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REVIEW ARCHIVES:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

White Rabbits
Neotropic
Mush

Ever notice that electronic music is dominated by men? (Yes, I know, most music is dominated by men.) So, what does electronic music by a woman sound like? (As if there is a discernable difference!) Listening to White Rabbits by Riz Maslen (aka Neotropic) one is tempted to identify the gentle mix of acoustic piano, thin fragile beats, and electronic filigree as the work of feminine creativity. But that would be selling it short. Music is music, regardless of the musician’s gender.

On White Rabbits, Neotropic creates an absorbing ambient cinematica with folk and hip-hop flourishes. Perhaps the defining features here are the gentle piano melodies that weave in and out of the acoustic/ electronic watercolor wash of sound – as is the case on “New Cross.” Maslen occasionally lends her voice to tracks, but not without electronic tampering, which works very well on “Magpies.” The tempo is generally very slow, but occasionally picks up a bit, as it does on the reassuring “Inch Inch.” Things get abstract at times, as on “Doity Round-a-Heights,” leaving the listener wondering when the lovely fragile melodies may return. They do, with a twist, on the highly evocative, harmonica-fueled “Feelin’ Remote.” The CD finishes with two lengthy, melodically meandering tracks “Joe Luke” and “If We Were Trees.” The rampaging distorted electric guitar on the latter half of the latter track seems out of character with the rest of the album, like an ill-advised attempt to inject some aggression into an otherwise serene musical setting.

Aside from a couple of unsettling passages, the overall listening experience is like a serene canoe ride through fog and a light rain. I half expected to hear a loop of Jon Hassell’s fourth world mutated trumpet along the way. It’s all rather mysterioso, but at least one doesn’t descend into the proverbial rabbit hole to appreciate it.

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Nuspirit Helsinki
Nuspirit Helsinki
Guidance

The 15-person collective named for the thriving Finnish metropolis offers up a svelte and soulful downtempo vibe on its full length debut.

Nuspirit Helsinki embraces jazz and electronica with fairly equal footing. The set is split between instrumentals and English-language vocal tracks featuring quality performances by Nicole Willis, Mercury, Ona Kamu, Daddy Ous and Tommy Lindgren.

The sound is pure nu jazz, coupling lean beats and punchy bass lines with sophisticated horn arrangements and imaginative vocal phrasing. Very cool, which is no surprise considering its chilly origins.

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The Lo-Fi Chronicles
Omega One
Nature Sounds

Long-time Aesop Rock and Blockhead collaborator/producer, Omega One delivers his debut solo slab, The Lo-Fi Chronicles, a cut-n-paste instrumental hip-hop album that will appeal to fans of DJ Food and DJ Shadow.

Omega is not Johnny-come-lately, though. He's a veteran graffiti writer and turntablist. The sci-fi fantasy artwork on the cover is a bit misleading as there's nothing truly futuristic about this platter. It's simply elegant, emotionally charged music peppered with some witty samples (including a couple of memorable bits from HBO's "Six Feet Under").

If you like your hip-hop sans braggart thugs at the mic, then you'll be down with Omega One. There's even a rap (one of a couple) that bemoans the rampant vapidity of most mainstream hip-hop. That's not an original complaint, of course, but it reinforces the fact that Omega One is beyond such bravado. He lets the music do the talking.

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Psychadelic Walk
Open Transport
Temposphere

With a title like Psychadelic Walk, one expects something trippy. Open Transport delivers on the notion, but with pleasingly mixed results. The Italian production duo of Zucchero Fornaciari and Alan Sorrenti remixed Piero Umiliani on the Easy Tempo Experience Vol. 3 compilation, and continue in a similar vein on this full length release.

Depending on one's listening experience, Psychadelic Walk can seem totally fresh or not a little derivative. For instance, it's a bit disconcerting to hear Tipsy sampled on the first three tracks -- talk about showing your influences!

After flirting with exotica, Open Transport moves into trance, dance, ambient techno and dub, tribal house and break beat. Most of this is instrumental, with the exception of spoken samples and an uncredited female vocal on "Air Bubbles."

All in all, Psychadelic Walk is a bit uneven, but not without high points.

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Super Sound
Pepe Deluxe
Emperor Norton

Finland's very own hip hop DJ production team Pepe Deluxe gets on with its bad self on Super Sound, their Emperor Norton debut.

