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Lida Husik and Beaumont Hannant
Astralwerks
Local folk artist Lida Husik has found an unlikely partner in the person of techno whiz Beaumont Hannant. Faster, stronger, and spacier than that of Richard James’ Aphex Twin, Hannant’s brand of techno could be the one that garners the genre a mass audience. But that phenomenon is not exactly imminent: Hannant’s most challenging and varied disc to date, Tastes and Textures Volumes I-III, has yet to be issued domestically. In the meantime, Astralwerks has released An Evening at the Grange, a collaboration with Husik that the label presumably hopes will attract ambient, chant, and Dead Can Dance enthusiasts. The disc showcases Husik’s delicate, fluttering voice without becoming a showcase for vocal acrobatics, but Hannant’s minimalist tones are likely to disappoint his adrenalin-hungry admirers and strike Husik’s fans as too distant. The collaboration may win Husik some accolades, but it can’t be taken as an indication that techno will be properly documented in the U.S. any time soon.