Catalogue Of Desires

Bassist/guitarist Salman Gita and programmer Jamuud established Loop Guru in the early '90s, winning the attention of the British music press through singles like "Mrabet" and "Paradigm Shuffle." The duo then cemented their brand of globally informed, beat-driven electronica on the pair of full-length releases that followed: 1994's Duniya and 1995's Amrita...All These & the Japanese Soup Warriors. The latter was the first release in an agreement with North-South that allowed Loop Guru to indulge their club-friendly techno and their more experimental excursions on separate releases. So while Amrita may have only been a small step forward, with one eye firmly on the dancefloor, The Third Chamber (1995) plunged into less definable textures. The album set the stage for Catalogue of Desires. Following two volumes sold at Loop Guru shows, Vol. 3 surfaced on the Guru imprint. Here, Gita and Jamuud make sufficient use of their newfound freedom, pacing themselves like never before. Where the duo's early releases relied heavily on beats to maintain dancefloor dynamics, on Catalogue of Desires, Vol. 3: The Clear White Variation Loop Guru tours a variety of rhythmic juxtapositions and sonic landscapes with no apparent destination in mind. In between sections of beat activity lie desolate expanses of amorphous sound that change shape at nearly imperceptible rates. Unfortunately, as the album progresses and song lengths shorten, Catalogue of Desires seems to stall in between gears a bit too often and the musical templates feel undeveloped. As a result, the set seems transitional, with Loop Guru developing a new set of textures and tools from which to draw in the future. ~ Nathan Bush|