plus tax

back when Squarepusher played his FIRST EVER LIVE SHOW IN AMERICA, right here in lovely san francisco, california at the lovely great american music hall the lovely opening dj was mira calix. she played a cool set, tons of stuff i'd never heard, super brainy but still mellow and danceable but one track stuck out in a major way. i was nearly frantic to find out what it was, but of course that didn't happen...

fast forward a few months and i find a copy of an album called One/Three by an artist named Dabrye lying around on the internet. it looked sad and lonely, so i brought it home to my computer and listened to it. i was thoroughly enjoying the listening experience when, lo and behold! track seven comes on and sends shockwaves of familiarity through my spine. i discover it is called Hyped-Up Plus Tax and instantly make it the first song i listen to every day on my minidisc player on the way to work for months to come...

fast forward a few years and Dabrye releases an album called Additional Productions, Vol. 1. on it is a live version of Hyped-Up Plus Tax that causes me to nearly fall off my chair at the first listen. it was such a surreal experience, warping my memory into this new mold. anyway, i really like both (as you may have gathered) and i offer them here for your aural reference. i recommend listening to the first about 37 times in a row before listening to the second, to get a feel for the impact i felt.

Hyped-Up Plus Tax
Hyped-Up Plus Tax (2002 Live Version)

postscript: i smuggled in my MD recorder to bootleg Plaid and Squarepusher's sets at that show: blank discs, battery pack and the unit in the hollowed-out tongues of my skate shoes; microphone wrapped in a bun in steph's hair... oh, and i eventually bought a copy of One/Three, as i do with just about every album/artist i like. if we don't buy their music, they won't be able to afford to make more music and then there won't be any music to trade on P2P networks, now will there? but stick to the indie labels, major labels are insanely corrupt and hell-bent on screwing the artist and listener alike. i'll stop now.