[Power Shovel Audio]

2009 was a big year for the experimental full length, with both Shackleton and the Moritz von Oswald Trio asserting that below the surface of dance floor oriented fare lay a considerable amount of free-form thought and restless cadence. For all of the impressive material that has been delivered in 2010 there doesn’t seem to have been any truly notable albums approaching the undertaking into such abstract electronic analysis. Actress and Mount Kimbie have both wowed with their respective albums and there have been a clutch of impressive beat-related efforts, but it feels like Margaret Dygas’ debut album on Japanese label Power Shovel Audio is one of the only long players in 2010 to explore the more cerebral side of the art.

The Polish-born producer has slowly but steadily risen to become a byword for vanguard techno, constantly exploring the boundaries of a minimal aesthetic largely through dance floor exegesis. Her ideas contained on the scant number of EPs she has released have always hinted at there being a much larger source to mine beneath the surface, so the emergence of a full length album from Dygas makes perfect sense. That said, How Do You Do? is at once not what you might expect from Dygas and then at the same time typical for this very reason. For an artist who genuinely sounds like they are pushing themselves with each new release the very fact that large portions of the album somewhat uncomfortable or alien is testament to the fact she is continuing to follow this work ethic. That doesn’t mean the album is necessarily an uneasy one; on the contrary, it feels like it is made to be listened to in one sitting. But it is an album that begs for you to do more than simply tune in and drop out.

The album came about when Power Shovel asked Dygas if she’d like to do the project and to base it on a book, film, or a true story. Dygas chose a book and has based her long player on Peoplewatching by British zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris. It would be easy to forcibly mash the concepts of Morris’ expertise to Dygas’ productions, but in truth, a book about the rise of the most fearsome and destructive animal ever to grace the earth is not something that immediately springs to mind when listening to the album. There is undeniably a narrative tone to the album, be it the words of Morris himself in the opening stanza or the perpetual feeling of exploration. The most striking thing about How Do You Do is that none of the songs ever settle into a solid groove. They themselves are in constant evolution and evaluation, a result of adhering to the theme of the source inspiration. As the album progresses it does gradually unfold, making its way from the study to the club, though throughout feels cloaked in a great deal of theory. This makes How Do You Do a challenging listen in many respects. It’s almost as if a film score went out for the night and happened along one of Margaret’s unique DJ sets; at first tentatively sneaking peeks, toying with the idea of getting involved, then eventually dispensing with inhibitions and doing its best to merge with the soundtrack of the club.

Just three tracks in, “Baton Signals” hints at a taste of things to come with its structured 4/4 backbone, but it’s studied atmospherics rather than certifiable club business that color the track. “Maybe May Be,” though also very atmospheric is supported by a percussion forged groove, but as its tonal frequencies fold in upon each other and dissolve into other ideas it slips almost insidiously into another discourse on sonic spatiality with “You’re In My Shoes.” It is the sounds of Dygas at home or pottering about in her studio and as she toys with simple melodies we get a picture of her engaging with her music. It is perhaps the clearest picture of the artist taking influence from the reference material, itself a reflection on the very idea of studying people. “Barrier” hits one of the most distinctive marks on the album for the fact that it wears its Basic Channel influence on its sleeve, though Dygas neatly engineers the spatial, dubbed out homage with her own unique touch. “Pg 21” is the first sign of a more kinetic momentum; the incidental keys sound like a concert pianist warming up but sampled and given some rough handed treatment by a surly drum machine. That virtuoso approach is a recurring theme throughout the record, be it the foray into broken beat territory with the weird step of “Salutations” or “Hidden From View” where Dygas reprises the accidental pianist role for the last proper track of the album.

How Do You Do never quite fully engages in a club sense and it’s hard not to want Dygas to provide this. Given that her previous output has dealt out heavy doses of very danceable fare (albeit in a distinctly bare bones manner) there is a tendency to want more of the same from the producer. What is on offer instead is a thoughtfully crafted and meticulously realized album that may incorporate elements of that club appeal but is concentrated on providing something to digest rather than simply something to react to.