De:Bug
Eye
Montreal Mirror
Neural
Stylus
Vice
Vital

De:Bug, Germany. August 2003.
Endlich. Wir hatten uns schon ernstlich Sorgen gemacht. Weil: Längere Zeit war es mehr als still um die sympathischen Robis aus Toronto. Die Rede ist natürlich von SOLVENT & LOWFISH und ihrem Label SUCTION. Deren unverblümte Liebe zum Elektropop der frühen 80er, obskurer Minimalelektronik usw. hatte uns jahrelang immer wieder Releases beschert, die uns daran erinnerten, dass man alte Tracks eigentlich heutzutage immer noch spielen kann und keinen komisch neumodischen Kram einkaufen muss. Cola vs. Pepsi eben. Und dazu Suction Tracks. Nun gehts wieder los. Bereits erschienen ist die neue Compilation "SNOW ROBOTS VOL.3", die einen hervorragenden Überblick über das nächste Jahr gibt. Leider nur per Mailorder bestellbar, sei diese CD allen ans Herz gelegt. Die Review gibt es hier. Mitte Oktober erscheint dann das neue Album von Lowfish. "1000 Corrections Per Second" wird es heißen und ja: es ist Killer. Elektropop lebt eben doch. Dank Suction.

Eye, Canada. October 2003.
Toronto's Lowfish (a.k.a. Gregory de Rocher) has been tops on the local electro tip since the late-'90s -- years before electroclash took off, crashed and burned in the span of a single micro-blip. 1000 Corrections Per Second thankfully proves Lowfish's bouncing, creative swagger hasn't been swayed an inch off the mark by the hoopla surrounding the likes of Peaches and Miss Kittin. This is pure electro, without all the theatrics and irony. This is the way it played when Yazoo and The Human League were worth more than a few joking jibes on the dancefloor. There's also a heavy debt to early Aphex Twin and Autechre in Lowfish's sound, but de Rocher modestly acknowledges these influences (and more) in the liner notes. Good, clean fun.

Kevin Hainey

Montreal Mirror, Canada. October 2003.
You know Lowfish, right? After two shit-hot melodic synth-pop albums and a wicked EP on Adult.'s Ersatz Audio imprint, you darn well should. For several years Toronto's Gregory De Rocher has been repping Canada's electronic scene with his and cohort Solvent's electro label Suction. On this, his third album, Lowfish's synth-pop sound is pushed to new and varying heights as glassy leads cut through thick clouds of melodic synth chords, past bubbling analogue basslines and through dark throbbing beats. Essential listening for robotic retro revellers the world over. 7.5/10

Raf Katigbak

Neural, Italy. September 2003.
Terzo album per Gregory De Rocher, in arte Lowfish, dal Canada, co-fondatore della Suction Record, con 'mille correzioni al secondo' a cesellare un electro dagli echi vintage, quasi melodico, classico e analogico, debitore dei suoni di Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode e Yazoo, ma senza cedimenti verso derive ultra-pop, evitando le facili chimere dei carrozzoni synthcore. Atmosfere elegiache, elettronica ambientale, lasciando correre i bpm tra linee di basso tagliate con precisione, sintetizzatori ed una sola drum machine. Passaggi retro-futuristici illuminando i led degli amplificatori, anche nelle recenti apparizioni live, da solo o in tandem con Solvent, affiancando artisti come gli Adult e i 2 Many DJ's, Legowelt e Tiga. Tredici le tracce, un suono semplice ma non scarno, rarissimo l'uso di parti vocali (un solo campionamento, ci sembra, in 'Air Of Supremacy'), nessun espediente, incisioni precise, millimetriche e gentili, a partire da 'Glass House', quasi una nenia per piccoli robot, con sprazzi più artificiali e maggior pulsione in 'Photo Disintegration' e in 'Around The Neck'. Si chiude con 'Step Step' e le vocazioni ambientali ed astratte di Lowfish possono dirsi alfine appagate. Intelligente, moderno.

Aurelio Cianciotta

Stylus. October 2003.
As Lowfish, Gregory de Rocher returns with his third full-length, and it's easily his most accomplished effort to date. Eschewing experimental electronic journeys for pure synth-pop, de Rocher, like Suction Records co-founder Jason Amm (Solvent), has perfected the ability to distill all those great electronic music moments from the '80's and '90's and transfrom them into wonderful dance tunes. Tracks like "Photo Disintergration", "Around the Neck", "Glass House" and "Air of Supremacy" show Lowfish at maximum form, launching captivating melodies over irresistible electro pulses. If 2002's Maintain the Tension marked a change in his sound, 1000 Corrections... proves that de Rocher is now very comfortable creating krafty robot pop songs. It's time to go back to the future.

Michael Baspaly

Vital, UK. August 2003.
reviewed with "Snow Robots Volume 3"
Two new releases by Suction Records - finally! Still one of my favourite labels when it comes to sheer pleasent robotic electro music. Lowfish, aka Gregory de Rocher, lists all of his influences on the cover (early Numan, early OMD, Nitzer Ebb, early Human League, Depeche Mode - you get my drift) and bakes us thirteen nice electro pop songs. But unlike his heroes of yesterday (almost twenty years ago today), Gregory de Rocher keeps his music strictly instrumental. I have never heard him speaking or singing, so I can't judge wether his voice is not good enough to sing, but a major breakthrough in popmusic - and Lowfish aims no less than at world domination - can only be established by singing a tune or two. When I played this CD, I wondered that all three Lowfish CDs are instrumental CDs, but for a label that states doing robot music, it would be natural to have a robot sing? The variations for Lowfish lie in the micro world of electro music itself. Who would recognize the difference in songs that are classified as 'melodic synth pop' or 'electro / ebm stomp'? I am sure no master of recognizing the differences. What matters to me is that this is a very nice, poppy, retro electro CD.

Vocals can be found on the very catchy and poppy third volume of 'Snow Robots', a compilation of likeminded to Lowfish from around the world - mostly from the UK and Canada. Seven tracks can be found at previous Suction releases, six are exclusive to this compilation. Highlights for me are Orgue Electronique (and not just because he is from The Netherlands) with a tune that could be any Trumpett Tapes from 1985, GD Luxxe's great cover of Joe Crow's 'Compulsion' (who remembers this great 7" on Cherry Red?), Laurent Boudic's piece which was apperentely recorded in 1981 and the two Tinfoil Teakettle pieces (Suction's collaboration between labelbosses Lowfish and Solvent, still waiting for a proper release I guess). Also included are Skanform, Lowfish, The Mitgang Audio, Solvent and Black Turtleneck. This CD won't be available in the shops, but you can order a copy through the Suction website. I'd say: go for it.

FdW

Vice, Canada. September 2003.
Keeping with their mandate of quality music with a retro feel, Toronto's Suction Records is set to release another quality synth-pop album from label co-founder Gregory De Rocher, aka Lowfish. You may know Lowfish from his previous efforts on Suction or his excellent Accident Causer EP on Ersatz. His new full-length, 1000 Corrections Per Second, is a mixed bag of synth-pop ranging from the sentimental ("Step Step") to the catchy ("Fric Frac") to the downright pumping ("Photo Disintegration"). Forget the watered-down schlock that passes for electro these days—this is pure, unadulterated synth music, and it rules. Keep an eye out for more from Suction, including releases by Orgue Electronique, The Mitgang Audio, Skanfrom, and the Solvent / Lowfish collab Tinfoil Teakettle.

Raf and Vince