by Jason Birchmeier
Swedish producer Andreas Tilliander pushes the limits of glitch music on Cliphop, his debut release as Mokira. On each of the album's ten tracks, he submerses ultra-low basslines and hip-hop-style beats far beneath almost impenetrable layers of heavily processed hard-drive soundscapes. Every track is essentially a struggle between the rhythm (the basslines and the beats) and the static (the nebulous wall of glitchy ambience). More often than not, you'll find yourself rooting for the rhythm, but Tilliander seems intent on overcasting your hope with as much subtle turbidity as he can conjure from his laptop. The tension here is wonderful -- between the rhythm and static, between yourself and Tilliander -- and there's a certain blissful uncomfortably at play here that's absolutely beautiful. Endless listens later you're still struggling with this music. It's challenging yet seemingly simple. Tilliander would continue to create similar music following this Raster-Noton release, most notably for Mille Plateaux. Those later recordings, such as Ljud (2001) and Plee (2002), are masterfully crafted and just as challenging as Cliphop, yet none of those are quite as formative as this, the seed from which his subsequent work would sprout.