A vast assortment of Mighty Force and Pingdiscs musicians line up with their sonic interpretations and what we get is a top-notch selection of acid-drenched braindance glory.
Heavy hitting breaks and bleeps galore
I must admit that I didn’t know much about Victor Lewis Smith until this release (and probably should have.) Luckily the folks at Mighty Force and Pingdiscs (aka MightyPing) have kicked off a new series of obituary albums with a smorgasbord of electronics where “every track features word samples from the great Victor Lewis-Smith and his victims.” And what a jam-packed collection it is. Heavy hitting breaks and bleeps galore, 17 tracks—five of which are short running, peculiar, yet riveting interludes titled “VLSegue” 1 through 5—are in high gear.
A vast assortment of Mighty Force and Pingdiscs musicians line up with their sonic interpretations and what we get is a top-notch selection of acid-drenched braindance glory. From the acidic techno waters of “Sarcastic Washing Machine” by Data Out to one of my absolute favorite tracks of 2023—The Horn’s “Phoney (Byegone mix),” that features a surplus of downtempo breakbeat and crunchy synth grooves that I’ve had on repeat without wearing it down.
There’s just so much to consume, and with old-school flourishes courtesy of Vorlauf on “Clackers” and Myoptik’s mélange of encrusted tech-noise and vocal samples on “Getting Up On The Wrong VLS Ship,” it’s difficult not to get lost in this audio-visual maze. Closing with Inkipak’s fascinating and surreal “Spacek VLS,” enriched electronica and shuffled breaks are ushered to the foreground.
Not forgetting the all-consuming and unique contributions of Idiac, Kams, Fendal Bint, Misterben, Boxheater Jackson, Tarsiform, and Long Range Desert Group vs Myoptik—their “Dangerous Radio” track is a powerhouse of industrial-electronics for fans of old-school Consolidated—VLS Offal is a jaw-dropping amalgam of some of the best in the abstract electronic field, giving respect to VLS by sampling his strangely captivating and hilarious conversations along the way. Certainly not to be missed, and one of the best sample-laden compilations we’ve heard in a while.
VLS Offal is available on MightyPing. [Bandcamp]
