With quiet industriousness, Seattle label mass mvmnt has built a mini musical empire. Its operatives have assembled a roster of some of the scene's finest musicians, producers, and DJs while remaining mostly under the radar. mass mvmnt's logo may be rendered in vowel-deficient lowercase, but its stable deserves boldfaced caps.
Members of stalwart electronic-rock group FCS North and Scientific American's Andy Rohrmann formed mass mvmnt in 2003. (mm's records are distributed by Seattle's imputor?, which is co-run by ex-FCS North keyboardist Darrin "Plastiq Phantom" Wiener.) Since combining their considerable savvy, mass mvmnt's scrupulous guild of beatmakers, visual artists, and businessmen has issued a strong, diverse stream of music that eludes pigeonholing. And now mass mvmnt's unleashing a torrent of great new material by FCS North, Scientific American, and Time Promises Power. The time's ripe to spotlight this fertile sonic source, which is holding a showcase Wednesday, April 5 at the War Room.
Now an ultra-tight trio of multi-instrumentalists (Andy Sells, Joshua Warren, and Mune Yamakawa), FCS North straddle the blurry divide between heady, organic rock and hiphop-inflected electronic dance music with impressive mind/body equipoise. Their intelligently designed tracks combine DFA-style dance-rock propulsion with Tortoise's sinuous, inventive instrumental interplay. On their new Say Go album, FCS North have punched up their attack for greater dance-floor oomph but not sacrificed their intricate playing styles. Say Go should thrust FCS North into many DJs' record bags and it also sets a sterling example of a rock group embracing funk and techno-fied 4/4 motion.
Scientific American is mm's highest-profile artist, with a resumé that includes the critically acclaimed Strong for the Future and steady work creating music for TV ads. His mix disc mass.dstrction (out March 28 and featuring scratch technician Mr. Piccolo) proves that his DJing skills are just as acute as his production wiles. The CD spotlights underground-hiphop mavericks like Dabrye, Riow Arai, and Jimmy Edgar while also including UK grime stars Dizzee Rascal and Lady Sovereign. But by including cuts by dancehall dons Sizzla and Buju Banton, plus songs by urban-radio staples Gwen Stefani, Amerie, and Beastie Boys, SA shows that he can please more mainstream listeners/dancers, too. (The mix also includes a piece by Seattle's DJ Collage, who's readying The Parlour album for mm, due in June.)
Tomorrow Grieves Today by New Orleans's Time Promises Power (Dan Haugh of godheadSilo/Smoke and Smoke and Chef Menteur's Alec Vance) is one of mm's most interesting releases. Forget all you know about Haugh's previous sludge-rock endeavors: TPP stylishly mesh psych/Kraut rock with asteroid-shimmer ambience and sure-footed beat programming. Recorded in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, Tomorrow Grieves Today salves the soul and the body with mind-altering sonics, and heralds mass mvmnt's next exciting phase.
More info: www.massmvmnt.com.
