Back From A Break

The title of Alex Gold's artistic debut is rife with double entendres. Most obviously, it refers to breakbeat (or "breaks"), his preferred mode of rhythmic discourse. But more subtly, it also refers to the fact that his successful career as a DJ and producer was interrupted by a hair-raising paragliding accident that left him with a shattered spine and required 18 months of hospitalization and physical therapy. While the accident temporarily took him off the DJ circuit, it also gave him time to write his own material -- hence this album, which comes after more than ten years of involvement in the international dance music scene. Released on Gold's own Xtravaganza label, it finds him working in an eclectic assortment of sounds and styles, from the breaks-based pop songs "Foreign Shore" and "Flying" to the more house-oriented "Stranded in Paradise" and "LA Today" (the latter featuring former Human League frontman Phil Oakey). The album's highlight track is the second one, a surprisingly complex soundscape titled "String Theory," on which dreamy female vocals float high above densely arranged and robustly funky interlocking rhythm tracks. On one or two of these songs (notably "Flying"), the concept seems to run away with the content just a bit, but overall this is an exceptionally fine debut album. Bring on the remixes! ~ Rick Anderson|