Euphoria

Slide guitar and trippy, electronic beats don't usually go together; slide guitar is normally considered a blues (or bluegrass) instrument, and is therefore generally associated with earthy, folky sounds rather than a club ambience. What better reason to make an album whose musical center is the sound of a slide guitar but whose atmosphere is dominated by electronic breakbeats, sampled voices, and heavily treated guitar sounds? Club bigotry being what it is, it's hard to imagine any of these tunes making much headway on the rave scene, but there sure is lots of fun and beautiful music here, from the funky yet contemplative "Sleep" to the dreamily atmospheric "Elevator to My Soul." Ken Ramm's slide guitar oozes and insinuates itself everywhere in the mix, sometimes quoting bluesy phrases straight out of the Delta, other times conjuring up more exotic images with his microtonal shadings. All of it is worth hearing, and since the disc lists at such a low price, it's hard to imagine a reason not to pick it up.