound. But it’s not the whooshes and bleary sentimentalism of the vocal sample that opens and closes the track. It’s the beautifully coiled bassline that unleashes itself upon you at just the right moment. And, if the original wasn’t ridiculously strong, Guentner’s gloopy atmospheric remix might not be such a let down either. The B-side, once it gets rolling, is pretty unstoppable too.
[Todd Burns]

Einmusik
Jittery Heritage EP Part I
[Italic, 2004]

Another slowly unfolding stone-cold stunner. The vocals are incredibly exciting because of their complete unintelligibility. It’s as though the person singing it is so snowed under by how good the track is and is just unable to do anything but give some half-effort moaning along take. I know I’d do the same thing. Not really feeling “Full Moon” that much, however, which seems to be a very careful cross between being reverential to both Santiago and Detroit at the same time. The mixed message doesn’t do it any favors.
[Todd Burns]

Stefan Schrom
I Feel For U
[Boxer, 2004]

If anyone believes Luke Vibert when he claims to love acieed, then I feel for you. Schrom unleashes what can only really be described as a ferocious track that works the acid angle by pummeling it into the floor and then bringing out of the murk into the broad daylight with a gorgeous shimmering harmony that consists of one note repeated over and over and over again. Ada’s remix, her first, reveals a huge amount of space within the track, allowing the elements to feel each other out. They never really get comfortable with each other, unfortunately.
[Todd Burns]