Springing from a desire to creatively temper the effects of his increasingly scientific world view, Jase Rex's musical metallurgy began in 2001, while deep in his study of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Adopting the moniker 'Another Electronic Musician' (or 'AEM'), Rex cut his teeth releasing on net labels (hippocamp, en:pegDigital), lending his talent to various artist comps (Audiobulb, Igloomag, nophi), and generally pimping his work on message boards to anyone who would listen. The name, Rex explains, came less out of an ironic sense of modesty, than an attempt to "have my music taken at face value" by preempting the "negative connotations" often associated with the post-millennial glut of electronic bedroom producers.

In September 2004, after three years of honing his unique combination of found sounds, an essentialist "minimal aesthetic", and a subtle dash of undeniable groove, Rex successfully separated himself from the pack with the release of his surprisingly mature and meticulously crafted debut “Use” on Oakland's n5MD label. Inspired by his urban adolescence in Inglewood, CA (LA's SW suburban sister) and the mechanistic physical concepts of his academic life, "Use's" stark, moving melodies, underwater dub grooves, and elastic beat collisions combine to capture the "warm and emotional aspects of the city" that Rex believes are all- too-often ignored in modern representations of urban life. Expansive, yet intimate, "Use" is an album of fragile, abstract soundscapes that recall the early work of Lusine and Pole, while refusing to conform to either artists' style.

Building on the foundation of "Use", Rex's sophomore effort "Patience" was released in September 2006. Culled from an original cache of 36 working pieces, "Patience's" 9 tracks are organized as a seamless multi- movement work, outlining an emotional arch that peaks with the gorgeous "Green and Olive" before introducing the dark and ominous lullabies of its second half (particularly "Slave" and "Birthing"). Offering a listening experience described by n5MD as "akin to standing still as urban inhabitants pass you by at hyperspeed", "Patience's" depth and precision eclipse expectations of an artist this early in their career.

AEM's third full length album, entitled "Five", will be released on November 5th 2008 by the n5MD imprint. Returning to the more minimal, beat-driven approach of his debut, Rex avoids simply rehashing the past by infusing "Five" with unexpected stylistic shifts into Techno, Electro and even House all the while maintaining the chaotic, but recognizable patterns of noise that have characterized his releases in the past.

Another Electronic Musician presspack

• live @ blim, vancouver

• another electronic musician website
• another electronic musician @ myspace
• en:peg digital

e/i mag

What's in a name? Not self-deprecation , nor even post-modern irony; more a kind of preemptive strike on a projected blasé audience. Jase Rex (AEM) explains: “When I chose the name, the rise of bedroom composers within the electronic music community was growing rapidly. I hoped to communicate that, yes, I was yet another electronic musician, but that, in openly stating so, I'd eliminate any potential negative connotations and have my music taken at face value.” But arguably more effective than any nomenclatural strategy in refuting “another-ness” and asserting particularity is Rex's debut album Use, which, while recognizably in line with the n5MD house style, displays a quite distinctive compositional and spatial sensibility.

“My music is very composed. Each song is approached as a means of communication about any aspect of my daily life...there's a definite story I attempt to portray through the song. I pay particular attention to the flow so a fluidity arises. I also try to create, unconsciously, a sense that aspects of the song develop naturally and in their own time.” Unlike his “n5MD mafia” peers, AEM displays a certain sonic sparseness; not minimalism, but characterized by Rex as a “minimal aesthetic” whereby “each song was reduced to its core elements while still communicating its essence. The line between too little and just enough was at the forefront of my mind throughout the whole process, though emotions were the final judge as to whether I had reached a balance.” He identifies “a sense of an expansive space” as a critical AEM element: “This space is framed with air and a substantial low end, making sure that neither get in the way of the main sound of the song. This provides an ample canvas for the sounds to be both individual and collective.” No doubt such pursuits distance Another Electronic Musician from being just, uh, another face in the crowd.