CD: Quantazelle - Coaster

Artist: Quantazelle
Title: Coaster
Label: subVariant Recordings
Release: 2004

I approach electronic music with great hesitancy. Sure, I used to listen to boring rave trance music, and had I moved to Chicago a few years earlier than I did, I probably would have delved into the House scene wholeheartedly and with vigor. As it stands, with the exception of the occasional listen to some of my old Plastikman albums, I demand more than a thumping drum beat and some knob-twiddling from electronic musicians. I need texture. I need to be challenged! I need passion!

Quantazelle's music has all of these things and much more.

On her first album, "Coaster," this Chicago native wrangles, weaves and wraps sounds disparate and discordant into warm double-knit sweaters of melody and momentum. Each track contains its own underlying sweet melody that, if played alone, would send the most temperamental of babes into blissful slumber. Layered on top of these melodies, however, are some of the most interesting pops, clicks, glitches and bass hits this side of the computer screen. From the sound a CD player makes when it skips to the bleeps of an arcade you pass on your morning power walks in the mall, the electronic soundscape exists here in top form.

The opening track, "Braking (Hushed)," sets the pace by accelerating straight into a danceable beat that stutters along with several scratchy synth sounds you will wish you could sing along to. Triumphant like a modern day "Chariots of Fire" anthem, this track is guaranteed to make even the most stubborn wallflower move to the rhythm (I want to dance, when I hear it...which says a lot). Only two tracks later, we are given a much needed breather with my personal favorite, "Late Blazing Kinch." Like a lullaby remembered, "Kinch" dances through your head with its harp string hook yet doesn't relent enough to bring you all the way down. Many of Quantazelle's tracks take this road, both lulling and motivating simultaneously. "Wineglass Chopstick Clinkrush's" piano melody would fit just as comfortably in a ballet as it would a nightclub.

Finishing off the album is a track that channels Edgard Varese and hands him a gameboy. Kicking off with a distorted and dirty drumbeat that erects a wall of sound, "Stereofoam" soon attacks itself with sporadic video game effects that create their own complicated pattern and niche.

Creating her own complicated pattern and niche is exactly what Quantazelle has done. "Coaster" is only the beginning.

Though her sound is reminiscent of a few other seminal electronic musicians such as Aphex Twin or the scratching techniques of DJ Spooky's later output, Quantazelle has managed to infuse more warmth and emotion into her laptop compositions than most other musicians are able to create with any traditional instruments. The depth of "Coaster" strikes you on the first listen, but keeps you coming back in an attempt to decipher its complexities. She has managed to coax a welcoming soundscape out of a technology that is too often cold and mechanical.

In keeping with the far-reaching nature of her music, the tongue-in-cheek packaging of this album is also expandable and organic. Quantazelle has included instructions for turning this album into an actual coaster for your drinks, complete with an optional coaster case and custom surfaces available for purchase from subVariant Recording's website. Perhaps an elaborate joke, but it all suggests an opportunity for true interactivity with Quantazelle, whether you are a musician or not.

With her own record label, online forum for electronic musicians (modsquare.com) and line of unique handcrafted jewelry made from computer and other electronic components (zellestyle.com), it is almost unbelievable that Quantazelle is only one person. She is a valuable asset to the Chicago music scene, electro or not, and I eagerly await her next project whether it be musical in nature or otherwise. One thing is for sure... This girl is genuine. It's good to know that there are people out there like Quantazelle, refusing to limit themselves and doing what they love while bringing the love to the masses. One passionate project at a time (or several).

Rating: 4.75 / 5

Links to Quantazelle's Empire

-Quantazelle.com
-Modsquare.com (Online music magazine out of Chicago devoted to experimental electronic music)
-subVariant.com (Record label headed by Quantazelle)
-Zellestyle.com ( Quantazelle's jewelry and fashion design company)
-Fractalspin.com ( Online store selling Quantazelle's music, Zelle jewelry, and other neat and geeky things)

Read my review of one of Quantazelle's Chicago performances here: Link