Uwe Schmidt, best known for his work as Senor Coconut with latin-themed covers of Kraftwerk, returns under his Atom TM guise with Son Of a Glitch his first solo album since 2005. The comically titled Son of a Glitch fits typically in the Rather Interesting label catalogue, although departing from the recent trend of baile-funk-themed releases such as 2005’s Speed Merengue. Highly intricate programming combined with masterful editing join forces with an urban, almost ’80s sounding low fidelity to venture from hip hop through to electro paced regions, reminiscent of earlier Rather Interesting solo work by Schmidt, yet the detail in the programming and arrangement highlight its modernity
Uwe himself introduces the album with ‘Message to the Consumer’ that reflects perfectly on current musical trends. The album progresses through 23 tracks, some featuring ‘raps’ and other vocal elements while the highly cut up lo-fi laptop sound prevails. As with a lot of Schmidt’s work on Rather Interesting, some of the tracks venture into maniacally arranged deliberately disturbing areas forcing the occasional cringe, yet the tongue-in-cheek lyrics that seem to have a deeper meaning than usual, keep it on track.
Overall another enjoyable release, typical of the Rather Interesting label style.
Andre Ruello
