Earthbound: Surfing The Apocalypse is more than just a soundtrack to a book. According to the selector/ author Per Martinsen (who you'll know as Mental Overdrive), the release is part of a literary experience that transcends your typical novel: the character have spilled into the cyber-world, offering their own independent presence in blogs and social media sites. Fittingly Martinsen has had the foresight to collect and offer the music that has accompanied his literary experiment thus far, offering a musical anthology to accompany his novel.
Martinsen’s direct influence on the release is minimal; the tracks are unmixed and, with the exception of the Mental Overdrive and PM number, are not productions that Per himself has nurtured. However, the care and consideration that has gone into the selection of the tracks is apparent and with the inevitable exception of a few jarring musical neighbours (Barry Crack Ensemble and Hex Pistols for example), the compilation is, in the technical sense of the word, incredibly well crafted.
The album can be divided into two clear halves; the first is a fine array of tight krautrock, whilst the second half offers deeper and smoother sounds. Opener Cabito by Bakantaar establishes the retrospective feel of the album, offering disco beats, tribal drums and cheesy wah-wah-wah synths. The punk-kraut elements are in full force with excellent second track Mastodoon by The Oscillator; slow drums and guitar feedback generate unsettling and disorientating atmospherics that characterise the album.
Ticking off proto-trance sounding tracks (Solaris), experimental art-rock (Pongdit Panara) and love-it-or-hate-it colourful, quirky and brash electro (Disco Computer), the first half of the album is varied and colourful, although not quite as substantial as you might hope. Thankfully, midway through Martinsen’s selections evolve into deeper and housier territories.
Both PM’s breakbeat and Frost’s housey offerings are tight, with Alien’s Extract #4 being one of the albums highlights with its pleasant, percussion led groove. Predictably, the best track on the album is the incredible Tunglskin produced by Martinsen himself (under the guide of Mental Overdrive). With slow rolling hooks, ethereal synths and ambient samples, the track is tight and beautiful, transcending the album’s concept like no other number on the compilation.
Final track Kool Karma by Norwegian downtempo pop-band Illumination marks a well-suited final chapter to the album; reflective and melancholic the track is the musical equivalent of a beautiful dawn after a dark night. It's this final piece of fine-tuning that underlines why Martinsen’s compilation succeeds: excellent tracks, devoid of gimmicks and able to stand alone from the concept that over-arches through the album. In offering an ample selection of tracks you might not hear otherwise, the album sheds as much light on Per's mind as it does his literary talents. If his book is half as good as this, then you can expect to see a well-thumbed copy residing in my bookshelf.
Tracklisting:
01: Bakantaar - Cabito
02: The Oscillators - Mastodon
03: Emmanuel Tegel - Solaris
04: Barry Cack Ensemble – Pongdit Panara
05: Hex Pistols – Disco Computer
06: Frost - Sleepwalker
07: The Alien – Extract#4
08: Mental Overdrive - Tunglskin
09: PM – Earthbeat
10: Illumination – Kool Karma