Random Factor

b. Carl Finlow, England. Under his Random Factor alter-ego, the fêted UK producer Finlow explores the grey area between house and techno, creating a music that is simultaneously funky, stylish and seductive. Finlow clearly states his intentions for Random Factor with the opening track of 2004 debut album Convergence : ‘I’m breaking down the barriers/Remember how it used to be?/This isn’t just a point of view/So tell me, are you listening?’ (‘What I Need’). Working to the principal that electro’s ‘very essence is machine-based’, Finlow adeptly commands his implements to create a music that seems purposely constructed for clubs staffed by replicants and that has been compared to releases by artists such as Matthew Herbert, Metro Area and declared Random Factor-fans Swayzak (for whom Finlow has previously recorded vocals). Like such artists, Random Factor appears to draw inspiration from his electronic forbears without seeming regressive or nostalgic. Finlow is one third of the co-founders of the 20:20 Vision imprint alongside infamous Leeds club Back To Basics’ Ralph Lawson and Huggy. Random Factor’s Convergence was issued as the 100th release on the label, an event that the label suggested was more fitting than a retrospective or the commissioning of an anniversary remix collection. The earlier Random Factor track ‘Broken Mirror’ has appeared on collections compiled by notables such as Trevor Jackson and Swayzak. Finlow also records under the Silicon Scally, Voicestealer, IL-EC-TRO, Circle City and Carl A. Finlow monikers, releasing music on Warp Records, Soma Records, Fuel, Playhouse, Paper, Trope, Klang, Pagan, Minifunk and Scsi.