Mirages

All these rugged sounds in discordant harmony, swirling like shadows in your mind, extraterrestrial raggabeats/trip hop broken down/post punk noise/machine soul riddims...

"How can I be sure in a world that's constantly changing?" Maxinquaye and Bristol, and the grimy breaks play on into the night... "So this is the aftermath."

In the hazy shadow of r&b's ultraviolet hip hop inflections, its mirror image lingers like a haunting moment still hanging hazy in the air.

Dusk falls on Murray Hill, cloudy skies bathed in moonlight and the city lights below. Geology has its way with the streets in this secluded enclave...

Rolling vectors spill across the shimmering surface of the game grid, your vessel moves silently over the face of the waters.

This time of year — when late autumn begins giving way to the dawning chill of winter — often takes me back to the year 2001, a swirling vortex of electronic jazz and machine soul.

Remember when summer vacation would stretch deep into the heart of August, those long, hot days when steam would rise from the asphalt and intermix with the urban haze?

Summer in full swing, electronics in the system, the bug in the bassbin. Triggered breakbeats and rhythm boxes in full effect. "Theme From Hot Burst" by Yage.

"Once we get out of the 80s, the 90s are gonna make the 60s look like the 50s." There was a sense that the table had been set for the coming decade.

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. The view stretches from Chicago to the cornfields of Iowa and beyond.