"Cast No.001" - Dynamophone Records

While listening to A Lily's mesmerizing "Wake:Sleep" album, I decided to do some research and find out about the record label it was released on. What I found was a label pushing the boundaries out and releasing some of the nicest, under-stated music I have heard in a while.

Dynamophone Records is located in San Francisco and is a "purveyor of euphonic experimental/electronic music". Although Dynamophone's roster is quite small (just 5 artists so far), the quality of the music more than makes up for this.

As I stated before, they have released (and will release soon) some of the nicest music out there. A compilation, "Cast No.001" can be downloaded here absolutely free, and is a perfect way to sample artists such as Reykyavik's Pornopop, the delicate R/R Coseboom and the haunting Curium.

A Lily, will be known to you from this review, and contributes with the gorgeous "I Am To You".
Delve deeper, though, and listen to Pornopop's "Centre" on the "Cast.." sampler. It is a beautiful track, full of icy brilliance, that is fits somewhere between Sigur Ros and The White Birch. It is the work of two brothers ( Agust and Petur Einarsson) the vocals are reminiscent of Thom Yorke's melancholic tones, while elements of the music rival Radiohead's experimentation. They have made "the next essential record to come out of Iceland" according to their biography. I am not going to argue judging with the quality of "Centre".

R/R Coseboom were Dynamophone's first release and it is easy to see why. "Eejit" is as quiet as a whisper, but Rebecca Coseboom's lush and haunting vocals combine superbly with the abstract beats to create a rich and exuberant sound.

Curium, on the other hand, is more darker sounding than the other artists on this sampler. It is the work of the prolific Evan Sornstein, who has been making music (under various guises) for almost 20 years. "Wild(at our first)Beasts" is not as accesible as the three other tracks, but the treated drum patterns and disguised vocal samples, aren't any less invigorating.

Download this exquisite sampler here, you will not be disappointed. Fans of Sigur Ros beauty and the experimentation of labels such as n5md, Rephlex and Type will find a lot to love here. You can also, sample more tracks here.

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One artist not included on this compilation is London based The Lullaby League. You can safely say, judging by the name, that this is not a death metal band. It will be Dynamophone's first release of 2007, with an album coming out in January of that year. The Lullaby League has been described as "rich ambient music that tells vast stories...".