DYKEHOUSELeftovers Record label: Planet Mu (UK) Format: MP3 Release date: April 26, 2001 Anyone looking for woman-on-woman manifestos over a pounding 4/4 beat will be sorely disappointed. First of all, Dykehouse is a man - Mike Dykehouse from Kalamazoo. Figures, right? Mike's music is equally influenced by the working class ethics of Detroit techno and the difficult rhythmic environments of his U.K. cronies. Leftovers is the stuff that didn't fit onto his upcoming album Dynamic Obsolescence. These tracks are surprisingly timely given that they were all recorded between three to five years ago. "1985" offers musical foreshadowing into just how important machines (particularly computers) would become in 15 years. It's a song that describes most people's Monday mornings without words. The deep bass intro to "Diet Humpwafer" shakes your inner walls, starting as house and slowly unfolding to reveal its U.K. seal of approval. Still, the graffiti on the wall says, "Detroit was here." "Isolated Shoe Petition" sounds like early Autechre while "The Merryes Syndrome" could have been lifted from a role-playing game set in medieval times. And "Lust Ribs" is freestyle or electro brought to you by the Children's Television Workshop. The only way you can get this material is in MP3 form, and Planet Mu is graciously giving away the whole EP for free on their Web site. You can download all five songs, plus the album artwork and CD label. A great way to promote new talent and a marketing tactic that the mainstream music industry needs to consider…but won't. {downtempo don}
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