Kozmo Ray's Home on the Edge

Some really good electronic music, new for early 2009, released by net label, subVariant.

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works” Creative Commons license on there to reflect my idea that it’s OK to share but beyond that…talk to the publisher and we’ll work something out ;-).

So share it!

“Though one is struck initially by SubvaritraxTM’s distinctive pharmaceutical packaging, the comp’s presentation is trumped by the potency of the medication itself. Virtually a primer for current electronic music trends, the release collects what could be the best bits from imaginary comps by Merck, Neo Ouija, Spectral Sound, and M-Nus into an 80-minute, 17-track set. Such largesse is often wearying but [it] maintains interest by extending the stylistic range beyond a single genre…

A terrific outing by the Chicago-based subVariant imprint, the ‘instrumental neuro-stimulant’ Subvaritrax more than makes good on its promise to treat Sonic Mediocrity Overexposure (SMO) with a therapeutically forward-thinking mix of melodic IDM and glitchy minimal techno.” -Ron Schepper, TEXTURA.“

Sparkling streams of glistening melodies unfurl throughout Phylum Sinter’s (Detroit-based Christopher Todd) “Monastic Phase,” Sense’s (Melbourne musician Adam Raisbeck) “Gift,” and Ochre’s (Chris Leary) buoyant epilogue “Copacetia” while boisterous breaks splatter and flail in tracks by Marshall Watson and Quench (aka Funckarma, Netherlands-based Don and Roel Funcken). edIT’s (Ed Ma, Planet-Mu) fabulous stutter-crunk oasis “Spare Spork” is an album highlight, as is … [the] Quantazelle cut “Late Blazing Kinch Theme,” an entrancing intertwine of scurrying percolations and harp melodies. On the techno front, Frederique Garvin drops twitchy, bass-throbbing machine-funk in “Not So Hot,” Derek Michael coaxes whirrs and groans from his gear in “Similak Jiggles,” and Matthew Mercer and Detroit Underground label head Kero (Sohail Azad) take schaffel strolls in their respective outings. While R_Garcia’s gleefully stomping, arcade-flavoured “Honkeywrench” impresses too, the album’s peak arrives with Popkan’s (Tom Erdmann) “Broken Lighter,” a tasty sampling of funky, M-Nus-styled minimal house. While Erdmann’s micro-sampled field of blips, smears, and croaks sounds incredible, it’s the little kick he adds to the tail end of the warping bass line that’s pure genius.

TRACKLIST:

1. PHYLUM SINTER: “Monastic Phase” (4:19)

2. MARSHALL WATSON: “Fall without Change” (5:13)
3. QUANTAZELLE: “Late Blazing Kinch Theme” (2:56)
4. R_GARCIA: “Honkeywrench” (4:39)
5. FREDERIQUE GARVIN: “Not So Hot” (4:43)
6. MATTHEW MERCER: “Sucker Punch” (6:33)
7. POPKAN: “Broken Lighter” (5:45)

8. KERO: “Shuf1” (5:29)
9. DEREK MICHAEL: “Similak Jiggles” (4:08)
10. QUANTAZELLE: “Braking (Hushed)” (2:53)

11. ZAINETICA: “Bytesize” (5:49)
12. SENSE: “Gift” (4:04)
13. TIM KOCH: “Minor Rendered” (2:15)
14. SET IN SAND: “A Echo of An Mistake” (3:13)
15. EDIT: “Spare Spork” (4:54)
16. QUENCH: “Vegeta” (6:05)
17. OCHRE: “Copacetia” (6:42)

subVariant’s latest glitchy techno / IDM compilation is now a free digital download: SubvaritraxTM.