Altered Zones

The mercurial Eric Copeland is most prominently known as one-third of Black Dice, and to a lesser extent, the destructive half of Terrestrial Tones, with Avey Tare. Copeland's solo material, beginning with the Paw Tracks-released Hermaphrodite in 2007, is just as remarkable, and decidedly less grating for those not terribly enthused by the noise genre. While both he and Black Dice employ dragnet sound collages and splattered sampling, Eric Copeland's solo material emphasizes destroyed rhythms and mechanical atmosphere. The end result is a vague and wholly fucked version of dance music.

Waco Taco Combo is a continuation of the extraterrestrial sounds Copeland explored on his 2009 compilation, Alien in a Garbage Dump. This time, Copeland trades in the dumpster diving for fishing, scooting out of town for a few on the invitation of Copenhagen-based Escho Records. Holed up in an apartment for six weeks, Copeland captured the sounds and vibrations of Copenhagen, incorporating his form of musique concrète into woozy, claustrophobic, steady-rockin' IDM structures-- all mixed and recorded on 8-track. Fans of Black Dice will certainly appreciate the disorienting, creaking, jostling electronic playfulness. However, "Krankendudel" offers a visceral accessibility in its head-bobbing rhythm section and freewheeling synth interplay. --Kenny Bloggins, The Decibel Tolls

MP3: Eric Copeland: "Krankendudel"

Waco Taco Combo is limited to just 500 copies from Copenhagen label Escho Records, who put out Iceage's recently zoned in New Brigade