– Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994 - 1995

I have to dissent on the reviews that are less than ecstatic about this release, indicating it’s not the holy grail or may be a disappointment for some fans. I started this review after a discussion thread on Facebook and was compelled to do a review at Discogs.com, due to my enthusiasm for the release. These are studio jams, as the title indicates, that are super headphone numbers and reminiscent of some of the great, live, electronic jams that I'd seen in Portland, Oregon near the end of the 1990s. These were more tribal improvisations from Not Breathing, Dead Voices on Air and other guests. For me this release is a gem, it sees the Skinny Puppy crew (as the band was collapsing) trying to take a new turn. One assumes that this period was one of reinvention as has been mentioned at several sites with All Music Guide being one of them. The tracks don't wander without purpose on this release and are full songs. However, there’s an organic looseness as well that keeps me pulling out this disc.

The disc starts out with tracks that are fairly low key and not as frenetic as latter tracks. It’s around “Deepdark Modular” that the aforementioned tribal jam starts to kick as synthesizers snake in and out of the beats. It is, as a whole, more night music than anything with haunting elements and some tracks having more levity. You might even find humor buried in some of the compositions - mainly samples interacting with the music and effects.

I will let the other entries speak about the line-up and participants; upon writing this paragraph I haven’t taken the time to listen to each track and match it with the credited performer but assuredly they all shared something on these jams. There are obscure samples from Apocalypse Now and old footage from the 40s to 60s woven into the songs that are given a sometimes drug-induced treatment. They’re handled in fairly subtle ways on some tracks and the basis for the musical theme slash tones on others. In one song they lift just the right amount of cymbal crash crescendo out of The Shining. Not too surprising for a core crew that’s assembled on the album.

In of comparisons, it goes from Meat Beat-esque (Subliminal Sandwich) to toned-down The Bug to just no comparison. The Duck Goettel lends more of a sparse, ambient edge to the first few tracks and gives that reminder of the Meat Beat Manifesto release. The smeared effects on some of the middle tracks can only leave me to make a loose comparison to the Drum ‘n’ Bass act Source Direct. Anyone who has an obsession with electronic music, pardon the generic term, should at least consider tracking this release down. Alas, it appears that it’s not available on mp3 , did I Just say ?

originally released as part of a limited edition run that included a total of 1,000 copies (it's since been re-released), this is a collector's item for the true collector - eighty minutes and fifteen tracks of half finished jams (or 'braps'), aborted remixes and just general fucking around from the original lineup of key/goettel/spybey/western. as may be suspected, that means it was recorded in the mid 90s and pieced together in 2001. often, these sorts of things become the cherished possessions of neurotic fanboys and aren't actually really worth listening to at all. this particular disc has some weak points, but the material is surprisingly strong, which is particularly impressive given it's length.

maybe a word should be said about how these guys actually work in order to grasp this record a little bit better. it's a multi-staged process..

1) get baked.
2) set up gear. make errors, laugh...take twice as long as you expected...
3) when everything is all set up, get more baked.
4) screw around for a while. record everything...
5) use that sound as a sample source to construct strange sound collages.

what we're getting on this particular disc that's a little different is that the pieces, as presented, are at stage 4 in the development of a normal puppy/ track. you can pick out where some of it made it to step five...

for example, "left the radio on" is the second half of the track sidewinder plus some trippy gabrielesque arabic samples whereas tweeter blower showed up in modified form on charlie's family under the same name. krackerzz appears to be the "aduck" track quackerz, which ended up on wild planet. if you're going to find anything else hidden in here, you're going to have to look a bit deeper...

sections of some of the tracks also seem to be partially through stage five, perhaps tossed aside to be worked upon at a later date that never came. so easy to kill and 30065 morningview dr. would fit that description...

as would be expected, some of it is just bluntly boring, but almost none of it is tiresome - again, impressive given the nature of the recording and the length of the disc. however, in order to get the most out of these (seemingly) repetitive type tracks, it's really necessary to use headphones. track 12 is a good example; through a set of speakers, it will probably sound like the most boring, generic dance music that you've ever heard. through a set of headphones, the track takes on a whole new life as deep synths and left-field samples become audible.

as of the moment of this writing, the disc is still in print but that probably won't be the case for many more pressings. while you have to accept this as what it is - a collection of rough jams, aborted remixes and outtakes from one of the noisiest, experimental periods of one of the strangest acts to come out of the rock era - there are enough interesting moments to make it worth picking up while it's still in print and affordable. however, it's not a strong enough record to become the holy grail that next generation skinny puppy fans will no doubt turn it into when it does go out of print.