Pastiche: Austin Compilation Madness [8088 Collective, Starfruit, New Moon & Business Deal]

But yeah, he had a point -- variety is the delicious sticky core of compilation albums, and the four Austin-based comps we’re examining here have not forgone the whimsy of making their own public mixtapes that join feelings, moods, and friends together.

The most experimental and odd of these four compilations is the simply titled Compilation Vol. III and comes courtesy of the 8088 Record Collective. Says founder Randy Vaughn about the genesis of the collective and the comp: "The 8088 Record Collective started in 2001 in Conway, Arkansas as a way of uniting some of the local bands. Initially, we wanted to create a label, but it soon developed into a communal effort - friends of friends of friends with their own music projects came together to pitch in equal funds to release our first compilation in 2007." The collective has grown to include not just bands, but visual artists (like Alexandra Pharmakidis, who designed the disc artwork for the compilation) and video artists as well. Associated bands like Transmography, Bad Credit No Credit, Mt. Comfort and many more make up this double-disc comp.

The unifying theme here is arty creepiness, often expressed in electronics or heavier instrumentation. That’s not a hard and fast rule, though. At twenty-six songs arranged on the discs in alphabetical order, the compilation also touches on tuba and flute oddities (Bad Credit No Credit’s “Dry”) and acoustic jams as well (Proscenium’s “Skull and Bones”). The electronic numbers range from heavy glitch like “Terrorist Fist Jab Part 3” from K_Niv_Es to the shoegaze angle taken by Sleep Today on their track "astronaut." Interested parties should know that the call for the 4th 8088 compilation album is set to begin on May 8th. Visit their website for more details.

The Soda Pop Sounds label recently put together a Starfruit Comp which was foisted upon the world at large with a release party in mid-March held at the Moose Lodge. Artists on this compilation include the tongue and cheek country-folk of Johnny Corndawg to the more earnest expressions of David Israel. Twee and pop in general has a surprising foothold here, as evidenced by bubbly tracks from The Matheletes to the sickeningly cute “Temporary Tattoo” from One Happy Island. More rocking numbers come courtesy of the fantastic Houston group Wild Moccasins, the fast-paced shuffle of Literature, and a fuzzed-out version of “Sofa Sex” from the Pillow Queens. Jay Crossley contributes one solo track and a quick gasp of a song with “Karaoke” courtesy of his group Woozyhelmet.

At twenty-three tracks, there’s really something for everyone, with highlights including the gorgeous “Double Negative” from The Sour Notes to the tasty snippet “A Long Way From Home” from Moth!Fight! [Side note: Dear Asthmatic Kitty, please sign Moth!Fight! to your roster or at least release their debut album already. I know you want to, and I’m getting fidgety already - Adam]. The Starfruit Comp feels new and unhurried, the perfect soundtrack to a leisurely drive or a slow descent into chemical bliss - a collection of songs that could alternately provide the soundtrack for a breakup montage or some wild sofa sex.

The next compilation we’re going to visit is the New Moon compilation seires, which has overseen two releases already. Groups with the name New Moon are all over the internet these days thanks to Twilight, but what we’re talking about here is a series of comps begun in the late summer of 2008 by Charlie Alvarado and Stephanie Gordon. Their MySpace page explains the genesis of the project - “It was started, not only because we are surrounded by wonderful people making all kinds of art and music, we thought it would be a perfect way to keep artists productive, and to give them an outlet for fresh material in physical format.”

Because the New Moon Compilations look toward the unknown (artists are asked to “write a new song, make a new recording, or dig up an old one that has otherwise never seen the light of day”) you have a good chance of finding some hidden gems. Among more established Austin names like Yellow Fever, Muchos Backflips! and Canopy are a selection of up and comers including Silent Land Time Machine and Ethan Master of the Hawaiian Ukulele. Furthermore, the lo-key and relaxed approach has tempted musicians to contribute under different guises. The Channel’s Colby Pennington steps up as Driftin’ Luke, Brazos’ Martin Crane contributes under his own name, and Cari Palazzolo from Belaire, School Police and many more appears here as Cari Music! and Fancy Feast (if not under other, more secret aliases as well). Austin-centric as it may be, the New Moon Compilations also feature out of town artists like Kevin Greenspon from California and a great track from Denmark-based Me and the Horse I Rode In On.

Last but not least - take thirty-three oddball Austin musicians, throw them into nine bands at random, give them two months to write and record two songs, and what comes out? Possibly some bruised egos, perhaps a few love connections, and most definitely an interesting compilation album. Business Deal records came out of its self-imposed hibernation to facilitate this project, or, as contributor and prime mover Chris Lyons puts it, this "experiment."

Prompted by boredom as much as creativity, Lyons had the idea of a draft system to form a random assortment of bands, but his idea was voted out in favor of a lottery system instead. The idea snowballed, and eventually each band's choice of instruments and even of song subjects were made subject to the whim of chance. A ten-sided die (nerdy!) decided instrument choice, and bands were given both a set subject about which they all had to write (baby fat, unfortunately), and one other random topic per group.

But hey, leave it to these musicians to make the subject of baby fat fun and listenable. The contributors to this compilation hail from many other bands, including The Ol' Tymerz, the Preston Dukes band, Cavedweller, Gayle Gold, Pataphysics, etc., but here they come together under tongue-in-cheek formations like P.O.T., Sea Horse Hell and Bogus Journey. It's a credit to all of the bands that as (intentionally) cobbled-together these songs are, the haste and sense of adventure results in an enjoyable track far more often than not.

A unifying feature of most Business Deal releases is a fascination with both shock-value humor, and these songs, unsurprisingly, follow suit. The propulsive, somewhat R.E.M.ish groove of "Pink Spinach" revels in this disgusting-sounding vegetable, and Glowstick Mountain's "Grandma" is a joy of weird turn-of-the-century thowbacks and a deadly catchy melody. It's strange that "baby fat" really would result in so many lively listens, but the first half of the album is loaded with funky-sweet contributions that also include BEVO's "Baby Fat Back" to "We Lost It," an ode to forgetfulness from Weird Owl.

It's easy to imagine that the artists who contributed to the Business Deal Band Lotto album will look back and listen with whimsy and good memories, but not necessarily feel the pride they take in their own projects - ones wherein they get to choose their own instruments, song subjects, and contributors. Still, the harmony of these compositions communicates that the project was more than just a successful melding of talents, but one that also resulted in a bevy of compelling tracks that are able to speak to more than just those involved. A second in this series is supposed to be on the horizon, but we haven’t heard the details yet.

One offs or no, comps give the outside world a little taste of what’s happening inside a label, collective, or group of friend’s brains and reflects the dedication and teamwork it takes to pull something like this together. Kudos to everyone involved.

8088 Record Collective: [website] [myspace]
Soda Pop Sounds: [website] [myspace]
New Moon Compilations: [website] [myspace]
Business Deal Records: [website] [myspace]