(10.10.05) Randy Garcia is the hardest workin’ man in electronic music, or at least in Plantation, FL. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist spitting out quality release after release as the head of Nophi Records as well as his own punishing output schedule, it’s easy to forgive him if he treads the same territory once or twice on an album, right?
Thankfully, we don’t have to.
Nerd Parade is the title of R_Garcia’s latest full-length release. Released summer of this year, it’s the single most listened-to CD of my 2005. Every track stands out as a unique display of R_Garcia’s mastery of melody and rhythm as they span the musical spectrum and never get too old or too repetitive. This album embodies the phrase emblazoned on Nophi’s bumper-sticker: “IDM is dead – we can all unfold our arms and dance now.”
The album flows beautifully from start to finish, beginning with “Come One And All”, an oncoming train from the distance of amens and
ambience as it explodes into “Music is the Only Reason,” one of the highlights of the album. This song explores dance-heavy basslines and R_Garcia’s crooning voice on top of even more amen blasts. The beat may be tired, but R_Garcia injects fresh life into it throughout this release. Nerd Parade continues in the fine R_Garcia tradition of revitalizing lost game console sound chips with tracks like “Polaroid Pussycat,” “Hurry Up and Disappear,” and “Snowtime” which reminds the reviewer of the old TurboGrafx16 launch title, Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. Somehow, Randy is able to capture the feel of the games and digital experiences of yore with his own unique flavor. As an aside – check out track 3 on his Monkey vs. Pig release, which sounds straight out of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. Pardon the gaming digression, but it’s critical to emphasize the Nintendo influence that permeates R_Garcia.
“Bob the Steak” swings a tasty groove around a slide guitar riff and adds a crystalline dimension of synthesis. This fades into one of my
personal favorite tracks, “Tablatar,” one that’s sure to move asses aplenty. A chorus of tablas atop some slick guitar work drops into an
infectious crescendo of synth riffs that steadily build until the track explodes with acoustic drums and final fantasy-like arpeggios.
R_Garcia explores harder drum & bass territory on the track “Mercy” like contemporary Mike Paradinas with his “Approaching Menace” track off Lunatic Harness. What should be out of place in the context of the surrounding album is smoothed out by R_Garcia’s trademark glitches and tweaks amid expert rhythm programming. The next track, “Don’t Fake the Funk on a Nasty Dunk” stands out as a sure-fire body mover rife with rapid-fire blips and dream synths at 150 bpm, with a tried-and-true breakdown that never disappoints no matter how many times you have the song on repeat.
“Biomagnetic” explores territory that Twilight Circus and Rhythm & Sound are familiar with – deep space dub. R_Garcia proves his rasta mettle with late-night bourbon street horns atop minimal sine bass and in-step beats. “Estrus and the Terrasque” acts as a mental sherbet, cleansing the sound palette with a texture filled wash of atonal soundscapes. “Sixes, Fours, and Twelves” revisits the 16-bit themes of Street Fighter and Chrono Trigger with a Tom Jenkinson-influenced amen treatment on top of R_Garcia’s bouncing filtered basslines. This leads into the title track and what is most likely the most solid demonstration of R_Garcia’s multi-instrumental prowess. “Nerd Parade” begins with a solid bassline and hyper swing jazz rhythms as soft lead synths percolate through the mix. This drops out into a distorted acid bassline that erupts into a heavy metal Randy shredding his axe with Manowar force. The electronics respond back as the track progresses much like that of a story; an epic battle between guitars and laptops that ultimately sees both sides joining forces to create a sonic fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. To see R_Garcia growl like Slayer into his mic as he plays this live is quite a treat.
R_Garcia is the sound of a smile, and this smile lasts 74 minutes from ear to ear.
Nerd Parade is out now on Nophi.
