AA.VV.
Dfa Compilation #2

As a good rocker with a past as a (semi)extremist metalhead, I grew up with a particular distrust towards what is defined as electronic music. No instruments, just buttons to press to make noises, cold music, repetitive and monotonous songs; not to mention the quality of dance/house of the umpteenth (with n tending to 'infinity') category made with a cookie-cutter that I had to endure during many of my alcoholic wanderings with friends and acquaintances that had become for me an evident proof of the inadequacy of the (macro)genre in question.

Obviously, the reality is not quite like that, and as I matured musically, with the increase of my listening experiences, I learned to appreciate even sounds that moved away from more canonical rock, and I became interested in pioneer and fundamental groups of the genre (Krafwerk, Suicide, Schulze, etc). Despite this, electronics always remained a "secondary" genre for me compared to the various derivatives of rock that I have always loved to explore and delve into, so much so that I recently realized I practically had no idea how the genre had evolved recently, apart from rare exceptions (Daft Punk, Fennesz, Aphex Twin, and a few others).

It was necessary to remedy this gap of mine, and by browsing the net a bit, I heard the name of this New York label, DFA, engaged in collecting the most interesting realities in the underground of the big apple, specializing in what I discovered to be defined as electropunk/electroclash; that is, a mixture of new-wave, punk, and indeed electronics.

This second collection of a good 3 CDs (which I know can only be ordered from the website) offers a good overview of what the label provides and produced on me, in my ignorance, an excellent impression. Dark and hypnotic atmospheres, experimentation, and a wide range of influences (ranging from funk to noise/industrial), in short, a bubbling cauldron that at least in me manages to perfectly evoke the atmosphere of a small club in a big city, dancing in the dark and possibly high.

So this is an excellent introduction to "intelligent/alternative" (almost) contemporary electronic (release date 2004) for those who want to get closer to these sounds, but I believe that even enthusiasts can safely take a risk, lend an ear, and eventually discover some new interesting reality.