[Minilogue]

It’s been a busy (and largely successful) year for Minilogue. The Swedish duo have issued a stunning double-length album, Animals, a fistful of singles and remixes (including the mighty “Jamaica,” complete with love-it-or-leave-it Dubfire remix), and now, the third limited-edition 10″ release on their own Minilogue imprint, the third release on the label overall. Through it all, they’ve maintained a consistent quality, as well as the animal-theme they seem to have grown attached to over the last year. Whatever their quirks, the pair continue to deliver the goods, and rather prolifically at that.

The A side starts with a percolating bass-and-hand clap stomp that’s soon joined by a subtle breakbeat and chant, over which a series of percussion runs, bubbling synths, and other random bits are laid (including a spooked-out voiceover later in the mix, as well as a nifty bit of snake charming). The circular groove is immediate, and the stuttering breaks that hit every few minutes keep it from lulling you into some sort of voodoo-zombie-type trance. Just before the four-minute mark, a secondary rhythm drops in and any hope you might have had at sitting through this one should be gone. It isn’t jaw-dropping, but it sure is hypnotic, most effective for dancing, mixing, or perhaps for circling around a bunch of bewildered explorers boiling in a giant cast-iron pot. The real surprise comes near the end, however, when the whole thing suddenly transforms to a digital bounce for the last few minutes, perfect to mix into something a bit more electronic. Very thoughtful of them. The flipside is similarly circular in its groove, but rather than working in tribal percussion, it deals in pulsating, oceanic synths, the ambient whale song to the A-sides thundering herd, collapsing into pure, beatless bliss at it’s tail. It’s a kinder, gentler Basic Channel-type of rhythm, akin in tone to the second disc of Animals with perhaps a tad more bite to it, but not much. Minilogue have had a great 2008; all signs point to them continuing to impress well into the new year.