TBTMO

TBTMO is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA-based label who puts out tripped-out ambient, psychedelic- drone, IDM, electronic-pop and up-beat, sunny techno tracks. TBTMO is a good label representative to what Fathom distribution is about, diverse styles of music and high-quality.

Accelera Deck is Chris Jeely who also goes by Your Favorite Horse, among other alias’. Jeely is an inspired though brooding talent behind Ipsissima Vox, an electronic/experimental guitarist who creates processed layered guitar-scapes, drones, and electronic undulations occasionally in the same realm as Christian Fennesz, but more often in places entirely his own. Parts of Ipsissima Vox are hauntingly melodic, others abstract, and still others beautiful ambient drones that struggle from abstract brittleness like melodies a butterfly from a cocoon of noise. This album is an absolute gem and one of the true hidden treasures at Fathom. (file under: electronic, experimental, ambient)

A criminally overlooked release on an overlooked label, Should is an eerily beautiful and haunting (right down to the marrow of your bones) electronic-ambient-drone-psych album that explores themes of paranoia and neurosis while (as Americans) questioning US national and foreign policy as well as reflections on national crisis. A deep, introspective and well thought-out musical work, emotionally captivating from first to last track and though brooding, worth taking the sonorous tour through the darker side of the American psyche. Layered guitar, field recordings, drone washes laden with overtones, spine-tingling news footage, and unsettling melody–yet all elements rendered with artistry. (file under:electronic, experimental, ambient, drone)

Bubble-gum pop rock vocals and lyrics with high-end production and electronic accents, for those who like catchy hooks in their electronic. Collette Carter officially began 1999 with Rod (Pacifica) and Wilynda on vocals–the two have been a couple since high school, and before CC they were Stereo Symphonic, with their first release coming in 1997 with the Scientific or Standard cassette (tbtmo6). After a few releases & comp appearances, they reset to Collette Carter. In 2001 CC’s debut was released on tbtmo / Darla to great acclaim, and everything since has just been better. X O X O ep dropped late ‘08, and expect a new full-length in ‘10. (File under:rock, pop, electronic or pop-tronica)

The Conceptual World Is Losing Its Grip is a massively brilliant electronic-IDM album, that features melodic techno goodness and quirky sugar-rush-IDM, yet imbued with the deepest sense of funk. Carl Martin aka Transient has been producing electronic music since 1994 and non-electronic music since his young years. Through the local BBS scene he was introduced to tracking software, and is still using trackers as his basic composition tool to this day. He has a discography spanning more then 40 releases in a multitude of genres. Aside from a load of netlabel and some commercial releases Transient runs ‘Noisy Vagabond’, a web site to distribute his ‘extra material’ like mini-albums made with a Palm handheld and other oddities, and his twisted artwork. Carl spends most of his time fine tuning his art and music skills.

On the Vibon Comp series where one half of the comp has excellent IDM, catchy-techno, down-tempo beats and gorgeous acid-tech excursions, while the latter-half features some shimming ambient drone. Some 15 tracks featuring the best of the Philadelphia electronic underground including music by the likes of Mall, Flowchart, Planett Nett, Spintronic, and Collette Carter.

Part 2 of the Vibon Comp series featuring lots of IDM, ambient and techy goodness; the latter definitely has the more catchier tunes of the two comps. This comp features the TBTMO mainstays incluiding Spintronic, Planet Nett, Pacifica and Transient among many others. The best of the Phili-electronic-Underground!