This rich and varied album busts out the big beats, sampledelic shennanigans and catchy ass vamps. Why you haven't heard tracks like "Woman in Blue" in some car commercial is beyond me, man.* This and other tracks (the bluesy "Everybody Pass Me By," the funky "Maddaddy," the sassy "Super Sound") practically scream Show me the MONEY!

Who knew the Finns had it in 'em?

* It turns out that "Woman in Blue" was used in a jeans commercial in the U.K. -- since I don't live there, I never saw it. Thanks, Stefan, for setting me straight.

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Beatitude
Pepe Deluxe
Emperor Norton

Pepe Deluxe have finally released a follow up to 1999's excellent Super Sound. (What is it about production teams that only release new albums every four years?!)

Despite the time lag, Beatitude continues in a logical progression from its predecessor. The opener "Just Let Go" and "Salami Fever" even sound like kickin' outtakes from Super Sound. Beatitude is a sampledelic trip of an album, and has drawn comparisons to works like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (though thankfully without that group's sugary vocal harmonies).

Stylistically, Beatitude is all over the map. There's funk, hard rock, hip hop, trip hop, soul, psychadelia, minimalism, surf rock, folkadelia, chamber rock, slavic dance, and blissed out '60s pop. Another near masterpiece from the Finnish duo.

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Les Petroleuses
Marc Collin presente...
Kwaidan

The French liner notes for this imaginary soundtrack drops names such as Ennio Morricone, John Barry and Serge Gainsbourg. Judging from the music, they are clear influences for Marc Collin and company. Les Petroleuses features the soaring minor key strings of Barry, the rumbling bass of Melody Nelson-era Gainsbourg and the stabbing keyboard lines of Morricone. In the end it sounds a bit like Portishead, but with fewer and less distinctive vocals.

Like many imaginary soundtracks, this one features not only dramatic music, but atmospheric sounds as well. Doors slam, tires squeal, glass shatters, women scream. Instrumentally, it's ambitiously staged, with little reliance on samples. Keyboards take on so many different timbres as to create a continually surprising aural surface. Along with the hard driving percussion, occasional guitar riffing and strong bass lines, the attack immerses the listener in the "story" -- however oblique it may be -- of danger and intrigue.

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At the Discotheque
Popshoppers
Diggler

The last time we heard from the Popshoppers they were serving up tunes inspired by groovy advertising jingles (Shopping Guide), but this time instead of hustling at the supermarket they're hustling down at the discotheque.

The Popshoppers are heard mixing disco, soul, funk, jazz, house, electro, gospel and Latin elements on this party platter.Mainstay members Señor 45 and Mr. Alfa sing the male parts. And Suzie Kerstgens, front woman of KLEE, and Janea sing the female parts. Vocalist Citronic (Citron) makes a return appearance as well. Naturally, almost all the lyrics are in German or in a German-English-French-Spanish melange.

The songs ruminate on such heady topics as the dance floor ("Tanzfläche"), jetsetting ("New World Travels"), exotic love affairs ("Ich will zurück nach Reykjavik" or I want to be back in Reykjavik), celebrity worship (“Ich will aussehen wir Cher” or I wish I looked like Cher), vanity (“Ich wünschte, sie nennen einen Club nach mir” or I wished they called a club after me) and fun-loving substance abuse (“Es gibt nichts auf dem Planeten, was ich nicht trinken kann” or There is nothing on this planet which I cannot drink). The group also serves up a decent disco cover of David Bowie’s "Heroes" (Helden), which is the album's first single.

In other words, "We can be Popshoppers, just for one day, what'cha say?"

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Popshoppers' Shopping Guide
Popshoppers
Diggler

Remember those groovy German advertising pop samplers put out by Crippled Dick Hot Wax a few years ago? If you heard the Pop Shopping comps then you probably have not forgotten them. They're chuck full of ingratiatingly upbeat ditties for products as disparate as cars, airlines, coffee and breakfast cereal. CripDick even released a remix EP.

Now, compiler DJ Senor 45 (aka Peter Tunnessen) has stepped forth with his own spin on this rarefied genre for Diggler Records. Working with Alfa Kay and Stefan Bohmer among others, Senor 45 has composed and performed 20 jingledelic tunes for products including audio tape, silk stockings, coffee, condoms, chainsaws, cigars, shampoo and deodorant. The production is first rate and each track is a convincing ad pop creation.

