Bee Mask

For the inaugural release from newly minted Editions Mego sub-label Spectrum Spools, curator John Elliott (of Emeralds fame) couldn't have chosen a more ambitious recording. Canzoni Dal Laboratorio Del Silenzio Cosmico by Chris Madak's Bee Mask is one seriously complex, heady piece of work, piecing together multiple ideas, sounds, textures and styles. In two sidelong tracks, everything from dense noise to tape experiments to lush arpeggios, cosmic bliss-outs and horror score synths rear their heads, making this a far cry from the simple sequencer jams flooding the modern electronic underground. Of course, when you're being fed out-there, post-kosmische wizardry such as this, it's not an easy-to-absorb listen, forcing you to repeatedly reconfigure and rethink Madak's epic journey. In a sense, it's ADD music, but instead of rushed and frantic, it's calm and collected. And that's the appeal: if you don't like where the album is at, wait a few minutes — you'll be somewhere completely different. Canzoni Dal Laboratorio was originally released as a limited cassette in 2010, but easily deserves this vinyl reissue, setting the bar mighty high for Spectrum Spools.