music reviews

::: Various Artists ::: "edges are fun" | Edgecore Releases

drum & bass - electronica - eclectic

If you're like me, and dig quirky, organic, offbeat, complicated yet groovy and very funky electronic music that goes places, often to where you least expect it to, then you MUST have this CD. 12 artists, mostly Australian, doof, bubble, jazz, squeak, squeal and squelch their way across 72 minutes. The track are so complimentary I wouldn't be surprised if the same folk are involved with many of the projects.

Contemporary acts that I could name drop for comparisons sake for most of these acts include Bill Laswell, The Aphex Twin, many Warp Label acts and perhaps even Einsteurzende Neubauten - in regard to the layering of complex organic noises and motifs (albeit electronic ones here) around a central structure. Edgecore Releases takes electronica to the cutting edge.

The artists are:

* JU JU SPACE JAZZ ("Experiment 44" the finest acid-trip-hop-jazz),

* HARRY'S LAUNDRY ("Whitney 1" very grand slow-groove pop-electronica tune, big crunchy beats, vocals and atmospheres),

* R.B. OBLIVION ("Ewoks Agogo" a VERY apt title, lots of warbly vocalish synth noises over a frantic doof jungle beat")

* GARF ("Ujun" mellow ambient piece, imagine yourself in an electronica swamp).

* UP & ATOM ("Panfandango" quirky trippy piece with lots of sound effects to boot, the ringing phone tricks me (almost) every time).

* SYNCOPATH ("The Full Davros" acid-doof-jazz, some way cool sounds, is it a small sample of Davros (leader of the Daleks in Dr. Who) looped and mucked around with?)

* MASS ("Swinessa's Dead" up-tempo jungle-ish break-beats, absolutely berserk riffs and noises, it takes industrial (minus the angst) into the new millennium)

* TONGUE'N'TWEAK ("Seminal Ra - Fertility Rites Edit Mix" broken up doof with brassy jazz samples, squawky synths, awesome)

* MISTA SPALDING ("Formant" upbeat acid-doof-jazz, slightly more sentimental than the other groups, but still certainly pretty berserk)

* BIG GREEN PLEASURE MACHINE ("Buggin' Out" 4-to-the-floor-doof & therefore perhaps the most immediately accessible pieces. Over the top are many layers of organic synths, samples of all shapes and sizes).

* BUFO ("Time Bandit" (like the others) bizarre and offbeat with lots of strange acid-jazz noises and layers, rolling tribal percussion, guitars samples, yet also cohesive enough for the dance floor).

* DISCONITS ("I'm fine... & thanx for askin'" - 4-to-the-floor beats, with many layers of frantic organic noises, way cool, like all the others)

CD available for $25 Aust. (or $27 Overseas) from Edgecore @ PO Box 1463 Byron Bay NSW 2481 E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.edgecore.com.au