In his near decade-long career, Baltimore laptop eccentric Cex (born Rjyan Kidwell) has crossed numerous styles, including the industrial grind of Maryland Mansions, the white-boy hip hop of Being Ridden, the glitch IDM of Oops I Did It Again and, most recently, the conceptual sex funk of Actual Fucking.
Because of the diverse and schizophrenic nature of each of these albums, it’s safe to expect an “anything goes” kind of approach with each outing, and for the most part, that’s what Cex delivers.
On Exotical Privates, Cex offers four remixes of songs from Actual Fucking, reincorporating them into new forms. Yet with Cex, a remix album is much more than it appears, as prior song structures are dissolved in favor of an almost entirely new approach.
Though it’s an EP of chopped-up old songs, the detail and innovation that Kidwell lends to each track leads to something completely new.
The once X-rated themes of these songs are mostly abandoned. Instead, tracks like “Bolton Hill” and “Hamilton” become elegant arrangements of acoustic guitar and looped, angelic vocals. “Charles Village” has an eerie Middle Eastern vibe and maintains a solid groove; “Cocceesville” builds into a dense house anthem.
Exotical Privates is quite pretty, though when it comes to Kidwell, pleasant surprises are merely par for the course.
– Jeff Terich
Cex: brainwashed.com/tb6/cex
Automation Records: www.automationrecords.com