Various Artefact#one Alien Artefact 8/98 [Artefact#one] "Artefact#one" is the first release from Alien Artefact , a label dedicated to exposing the Yugoslav electronic music underground to a wider audience. The compilation features ten artists recording in styles from techno to drum n bass. Intruder's "6" is dreamy Bukemesque beatwork, while Dominator take it darker with a rugged breakloop married to a stumbling, bassline stab. Ultraphunk and Linear Draft take the jazz-tinged route, throwing in some double bass and clothing it in washes of synth. "Aquadub" from Modern Quartet is titled perfectly and flows well into Vukan's take on the Kruder & Dorfmeister style. "Brain Submarine" from Noise Destruction moves into techno territory with its crunchy build of filtered mids and swirls of static and Boris Petrovic's "Crystal Desert" hides a beast that springs into Autechre mode as the track progresses. Included too is a CD-ROM file featuring ten graphic artists working in mediums ranging from pixel art and photoshop manipulation to graf scans and cartoon characters. Overall, a fine glimpse at a scene that is bound to flourish as more and more musicians record finished pieces and forge a distinct sound. --Andrew Duke Back to album reviews index