Naw

A major proponent of the Canadian techno scene, Naw (aka Neil Wiernik) has long saturated his ears in sound production, from abstract and experimental audio/visual art installations to dance music. Consequently, Wiernik knows how to take command of the dance floor with his clever yet deeply funky abstract house tracks. A lot of influences are discernible in the music on Gibberish, such as Palstikman, Juan Atkins and most strongly, artists on the Force Inc. label, such as Twerk. The abovementioned artists and similar materials from the previously mentioned label could be considered more minimal, whereas Wiernik takes a more elaborate and cleverly crafted approach. One could also say that Wiernik takes established techno concepts a step further; it is his predilection for finding or generating unique sounds that enables him to assemble refreshing dance cuts with an edge. Somewhere in the jarring constructions and pounding beats Wiernik also manages to include strong atmosphere in sensuous dance tracks like "Ubalo," which retains a slightly dub-y Theorem-like charm. More than this, Wiernik has a strong intuition as to what inspires listeners to move. Gibberish is an excellent dance release that deserves to have twelve-inch versions spun by finer DJs at all good clubs.