July 25, 2005 | Posted by Blair at 6:45 PM

I Busted Your CD Player

busted speaker
"Rock On" by Jackson & His Computer Band

With his electronics all twisted and fizzling, his drum machines and vocalists stuttering like a drunk robot, and his talents reaching their peak, Jackson & His Computer Band, aka Jackson Fourgeaud, the 26-year-old Parisian electronic musician enters the stage boldly.

"Rock On" is one of the great tracks on his new full-length album, Smash, out mid-September on WARP Records - the track is a stellar example of Jackson's work: chopped up drums and vocals, buzzing synths, and damaged samples that point simultaniously to a shuffling jam, and a flair for the cinematic, all of which is totally undeniable machine-funk that leaves you hungry for more.

My first exposure to Jackson's work was his remix of M83's "Run Into Flowers" on the Michael Mayer Fabric mix-CD, which I then purchased on 12" - the original version of the song is a huge synth and strings affair, but Jackson's mix chops it into pieces that give the song a truly mental groove that drives you crazy, but also makes you want to dance.

Jackson has been working on this album for a number of years, recording tracks over and over, adding to the layers of sound in his Paris studio. A couple of the tracks are mixed by his friend Mr. Oizo, with whom he shared a basement lab. Jackson has always been surrounded by music, and has been making music of his own since he was 15 - the album itself is a real labor of love that includes his own family: Jackson's mother, a folk and blues singer, contributes vocals on two of the tracks on the album, and his four-year-old neice narrates another track.

Smash is all over the map, but in a really good, highly listenable way. I'd call it the missing link or bridge between Prefuse 73's first album, Vocal Studies and Uprock Narrative and Vitalic's newest album, OK Cowboy - the delicate balance between 4/4, rock and breakbeats that Jackson happily jumps back and forth between. It is a seriously addictive listen, and I really hope this release vaults Jackson to greater recognition, because he really deserves it. Keep an eye on the WARP site for info on this album, because I think it, alongside Jamie Liddell's Multiply, is one of the best things they've put out in ages.

Astonishing.

Comments

This is essentially early 90's techno cut up and spit back out in a VERY imaginative way -- not in an interpretive way, but very literally. From the synths, to the stabs, to the bass, to the vocal. The best track you guys have posted in recent memory.

Posted by: Greg at July 25, 2005 7:08 PM

very cool. It reminds me of Akufen - Deck the House.
Thank you.

Posted by: matt at July 25, 2005 8:09 PM

That remix is superb.

Posted by: Connor at July 25, 2005 11:55 PM

That remix is so good. But the Jackson i've heard since just hasn't lived up to that standard.

This is very sampled. His production is always a bit abbrasive.

Posted by: The Drunkard at July 26, 2005 2:40 AM

this track is wonderful, not just in the style, but in the samples he chooses to use. fantastic.

Posted by: at July 26, 2005 1:45 PM

the next level, isnt it? god damn I love the french.

Posted by: dj day at July 26, 2005 4:49 PM

I've been looking forward to hearing this album for a long while... and now i'm looking forward to it even more. Nice one mr blair.

Posted by: james at July 26, 2005 6:35 PM

Definately one of the best tracks on MFR lately. I love this recent spate of dead-air glitch production that's coming out of the woodwork. Even better is the sheer ammount of fantastic French pop/electronica acts that are finally getting more international recognition. I'll be investigating Jackson and M83 with the sort of joy a young child feels when he discovers cheesy puffs dipped in cocacola taste *amazing*.

Posted by: Yvash at July 28, 2005 10:45 AM

is that a Daft Punk sample at the end?

Posted by: the drunkard at July 28, 2005 11:05 PM

I first heard this track, last weekend, on Radio One's Blue Room. Quite addictive!

Posted by: Casey Dryden at August 6, 2005 5:27 PM

rock on is right! the most insperational track i've heard in a long while ... can't wait to hear the rest, digging back for the remixes of his i missed ... and ... anything that sounds like it! damn!

Posted by: starpause at August 9, 2005 7:56 PM
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