I associate long songs with climatic center pieces, such as Jane's Addiction's 10-minute opus "Three Days" (track six of nine) or finales that tie together themes and bring the proceedings to a close in spectactular fashion, like The Beatles' "A Day in the Life" (at 5:33, it's long for a Beatles song).  It's a gutsy move in my book then to start an album with its longest song. There's a risk that if the track isn't interesting enough, listeners may never get beyond it.

At nearly 11 minutes, Jacek Sienkiewicz's track "Dream Machine" (MP3) may seem like a song best fit to close rather than open the first compilation of Cocoon Recordings 12-inches, creatively titled Eins. Instead it serves as a remarkable introduction to this densely rhythmic and highly enjoyable collection.

The song begins in ambient fashion with a light chiming sound that would fit perfectly on a Four Tet record. Weaving its way through a dense bass-line and swirling flourishes of synth, "Dream Machine" grows tougher as the minutes progress. By the time it hits the half-way mark the delicate instruments fade, replaced by a steady beat and a chorus of belching horns. The mood swings from airy to pensive as the sound of tom drums add texture to the rhythm. This turn towards aggression sets up perfectly what is to come on the record.

Jacek Sienkiewicz, a Polish electronic artist from Warsaw, release the Dream Machine EP on Cocoon Recordings in 2004. He is also the founder of Recognition records. This post is both a recommendation for this song and Eins, which collects the highlights from Cocoon Recordings output of singles. The album is available in the U.S. via the always quality Forced Exposure.