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, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Slim Thug featuring Jazze Pha
Incredible Feelin' 12"
[Geffen, 2005]

The new Slim Thug 12" has a smooth feel, and something simple to say. What leads to an incredible feeling? Making a million. The way you do that is to quit yapping and make something happen, which is what Slim's crew has done, despite his nearly giving up rapping. Jazze Pha's singing reinforces that point, but it's the comfortable tone of his voice that makes the point take hold. Lyrics aside, it's the soul guitar that holds this song together, giving it the funk depth that's initially generated by the syncopated synthesized horn hits. Throw in that Kanye-like "Oooh-wee!" and this track's radio-ready.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Hanne Hakkelberg
Cast Anchor EP
[The Leaf Label, 2005]

Convening somewhere between The Boats and Psapp, Norway’s Hanne Hakkelberg is the latest artist to successfully fuse gently ebbing instrumentation and supine vocals to create a beautifully delicate and waterlogged EP. Title track “Cast Anchor” allows Hakkelberg’s honey blunted vocals (not a million miles away from Sia Furler) plenty of room to unfurl, conjuring a tale of hedonism that is couched in an almost ethereal quality, whilst the sea shanty structure is elegantly draped in beautifully restrained and thickly textured acoustic rectitude. Backed up by another album cut and two pristine live recordings, Hanne Hakkelberg is definitely one to keep an eye on.
[Adam Park]

Wighnomy Brothers
3 Fachmisch EP
[Freude am Tanzen, 2005]

I’ve always looked at Wighnomy-related 12”’s as experiments: certainly Robag’s work on Musik Krause has always been a mixed-bag, the much-loved Wuzzellbudd LP notwithstanding. This newest EP by the Sasha and Digweed of microhouse is no exception, featuring two non-musical interludes of no apparent consequence. It’s the three burners here, though, that make this worth a buy: “Pele Bloss” being the rightful A-side. It’s reminiscent in feel to the stunning “Wurz and Blosse,” but is easily the more banging of the two. The two B-sides pale in comparison, but offer up some nice surprises: “Nunca,” particularly, ends in a haze of uncharacteristic horns and piano.
[Todd Burns]

Daniel Fritschi
Intonation EP
[Level, 2005]

Considering the major rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf, it’s nice to see that each city can co-exist easily in the world of techno. Kompakt has picked up distribution for the newly minted Level label, whose first release we covered a while back. This second offering, a solo entry by label head Daniel Fritschi is headphone-house at its most pleasant. Easy-going synth pads layer on top of another as a soft billowing beat marks time underneath each track here and, while at times it feels like ambient music, it’s busy enough to rise above that genre trough. For home listening.
[Todd Burns]

Fax
Bilateral EP
[Level, 2005]

One thing Level is doing very right is in their graphic design. Each 12” thus far has been a stunning piece of art. The third release is the gem, thus far, depicting on its front cover what seems to be a confluence of electrical wires, a street lamp, and an unidentified solar flare. The music within is a sort of digital dub house—the music Pole might have made if he was more interested in dancefloors than hookahs. The melodies are slightly warmer than that comparison might imply, but the music is exactly as innocuous. You might be able to salvage something here for a mid-set track, but nothing here is singularly fascinating.
[Todd Burns]