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	"Breathtaking. Slightly warped electronics varying from minimalist clinical ambient trance to hard techno. Lovers of clean European techno will find this indispensable" - Immerse, UK "With the world collectively staring down the barrel of a closing millennium and hoping that the Great Space-Ark returns to claim us before we fulfill a doomsday prophecy or two, the latest release from Iridium appears less like a compilation of musicians and more like a soundtrack to our growing paranoia. What kind of conspiracy arranged Atomic Weight to flow seamlessly from one artist to the next, giving the impression of a single, complex song dedicated to our demise? The answer lies with Darrin Verhagen, founder of both the Dorobo and Iridium labels. Last year, Dorobo released Document 02 - Sine, a compilation of previously released Isolationist music from Japanese artists such as Dumb Type, Ryoji Ikeda, and Yoshio Ojima. The Atomic Weight disc is a companion to this earlier release, offering spooky, minimalist Techno from most of the same artists. Like Document 02, Atomic Weight is organized and mixed together so fluidly that it gives the impression of listening to a work ordered by one voice instead of by an array of musicians. In this instance, the voice speaks as if it is foretelling the story of imminent world destruction. The first section of the disc is dominated by tracks from Dumb Type, which set the background of covert action and espionage. For instance, the driving forces behind "Passport Control" are computer bleeps, loops of subdued rhythm, and an impersonal voice reciting 'official,' yet increasingly absurd, border-patrol questions ('Do you have some form of identification? How fast can you run 100 meters?'). This plot climaxes with "Counter-Invention," a song that slowly builds from a mixture of disjointed conversation snippets and electronic beats to aggressive rants and a pulsating warning buzzer. Ikeda picks up where the bombs left off with two tracks of static atmosphere and electronics. In fact, "Abstructures" sounds more like a test from the Emergency Broadcast System, except that there are no humans left to hear the signal. The remainder of Atomic Weight plays out like a remix to the apocalypse. Ikeda returns under the identity of CCI Sound Systems with "Mind Implosion," a spacey, low-key techno piece that incorporates earlier voice samples like ghostly afterimages, and Yoshio Ojima delivers "Discomposure," the only upbeat song on the disc, as if leaving a final legacy of hope. That is, until the final, unnamed track plays--an echo reverberated continuously until it, and the disc, are unceremoniously snuffed." - Michael Woodring full review NB Erland rating is from -5 to +5
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atomic weight