Anyone following the trajectory of London's open-eared Uncharted Audio label will know of Stephen Fiske's work as LJ Kruzer and his propensity for dispensing wonderfully emotive tracks loaded with intricate melodies and lush sonic textures.
Son of a Wiltshire vicar, Fiske's formative years were spent listening to his father accompanying hymn singing in church with a Yamaha keyboard — which goes far in explaining his penchant for perky re-rubs of Christmas carols.
Since first appearing on vinyl in 2002 (a split EP with The Council Flats of Kingsbury), the London-based producer has released a steady stream of tracks and remixes on Uncharted Audio, AI, Seed and a raft of netlabels. Last year saw the release of his widely lauded second album, Manhood & Electronics, an Eno-inspired masterpiece filled with gorgeous piano treatments, haunting synths and delicate percussive pulses.
Uncharted Audio's next release sees four tracks from Manhood & Electronics getting remix treatment from TVO, Trademark, Cyan341 and Ukkonen (info and audio here). To mark the occasion, Spannered is pleased to host an exclusive mix of LJ Kruzer's 'electronic picks', freshly gathered up from the interweb and glued together for your enjoyment.
"The mix is the result of an evening spent digging through online mp3 retailers for nice new electronic music. As someone who doesn't consume music in this format — I'm only just catching on to the convenience of CDs! — it was an interesting experience, but not as much fun as going out into the world and hunting and gathering vinyl. The one positive thing about shopping for mp3s online, I suppose, is that it's easier to avoid buying crap music. Not all the tunes on the mix are from mp3 shops — some of them are recent works made or released by musical friends. Anyway, now I have a folder on the family laptop full of new mp3s and nothing to do with them. Do I have to buy an iPod now? Are they even still called iPods...?"
LJ Kruzer, February 2010
Tracklisting:
Maps+Diagrams – Last Train Home (Yuki Yaki)
The Sight Below – Life’s Fading Light (Ghostly International)
Reinhard Lakomy – Es wächst das Gras nicht über alles (Permanent Vacation)
Asura – Peptine (Non Projects)
Aleksi Perala – Sentimenthol (Rephlex)
Asura – Asura I (Non Projects)
Oneohtrix Point Never – Russian Mind (No Fun)
Trademark – Tropic of Capricorn (Intelligent Audio)
Isaac Himself – Dad’s Garage (Myuzyk)
Erik XVI - Gravitationskraftens stilla vrede [Gravious’ Anti Gravity Mix] (Highpoint Lowlife)
Pangaea – Sunset Yellow (Hessle Audio)
Grohs – woven lake (unreleased)
Klaus Weltman – Albo Th Pigeon Brings A Letter (Strange Life)
Ciupy & Mihai Bejenaru – Jewel (Magnetik Grooves)
LJ Kruzer – Poil [Cyan341 mix] (Uncharted Audio)
Audion – Instant In You (Spectral Sound US)
Posthuman – Europa Sky (Uncharted Audio)
Reagenz – Du Bist Hier (Workshop)
^ LJ Kruzer's Manhood and Electronics Remixes is out soon
^ LJ Kruzer photograph by Jessica Love