Review:
Vienna has always been a hub for alternative music, and two of the Austrian capital's veterans, Hans Platzgumer and Gerhard Potuznik, are behind Phlox. That the label's first compilation has a Throbbing Gristle-style title already suggests that it won't be full of Ibiza-friendly house. The glitchy ambience of Dmitry Mazuro's "Nostromo" confirms this, but it would be wrong to assume it is full of gloom-laden experiments. Both "Aint Gonna Love You" by GDX and Dibek's "Thick Carpet Of Leaves" are beautifully atmospheric, melodic tracks that unravel to disjointed breaks and dubby basslines, while GDx's "Want You" is a gloriously melancholic UK garage workout and Otzim Lee's "La Routine" is a techno groove based on swelling chords. . On this evidence, it sounds like Vienna's still a hub for the weird and very wonderful.