That’s right, produced in 1999, this 2003 release offers a good retrospective of Jirku’s earlier work. Perhaps the album title displays a hard-pressed attempt to describe what the sounds encapsulated within are like… ‘bleak’ really downplaying the kinds of interesting sonic junctures and consistencies that Jirku is so obviously capable of creating. It’s not to say that the overall grain of the album is not dark. Bleak 1999 certainly is a dark-sounding foray, with quiet beats and slowly peering sonic arcs and bows; it’s worthwhile to hear what kind of direction Jirku’s work has come from. Having said that, this album is for people who are interested in what Jirku’s musical palette has consisted of, and Bleak 1999 contains many smart and desirable sounds worthy of your attention, even four years after their original creation.