Various Artists - Sonig Compilation
(Thrill Jockey)
Are you hip to minimal electronic music? Clicks and bleeps and digital scratchy
sounds comprise the language of this new German-originated style. Oval and Pole
are the stars and the design aesthetic is clearly delineated: thin lines,
lowercase letters, and off-center text alignment. These records have found
their way overseas on pricey import labels such as Mille Plateaux, with
American labels releasing the bigger records domestically.
This compilation from the Sonig label features some of the bigger names in the
scene: Mouse on Mars, Lithops, and Microstoria. Organic sounds rarely grace
these records (though a piano adorns the Vert track on this compilation) and
the digital jumble is disorienting and mostly cold. This isn't rave music, this
isn't music to be danced to (though the Mouse on Mars and Lithops tracks are
quite beat-heavy).
It's interesting that all of these artists have similar ideas of how to shape
the sound, but sometimes I wish there were more surprises on this disc. Nothing
on here will startle a listener already familiar with the style. To the
uninitiated, the musical differences between the artists blend and you're left
with a compilation that serves more as a manifesto of musical style than
an introduction to new artists.
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