Elemental

Elemental Folklore is a complex and oxymoronic soundscape. Robert Scott Thompson has developed a hybrid genre that is anything but elemental, certainly not folklore. The irony of the hybrid brings the oxymoron full circle, even full sphere. The roots of the music are ambient and definitely elemental and basic. Thompson's use of basic folk influences has been noted in his previous efforts. This CD, being a hybrid, ergo new, form of music will be referenced as the start, or root, of similar recordings in the future. Therefore, the title reflects the status of the CD more so than its influences. Thompson creates this hybrid by combining elements of all the genres in which he has created and performed. There are traces of ambient, minimal, experimental computer, and avant-dissonant music. He even adds some tinges of classical, Celtic, and pop to the olio. The resultant hybrid is a special brand of surreal avant-garde. Thompson's intellectual and pedantic tendencies provide the structure in which he creates strange, even dissonant, textured soundscapes. That structure is not readily apparent, nor is it easily recognizable. Indeed, the very nature of this hybrid demands a lack of structure. It is that constant in which Thompson finds and erects his structure. The wildly manipulated samples, synths, and computer sounds coexist and support each other within the loose boundaries of space and time. Thompson created this avant-garde classic between 1995 and 1999. It is not a highly accessible album nor is it among his best efforts musically. Sonically, however, it is an important and bold step toward Thompson's goal of total holistic integration and toward his best and most important works.