Bip-Hop Generation, Vol. 4 CD

The fourth installment in Bip-Hop's chronicling of turn-of-the-century electronic music may not be as compelling as Vol. 3, but it still holds strong moments. Warp recording artist Mira Calix opens the set with "Picture 4 You" -- nice percussion loops, but too long for its repetitive contents. Si-cut.db and Twine offer much more meat, the former contributing two glitchy tracks, the latter moodier tunes (there is even a melancholic electric guitar part in "One_2"). Datach'i adds a touch of noise and digi-core -- "Truax" is a highlight. If Vs_Price contributes 11 minutes of decent but personality-lacking, beat-driven experimental techno, the closing 15 minutes, Cray's "Seven Satellites," is much more satisfying. Experimental, riding the fence between academic electro-acoustic music and electronica, it turns out to be the genre-pushing track of the set. Working as a set of tableaux, it frequently looses the listener, only to let him/her find his path again. This collection takes its full meaning when seen as a whole; Bip-Hop is slowly building up an anthology of the state of electronic art in 2000-2001. If this volume lacks a bit of panache and big names, it should not be discarded too quickly. ~ François Couture