Enthusiast (Bip Hop, 2001)

*GUEST REVIEW*
Englishman Douglas Benfold is behind the ever changing moniker of Si-cut. db.  Essentially, he is an artist working in electronica who releases output on a variety of labels.  Enthusiast was released in 2001 on Phillipe Petit’s Bip Hop label.  The album was made by manipulating woodwork noises and electronic glitches.  The album finishes up sounding like a cross between micro-house and dubtronica.  It has a distinctively dubby feel but is not as sparse or minimal as artists such as Pole.  A lot of the album has a natural feel.  This gives the listener a strange feeling of being close to dripping water in an echo chamber.  But this is not some relaxa-tape available only from health food shops.  It’s far too much like house music for that.  A casual listener may conclude that all the tracks are the same, but like the music of Steve Reich and Alvin Lucier, repeated listeners are rewarded with a greater insight.

- ragudave