Certain labels just seem to spring forth from the world like creatures made from the minds of gods in Greek or Indian mythology: fully formed, fully developed and ready for the main stage from the jump. Love Notes (from Brooklyn) is a rare example of this: every record has been must-have without being repetitive or a simple rehash. I have no idea what’s on the wax (sometimes, even the names have been a mystery) but I know I want to hear it. You seek records like these out and if push-came-to-shove you’d buy them unheard if you had to, and you’d still be (pleasantly) surprised by the sound. It’s this combination of taste and discovery that brings you back and marks the good ones.
Casey Tucker’s Affirmation Action launched Love Notes and Alternative Faction is release number 15. These tracks are bold, full of invention, teetering somewhere at the crossroads where the high tech funk of Eddie Fowlkes meets the virtuosity of Larry Heard. “Alternative Faction” leads off with acid grooves polished until they gleam like chrome; “New Mission” sounds almost like an atmospheric remix of the former with a bit more jack to balance things out. “Balance” is the key here: every track is a zen koan of balanced elements – melodies, rhythms, the individual effects and sounds themselves – and from it springs forth the kind of harmony common in highly produced collaborations but rare from a single producer.
Casey Tucker: Alternative Faction (Love Notes)
A1. Casey Tucker: “Alternative Faction”
B1. Casey Tucker: “That Time Of Year”
B2. Casey Tucker: “New Mission”