Orbit: April 1999
Escape Mechanism
Jon Nelson of Minneapolis created these 18 tracks of found sound collage out of "100% recycled culture." The disc gets off on the right foot with a sample of Mister Cut-Up himself, William S. Burroughs. From there, Nelson blends instrumental loops and beats with snippets of movie and television dialogue, as well as more esoteric fare. At its best, Escape Mechanism manages to reinvent our "sound culture" with post-modernist precision. A fine example of this is a track using Max Von Sydow's TV culture rant from Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters intercut with illustrative examples of game show hosts and TV evangelists. Escape Mechanism is indeed installation art for the ears.
- DJ Kristo
