Artist: Julien Dyne
Album: Pins & Digits (2009)
Track: “Layer” ft. Mara TK

New Zealand is killing it right now. This might not be a secret for some in the music industry (hell, maybe it is and they don’t want me to tell you… fuck ‘em), but there’s a disproportionate amount of great music coming from the Kiwis right now. This is the first of three - yes, three - albums from the tiny Pacific islands that will appear in my Best of 2009 list.

Stateside, Pins & Digits has only been out for a month or two, but it really doesn’t take long to realize the pure quality of the music. My ears were piqued immediately when I heard opener, “Steel Legs,” which is Boards of Canada redux. But it turns out, the album goes way deeper, and gets way more original.

“Layer,” as you can probably hear, incorporates some of the reggaeton sounds with a funk beat. Latin-style percussion comes in and out of the background as it does for the remainder of the album. “Incredulous” is a waving Brazilian groove led by saxophone.

“Deaky” sounds like Dyne’s take on the 8-bit/video game sound craze that has hit the current wave of beatmakers. Owing much to the L.A. sound, he opens the collage up a bit to make it more atmospheric.

“Stain Glass Fresh Frozen,” the second track to feature national Mara TK on the mic, is a really cool track. Quarter-note bass kicks begin the track and you think, “oh shit, here comes the house tune.” Then some techno-like keys come on top before the beat settles on a more R & B style pattern. Mara TK is smooth as silk.

We get a little more of the 8-bit sound on “Behind The Forage.” The percussive elements separate his efforts from most looking to simply use the sounds du jour.

Boards of Canada seem to peek through again on “Conglomerate” and the very excellent “The Jung and Fine” but Dyne’s shuffling beats bring some separation to make the songs his own. “Spirits” is a fitting title for the end. It’s jazzy, maybe a bit improvisational, and otherworldly.

I think there’s something to this- it sounds like American beat tapes and instrumental makers, notably the west coast cats, made their way to another hemisphere and now they’re returning the favor. Remember, it’s basically summer there just as we’re getting hit with our first snow. Simply put, New Zealand is hot. More heat from the Kiwis before my “Best of 2009” special winds down.

Tracklist:

01. Steel Legs
02. Layer ft. Mara TK
03. Board Forge (interlude)
04. Incredulous
05. Deaky!
06. Stained Glass Fresh Frozen ft. Mara TK
07. Conglomerates
08. Fallin’ Down ft. Parks
09. Behind The Forage
10. Toothnail (reprise)
11. The Jung and Fine
12. New New Zealand
13. Spirits