When it gets hot, I feel the urge to buy electronic music. This weekend it had 35 degrees, I bought three recent electronica.-releases. I have no fears or prejudices - I sweat just like everyone else. But cool music cools me down.

Here are a few thoughts I had, that were inspired by these records. They are about electronic music in general, and - because of my adolescence - the relationship between electronica and punk. Maybe they are interesting to you. Maybe they are bland and obvious. At least, I will recommend three cool records to you.

SQUAREPUSHER - My red hot car (Warp, 12")

1. Electronica is the new punk

Hah, what a statement! How daring and obvious at the same time. Electronica is punk in the sense that everybody can make it. You don't have to have the slightest idea about music or musical theory, just go ahead. And, if you are rambunctious enough, you will piss of your parents and relatives, because they won't understand what you are doing. Even more punk! You might get a superstar and sell millions of records to ravers all over the world - that is punk as well, at least since the nineties (Green Day, Offspring, etc.). So it is cool. But what makes electronica better than punk is the variety of styles. Everything is allowed. This little record features one rather straight pop-song, well in a Squarepusher-style at least. Next the destruction of that pop-song. On the other side is one dronelike wall of-sound, which is delicately mixed and then some really strange sound-pleeps and feeps. There is even an even more distorted bonus-track. So this is quite far away from radio-music. 

P.S.: Of course, electronica has no obvious political meaning, so that ain't punk at all. But then again, the political side of punk is either an excuse or a joke nowadays. So it doesn't matter anyway. Me, I started listening to Rap as well.

MUSLIMGAUZE - Melt (BSI / Staalplaat, 12")

2. Electronica is lonely music

Above I said, that everyone can make electronic music. That is true. But since electronic music is made on computers - and all you basically need is a computer and maybe headphones - and not on instruments, in a rehearsalspace, with other people in the band and so on, there is actually no need to go outside. No need to meet other people. Actually, electronic music attracts a lot of sociopathic loners and lunatics. But: strange people make strange music and some strange music is really good. So I won't judge this fact. Bryn Jones, better known under his moniker Muslimgauze, was a loose nut, as everyone would agree. Constantly putting out new tracks, remixing his own tracks, listening solely to his own music, producing his music snug away in a room in his parents house (who helped him get contacts and with distribution before Staalplaat picked up on him) and so on. Well, he is dead. But there is a lot left to still enjoy his music. Here are four new tracks. Mushy arabian-influenced music with hefty beats that always sound somewhat clangy and metallic. This won't make you dance. But it also draws you into its spell. And that is what makes good music.

PRE/FUSE73 - vocal studies + uprock narratives (Warp, 2xLP)

3. Everything is allowed / errors are good

No, this is not where I will get into the connection between satanism and electronic-music. Would be fun, though. Few people really understand the real foundations of satanism (satan is in you, decide yourself, do what thou wills... blablablahrg) but what I am about here is: mixing styles in electronic-music is a plus. In punk you are a sell-out, ain't true to your style or whatever pretensions a fourteen-year-old-scenester might spit on you. And here I have a question: Does electronica try to achieve perfection? Some musicians might, but some don't. You'll find the best stuff by trial and error. I guess everyone of you experienced a faulty CD once. It hangs, the laser can't read the information, the CD oxidizes, all you here are crackling noises or the CD-Player jumps from one part to the next or is completely crazy. (This is because most CD-players use different logarithms to calculate missing or distorted information on the CD, and if they aren't able to calculate the missing bits and bytes to fill in, you'll hear "noise". You can fake that by putting tape on a CD and then playing it. Your CD- Player will love it!!) That is what Prefuse do. Everywhere between their laidback and groovy, almost hip-hop-alike tracks, you'll have some crazy cut-ups and weird noise-shit. Mix Stock,Hausen&Walkmen with the Wu-Tang-Clan? Well maybe, since there is some serious rapping and scratching on here as well. Actually, the record moves from the experimantal srange tracks to the straighter songs in the course of the record. That, and the label, might be why it ended up in the electronica-bin in my record store and not in the Hip-Hop-bin. Once in a while you will check if your record-player is working correctly, because of all the intended fuck-ups. But that is good. Maybe Prefuse will piss of the electronica-purists as well as the hardcore-rap-faction, but they have their heroes. I have none, so I like this, because it is summer, it is hot and they are cool and groovy.