C O V E R		R E V I E W
		As the panthoen of electronica consists almost entirely of male artists, Riz Maslen (aka Neotropic, more or less) sticks out simply by being female. It's important to stress, therefore, that Neotropic's music sticks out on its own. It's an intricate blend of environmental audio and danceable rhythms that's never quite drum and bass, never quite trip hop, never quite the bog-standard version of any sound you've heard before. You'll know what I mean once the rhythm kicks in on the title cut -- it's a densely complex blend of thrumming drums, tribal cadences, brooding sub-bass-lines and a looped chant, with a little vibraphone-y melody slathered over the top. Maslen's approach can quite readily be described as immersive -- there's just too much going on in the mix for you to spare any resources for other sensory input. Take "Ultra Freaky Orange" as another example -- think early-nineties Meat Beat Manifesto with an Austin Powers orchestral fixation. "Insane Moon" is an eerie combination of trip-hop torch song and Amon Tobin-style samplefest, and "Beached Improved Industrial Dwellings" is almost churchlike -- its reverent choral vocals and ambient soundscape of sensory overload create a cathedral of sound. "Gutted" actually sounds like it was torn from the P.J. Harvey songbook, to Polly Jean's loss, thanks to some emotionally wrenching vocals by Nina Barry. Riz Maslen has succeeded in carving her own niche in the electronic music edifice -- and fans of Barry Adamson, Amon Tobin, Clifford Gilberto and the "dark ambient" genre would do well to explore her world.
	I N F O
Neotropic Mr. Brubaker's Strawberry Alarm Clock N-Tone CD
		Review by George "Abuse the Adjective" Zahora

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