Prefuse 73 - The Only She Chapters (2011, Warp)

Realize that I love Prefuse 73. His kinetic, muscular, elastic, plundering, cacophonous, resplendent, visceral, hyper-tectonic, maximalist sound is awe-inspiring. There is rare a spot among his discography (despite some entries spending more time in my headphones than others) that don’t twirl me up into a meglomaniacal state of uber-gushery on his behalf. Flying Lotus has been making some records of note, of late, but Lotus has yet to reach the hierarchal status, in my mind, of hyper-electronica’s god-incarnate: Prefuse 73.

I feel even more comfortable in this position now, in light of The Only She Chapters.

In which our hero, Prefuse 73, sets his sensory-blitzing aesthetic into slow motion, allowing the moving parts -- bundles of gears and samples, crossbreeding flurries of interwoven, multi-material textiles, bushels of thickly painted voices, all set aflight with a murderous rage of dragons -- be seen and distinguished at a more manageable frame per second.

Thing is, it’s still a confoundingly impenetrable mess of enlightenment. No one does it quite like Prefuse 73.

PREFUSE 73 | The Only She Chapters | The Only Direction In Concrete

95.

Prefuse 73
One Word Extinguisher
(Warp. 2003)

Something about One Word Extinguisher reminds me of bubble gum and Jet Set Radio (you know, the rollerblading game on the Sega Dreamcast(RIP)?). I think it has something to do with the buoyancy of Scott Herren’s beats and the madcap cartoon way that he hacks up hip-hop and electronic music before reassembling it into the voluptuous audio goodness that has become his signature. One Word Extinguisher is Herren at his most measured and consistent, dropping emcee spots perfectly in the flow of the album to achieve a swagger-perfect sound for zoomin’ around the city with oversized headphones.

-Thistle

Prefuse 73 - Meditation Upon Meditations

Prefuse 73
Meditation Upon Meditations (The Japanese Diaries)
(2009, Beat Records)
RIYL = Bibio, Flying Lotus, Ras G

Guillermo Scott Herren, the mastermind behind Prefuse 73 (among others), has already dropped two albums under the pseudonym this year; the sprawling hyperactive Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian and the mini LP addendum, The Forest Of Oversensitivity. So, I think it is fair to say that Meditation Upon Meditations is an unexpected release. Even more unexpected is its current distribution in Japan only. Now, some might see this information and discard the album as an insignificant dumping of accumulated b-sides; you know, one of those non-essential releases that only completist Prefuse-heads need worry about. Those who make that assumption would be wrong. In fact, it appears that Mr. Herren’s love for Japan exceeds that of the States because Meditation Upon Meditations is the best Prefuse 73 release since One Word Extinguisher. No joke. For this release, Herren avoids the quick snippet, mixtape form of Ampexian in favor of fuller compositions ranging from the three to four minute range and that additional time is Herren’s best weapon. Crouching down in the uber-crowded assemblages, something that has become synonymous with Prefuse 73, Herren's work comes off more complete and the beats and plundered electronics become more grounded. Herren has a way of multilayering beats to oblivion, but still making it sound coherent, and this is explicitly apparent on Mediation Upon Meditations. In the past, Herren used the relief of an occasional MC spot to allow for some breathing room amongst the rubbery bombast, and that is my only wish here. However, even without any guest MCs, Herren performs blissfully, compiling a minced vocal pie amidst the bouncy ball blips and beats. If you have ever had a leaning towards Prefuse 73’s work, it will behoove you to search this album out. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

-Thistle

Prefuse 73 on MySpace

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