This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Our Mr. Votel, it seems, is something of a Renaissance man in U.K. pop.
Along with DJing, remixing and producing artists like Death In Vegas and Badly Drawn Boy, he runs his own record label and even designs album covers. It was only a matter of time till he crossed over the line and tried his hand at making his own music. Smartly, he doesn’t bite off more than he can chew — Styles Of The Unexpected is a half-hour-long, seven-track EP of accessible, head-nodding electronica. The beats are lazily funky, the melodies drowsy, the keyboards vaguely loungy, the vibe vaguely Parisian. It’s all well and good, although nowhere near as inventive as the title would suggest — in fact, it’s all vaguely detached. Then, what do you expect from a man with a life as compartmentalized as Andy Votel?
