Apropos of Nothing

Apropos of Nothing is a compilation of New Zealand electronic music (with one US guest), released by Angry Rabbit. Let us tell you about it.

The compilations that survive for posterity, the ones that are remembered as great albums in their own right, are the ones that not only document a scene its moment of glory, but capture the glory of the moment. They tell you, from first to last track, why anyone at the time cared.

And so this is what compilation albums aim for (unless they're purely an exercise in licensing), even the ones that don't make it, even only in their secret dreams. Yes, this is what we're aiming for. However, we'd like you to believe otherwise, in case we're accused of foolishness. See, we here at Angry Rabbit fear we've missed our shot at a moment of glory - who goes to see live electronic music anymore? - and we don't really have a scene to document. We've just documented some of our friends, not all of whom even live in the same country.

So that's why this compilation is "apropos of nothing". You didn't ask for it, we're the guy at the party who just thought we'd put it on the stereo, regardless of the vibe in the rest of the room. It really has to stand on its own musical merits, because it has nothing else going for it.

That's the moment of glory we've captured.

So, who and what have we captured? Fittingly, and first, something from everyone in our "Angry Rabbit roster":

• Jet Jaguar provides a few class-act pieces of shimmering, shuffling electronica, and closes the album off with his patent delicate-sunset eloquence.

• Aquaboogie, who opens the proceedings, gives us two workouts of turbid teutonfunk and aquatic arabesques that combine to evoke the sounds and smells of summer.

• Group Five offers a sunny tribute to Modernism's dark night of the soul, along with his usual edgy beats pulled straight from the gutter.

• Fabian Tape (c.f. Pierre Omaar, one half of Datsun Stereo), while living in the heart of Sichuan province, has channelled the spirit of Jellybean Benitez and those old Blue Light discos and proven for us once again he is "more 80s than the 80s".

And alongside these, we have a grab-bag from the "friends of the Rabbit":

• The duo Filmic provide two tracks, one set on the edge of its own teeth, the other a symphonic evocation of the infinite, with drums.

• Panoramica has created a deep meditation drawn entirely from the sounds of his holiday on a Greek island (includes kittens).

• Adrien75, of Hollywood California, gives us a lush interpretation of what it must be like to live in the South Pacific.

• Tonto Ponderosa provides us with some spartan yet sparkling microfunk.

• Malty Media (Aquaboogie and Jet Jaguar in another guise) team up with trombonist Jonathan Harker for an evocation of 1950s stoner culture science, salamander rhythms and shortwave radio.

Listening Post

Tracklisting