Artist: Sulumi
Novel recording technique has its place in the arc of electronic dance music; there are only so many rhythmic variations on a digitally produced 4x4 beat that a musician can concoct. From Herbert's “Bodily Functions,” which used recordings of various, yes, bodily functions to form beats and syncopations, to Thomas Brinkman's “Klick,” whose tracks relied completely on manipulated samples culled from damaged vinyl, musicians have turned experimentalist in the search for new listening experiences.

Beijing's Sun Danwei, aka Sulumi, has taken a similarly conceptual approach with his most recent release, “What Has Happened to Me in This World,” where samples from a Game Boy compose the bulk of the tracks. Sulumi's fifth release since “Air Inhibition of Water” came out on Modern Sky Records in 2003, follows in the footsteps of minimalists like Herbert and Brinkman, using what would seem to be a highly unmusical and emotionless source to make interesting forays into intelligent dance music.

Herbert and Brinkman's conceptual approach to dance music works because the methods behind the recording become instruments in service of a more epic sound, never remaining as the musical focal point. Often the sound source is gracefully shrouded in digital manipulation or the layering of patterns and textures. The idea of using the Game Boy's primitive, twee blips to create dance music is solid. Aren't we all just bopping along while the great controller in the sky waves his Wii wand around? Sulumi's experiment with the ubiquitous Game Boy, however, never seems to find a way to go beyond adolescent fascination with the device itself. The sounds are often not sufficiently transformed or compiled to create an interesting pattern or melody, and the listener is instead often left ruminating on the concept itself. In short, the music never quite transcends its video game origins.

There are moments, however, when Sulumi does manage to pair the cold, repetitive rhythms with surprisingly melodic movements, resulting in some sublime album moments. “I'm Falling out of Rainbow” and “City” both expertly balance the album's robotic feel with a creative bass lines and moving, almost romantic, melodies. It's reminiscent of early Underworld, if composed by simple machines.

Damon McMahon