- The music of The Other People Place is dear to Drexciya devotees, as the response to recent reissues of James Stinson records has proven. There's an intimacy to those releases, recorded in the twilight of the Detroit artist's life, that makes them easy to connect with. Compared with the aquatic science fiction of Drexciya or the robotic dazzle of Transllusion, The Other People Place was some of the most human-sounding music Stinson had made before his untimely death in 2002. The title of Laptop Cafe, recently discovered on DAT, suggests a relationship to The Other People Place, but it's not clear to what extent this mini-album was linked to those releases.
There is a rough quality to these tracks. On "Song 5 (Vocal)," in which an MC announces the artist (Jack Peoples) and the venue (Laptop Cafe), dusty piano chords, canned applause and vocals provide a glimpse of the playful side Stinson showed as The Other People Place. Laptop Cafe summons the hazy early morning mood of that alias's music, but abrasive moments do surface. The arps and clangs that make their way through "Song 1" clatter with discordant glee, while the off-key steel drums on "Song 4" chafe against smooth chords.
On the whole, Laptop Cafe's tender electronics share the elegance of Stinson's The Other People Place material. The laidback reverie of "Song 2" is peppered with lingering keys and swirling threads of mechanical mumbling. "Song 3"'s stuttering rhythm flirts with gorgeous chimes and airy leads with the kind of delicate programming that has marked some of Drexciya's finest material. Laptop Cafe shows Stinson's talent for heartfelt electronic music, whether or not it's the finished article.
Tracklist01. Song 6 (Instrumental)
02. Song 2
03. Song 1
04. Song 4
05. Song 3
06. Song 5 (Vocal)