As the alias of James Rutledge, Pedro could easily be the name taped across his computer monitor. With bedroom technicians who shuffle around programmed beats with odd snatches of instrumental sounds lifted from vinyl records, the art is in the execution. On You, Me & Everyone, the final assembled output combines the looped steady rhythms of hip-hop with the wild frantic energy of free jazz into a musical structure that rapidly pivots between head-nodding pulses and mind-freeing combustion. Rarely does the drumming seem complacently looped. On "I'm Keeping Up" and "Spools," the percussive barrage can shift time-signatures instantly, and with the wild saxophone riffs blasting out, you're likely to think of John Coltrane accompanying Elvin Jones as opposed to an electronic creation. With a continuous propulsive drive, squiggles of synthesized keys, xylophone melodies, and found sounds all compositionally arranged so magically they seem organic rather than crafted, Pedro is a master hand in the confines of the "cut and paste" electronic field. - New Times SLO |