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Prefuse 73, Security Screenings

by Kelly Brooks
04/20/2006

Prefuse 73 is a music ninja who slices and dices sounds in a way that would make the ATF want to tackle him. Although all of Scott Herren's releases display his frighteningly proficient production skills, Security Screenings provides evidence of increased mastery within his own electronic/hip hop/noise rock genre.

The record stems from Prefuse's "love for being handled with an immense amount of respect and care by airport security." According to Prefuse, a Cuban-Irish-Catalan, security screens him on every flight. But the album doesn't portray feelings of rage or anger, just as 2003's One Word Extinguisher, which Herren created as he went through a year-long breakup, isn't solely an expression of relationship blues or bitterness.

Rather, Prefuse makes each song on the 18 track non- LP slide into the next and provides the listener with an uninterrupted epic of intoxicating beats over soothing, angelic and haunting tunes.

The album opens with antique sound bytes: "You talk about school, I'll talk about girls. Now, that brings us to the letter P." This implicit penchant for education hints that listeners are about to get schooled. And school us, Prefuse does. In the words of M.I.A., get yo'self an education!

The next sound byte concludes the intro with the sung phrase "We can find our place in the sun," which Prefuse distances and slows down, Talkboy style, to a disturbing nothingness. This sets the tone for the foreboding, cleverly produced songs to come.

After playfully incorporating static and video game-esque sound effects into "With Dirt and Two Texts- Afternoon Version," "Illiterate Interlude" features the voice of an interviewer who jokes about superfluous guests on 2005's Surrounded by Silence. This self-aware track displays Prefuse's consciousness of, yet disregard for, negative feedback- Herren has said he creates evocative, relatable music rather than groundbreaking sounds tailored for critical acceptance.

Although Security Screenings slows down the awesomeness after the first few songs, the incredibly relaxing electronic chorus of "Weight Watching" brings the record back up to par. "Another One Long Gone" piques interest with calming cut-up male vocals and "always it's gonna be like that." answers with glitches of female vocals. Then comes the collaboration with fellow electronic master, Four Tet, who creates remixes for the likes of Aphex Twin and Radiohead. Herren and Hebden's lovechild, "Creating Cyclical Headaches," opens with a deluge of delightful notes and a bouncy rhythm before a wrath of slurred electric guitar sounds.

The album takes a calming, melancholy turn before heading into "No Origin." a faster, jazz-scattered tune reminiscent of tracks from One Word Extinguisher. "One Star and Three Stripes" juxtaposes a soothing woodwind sound with deep beats and sharp electronic jabs. "Mud in Your Mouth" expresses a similarly melancholy feel, but with quirky glitches and rapid handclap-like noises over another slow and bouncy tempo.

Security Screenings comes to a haunting close, from the beautifully droney yet catchy compilation of sounds in "Matrimonioids" to the airy alto vocals in "We Leave You Like A Cloud of Thick Smoke and Sleep Outro" that features T.V. on the Radio's Babatune Adebimpe.

Security Screeningsreflects Prefuse's take on a rigidly regulated environment. The result isn't musical propaganda, but a complex, analytical compilation accessible not only to Prefuse 73's fans, but fans of any polyphonic, rhythmic and beat-heavy sound. Check him out in Atlanta at the Drunken Unicorn on May 30- his live show retains the pizzazz of his albums plus unbridled improvisation.

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