Internal/External is the recording experiment of Olympia, Washington's Paul Schuster. On his newest CD, Featuring..., Schuster integrates the talents of other local artists, including Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Calvin Johnson of the Halo Benders and many more, to mix and create these amazingly varied, freshly original tracks.
The CD starts off strong with "Secret Adversary"'s funky, electronic vibe and a smooth spoken word background, then eases into an easy trip-hop feel in "Hope," with light, airy vocals underscored by a heavy bassline. Each song is an excellent combination of sounds, vacillating between hip-hop and loungy beats with intricate percussion and layers of melodious rhythms. Best of all is the sampling of The Pixies (a personal fave, I admit) in "Talk Too Loud," a mellow tune built around chords from "The Happening."
This is some of phreshest electronic music I've heard in a long while. Schuster's mixing is an awesome blend of a multitude of diverse styles that somehow come together in rawkin' unity. In a nutshell, this CD is swell! (NL)
(K Records -- P.O. Box 7154, Olympia, WA. 98507; http://www.kpunk.com/)