Russ Gabriel's Audio Spectrum The Other Side Project Vol. 1

• Words: Vivian Host
• Label: Emoticon
• XLR8R Rating: /10

The new album from Carl Craig compatriot and Ferox label owner Russ Gabriel certainly does quite a bit to advance broken beat forward, but it would be a shame to slot it into one genre. While the clever boom-kah, boom-kah of "Flip Down to Break" and the crisp machine funk of the Herbie Hancock-esque "Tisch-Tennis" wouldn't be out of place in Dego or Seiji's DJ box, Gabriel also tinkers with cerebral Detroit electro ("Ode to Ade," "Game, Set, Match"), Plaid-like atmospheric bliss ("Brela," "God is the Moment"), and fusions of all of the above ("Masonette"). Cleverly put together and never short of emotion-whether elated or introspective-Gabriel's achieved another coup for future breaks.