Offbeat: A Red Hot Sound Trip CD

A collection of ambient breakbeat and soundtrack-influenced rock, Offbeat is an appropriately titled left-field venture of the Red Hot + Blue benefit series. Included are tracks from "alternative" acts like Soul Coughing, My Bloody Valentine, Spookey Ruben, Barry Adamson and Laika, plus more dancefloor-oriented producers like Skylab, DJ Krush, Meat Beat Manifesto, Moby, DJ Spooky and others. As can usually be counted on, this edition in the Red Hot series is a must for fans of the music, and an easy recommendation as an important starting point for neophytes. ~ Keith FarleyEntertainment Weekly (3/15/96, p.65) - "The Red Hot Organization's eighth compilation--the proceeds of which benefit AIDS groups--explores post-rock with the same agility as 1995's RED HOT + BOTHERED did the indie scene. The record morphs from trip-hoppy rhythms to ambient echoes to trance..."
- Rating: A-
JazzTimes (7-8/96, p.84) - "...an ambitious collection that re-imagines the various progressive threads of rock, hip-hop and jazz as one massive, twitching organism....26 cuts worth of head-rush..."
Option (7-8/96, p.122) - "...Think of these techie wizards and their oeuvres as sonic stealth fighters, hugging the grooves below radar range to score hit after hit on the status quo..."
Melody Maker (3/16/96, p.38) - "...beautifully arranged...works as an intriguing, sporadically suprising and eventually enthralling journey of sound..."