After three years of eclectic 7" singles and a couple of Fanny CDs, myfavorite Ant-Zen sublabel Mirex presents its first-ever compilation.Many people seem to worship the Hymen sister label yet neglect thishigh-quality breakcore imprint, although this intense collection willsurely attract new converts to join the ranks of the alreadyrespectable number of devotees. Carbonmarks its unique place in the Ant-Zen tradition by screaming Top 40song lyrics at the top of its lungs, pissing blood all over the rug,and boasting a roster of familiar established names as well as risingunderground scene stars. Here, breakcore displays its many hideous andgoofy faces in true schizophrenic fashion, and while industrial puristsmay revel in the brutality of Hecate and recent signing Subskan, manywill be tempted to cringe over the subversive mash-up experiments ofOve-Naxx and Donna Summer. Those who resist the knee-jerk anti-popreflex and stay open-minded will be aurally rewarded for their efforts.Representative of the style off his full-length From Zero,Enduser's "Basement" creatively fuses a somber Tori Amos piano riff andragga MC toasting with crunchy junglist and hip hop loops. Drop TheLime makes an appearance here with "Chump Killers," a DSP-fucked blendof spastic electro-funk and hyperactive broken beats akin to his workfor the likeminded Tigerbeat6 label. "Kiss Me On The Dancefloor," thephenomenal selection from Sickboy, throws together a maddeninglydelicious, yet undeniably aggressive, update of old school rave. Mirexwould do well to snatch up more of this guy's work for a CD releaseimmediately. Atypical to this release, Line 47's "Taken Away" offers anunusual yet gratifying moment where the noise and mischief are somewhattoned down in favor of melancholy and melody. From Blaerg'sHitchcockian beginnings to End's Morricone-inspired closer, thesetwenty tracks continually pummel the speakers and delight the ears.Though notably lacking any presence of the notoriously prolificVenetian Snares, arguably the biggest name in the subgenre today, Carboncomes out stronger than any breakcore compilation I've heard to date,including those that do include the Snares Man. While I am tempted tocall Mirex "a label to watch," people should have have honestly caughton before now. Jump on the bandwagon now and perhaps the rest of uswill accept you... in time. - Sickboy - Kiss Me On the Dancefloor
- Line 47 - Taken Away
- Enduser - Basement
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