Biography
Netherlands-based electronica deviant Tim van Leijden records as Like a Tim, channeling his idiot-avant-garde manipulations of hip-hop and techno mainly onto the D-Jax label. His output belongs squarely in the “Yeah, I buy his records…Sorted!…Play them out? Are you joking?” category, yet the beat-hiccups remain surprisingly listenable and overlap in certain respects with the work of Atom Heart and Patrick Pulsinger while resting on a firmer, more minimal hip-hop foundation (Mantronix, Schooly D) that those producers often replace. After delivering a high-profile remix treatment for countrymate Speedy J’s major-label debut “Ni Go Snix,” issued by Mute in early 1997, Leijden was enlisted by the Cornwall-based acid/electronica label Rephlex to apply the Like a Tim treatment to several tracks. He is equally a gifted graffiti artist whose visual style matches the idiosyncrasy of his music, with his illustrations appearing on the labels and sleeves of most releases; Red and Blue Boxing marked his return in 2000.