Well revered by the electronica faithful and named as an influence on
Radiohead's
Kid A album, Mancunian Dylan Nathan aka
Jega has released only three albums since 1998, and nothing had been put on the shelves since 2009's Variance. Probably doesn't help that some of his other jobs, computer animator and graphic designer, get in the way, and that work on films the size of Tron: Legacy must pay better than glitch records. Still, his fervent fans wait for long stretches, so if this raw and loose collection of cassette recordings from 1995 seems overly coveted, go check his regular releases and the hunger for more will likely kick in. Here, listeners get a peek behind the curtain, with little doodles like "FZ Requiem" painting
Jega as surprisingly sweet and sentimental. "UNIVAC," on the other hand, is the cold machine its name implies, and the crunchy work of
µ-Ziq and
Autechre is often brought to mind, although there's always a hint of the human touch in the producer's work. The short tracks feel unfinished and his later work is much meatier, but this is still a welcome archival release with plenty of glitchy, alien soundscapes to explore and absorb. ~ David Jeffries