Byetone - Feld (Bine/001, 2003)

mp3 / 320 / 85mb / rs | rel. 2003

"Feld was the inaugural release on the Bine label, and it was also the debut full-length from Olaf Bender, one-third of the team behind Raster Noton (alongside Frank Bretschneider and Carsten Nicolai) and, of course, an artist in his own right. Although the glitch-led austerity that's most closely associated with the core Raster Noton sound is very much evident in his work, Bender's music has always leant pronouncedly towards beats and more explicit rhythms. Consequently, micro-electro pieces like 'Land', and the jarringly accessible 'Europa 70' diverge from the sort of sound palette you might associate with the man and his label, but the mesmerising dub pinhole surgery of 'Fremd' is up there with the most precise and infinitessimal Raster Noton output."