Enjoying electronic music has always been an uphill battle for me. For better or for worse, I can’t appreciate on a very deep level anything that sounds like it was pieced with a pirated copy of Reason and a few choice samples. Now that’s a rash over generalization, but sometimes even when I hear the acts that are the reputed pinnacle of electronic music, all I feel is a cold inorganic computer-generated nothingness.

Then of course, there are acts that take electronic music and inject it with a human element. Bands like The Octopus Project and Black Moth Super Rainbow (who we posted about the other day) have been captivating me in such a way for years, and the other day I came across an album that’s been having the same effect: the debut solo album by Jeffery Konrad (under the name Konrad) titled Loose Cannons.

You might know Jeffery Konrad from his previous work as Robot USA, Eggspout, or Nigel Jeffrey, and quite frankly the new material culls elements from all his previous work, mixing and matching them into a compelling blend of infinite musical styles. The album (and this song especially) is backed by 8-bit synth sounds, atmospheric “soundscapes” and even more traditional piano lines. Then of course there’s Konrad’s witty lyrics, which are reminiscent of DFA bands like Hot Chip or LCD Soundsystem.

For as much of a role computers had in the making of this album, each second clearly shows the mark of a human hand. I’d highly recommend it to any fan of electronic music, or any of the infinite other genres that Konrad skillfully draws from.

The new album is available August 19th, but you can get one of the tracks, “Osh Kosh”, after the jump.

Tunes:

Konrad - “Osh Kosh”

Info:

Loose Cannons is out August 19, 2008.

Websites:
[myspace]
[official]