Tiga

The release of Turbo's joint project with International Deejay Gigolo records, American Gigolo, comes at a rather opportune time. Almost all of the label's artists picked up considerable steam in 2001 when audiences found a renewed interest in electro-funk, from Bambataa and Fad Gadget to new players like Adult. and Fischerspooner. The aesthetic of each artist is tight, keeping the '80s' styles close in tow and its technology even closer. American Gigolo is Montreal DJ Tiga's mixed disc of releases from DJ Hell's neo-new wave stalwart International Deejay Gigolo label. And unsurprisingly, Tiga delivers a consistent block of highbrow, low-tech bleeps and bloops melded in such a way that you can only imagine the set being mixed in a London superclub circa 1984. Like the records on his own Turbo label, Tiga maintains his fascination with analog flutters and stark beats. But here he has almost totally forgone the Detroit techno rhythms that he often favors -- partly because IDG's first love is electro-pop. Along with Tiga's own cover of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" are a few tracks from IDG's biggest successes, the trash-chic Miss Kittin & the Hacker and Fischerspooner. These additions are hardly used as a selling point for the label itself. Instead, they are woven skillfully between numbers by DMX Krew, the Advent, Tuxedomoon, and Dopplereffekt, soundtracking an eerie journey through the past and into the data-encoded future. ~ Ken Taylor, All Music Guide