Various Artists - "The Eternal Present Compilation CD"
(Elvis Coffee Records ECR15)
From Aural Innovations #34 (August 2006)
This CD compilation features 7 bands from the Elvis Coffee Records label. Kiss My Farkyn starts off with Electrified Pleasures. This is a strange 2½ minute electronic soundscape. Next up is Swn with Bossa Eliptyco no. 8. This track is 8 minutes and begins with all electronic sounds that slowly go almost nowhere until some bells and stuff mix in and then the buzzing stops and the sound becomes more clear. Les I Mondes is next with Ghost Track, a 2½ minute pretty spacey soundscape. Ghost Detail is next with 3 Long Days On The Pipe. This is like strange sounds you would hear in a Sci Fi movie out in space, while being scared like hell. Very effective. Analgeek is next with Undergrind. This is a strange and mysterious one. I like the way the bass sort of just comes in every now and then while the sound of creaking pipes or whatever the hell it is makes for a freaky backdrop. Psychic Space Invasion is next with Dust comes from Saturn. It is a dark ambient soundscape. It is totally drifting as sounds of all sorts meld together. The Buff Monkey Ensemble close the CD with Black Narbeth Monkey Tree.
If you like dark, strange ambient soundscapes, you should check out the bands on this label. And remember this is a very special record label in which all the releases are free. You only pay the postage! £1.5 for 1 CD or £3 for 3-4 CDs depending where you live in the world.
Visit the Elvis Coffee Records web site at: http://ecr.homestead.com.
Reviewed by Scott Heller