Note that the vocals and spoken bits are in German, so non-German language listeners are likely to get lost, but they wouldn't sound nearly as authentic in another language. The liner notes (in German and English) read a little like ad copy and do little to explain this unapologetically retro concept album.

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Circa
Potion
Blue Orange

San Franciscan duo Potion strive to "present the sounds of the past as heard through a musical kaleidoscope from the future." Not a bad goal to have, if not particularly uncommon in the realm of electro lounge. However, Potion isn't really an electro lounge act. The sound is danceable indie-pop, almost new wave. Singer Annie Maley sounds reminiscent of Chrissy Hynde of Pretenders fame, but not as brassy, nor as ballsy. The four songs on this E.P. -- including the catchy "Lovelectronic" and the stirring "Cadence" -- emphasize Maley's voice, driving rhythms, textured keyboard and guitar riffs. Promising stuff.

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You can't help liking...
P.P. Roy
Rephlex

Thrift shop DJ extraordinaire P.P. Roy cooks up an insane mix on this Rephlex release. The notes on the back offer the following suggestion: File under: BrainDance. I like the notion, even if I'm not sure what to do about it.

Hailing from Sussex, England, P.P. Roy gets a groove on using the most obscure samples, including some very funny spoken bits. No electrolounge party is complete without a few tracks from this short but entertaining disc.

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A Life in a Day of a Micro-Organism
the primeTime sublime Community Orchestra
Corporate Blob Records

Just who is the primeTime sublime Community Orchestra (PtsCO)? Paul Minotto formed the avant-garde group in 2000 to create and perform organic cut ‘n’ paste music beyond categorization. Strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, synthesizers and guitars mix it up with electronic and computer-aided embellishments. The group has been known to perform in costume and has worked with dance companies such as the Star Foster Dance Project in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Reading the absurdly in-depth press pack, one is tempted to write the whole thing off as an elaborate joke. But then, there’s the music with which to contend.

Residing somewhere between Negativland and the Mothers of Invention, PtsCO is both whimsical and fiercely intelligent. The CD tracks, with titles like “Fashion Flag for a Part-time Patriot” and “Bimbo Mambo,” aren’t concerned with melody so much as they are concerned with juxtaposition of sounds. This is, of course, the common conceit of much avant-garde music, which can be traced back to the earliest experiments with sound recording during the early 20th century. Today’s technology simply streamlines the compositional process.

The centerpiece of this unique listening experience is the suite “A Life in a Day of a Microorganism,” which marries oblique surrealist story telling with fragmented musical evocations.

So, does it work? It does, but not without considerable concentration on the listener’s part. But there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with a difficult listening experience (no, Laurie Anderson doesn’t introduce the disc). Like Mark Fisher of 1340mag.com succinctly stated, “It’s either genius or madness.” Perhaps it’s up to you to decide.

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The Standard
Psyche Origami
Redeye/ArcTheFinger Records

A hip-hop concept album centered at a gas station? Why the hell not! MC Wyzsztyk, DJ Dainja and DJ Synthesis aka Psyche Origami deliver what they like to call "head-change music" — sort of a blend of the cerebral and physical. Whatever, it's reasonably intelligent hip-hop featuring little interludes at a gas station with environmental sound effects.

The P.O. crew previously dropped Is Ellipsis in 2003, and instrumentals from it have been heard on Comedy Central's "Adult Swim." The funky, sampledelic tracks heard on The Standard blend social commentary with a bouyant vibe that speaks of healthy sense of humor and strong work ethic. "Get Gassed Up" is the motto and Psyche Origami has the mojo that lives up to it.

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A Special Album
Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band
Emperor Norton

Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band isn't a name that springs to mind, and it's a bit much for an outfit that consists of a DJ and two percussionists. Nonetheless, A Special Album is a lot of fun and should appear on many "Summer Listening" lists.

