Browse by Artist: RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	Brain Salad Surgery
Label:	HOT AIR (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	HOT AIR004

"A very fine 14 track CD by Mr. Matt Haines, this is nothing like the 7" release Why Do Birds Sing? also out on Hot Air, it contains NO whistling and instead sways back and forth between highly electrical surge spike rhythms and perfect serene electro-dub, quite often within the same track. If sometimes the more abstract noises in this release sound vaguely familiar that's because Matt is also responsible for much of Atom's (Rather Interesting) Kyma patch programming, ie; he made a lot of those weird digital sounds for him... Not to worry the rest of the CD has a catchiness all its own, sound so clean you can eat off it and more rhythmic twists, morphs and mutations per track than the wildlife surrounding Sellafield. Definitely a Brain of two halves."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	New Clear Days
Label:	INFLATABL LABL
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FLAT 005CD

"Is nuclear power a pollution-free solution to the world's energy needs? Or is it a dangerous ticking time bomb? The answers, of course, are contained in his latest release, New Clear Days. Unlike most people (who have already made up their minds) Matt Haines is not quite sure what to think about all those little subatomic particles zooming around. But rather than lose sleep over it, he's decided to work through these issues on his latest album. This is the tenth full-length album for Haines, but the first to be released on his own label, In Flatabl Labl. From the beginning the label has had a loser-focused strategy: to release music that is structurally and rhythmically interesting, and that has a high ideas-per-minute ratio. In other words, it thumbs its nose at DJ-oriented music and its so-called experimental offspring. The label's motto is 'Say it fast, say it well, and move on'."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	Pump
Label:	MILLE PLATEAUX (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MP 105CD

"Matt Haines, a.k.a. the Rip-Off Artist, releases his seventh album on Mille Plateaux. This album, appropriately entitled Pump, is a story of oil and love, petroleum and sex. A world in which hard iron meets soft earth, and deep pressures are relieved. Prior to his music career, the Rip-Off Artist worked for several years aboard an off-shore oil-drilling platform off the coast of California. Working for weeks at a time in twelve-hour shifts, surrounded by the constant din of sea and machine, the crew of the platform are extremely isolated. Gut-wrenching loneliness and frustration permeates the atmosphere, and the crew (both male and female) think constantly of home. Close relationships onboard are discouraged, and so the 'roustabouts' and support crew naturally turn to thoughts of distant spouses and lovers. This sexual tension is obvious in the names of tools and machinery used by the oil industry. Odd words such as 'swage nipple,' 'downhole,' 'stuffing box' and 'packing gland' expose the emotions attached to mere objects. These words become titles of music about longing in the midst of grindingly hard work. The Rip-Off Artist captures this bizarre juxtaposition of flesh and metal on Pump."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	Kids Are Alright
Label:	QUATERMASS (BELGIUM)
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	QS 105CD

"Matt Haines, a.k.a. The Rip-Off Artist, went over to the dark side a couple of years ago. Before that, he was happy making little dinky dance tunes, mostly in the electro and drum-n-bass genres. Using names like Mental Blox, Control-X and Front BC, he released four albums and seventeen singles, and even ran an electro label called Spinyl for a few years. But then everything grew dim. Unbeknownst to Mr. Haines, the local electricity company, in an effort to save costs and increase profits, had gradually been reducing the voltage they delivered. While they claimed it was US standard 117 volts, it had dipped to just over 90 volts before their plot was discovered. Meanwhile, their customers' lights grew dimmer, which had a subtle but undeniable effect: paranoia and other mental problems. There were thirty-seven reported cases of psychological stress directly connected with this incident. Mr. Haines was one poor victim, but fortunately his was a mild case. Mr. Haines has for the most part recovered, and is living in seclusion in the Los Angeles area. Perhaps fortunately for us, there have been lasting effects however. When he had recovered enough to attempt production again, he found that his music had changed. No longer was it the happy, carefree, mindless dance music of before. Instead, it had mutated into something bizarre, like oversized fluorescent mushrooms in some dark radioactive closet. The beats remain, but fall apart almost as soon as they materialize. Voices enter at random, sounds that shouldn't be used together are used together. What were once friendly little synthesizer melodies are now dark, or crazed, but mostly nonsense. Quatermass has seen fit to release some of this nonsense on the album The Kids Are Alright."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	In Through The Out Door
Label:	TIGERBEAT6 RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	MEOW 078CD

"Tuneful IDM that mixes the hi-fi processing of Richard Devine with the timeless humor and playfulness of Stock, Hausen and Walkman. On In Through The Out Door, he has created a playful world of found voices, peppy rhythms and smart-ass musical references. The music harkens back to his The Kids Are Alright album from 2000, with glitchy electro-fried beats and hummable pop aspects rarely found in modern electronica, which is what makes Tigerbeat6 a perfect home for it."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	Little Tiny 1/8 Jack
Label:	VERTICAL FORM (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$9.00
Catalog #:	VFORM 029EP

"A stonking double-header, this latest release comprises two compelling sides of utilitarian digi-funk from the techno house top drawer. Ornamented with shards of electronic glitz and a beguiling (and, dammit, dead catchy!) vocal chorus hymning the diminutive 1/8 jack socket of the title, the a side is propulsive, mesmeric dance floor fare with the ROA's trademark wit at full throttle. AA-side double diamond also hammers along like a demented heartbeat machine, while all manner of digital scree erupts, making woofers woof like big old hounds and tweeters shriek for joy."

Artist:	RIP-OFF ARTIST, THE
Title:	Pet Sounds
Label:	VERTICAL FORM (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	VFORM 030CD

"Yes, he's aware that title might just have been used before and, yes, that's (partly at least,) why the man known to his mates as Matt Haines, has adopted the Rip Off Artist monicker... (previous ROA albums include Electric Ladyland, Pump and Brian Salad Surgery... you get the picture...). Top drawer, esoteric techno house with a melodic undertow (often just plain old fashioned 'catchy'), Pet Sounds blends acrobatic digital workouts with occasional droll lyrics and never-less-than-propulsive neo-funk grooves. The Rip Off Artist is the alias of Los Angeles resident Matt Haines who runs his own inflatable label and is infamous for re-inventing his personal history on a regular basis. Whether or not he's really a Mexican �migr�, part-time country session musician or an off-duty oil rig operative, Haines has recorded for the likes of Mille Plateaux, Bottrop-Boy and Massive Advance and has worked with Atom Heart's Uwe Schmidt, amongst others."

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