Rift Magazine
Cast of Thousands with Escape Mechanism
Full Disclosure: Escape Mechanism's Jon Nelson, the proprietor of Recombinations Records, is a colleague of mine. He hosts a weekly show on Radio K (KUOM) called "Some Assembly Required" that features tape manipulators, turntablists and sample-based music in general. That said, the collection of live found-sound jam sessions captured here with Cast of Thousands is simply incredible, and I would state as much even if he were not a friend of mine. (Nelson at one point was roommates with another member of Cast of Thousands who also was a DJ at Radio K, so Nelson is not entirely blameless in this affair, either.) Furthermore, the so-called plunderphonic scene is so tiny and fractured as it is, the level of incestuousness at work here is not really all that surprising.