Prefuse 73 - Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian

Prefuse 73
Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian
(04.2009, Warp)
RIYL = Flying Lotus, Onra, Kemialliset Ystavat…seriously

I don’t know how to express my joy in this new release by Scott Herren as Prefuse 73. I have been a long time follower of his magic and, really, there is nothing he has done under this particular artistic guise that isn’t worth listening to. In fact, everything was far above par until the slight (and only slight) stumble with his last album, Preparations. With Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian everything I’ve ever loved about Prefuse is back and refurbished, refreshed and ridiculously re-energized. This album flows like a glorious mixtape, and as such, is a mixtape to destroy all previous mixtapes! Forget your dub-loving DJ/Rupture worship. Sure, Uproot has its merit, but Ampexian is where it is at. In re-imagining the Prefuse 73 sound, Scott Herren has built a monstrosity that seems to have outgrown him in the best way. Logging an overwhelming 29 tracks of all shapes, lengths, sizes and sounds, Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian is ambitious and packed with millions of fresh ideas. It's kaleidoscopic, mind melting electronics that turn on a dime. There are about a dozen or so shifts that just leave your jaw hanging at their utter ridiculousness. One in particular happens early on when the first few brief tracks transition gloriously with “Sexual Fantasy Scale.” And then, just as you think you’ve come down from the euphoria there, Herren hits us up with “DEC. Machine Funk All ERA’s” which employs his signature moments of wordless vocals. The moments continue throughout as the labyrinthine beast molds and shifts in a way that is as reminiscent of Kemialliset Ystavat, or the just reviewed Black Dice, as it is of any contemporary hip hop instrumentalist. Prefuse 73 is on a different level though when it comes to hip hop. Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian is so much more than beats and samples. The meticulous nature of the layering and sequencing of this thing is out and out brilliance. I’ve long held One Word Extinguisher as my favourite from Mr. Herren, but I think that is changing. Definitely one of my favourites of 2009 thus far.

-Lil' Thistle

www.prefuse73.com