From 0 Sent Thu, Jun 4th 1998, 19:13
'got me an interesting little comp from *new* IDM label Obliq Recordings (out of Colorado). This is a 12 tracker highlighting some of the best "experimental/idm" artists in the Denver area. I don't do well at putting music into words but here's my review= tracklisting: 1. Multicast- "trans lucent" 2. Multicast- "Hall of Inverted Mushrooms" 3. Freq Modif 4 4. Finder- "Today" 5. Multicast- "Torque" 6. Ted Sturgeon- "They're comming to take me away" 7. Freq Modif 3 (Dagobah) 8. Multicast- "mrouter" 9. Aquatic Ape- "once upon a Blip #2" 10. Multicast- "Equivii" 11. Finder- "8.31.7" 12. Ted Sturgeon- "Tropic of Cancer" "13" some hidden track "trans Lucent" very intricate X0X drum programming. Kinda reminded me of Ae's Incunabula- how the drums sound very bright. This track has a very laid back feel depsite the busy drums which is due to the melodic synth parts. The use of "oriental" chords (lots of sharps) makes the melody very catchy. Overall this track gets the groove going, but then goes little place else. I got the feeling this song would go well at the end of a movie as the credits were being shown. The best part is the crunchy drumbreak in the middle of the track allowing you to hear the drums unmasked by the synths. iF you like lots o' pads behind a drumbeat you'll like this! "Hall of Inverted Mushrooms" this will be everyone's favorite track from the comp IMO. Distorted heavy drums and dark high pitched synth line that will play in yer head for days! I kinda think of this track as a electro ish version of something off Locust's Weathered Well. It's dark and beaty. It's electro and distorted. It's driving beat will leave everyone glued to it. Very heavy bottom end to this track. GET THIS CD FOR THIS TRACK alone! Freq Modif. this and the other Freq Modifs on the CD are what I immagine are the Obliq recordings idea of "interludes" or filler tracks. Kinda like what wear find on Bytes or Spanners, thos PHILS things. Anyway, this is where this comp gets into heavy dark ambient fax, dorobo, maybe even the Drones Comps territory. Lots of analogue noodling and plenty of attention to detail on mood capturing. The first Freq Modif has a cello line that brings up immages of a black and white horror flick. Sorta like a spaced out Bela Logosi flick or something. In a word; stange. "today" a short little track that has a MAS/SKAM feel to it. It ends right as it gets going so I have little to say other than I wished it continued. "Torque" a track I recognized from the Multicast demo of years back. Like the previous two tracks on the comp, this one is very focused on the beat. I can't make out what Multicast are trying to convey to the listener, but if anything it's not something nice. this track is one of them tracks where the the drums "speak" to you. I'm not trying to be hippie sounding. I'm saying that the beats create the mood of the piece and that's the way I like it. "They're comming to take me away" I don't know who "They" are, but Mr. Sturgeon may be trying to make you say the title of the song to yourself. This song is definitely out there. Personally, I hear a lot of FAX/RI influence in here (and since those are my favorite two labels) I can't help but like the track. Freq modif 3 (Dagobah) another "interlude" actually more than just an interlude since the track is 7+ minutes (the second longest on the comp). a VERY original sounding piece of ambience. Lots of reverbed blips and bleeps. What kinda drugs are they doing out there in CO I ask myself. "Mrouter" just like the other Multicast tracks, but different in its own way, we have electro beats and pads. I'm beginning to think these guys belong on labels like Electrecord or Interdimensional Transmissions. Though i've labelled the other Mutlicast tracks as being electro, I'd say this is the most straight ahead electro they get with their music ('guess they demand a lot from themselves). If you're like me, and love the SH101 and electro, you'll like this track. "Once upon a blip #2"- a very standout minimal ambient track. Prolly the comp's best ambient piece. i cant find words to describe it. "Equivii" This has k. Degiorios written all over it!!! I keep saying these Multicast tracks are electro, maybe Detroit is more specific, but whatever. Upon first listen to this, I had to double check that this didn't appear on the Objets d'ART comps. What's killer about this track is goes all over the place. Starts out with a mild padded feel to it, then breaks off into another territory of beatmadness, and then brings the two together and makes you shake yer booty:D "8.31.7" This FINDER person sure has a small attention span or simply wants his/her tracks short. another one for the SKAM/MAS fans. Not all that sound comes outta Europe. We got some comming out of good old USA and I hope some of you pay attention, I mean pay $ and buy this comp! "tropic of Cancer" the comp's longest piece and for good reason. More ambience for the end of a very demanding comp. allows you to sit back, relax and come back down to earth. -hidden 13th track- think Boards of Canada. Overall, I was very impressed with this comp. It shows that we in the US (CO esp) have good talent that really needs to be exposed, specifically on this list. I think this list could use MORE talk about domestic artists. THiS IDM is Intelligent DOMESTIC music. buy it, support some stateside talent who are doing the DIY thing with this comp. Maybe they'll get lucky enough to play some parties around yer area. the CD is available through Ear/rational (xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx) or AlbumsUP (who are on the web somewheres). you should also be able to hear it: http://www.obliq.net/mp3 upcomming will be a Multicast 12" which I am sure will be played out by IDM DJ's! thanks for listening, gilly -- Gilly waxjuhnkeypornaddict (602) 461-0975 xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx **hate makes the world go round** "drugs techno-lise the brain"- J.G. Ballard ~god is theory, evolution is FACT!~ ^^we all hate the rich, yet we want to be rich?^^