Genre: IDM / Break core / Rhythmic noise / Dark Electro

01 : Sunao Inami - Instrumental
02 : Empusae - Niflheim
03 : in center of circle - sak
04 : Noize Creator - Extra Terrestrial
05 : Flint Glass - Nocturnal waves
06 : nOriyOshi - cut
07 : symphony space - R-IO
08 : Enzym - Sperre Drei
09 : Sunao Inami - Legacy of Mangler
10 : Yumi Matsui - a circle and a triangle
11 : Daisuke Oshkosh - acdeefhlmmnoooprsty
12 : ANATOMICA - Fear event killing all people in Grand Theft Auto
13 : LITH - Norma
14 : in center of circle - tam
15 : wg@eet - hymenaea protera
16 : symphony space - LCR

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Partridge in a Pear Tree. Which was nice. The tree eventually fitted into the living room. Pity about the partridge. She had wrapped it up and it had suffocated.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 2 Turtle Doves. Again a nice thought. Again though she wrapped them up. Two dead turtle doves posted. Haven’t found a use for them yet.
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 3 French Hens. Obviously she hadn’t learnt from the previous experiences. Wrapped, posted and dead. I’m beginning to worry about her.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 4 Calling Birds. Dead once more. She must be getting a discount down at the pet shop. Either that or she’s mentally deranged. Or both.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 5 Golden Rings. Which she wanted me to stick on my bell end and balls. Penis and scrotal disfiguration is not my idea of true love and fun.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: This compilation CD from the electr-ohm record label. At last. Something decent for a change.

This 16 track compilation features 13 artists from 7 different countries. A few may have caught the old ‘I’ve heard of them’ eye as you perused them. LITH, Empusae and Flint Glass sprang instantly into my head with me. The majority of the acts are from the land of the rising sun…Japan. Which is no surprise as Sunao Inami owns the label and also plays on here in his own right as an artist. To the majority of people music from Japan falls into two or three main categories. J Pop, Extreme electronics or psychedelic guitar orientated freak outs. ‘electr-ohm compilation 1’ shows that the country deserves the recognition for taking the whole IDM / Break core / Rhythmic noise / Dark Electronica scenes into a new generation. Generally I can take or leave any of these genres. In no shape or form can I be classified as an expert in any of them. As I’ve reiterated though before in previous reviews…if the music makes a connection then I’ll be more than happy to let it lead me where it wants to go.

There be rhythms…then there be obscure abstract experimental rhythms. You get an opportunity to sample all types on this release. Not only that but there’s the touches of crackle and glitch, sound manipulation, part drones, and even semi ambience to contend with. Did I mention the harsh phases? That’s here as well. When reviewing a compilation I always find it hard to single out specific acts for praise or damnation. My individual choices probably wouldn’t match yours anyway. Therefore we’ll ignore that part for this review. Instead let me tell you how wonderfully these tracks have been compiled by mixing the tempos around so that it keeps the recording freshly balanced. The sounds, I suppose you could class them as soundscapes, are thoroughly invigorating and profoundly complex in structure overall. They made hearing them make the 65 minutes duration of the recording fly by in an instant. A sure fire sign of a great and superbly realised recording. The more savvy amongst you to these forms of music might complain about a lack of originality or substance to some of the tracks, your entitled to your opinions, but that doesn’t matter here…nor does your fucking opinions come to that. I likes what I hear and that’s all that matters. This release made me E’d to my ears. I was engaged, engrossed and entertained. And that’s what counts overall.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Fuck all. I caught her giving a blow job to the pet shop owner. Now I know how she paid for the bloody birds. She’s out of my life. At least she left me a decent classy cd as a reminder of our happier times together.