Ghostly International atones for the three years that passed since the first Idol Tryouts by expanding the scope of the second volume to two discs. Only a small fraction of the tracks appeared on vinyl releases, so the set should be seen as an up-to-date summation of the label's reach. It involves both Ghostly vets (Matthew Dear, Dabrye, Twine) and like-minded producers who have either made stray contributions or appear on the label for the first time (Christopher Willits, Sybarite, Terre Thaemlitz). Disc one is dedicated ...
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Ghostly International atones for the three years that passed since the first Idol Tryouts by expanding the scope of the second volume to two discs. Only a small fraction of the tracks appeared on vinyl releases, so the set should be seen as an up-to-date summation of the label's reach. It involves both Ghostly vets (Matthew Dear, Dabrye, Twine) and like-minded producers who have either made stray contributions or appear on the label for the first time (Christopher Willits, Sybarite, Terre Thaemlitz). Disc one is dedicated to what label head Sam Valenti IV calls avant pop. He says you know it when you hear it. Where this compilation is concerned, at least, the term is one way to lasso Dabrye's wistful and fractious-yet-smooth instrumental hip-hop, Skeletons & the Girl-Faced Boys' scatterbrained mutation of Something/Anything?-era Todd Rundgren, Outputmessage's deliciously candy-coated electronic melancholy, Daniel Wang's gleaming modern Italo-disco, Benoit Pioulard's cobwebbed and desolate echoes of Paul Simon's solemn moments (which could just as easily be released on Shrimper), and Charles Manier's battering labyrinths of synthesizer sequences (which obliterate just about everything dubbed "industrial" since 1988). The material on the second disc is termed SMM, mirroring the title of a 12" series initiated in 2004. The meaning of the acronym isn't strictly defined ("sensual machine music" and "stately modern melodies" are two of the supplied options), but for the sake of this compilation, it could just mean "some more music." Whatever you call it, it's all ambient in nature, and the disc is highlighted by Christopher Willits' anthemic whispers, Loscil's subaquatic pulse, and Terre Thaemlitz's subway-travelogue glide (an interpretation of Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Real Train," from Risky Business). Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the compilation is that it further demonstrates Ghostly's acute aesthetic and its connections to a diverse range of labels, from Kranky to Kompakt and from Balihu to 4AD. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi
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Add this copy of Idol Tryouts Two / Various to cart. $6.99, very good condition, Sold by Salzer's Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by GHOSTLY INT'L.
Add this copy of Idol Tryouts Two to cart. $47.46, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2006 by Ghostly International.
