Bovine Life - SOCIAL ELECTRICS. Bleep.

Chris Dooks, the musician behind Bovine Life, understands that post-techno electronic music need not be a dour affair with art-gallery justification. His debut full-length CD is thoroughly fun and enjoyable, proudly home-made and full of inspired musical ideas, while sitting within that strange gray area between dancable electronica and contemporary computer music. One-finger melodies and concise compositions (averaging two and a half minutes long) dominate the album, which is a nice touch. That Dooks uses very few elements in each song is to his benefit as well; he establishes an open and engaging atmosphere that persists even on the darker, more abstract pieces. The most interesting aspect of "Social Electrics" is the home-made nature of the recordings. The album makes remarkable and inventive use of the technical limitations of DIY home recording; a Dr. Sample makes its presence known many times, as does the factory pre-set hand-clap keyboard sound, the telltale rise-and-fall swoosh of a ring modulator, and the unmistakable stutter of computer time-stretching. Evidence of human interaction with the sound-producing materials is present throughout in the form of manually turned knobs and punched keys, quite the antithesis to the faceless and flawless sheen of Raster-Music or Mille Plateaux. I suppose it's similar to the raw sound of DAT Politics, so a fan of one artist would do well to check out the other. Pretty damn fun stuff. Howard Stelzer / BRAINWASHED ? USA ? November 2001 BiP-Hop continues in its mission to unleash adventurous and creative Electronica on the world. Bovine Life is another fine example. Social Electrics is a great mix of eclecticism, collaborations, glitch-driven rhythms, electronic melodies, nicely awkward drum and bass, and sonic collages (the tracks in the "Ether Works" series with ? and "O.J. Simpson" come to mind.) This album also demonstrates what MP3 was put on this earth for: Internet collaboration. Chris Dooks, a.k.a. Bovine Life, was known for his film making before becoming ill in 1999. His interests in electronic music grew ... and grew some ... from a hobby into the album you have before you ... or at least should. Via MP3 he has collaborated with Kahn, Matt Elliot from Third Eye Foundation, the labels Alku, Mego and Plug Research, along with people from Puerto Rico, Sweden, and California. The collaborative project is by no means over ... take a look at the Bovine Life website. The kit of Bovine Life samples are up there along with the invitation to make remixes. This is such a damn great idea, how can I help but love it? Social Electrics and Bovine Life are able to make even the hardest hearted cynical web designer look at the Internet with enthusiasm again. What else needs to be said? -ap / FREQ ? UK ? November 2001