Search - Jega :: Spectrum

In 1999's "electronica is dead" scenario, the tribes split into big-beat dance fanatics on one path, and sample-smashing, destruction-minded noiseniks on the other. Lost in the shuffle of all this style jockeying is any semblance of melody or musicality--instead we get clever sampling techniques and turntable theatrics, furthering the notion of navel-gazing geeks with computer chips for brains. What began as an inspired new sound seems stalled by artistic ennui and early major label fascination followed by desertion. But there's hope that electronica is evolving, not dying: 24-year-old London native Dylan Nathan, a.k.a. Jega, has learned from all that has gone before him, creating music largely free of cliché. Spectrum's opening track "Phalanx" is a pulsating whirr of glimmering chimes and rolling beats, recalling Kraftwerk's "Autobahn," while "Kid Sista" and "Mai" turn all Japanese with lilting waterfall tinkles and balmy beats. "Naem" spirals upward with a technocolor cotillion of Humpty Dumpty merriment and ambient good vibes. Jega's strength lies in his knack for making any style his own; he's no one-trick DJ. Entirely computer generated (no samples here), Spectrum is at once pretty and repulsive, intellectual and gut busting. Jega is a multilimbed, multitalented, bowled-over brainiac with a future. --Ken Micallef