In the world of electronic listening music, where everyone seemingly wants to sound like Aphex Twin or Autechre, it’s rare to hear an album as strange and original as Solo Soli iiiii. Using keyboards of every vintage, an array of noisemaking machines, and computers, the Belgian brothers Nicolas and Laurent Baudoux (aka Scratch Pet Land) essentially rewrite the rules of music with each new song, forging their own notions of melody, rhythm, and harmony. Unlike much computer-based music, the structure of the tracks on Solo Soli iiiii is completely freed from the MIDI-sequenced grid. Sounds can come and go at any time, and while there are intermittent bursts of rhythm, there is nothing approaching a standard beat. The only consistent elements in Solo Soli iiiii are the mood and overall tone, which are uniformly playful, joyous, and uplifting. There is a naïve and innocent cast to the tracks that, instead of invoking images or memories or childhood, sound like they were composed and played by actual pre-schoolers. Clipped hiccup sounds punctuate “Nimka Hik Drum Kit,” serving as a percussive contrast with the jazzy trap set work happening in the background and the meandering organ noodling that serves as a melody. Another odd stylistic collision happens in “Baudoux Baba,” where extremely trebly drum’n'bass-style percussion serves as a textural accent to a gorgeous two-chord Moog drone sequence that has a hint of gospel flavor, complete with a melodic coda. More straightforward is “Escargot Couleurs!,” which is vaguely reminiscent of primitive video game music, with crackly chords underpinning a singsongy melody. Many of the tracks are short and flow one into the next, giving Solo Soli iiiii the feel of some sort of mutant jamboree. Worth tracking down when you tire of the same old same old. – Mark Richardson
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