Best known for his mind-bending IDM and breakcore releases as Venetian Snares, Canadian electronic music producer Aaron Funk has also explored his acid, electro, and new wave influences under the alias Last Step. Unlike most of his Snares material, his work as Last Step rarely features samples or breakbeats, instead focusing on sounds created by analog synthesizers. The tempos and time signatures are also a little bit more relaxed than on typical Snares releases, but they occasionally get quite hectic. Last Step debuted anonymously in 2005 with the EP You're a Nice Girl on Planet Mu, followed by Bhavani, a digital EP released by Project 168 in 2006. Last Step's "Lives with Angel" was a standout track on Planet Mu's double-disc compilation Sacred Symbols of Mu, also released in 2006. The project's self-titled debut album appeared on the label in 2007, including all of the tracks from You're a Nice Girl as well as "Lives with Angel." After the album's release, it was revealed that Funk was responsible for the project. Last Step's second full-length, the bright, playful 1961, featuring contributions from drummer Balázs Pándi (credited as Mustache), followed in 2008. Funk resumed the moniker in 2012 for the release of Sleep, a mini-album of tracks that the artist claimed he recorded while falling asleep. Significantly slower and less busy than most of his other recordings, the release was nevertheless bright and effervescent, if slightly drowsy. A sequel of sorts, Lost Sleep, was self-released as a digital EP on March 3, 2015 (3/03, in tribute to the Roland TB-303 Bass Line synthesizer, which was integral to the development of acid house). ~ Paul Simpson