Obfusc: Internal Countryside
Boltfish

Despite the artist's name, there's nothing obfuscatory about this latest collection of fireside electronica from Boltfish. Created by Brooklyn, NY-based Joseph X. Burke, Obfusc's Internal Countryside is mood music tailor-made to soothe the too-stressed soul. The opener “Friends Fade In Fade Out,” a particularly lovely example of warm electronic music, gets a nicely funky boost when crisp breaks join the tune's delicate interplay of acoustic and electronic sounds. Understatedly suggesting the Far East , “Jade Tree Ghost Town” chimes sweetly while “Grand Chasms Trace The Sky” swings with a rather old-school analog vibe. Field elements and found sounds add atmosphere to four originals before Burke passes the baton to Boltfish associates Mint, Cheju, and others for a quartet of remixes: Mint's ‘Spiral' treatment cloaks “Orthodox Contortionist” in a cloudburst of silken funk, and Ova Looven deftly merges glimmering ambiance with softly driving pulses in a “Friends Fade In Fade Out” makeover. The disc also includes Jason Banker's video for “Before We Lose Our Legs” (primarily footage of nocturnal goings-on in New York ) which, conveniently, can be previewed at the Botlfish site.

October 2006