Cut the leash
Light blue morning
Coffee drinker
Intelligent design
Prism
Full booklet
Nonsense went
Lounge dealers
Paperdress [new version]
Passing by
Even holy things die
Glitch exercise
His whole life
Sevenhundredeightytwo ways to wake up
Song of trees

"Made Into Itself" is the debut release by Dallas-based producer Steve Wick in the guise of Leaf. The album is also the inaugural release of new Hive Records sub-label Suspicious Records and is limited to just 500 copies.

Wick's music embraces the interesting, although not entirely new, concept of sampling and "borrowing" soundbites from strange recordings, TV programmes and other music or spoken word sources. Utilising anything from sampled quotes to entire passages of music, sampling them and adding laidback trip-hop beats and dubby instrumentation Wick forms something new and creative. Similarities with "Mezzanine" era Massive Attack, Tricky and particularly DJ Shadow are all relevant in this genre of creating new music from old. Sources as diverse as Chinese mandolin and 70's folk music are used alongside carefully chosen movie quotes and occasional hip-hop musings.

Besides exhibiting an air of cool confidence throughout, "Made Into Itself" also shows a sense of humour and a more serious topical side through the mood portrayed by the music, the careful selection of appropriate samples and the vocal accompaniment of several collaborators. At times "Made Into Itself" is chilled out and relaxed, almost ambient, as with the smooth bassy breaks and ethereal female harmonies of 'Light Blue Morning' or the appropriately glitched up floating ambience of 'Glitch Exercise;. The Recoil-esque 'Coffee Drinker' is darker and moodier but tracks such as 'Full Booklet' and the dubby 'Nonsense Went' better represent the slick beats, breaks and hip hop influences evident throughout. At the other end of the scale, Wick also chooses to tackle such controversial and thought-provoking subjects as social attitudes ('Sevenhundredeightytwo Ways to Wake Up'), racism ('Intelligent Design' - the closing lyrics of which give the album its name) and religion ('Lounge Dwellers'). Don't let this put you off however, as "Made Into Itself" is a beautifully constructed, ever evolving and consistent album.

PRL