But 40 Winks, a Belgian duo, has gone on to have a successful career in experimental instrumental hip hop, using the ideas on Sound Puzzle to realize their sound and lay out the foundations that they would continue to play off for the next decade.

Sound Puzzle is an amalgamation of many influences, which may be obvious from the title, but what’s impressive about the record — and 40 Winks as an artist — is how it manages to merge all these sounds and make something cohesive out of it. It’s weird, but not in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable — that weirdness is what makes it unique. The record makes for a compelling Saturday morning lounging at home.

The music also feels as if it tells a narrative, thanks to some well-placed vocal interludes that tell something of a story behind a husband and a wife. The music follows the narrative thematically, and as the marriage begins to deteriorate, the beats and loops become a little more rhythmic and tense.

This makes Sound Puzzle feel like an incredibly coherent album; you shouldn’t skip tracks or be selective if you want to hear the whole experience. Amazingly, this still holds up despite the deluxe version’s additional tracks.

This could be because the additional tracks were originally included with the release in 2007, but in a limited edition print run of 100 cassettes. Times have changed though: with updated (and much more interesting) cover art, the record is now on vinyl for the first time (an infinitely better listening experience than a tape, of course), and those additional tracks are available for all of us to enjoy.

It’s a good time to be a fan of 40 Winks.

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Sampling art films has another benefit, in that most viewers won’t be familiar with the samples he’s using. (After all, how many people have seen Dogtooth? And how many who had seen it would recognize the sample in The World Is My Shotgun?) Film samples are all over the record, and even if they’re not necessarily recognizable (like in Felicity or Fool’s Game), they often add a sprinkling of atmosphere. And in a world drowning in electronic beats and twinkles, a hint of atmosphere doesn’t go unappreciated.

Film samples also remove the need for vocal work from Evans, which, according to his Basecamp profile, was a bit of a relief for him. It’s also a relief for us: bass music too often loses itself in guest vocal performances. Here, the focus is on creating texture through music, using voices sampled from film’s to create tension and provide backing loops.

It all adds up to a surprisingly inventive record from Rain Dog, a downtempo project that never fails to be original thanks to an inventive use of cinema. Two Words is a must for fans of electronic music and fans of film.

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