Jega

by Sean CooperMancunian Dylan Nathan is one of a new generation of artists to begin producing electronic music inspired by U.K. artists such as Orbital and Aphex Twin, but without having much interest in or contact with the UK acid house explosion from which those artists originally issued. Recording under the name Jega for a growing number of labels, Nathans well-composed hybrids of new wave, electro, ambient, and, more recently, drumnbass are widely lauded in the international experimental electronic underground; his releases for noted Manchester-based, Autechre-affiliated label Skam are among the labels best. Nathan got his start after close friend Mike Paradinas (aka u-Ziq, who also owns the Planet Mu label) urged him to get a few pieces of gear and begin making tracks. The results of that initial push were released by Skam in 1996 as the Jega EP, which was followed in mid-1997 by an additional self-titled 12-inch (sometimes referred to as the Card Hore EP). Nathan has also released tracks through Skam/Musik Aus Strom co-project, Mask, and provided a remix for MAS co-owner Michael Fakeschs Demon 2 EP. The full-length release Spectrum appeared on Paradinas Planet Mu in 1998, followed by an American contract with Matador. Two years later, Nathan returned with Geometry.