Aside from the humorous art work (plaid-suited circa '70s business men and women indulging in vices such as donuts, cigarettes and sexual harrassment), the record offers breakbeat grooves and sexy samples. The second track "Nikita" samples Gert Wilden from the Schoolgirl Report soundtrack (this track was used in Europe for a Volkswagen TV commercial). Other tracks, such as "Casino" and "Think Twice" are destined to become dancefloor sensations before long. As the record progresses it loses some of its giddy appeal, but it ought to appeal to fans of Mint Royale, Pepe Deluxe, The Wiseguys and such.

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Wow, Pneumatic! EP
The Ray Makers
Crippled Dick Hot Wax

This 12-inch intro to the upcoming full length CripDick debut of L.A.'s The Ray Makers truly whets the appetite. Featuring remixes by DJ Me DJ You and labelmate Seksu Roba, it is impossible to sit still when grooving to tracks such as "Presto!" "Solar Bubbles" and "Lovely".

The Ray Makers are the third L.A. electrolounge group to sign to CripDick after Seksu Roba and The Anubian Lights. Judging from Wow, Pneumatic!, the Ray Makers have more in common with the Anubians than with Seksu Roba. Both The Ray Makers and The Anubian Lights place the emphasis on dance, whereas Seksu Roba is more psychadelic.

It should be fun to hear a full length from them. Put on your dancing shoes and crank it up!

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Red Snapper
Red Snapper
Lo Recordings

Red Snapper is back -- this time on Lo -- and they've got jazzy cinematica on the brain. The group hasn't broken completely with the club-friendly numbers that have peppered previous releases, but the mood is more serious here and the tracks are more abstract. On their third full length, Ayers, Friend, Thair and company place a great emphasis on mood, as well as, the ever-present groove.

On tracks such as "Regrettable" and "Odd Man Out" the vibe is as cinematic as anything recorded by fellow Brits The Cinematic Orchestra. The deep organic groove of the double bass separates Red Snapper from other groups playing jazzy electronica. This is a solid set, featuring two live tracks in addition to eight studio cuts.

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"Al Sig. Francesco Spada" (MP3 edit)

Italian Music
Rockford Kabine
Combination Records

Described on the cover as "31 invalid movie themes," one expects Rockford Kabine's Italian Music to basically be an imaginary soundtrack. The faux giallo artwork certainly sells that idea. But things aren't what they seem.

Rockford Kabine is a German group, not a guy, made up of Antony Sharas, Marlon Marlon, Ralf Omega and Kai Krick — or as Combination Records' press release describes them: "Bruce Lee on crack," a former tennis pro, winner of the 1999 African DJ competition, and a founding member of the Institute of Psychotronic Film Festival. If that sounds vaguely promising then you'll want to know more about their music.

On first listen, Italian Music is disappointing, because it doesn't really sound like Italian soundtrack music reinterpreted by German DJs. It starts on the right foot with tense Italian movie dialogue followed by a looped drum and bass sample of some track from the Easy Tempo series (probably Piccioni, Lesiman or Umiliani). It doesn't go anywhere, doesn't develop. It's just a tease. And leaves one wondering what's next.

Glitch hop? Check. It definitely sounds like a Prefuse 73 outtake, but it only lasts a minute. Then, we hear a stripped down electronic rhythm that wouldn't sound out of place on a Wagon Christ album. Then, we get more acid techno/leftfield type electronica that isn't half bad, but calling it invalid Italian soundtrack music is a stretch. The "invalid" part, I suppose, fits.

So, is it any good? That depends. If you're expecting a dj mash-up of groovy soundtracks then look elsewhere. If you're looking for some moderately interesting, but not especially "soundtracky" electronica for the ADD set this may appeal.

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Melody A.M.
Royksopp
AstralWerks

Norway's own downtempo duo Royksopp has something of an underground hit with its AstralWerks debut, Melody A.M. There isn't anything astonishingly original about it -- as it evokes previous work by Air, Zero 7 and others -- but it manages to present itself very well, thanks to strong melodies and nuanced production.

The disc opens with a Burt Bacharach sample ("Blue on Blue") that loops it way through "So Easy," which has been used in a cell phone TV commercial. Other tracks, such as "Poor Leno" "Epie" and "Remind Me" have gotten play at night clubs. The best track, however, is the seven-and-a-half minute cinematic instrumental "Royksopp's Night Out."

There may be a temptation to resist Royksopp as marketing will make it seem "flavor of the month," but it's really quite good. Plus, it comes with a disc of remixes and videos. Check it out.

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