The Leader

Issue date: 11/8/06 Section: Music

There has always been a rift separating electronic music from the mainstream. It is a genre created by and for the music nerd demographic (you know who you are). Thom Yorke came close to bridging the gap with the Eraser, but not even Radiohead's central brain could propel the genre past its roots in the inner echelons of audiophilia, which is fine, because most people don't really get into electronic music anyway. To call York an electronic musician, however, is somewhat of a sacrilege to the genre's purists. Yorke sings way too much and is too melodic to be categorized as such, laptop minstrel though he may be.

This is where Martin Dosh comes in. With his hypnotic electro-soundscapes he avoids the more popular path tread by fellow musicians like Patrick Wolf. Like vocals? Fuck'em. Martin doesn't need them and neither do we in order to enjoy his music. Dosh, Martin's solo moniker, doesn't mess around with adding her perfectly fine voice to every song, instead opting to let the music speak for itself. His new full-length, the Lost Take, delves deeper into the central core of electronic music than any of the aforementioned artists. The album is not comprised solely of drones, blips and beeps, however, but is chock-full of instrumentation ranging from saxophone to mellotron.

Some of the songs, like the opening "One Through Seven," do veer a bit toward the droning ambience that often repels newcomers to the genre, but it has deeper layers to explore, with sly drum beats and various bells and xylophones. It is small touches like these that keep Dosh from sinking into the void of the "electronic/techno" bin at the local record store. "O Mexico" is full of delightful computer chirps and galaxies of instrumentals contributed by an impressive guest list, including Andrew Bird, for whom Dosh plays back-up during concerts.

The Lost Take is a great album for fans of electronic music, or at least electronic music with heavy instrumentals. Despite this, Dosh probably won't be converting many non-fans to the genre, though it is a great stepping stone to get into it.

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