by John Bush
Despite several respected singles and remixes, Layo Paskin and Matthew &Bushwacka& B. were still better known as DJs than producers before 1999. All that changed with Low Life, however. The duo's first production LP is a varied album that flirts with Miami bass, electro, funk, Italian house, Latin percussion, and breakbeat techno (often in the same song), while still rarely deserting their pioneering tech-house foundation. Much more streamlined and dance-friendly than competitive acts like Leftfield or the Chemical Brothers, Low Life succeeds at nearly everything it attempts -- a surprise given the amount of cross-genre pollination going on here.