Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.
Africa Hitech: 93 Million Miles (Warp, 5/10/11)
Africa Hitech: “Glangslap”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Africa_Hitech_Glangslap.mp3|titles=Africa Hitech: “Glangslap”]Hajduch: Africa Hitech is an electronic duo comprised of jack-of-all-trades Mark Pritchard (Harmonic 33, Global Communication, Harmonic 313) and Steve Spacek. Following an EP last year, this debut LP on Warp is a lurching exploration of juke beats, swirling synthscapes, acid squelch, hip-hop menace, and the breakneck tempo of South African dance music. Though initially it seems like an overwhelming listen, there’s a lot to pick apart, and plenty of hooks to latch onto even when the rhythms are hard to grasp.
Morrow: The rhythms strike me as intricate in a subtle way. There are different layers doing different things, but like most of Pritchard’s other work, there’s plenty of minimalism, usually involving a basic dance beat. These danceable polyrhythms are the real shared trait between 93 Million Miles and African music. Outside of a few drum samples on tracks such as “Spirit,” the album otherwise is heavy on the Detroit techno sound of Pritchard’s Harmonic 313.