(05.03.06) Komposi003, the latest State of the Union release from Positron
Records, is a landmark release for several reasons. Not only does it
showcase the growing pool of talent that is the Positron Roster, it
also heralds the first Chris Randall track and the last Sister Machine
Gun track. But wait! you say, Chris Randall is Sister Machine
Gun so what’s the big deal? It’s a paradigm shift, really. The last
vestige of the Old Republic being swept away. And, with the inclusion
of Scanalyzer and Micronaut tracks, there’s actually a robust snapshot
of the man’s mindset right now. [And, to be fair, Miguel Turnazas has
been an integral part in the last few records from both SMG and
Micronaut.] Fortunately, for those uninterested in the dry analysis of
What Was and What Is, Komposi003, as a whole, is a pretty stellar
collection of funkified electronics.
Starting off with a new track from Mike Fisher’s Amish Rake Fight is
either a brilliant or a deadly decision. Amish Rake Fight’s “Artist
with a Thompson” sets the bar so freakin’ high, it’s almost impossible
for anyone else to come close. This opening salvo is a bubbling,
capering ode to crackle jazz, a neuphoric homage to ’40s noir that
throws trumpets, a couple of wa-wa mutes, a double bass and a drum kit
into a washing machine and sets it to SPIN. It’s the sort of swing
dancing free-for-all that makes men sweaty and ladies’ skirts go wild.
The tick-down of “Shame,” a Wade Alin number under his Milkfish
moniker, is a safe bet to follow the Rake Fight where the shuffling
grit of noise filters and dubious dark alley echoes helps to tone down
the high of the first track. Electronics purr and growl over the
tick-tick drum kit while an atmosphere from the wrong side of the
track blows smoke across the hot mic’s. A laconic organ suggests there
is melody living in this miasmic funk, but it is too shy to really
step to the foreground.
Micronaut’s “Quartz Clock” doesn’t quite burn up like the recent Europa, but it slinks about playfully enough, working an
indolent guitar against bubbling quartz-precision beats and a
hiccuping vocal sample looped into a suggestion of a melody line.
Randall’s solo outing, “Be There Tonight,” furthers my pet theory that
he’s positioning himself as the Bryan Ferry of the 21st century — the
crooner of choice for the Wasted and Wistful of the Transhuman
Internet-Ready Generation. “Sink,” the final Sister Machine Gun
track, is an interesting coda for a band that started back in the
“Rage and Disillusionment Via Industrial Guitar Noise” era. It’s
understandable why Randall is retiring the name: musically, he’s got
other interests; and, while “Sink” has the processed vocals and the
undulating analog funk of 6.0, it’s not a stretch to hear this
as a stripped down Micronaut track with vocals strapped on top (kind
of like “Perdition” on Europa, actually).
Speaking of re-inventions and resurrections, Eric Powell (of fellow
“R&DVIGN” player, 16 Volt) sneaks onto Komposi003 as Graphic
with “The Things You Do,” a sweet little number that riffs off a
guttural Persian-influenced breakbeat and then sweet-talks you with a
dizzying dirty boy whisper about those, you know, “things you do.”
It’s no Romeo beneath the window speech, but it’s more than enough to
make you lock your daughters up at night. Adam Schabtach (chief
engineer of plug-in gurus Audio Damage, Inc.) lands on
Komposi003 with “Terminal,” a bit of swirling atmospheres,
claustrophobic field recordings and Jarre-style synth — all swoops
and two-finger melodic progressions. The collection is rounded out
with a pair of torch songs from Bounte and Atomica, a Micronaut
reassembly of the closing track from Scott Sturgis’ ambient
psychedelia outing and a Scanalyzer track that burns at the edges but
doesn’t leave too many marks with its noise-laced electro-funk. All
in all: a couple that clear the fence, a few solid hits and the rest
are the handiwork of a team all working at the peak of their game.
Not entirely pursuant to this record, but since Komposi003 may
very well be your introduction to the label, this is probably a good
place to mention that the lovely folk at Positron HQ grok the concept
of digital distribution. Visit their sexy website and see how well
they understand the needs of the 21st century digital consumer. Every
Positron release has two formats: old school and digital. Regardless
of which you pick, you get the digital version dropped in your locker
before email verification of your order arrives. All the MP3s are
Ultra High Quality, Ass-Spanking, Poly-chromed, Wizz-Bang, High-Tech
renditions (there’s actually technical language for how sexy they are,
but let’s keep it in layman’s terms here). And, if you buy the old
school physical CD release (which they send to you in the mail but WTF
do you care? You’ve downloaded it from your locker, like, eighteen
weeks ago already), they’ll throw in a free full-album download. And,
everything (at least the new stuff) is released under a fairly liberal
Creative Commons license. I mean, they GET IT. Your music — when
you want it, how you want it. Which is to say: “now” and “so shiny
the bits squeak.”
Positron Records. Not only do they do the electro-funk right, they
make getting it into your head and butt about as easy as breathing.
Show ’em your love.
Komposi003 is out now on Positron.
