April 12–19, 2001

cover story| local special: a roundup of area platters.

Various Artists

Vibon

(tbtmo)

Your initial impression of this compilation, culling 15 minimal electronic music makers, will probably be something along the lines of, gee, this would be great to listen to completely stoned. Downtempo electronicats have a greater claim to the title "hippies of the new millennium" than, say, Phish heads, and Vibon, the first in a series of comps distributed through Darla Records, will put you in the mood to hold hands and sway. Shuffling beats, sustained tones, subtle little vocal loops and blithe melodies permeate. It’s not dance music, exactly, and the dominant aesthetic is the musical equivalent of frosted glass. Collette Carter’s relatively uptempo "Aguante Baby," Tleilaxu’s laughter-looping "Philodendrite" and "Luv Dub" by Someone Else (actually CP contributor Sean O’Neal who also offers the Flowchart track "Cootchie") reveal layers of beauty and nascent terror while bhowson’s scritch-scratching "120300" and Timonium Vs James Figurine’s "Rae Luce" demonstrate that fucking around in the studio can be lovely. In the end, you realize that this stuff also sounds pretty nice straight and sober.

—Brian Howard

tbtmo can be contacted at www.tbtmo.com.