Wasteland
All Versus All (Transparent Records)

All Versus All is the third release from the New York/London duo Wasteland (I-Sound and DJ Scud). This new album continues to explore the terrain of contemporary music with a sound that synthesizes electronica, free improvisation, folk/psyche and new music. The journey from the first album to this one is characterized by an incremental growth of style and a commitment toward creativity being the centerpiece of their evolution. All Versus All represents a pull of forces -- funky and dissonant, sinister and serene, ancient and future. The energy and exuberance of post-rave dance music is fused with the artifacts of the avant-garde to produce a truly stunning and definitive work. The far-flung sound of the present and possible future is Wasteland.

Produced by DJ Scud (Toby Reynolds) & I-Sound (Craig Willingham) this album holds the sum parts of their experiences. DJ Scud is co-founder of the well respected, now defunct Ambush label and was a fundamental architect of an aggressive breakbeat sound that fused power electronics, ragga jungle and hardcore rave. DJ Scud has recorded for the labels kool.POP, Rephlex, and Klangkrieg. I-Sound has carved out an especially singular space for himself in the landscape of contemporary music. Through his full-length collaborations with Germany’s To Rococo Rot and Swiss trio, Koch-Schuetz-Studer, I-Sound’s work spans the divide between contemporary electronic music and free improvisation.

Their work together as Wasteland generated from Craig’s experiences on tour with To Rococo Rot and the desire to bring a sound he and Toby were developing to that same level. This project is an attempt to move beyond their past developments by using them as a spring board towards something new, stronger and evolving. Starting with 2002’s Amen Fire, Wasteland began deconstructing their stylistic traits and re-working them into new and unusual forms. On 2004’s October Wasteland continued to extend and bring the edges of their sound to the fore while fleshing out their sonic profile. Now we find them at the center of their development with All Versus All, a concentrated core of the sounds and ideas presenting Wasteland equally at their most relaxed and intense.

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