What: “Star” by Bye-Product
Netlabel: Jehm Records
This is a wild sound collage assembled by a self-described plunderphonics music artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the good ol’ USofA, but it comes to us through the Jehm Records netlabel based in York, UK. (cue: “It’s a Small World”…sorry if I’ve now put that loop in your head the rest of the day.) It was released in June 2012.
Bye-Product says this music was created 100% using samples, citing 80’s pop to current electronica. That description that may sound somewhat like the Girl Talk release I’ve written about elsewhere on this site, but when you hear the end result it is very different; Bye-Product’s output on this release is more abstract and the samples are a lot less obvious. All tracks have a strong beat, but that is overlaid with chopped up samples, bites of lyrics, and loops. The overall impression of individual tracks range from dance to industrial. Some of my favorite tracks (“Awards Lost,” “Don’t Push Me,” “Recycled Greef,” “Closet Generation”) sound like they use samples from some of my early electronic favorites (Non, Throbbing Gristle, The Normal), but most likely it’s just the way BP has edited his samples.
The man himself says “If you enjoy loud, vibrant and choppy music, than you will love this record.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. But I’ll also add if you like Bye-Product, you may have some fun exploring his other output. John Zobele is responsible for Bye-Product, but also works under various other names (including MrHappyFace and Cordless Soul Machine). Fire up your web browser and start searching – he’s got a lot out there to explore.