Performer Notes:

• Personnel: Vikter Duplaix (vocals).
• Arranger: Vikter Duplaix.
• International Affairs' problems -- with being overcooked, with trying to do too much -- are nonexistent on this handy summary of Vikter Duplaix's previously vinyl-only solo and collaborative work, released originally on MAW, Groove Attack, and K7. Gathered together from less-polished solo sessions (both under his own name and as Critical Point) and link-ups with the likes of Jazzanova and Wadud, Singles shows that Duplaix tends to turn in his best material when he's more concerned with raw feeling than slick precision. If you're remotely familiar with Duplaix, you won't be surprised to hear a mishmash of downtempo dance music and contemporary R&B. The remix of "Manhood" translates Kraftwerk's "Tour de France" into a slo-mo jitter that's more Timbaland-like than anything else he's done since, while tracks like "Messages" and "City Spirits" could be slotted into wildly varying DJ sets from West London to New York. On the downside, two songs appear in two versions, taking away the disc's ability to function like a proper studio album. That's something of a missed opportunity. There's no way the disc could've been completely thorough, compiling all the stray tracks Duplaix has amassed in the past few years, but it could've been arranged to flow just a little better -- instead, it's more likely to be skipped through from track to track. These factors aside, Singles remains an effective stopgap, even if it lacks Bugz in the Attic's broken beat remix of "Looking for Love" and the smooth glide of King Britt's remix of "City Spirits." It makes Duplaix's status as a fringe artist all the more baffling. There's really nothing his multiple-platinum contemporaries have that he doesn't have. ~ Andy Kellman

Producer: Alexander Barck, King Britt, Vikter Duplaix, Stefan Leisering

Format: CD (1 Disc); Stereo

Country: Germany

Studio/Live: Studio

Guest Artist: Jazzanova

Release Date: 1 February, 2004

Label: Redeye Music Distribution

Dimensions: 14.1 x 14.6 x 1 centimeters (0.09 kg)