Jake Mandell

by John BushOne of listening technos brightest young producers thanks to acclaimed albums for Worm Interface and Force Inc, Jake Mandell began working in electronics during high school in Boston. He studied classical piano and jazz as well, but ended up a biochemistry major in college. Surprisingly, biochem — and his specialty, enzyme structures — turned out to be a suitable course of study preliminary to an electronics career, for Mandell soon began shaping his productions after the complex computer software used in the modeling of proteins. After a single was recorded for his own Primedeep label, his first proper release was 1997s Midwest EP, the title a reference to his new home in Minneapolis. Early in 1999, Mandells full-length debut Parallel Processes and Placekick EP gained praise in experimental electronics circles (and comparisons to programming heroes like Autechre) for its balance of intricate effects programming and deep grooves. Releases followed for Pitchcadet, Carpark, and Kodama (the latter a full LP) before his second major album, the increasingly minimalist work Quondam Current, appeared on Force Inc in 2000. Love Songs for Machines, issued on Carpark, followed in early 2001.