Security Screenings

A slight departure from his previous work, Prefuse’s 2006 effort, Security Screenings tones down the signature choppy vocal samples that are usually on the forefront of his listings, and instead catapults the often overlooked wavelike synths into the spotlight, well accompanied by a more diverse instrumentation.

There’s also a noticeable lack of vocals in general, a return to form for Prefuse, who has been consistently praised for his more ambient work. The production is done a service by this shift, as the vocals that are there are relegated to short interludes, or as bookends for instrumental tracks, where they can nestle into the harmony as opposed to dominating it.

Prefuse has explained that Security Screenings is “Not an actual album”, but rather an EP. He describes the conception of the project in response to a review by Pitchfork:

It’s a collection of songs based on reactions to certain things that happened through the course of doing press, touring, and recording for the past year or so. It’s not a follow up to Surrounded By Silence, but merely a transition between the last album and what’s to come, the next one is to be completely different altogether.

The name of the album also comes from these feelings, namely a reference to his frustrations in experiencing airport security during his tour.

God bless airport security in America and the countries that are a part of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’.

Security Screenings garnered favorable reviews upon its release, and accomplished what it set out to do in bridging the gap between two eras of Prefuse’s discography.