deceptikon - lost subject review from grooves magazine #14 Strip away the MC, and hip-hop can very easily walk the border of bland and even bad: it's not ambient, it's not for dancing, and there's only so much stoned head-nodding you can do before your neck cricks again. When there's nothing to grab hold of but smoke, things can easily slip through your fingers. Portland-based Deceptikon largely avoids drifting into the ether, though, by grounding his debut album in an earthly love of jazz and melody that posits him not many miles away from Britain's premier laptronica whiz kid, Four Tet. Opener "Narcissus" proves that more people should make use of things that sound like a Theremin, while glitch and noise are used to add concentric layers of groove rather than to subvert melody and structure. On "Autumn Storm", a jerking, smiling beat is pilled with flutes and a broken acoustic guitar (or maybe banjo, or maybe zither!) to winsome effect. Tracks are kept mercifully short and concept free, allowing melodies to shine briefly and keeping beats from ever reaching tedium. Swells of keys add space and distance, double bass brings some swing into the proceedings, and occasional majestic horns and mournful strings ("Ox Conservatory") make the playful into the profound. It's a very fine line, but Deceptikon walks it well. Heads will nod. Nick Southall deceptikon - lost subject review from igloo magazine I can still recall the day my Lost Subject 12" arrived via UPS at my office. My boss signed for it when I had stepped out for a quick second and as he walked up to my cubicle, he said "your Commemorative Elvis plates have arrived" with a snickering tone like he knew what was waiting for me inside the large flat cardboard container. I got over my embarrassment quickly after discovering I had been sent one of 500 copies on gold vinyl. Elvis would be glad for me, especially now that Merck has released an expanded version of Lost Subject on CD with a welcoming blend of fresh new tracks mixed in with selections from the excellent original. Deceptikon paints his world with strokes of sound from a wide palette of found clips and snips all applied with a skewed clip-hop groove rooted in melodic jazzy downtempo. “Chords Beats Coffee” dishes out its delicacies exactly in the order the title implies with stuttering samples of strings followed by casual beats, then chunky pads form the bass line, only to be digitally scrambled midway through the second course. “Autumnstorm” has an Asian-flavored hip-hop vibe minus the tiresome rapper with a couple of 99-cent throwaway rhymes in his notebook while “Figural Phonograph” demonstrates the possibilities of what occurs when you stumble across quality virtual turntablism. My favorites from the original 12” are here as well; “Treeghost” starts off with eerie Yma Sumac-like vocals then subtly switches gears to old- school funky urban beats while “Way of the Samurai” twists and contorts a music box sample over more old-school beats and finally, the smoky “Bossanovastyle A” still makes me thirst for cool cocktails in a crowded lounge. If Lost Subject doesn’t make you a believer of Deceptikon, then his brilliant live shows recently featured in the Raiders Of The Lost Crunk tour - as well as his status as Portland’s first laptop battle winner - surely will. -John Reveles. deceptikon - lost subject review from melbourne(au) magazine Inpress Lost Subject is the chilled out debut of a Portland based producer Deceptikon. Creating smooth jazzy downtempo beats, his music is evocative and atmospheric, equally drawing upon hip hop and jazz elements for his gorgeously produced carefully crafted grooves. Utilising numerous techniques, yet regularly arriving at a similar funky location, Deceptikon effortlessly creates the kind of highly composed beat orientated instrumental hip hop pieces championed in recent times by Ninja Tune via the likes of Sixtoo or Blockhead. Whilst not necessarily pushing the sonic envelope, Deceptikon is peerless in his ability to get a groove on, though he is at his best on cuts like /treeghost/ where he doesn’t rely solely on the beats, utilising acoustic guitar and synthesizer to create an intimate sense of longing. Composed over the last few years, Lost Subject is a journey that fits perfectly into the lounge room – funky basslines, crackling trip hop beats and lush gentle atmospheres that act as a relaxing tonic to all the stressors of daily life.*-Bob Baker Fish * deceptikon - lost subject review from the portland mercury newspaper As Portland's first laptop battle winner, Deceptikon has a winning combination--solid beats, cool sounds, and interesting songwriting. His ability to keep heads bobbing with hiphop rooted breakbeats and a large palate of sounds helped him win the battle; these are both what makes his debut full length so hot. The songs flow together with rhythmic patterns and of melodies that can be playful, eerie, and beautiful. The arrangements show a mature restraint by not getting bogged down in too many layers or complexity, but they're far from formulaic. This is an exciting debut, especially because he can represent it all live, and there's got to be more heat on the way. 3.5/4 stars. AARON MILES deceptikon - lost subject review from a fan on amazon.com can't imagine many People have actually heard of deceptikon and I myself wouldn't have if not for staying up till three listening to college radio stations. Zack Wright is his real name and in my opinion he's the one of the more talented musicians out there in instrumental hip-hop. I classify "Lost Subject" as hip-hop because of the drum beats and sampling. and this albums filled with excellent sampled loops and some awesome drum breaks. The atmosphere of the album I found difficult to describe as it appealled to me so very much but I've gotta say that certain tracks do sound similar to A bit of prefuse 73. Not in the glitch aspect other than "Inaccesibilty" but in it's pace and style. It's also notable that the music is quite simple, Listening to it over there aren't more than 4 (approx.) different layers on each track and each one usually consists of a drum beat to help you along, a paceing beat (keeping the tempo) and a unique sample. Going over the tracks (I'm listening to them right now) I'd have to say my favorites were: "Narcissus" with it's high pitch but still relaxing rings and slow to start beat (not to mention the bass you can get off during parts), Autumn Storm with it's well manipulated samples, "Germanic" for its highly atmospheric sound (made me feel like I was out in the pines on a cold day), "Treeghost" with its changing theme, "The last Four Things" for its Excellent bass (and this time I mean the instrument) and slightly psychedelic feel, "Figural Phonograph" thanks to Simplicity (This track probably reminded me the most of Prefuse 73), "Way of the Samurai" is a total stand out that brings you back to hearing music boxes as a young child mixed with a nice drum beat and a touch of badass. This track really reminded alot of the old film "Seven Samurai" in it's moods (The one guy with the big sword and the attitude really suited the "dark" break) and understanding of... the way of the samurai. "Ox Conservatory" got off to an excellent start that made me think of a both Prefuse in its psuedo-glitch and a bit of Rjd2 in its overall style It slows down as it progresses but still is a solid track. "Bossanova style A" was a track that inspired me to share with my mother, a woman who can't be kept away from some CD's older than frank sinatra, as I doubt my generation will ever really aprecciate it's very laid back loop (forgot the instrument) and plain jazzy sound. Veracity is free for download at www.deceptikon.net so be sure to check it out as its an interesting start to getting this CD. I really enjoyed this album and after all this typing (I'm trying to "spread awareness") I have to recommend that people atleast visit the mans website and hear some samples (under the store page). If you ever loved the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack mixed with a quieter sound then I'm willing to bet you'll like this. The mans my idol.

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