music reviews

::: Tony Stoufer ::: "One Swell Foop"

Electronic

This CD is a real grower. It's become fixed in my CD player for the past few weeks. Tony makes highly accomplished instrumental electronic music that's quite distinct and different to most of what is circulated these days. The closest thing I can compare it to is Brian Eno's albums of the early 1990s such as "Nerve Net". Barry Adamson's works such as "Moss Side Story" are also comparable. Actually, this is also quite similar to some of the non-dancey, listening music released by WARP records from the U.K.

Much of this sounds like it could have been composed as a soundtrack to theatrical jazz-dance works, though it certainly isn't club dance music of any contemporary variety. I can also hear it working well as a sound track to film. The electronic textures and sounds Tony chooses are more traditional than most contemporary producers. You won't find any acid-lines or filtering here, which, for me, is very refreshing. Instead the strength of Tony's music lies in his fine sense of melody and rhythm. They alone take you places without the need for fancy knob-twiddling. Add to that strong and interesting strong structures, and you get a very enjoyable album.

Available for $12US from Absolute Obscurity Records, 1616 Brandee Ln, Santa Rosa CA. 95404 USA And on the web from: CDNOW.com and Amazon.com Email: [email protected]