In a time when folks often tend to expect small independent labels tospecialize in a particular sound, style or sub-sub-genre, GhostlyInternational is definitely an anomaly. When they debuted in 2000 withTadd Mullinix's Winking Makes A Facealbum, they were viewed as a new addition to the cluster of Americanlabels such as Schematic and Isophlux that were concentrating primarilyon Aphex- and Autechre-influenced IDM. However, with each subsequentGhostly record (not to mention their dancefloor-orientated sublabel,Spectral Sounds), the imprint has continued to blur the lines betweengenres, releasing everything from downtempo instrumental hip-hop tominimal techno to neo-synthpop and electro. This latter category hasbecome what many people know them for, thanks to the success of lastyear's great Disco Nouveau compilation that came out just intime to catch the tail end of all of that "electroclash" foolishness.Unlike that carefully planned and strictly curated collection, Idol Tryoutshas no theme or concept aside from being a traditional label sampler,featuring tracks from previous and upcoming releases alongside a fewexclusive bits. As you might expect, the result is a bit of a stylisticmish-mash, but since most of the tracks are pretty damn good, it feelsmore like a slightly schizophrenic but still cool mix-tape rather thanthe lazy promotional tool that these sort of projects often turn out tobe. Things get started a little slowly with "Making it Pay" by Dabrye (oneof several pseudonyms used by Tadd Mullinix), a head-nodding hip-hoppiece that is pleasant but doesn't leave much of an impression. Alittle more meat can be found right afterwards in the stormingelectro-disco of Charles Manier's "At The Bottle". Midwest Product thencome in with a pair of chilled and cinematic downtempo tracks—one ofthem a spacey remix by Telefon Tel Aviv—that will put you back on thecouch with a smile and spliff (should you be so inclined). And so itgoes from there, whiplashing back and forth from the cold industro-funkof Kill Memory Crash, to the crisp minimal tech-house of Matthew Dearand Osborne, to the lush and melodic IDM of Outputmessage, to thecompletely unexpected but very cool psych-pop cover of Wire's "Map Ref.41° N 93° W" by Dykehouse. By the time the album comes full circle withthe set-closing Prefuse 73 "megamix" of Dabrye, the listener has notonly been taken on a tour though the world of Ghostly/Spectral, butthey've also been given a more general taste of the current state ofthings in the American indie electronic music scene. If the generalquality of the material on this disc is any indication, things ain'tlooking half bad.
- Charles Manier - At The Bottle
- Dykehouse - Map Ref. 41° N 93° W
- Outputmessage - Bernard's Song
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