PHILIPPE HALLAIS Vinyl & CDs

Review: When he's not busy producing ear-shaking industrial techno or corrupted house bangers, Paris' Low Jack appears under his birth name, Philippe Hallais. While this is technically a debut under his real name, we've already gotten a taste of what the talented producer can offer beyond the dancefloor. This album, An American Hero, comes through on Andy Stott's sublime Modern Love and we feel that there couldn't be a better match on our charts this week. Although the large part of these tunes would scare most normal people off any dance piste, there is something unmistakably club-minded about it; the choice of sonics and atmospherics is most certainly on the experimental side of the spectrum, but there is a noticeable movement and pulse-like beat at its foundations. For instance, the likes of "Everything (Good)" or "Angela (Square)" burst out of the speakers with a mind-bending vortex of sounds that somehow find their own kinetic energy and pull you in to a subtle groove. Compared to most left field or ambient albums out there, Hallais has made sure to keep you locked and excited for the whole damn thing. Recommended. Warmly.