"[Komfort.Labor] Presents ~scape" WMF Records wmfrec cd002 2001 (57:55)
Intro (1:26)
Vladislav Delay "Siru" (5:23)
Kit Clayton "The Mimic and the Model #1-8" (3:10)
Process "SMP-K Option 2" (3:22)
Maus & Stolle "Taxi" (8:23)
Farben "Stuck" (4:44)
Dr. Rockit "Photos and Pebbles" (2:49)
Cinematic Orchestra "Continuum"
(3:02)
Flanger "Quicksilver Loom" (7:55)
Low Res "Evanesce" (1:25)
The Private Lightning Six "Baby
FM" (4:56)
Pole "Rondell 2" (6:39)
Nils Oekland "Horisont" (3:05)
Outro (1:36)
"Staedtizism 2" ~scape 008 cd 2001 (64:08)
System "Red Click" (4:57)
Jan Jelinek "The Village Vanguard" (4:43)
John Tejada "A World So Wide" (4:59)
Process "Level Cascade" (6:31)
Nolte "21st Century Schizoid Man Or How To Loose Your
Head Baby" (5:38)
Bus "Tamed Lion" (4:16)
Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players "Xyz
(Our Version)" (3:09)
Beige "Pustekuchen" (4:43)
Sad Rockets "Cascais" (7:27)
Headset "Dustmite"
(4:53)
Low Res "Ramen #1" (6:33)
Kit Clayton "Painting Between Numbers" (6:19)
Here we have a digipacked pair of ~scape label related various artists discs. Both feature many of the usual suspects (and several lesser known ones) who labor in the labs where electronic, jazz and dub musics collide and coagulate ...
"Komfort" is a 58 minute mixer by Stefan Betke, aka Pole and head of ~scape, for WMF Records. Betke doesn't transform everyone into Pole with his mix, but he does seem to dull down much of the sharp edges with an odd murkiness, as well as weaving in barely discernible traces of a Nils Oekland string melody throughout. Lazily progressing through almost indiscriminate glitch-click and bass by the likes of Vladislav Delay, Kit Clayton and Process, it slowly builds a head of steam up into the echo chamber house of Maus & Stolle. The mid-section of Farben, Dr. Rockit and Cinematic Orchestra mellows things out again with some diffusive pads and slow motion jazz rhythm. Flanger continues the jazz tip with erratic beats and keys, gradually simmering down into the sax augmented deep dub of The Private Lightning Six. Pole's own digi-dub "Rondell 2" comes leaping out of the speakers, almost as if Betke intended for his own composition to overshadow all the others. A solo performance on a stringed instrument of some sort by Oekland wraps it all up, oddly enough, and oddly enough, it works. But altogether, despite the talent involved and effective track selection, something is still lacking. Clarity perhaps ...
On the other hand, "Staedtizism 2" resonates with digital precision. And same as the first volume, this one has only a few artists actually from the label's roster - Jan Jelinek, Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players and Kit Clayton - along with System, John Tejada, Process, Nolte, Bus, Beige, Sad Rockets, Headset and Low Res. While there's still some glitch, it seems to no longer be as in vogue these days as these tracks refer more to easy listening jazz and dub, electronically of course. Jelinek's "The Village Vanguard" churns through microscopic bits of old jazz records while Headset's "Dustmite" uses passages of squawking horn. The liquid keys of Nolte's "21st Century Schizoid Man.." remind me of the jazzy runs in Coil's "The Snow". Tejada's "A World So Wide" is bright and airy, coupling easy going bass and clean guitar melodies. Bus' "Tamed Lion" and Friedman's "Xyz (Our Version)" dip furthest into the dub end of the spectrum while Clayton's "Painting Between Numbers" is probably the most experimental, looping and layering electric piano notes into oblivion. Though all these artists are of a similar mindset, they also remain on separate if not parallel trajectories ...
Where did I get these cds? - mail order via Forced Exposure and CD Universe.