Kontakte, Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies

DriftingFalling is a really cool little local label specializing in atmospheric electronica. They recently released the debut from Kontakte, a UK trio billed as a combination of “ethereal melodies, celestial tones and a pulsing electronic backbeat to produce a hypnotic noise with depth, space and staggering intensity.” The disc is a collection of twelve tracks, consisting of six originals and six remixes.

With instrumentals, we’re limited only by our imagination, and upon hearing a work for the first time, we’re dependent upon track and disc titles to frame our thoughts. With a disc title such as Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies, and with the first track being “Pacific Coast Highway,” I sat back and envisioned cruising on the West Coast, top down, driving north with an ocean view to my left and beautiful hills and peaks to my right. Two minutes in, and I’m enjoying it.

Now my wife sits in the passenger seat next to me, her hair pulled back, with a few loose tangles sneaking out of the hold of her band. Smiling, with her head tilted back as if the sun and light wind are breathing life into her. My daughter sits behind her in the back, chilling in her white, oversized sunglasses and leaning on one arm while the other rests on the back of my Border Collie mix, who is also smiling and wearing sunglasses. The sound, so far, is a low-tempo and ethereal mix, with synth accompanied by guitar and bass.

About four minutes in, the guitar gets loud, distorted, and downright damaging to the ears (figuratively and literally). I have to notch the volume down on my iPod, and my suddenly happy trip up the coast becomes a nightmare. Nothing happy about this sound, and rather than take my family into Tarantino territory, I break my thoughts.

Putting my disappointment aside, I optimistically dive into the next tracks and am greeted with more of the same: slow and medium-tempo soothing sounds eventually savaged by the same loud nasty guitar. By track four, “Life’s Road Movies,” that same dreaded guitar finally starts to find its place and feels like a more organic addition as compared to the former tracks. By the time I get to the last track before the remixes, I’m pretty disappointed for the most part and aggravated by having to adjust the volume before, during, and after every song.

The tough sledding I’ve endured seems to be worth it, however, because “Two and a Half Thousand Miles” is so far brilliant. Unfortunately, I find myself praying, as I listen, that it doesn’t get ruined by that horrible guitar. At four minutes, there is a taste of it, but it’s not intrusive like before and is its best use yet, as it slowly enters behind the other instruments and pushes the song to crescendo, rather than attacking it. Satan’s guitar rears its ugly head again though at around the seven-minute mark, and I’m trying real hard not to let it mar what is otherwise superb music.

I have to preface this by saying I’m not generally a fan of remixes, and other than mentioning them, for this disc, I don’t have much to say. They aren’t better or worse than any of the other tracks here, and in my opinion, they don’t add value to the disc. Overall, I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, just a little bemused.

The majority of first releases from the land of instrumental electronica do not impress me, but Kontakte has the right ingredients and proved with “Two and a Half Thousand Miles” and “Life’s Road Movies” they can make a good recipe. I’ll be eagerly awaiting their next release, while keeping at least one track from Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies in regular rotation.