Dark Fidelity Hi Fi : Beautiful Fragments

Dark Fidelty Hi Fi mastermind Rick Jones makes the kind of electronic music that tows the line between dance music and the feeling of an oncoming nervous breakdown. There’s both a manic push and a foreboding sense of calm that seem to swirl together on his albums. His latest for record label Bricolage called Beautiful Fragments keeps that pace up nicely. Crisp, seamless production, tactile rhythms that you can almost feel, and buzzing synths that carry you from the brink of insanity to the shores of salvation.

Beautiful Fragments was made in the winter, but there’s more of a sense of spring in these tracks. A feeling of mornings coming sooner, and evenings coming later. There’s still a chill in these songs, but with an sense that warmth is coming. Album opener “Motoko” is a perfect way to enter into this world. A looping tone carries us along as subtle breakbeat rises to the surface. There’s a feeling of world music here as well; cultured and varied like a mind expanding before our eyes.

“Rotations” is more restrained, like eyeing a sunset through the spaces between fingers that cover your face. A looming sense of mystery between the notes and exquisite percussion. Besides loving the title, “Ghost In The Jazz Box” lives up to its odd name. There’s almost a futuristic noir feel to the song. There’s a classic Warp Records vibe here, as if Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin joined forces in some alternate reality.

Track “Lost Communications” is a heady sound world. I’m reminded of artists like Huerco S and Metavari here, but with more of a four on the floor rhythm. “Your Ghost Data” brings up images of zeros and ones as truncated spirits in the form of files and memories lost on some stored hard drive.

Beautiful Fragments is yet another stunning musical work from Dark Fidelity Hi Fi.A collection of songs looking at the world as bits and loops replaying and revisiting us like ghosts in the machine.

Beautiful Fragments is available now via Bricolage. Buy it here.