Review Summary: The perfect summation of who they are and where they are going.
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the founders of Point Source Electronic Arts: Unterm Rad, as he creatively goes by, and I came away from the conversation feeling very happy that I gained more information regarding the label's mission and various sonic inspirations -- questions that had been sitting on my mind for a while, actually. You see, lately Point Source has been my go-to label for new premier, glitchy IDM releases: many of my recent favorites come from this very label -- nearly all, really.
At one point in our online dialogue, I asked him what his favorite releases are that Point Source has released in its past four-ish years of existence. And he gave me a very detailed answer, highlighting albums of theirs that I had yet to give much time myself -- which then, naturally, encouraged me to do so, of course. He then said that his favorite release from the label, at the time of our discourse, he made very clear, is without a doubt the label's Artist Showcase - 5th Edition, which is a compilation released midway through this very year that showcases a sampling of each artist's sound from their ever-growing roster of IDM craftsmen.
As you can tell from its title, Artist Showcase - 5th Edition is, indeed, the fifth release in Point Source's Artist Showcase compilation series. Each year this label collects songs from its artist roster and then releases it as a compilation for fans and newcomers to enjoy and/or discover, a practice I love and respect and wished other labels would try and emulate. This year's compilation is more notable, however: for, one, it's the longest and most expansive showcase compilation of theirs so far -- twenty-five songs, clocking at roughly more than an hour and forty minutes -- and for two, it's clearly been compiled and created with care, being a much more definitive and memorable showcase than those that came before it.
Unterm Rad told me that this Fifth Artist Showcase epitomizes what the label has always been about, and it grandly stands as the current auditory definition for the label -- his words being paraphrased here. At that time, I hadn't given this 5th Edition Showcase many listens, to be honest. But given how strongly Unterm Rad felt about it, I decided to change that, fast. And, yeah, I can now say that 5th Edition is quite amazing, rising and topping all of this year's electronic compilations, easily -- that is, alongside Point Source's own Genome 4 compilation from this year as well, but that's a topic for another review.
5th Edition was challenging at first though, very challenging, and I think that's why I didn't really pay attention to it before the label founder said anything to me. Songs contrast and, at first listen, sound gritty and kind of disorganized. This is due largely in fact to how experimental and "left field" the artists on Point Source's roster tend to be. That's before you really get to know the artists' albums, however. Take releases by Access to Arasaka, Hexalyne, Vaag, and The Fellow Passenger, for example: it's the tenth listen, or some such, that you really realize the album is absolutely amazing. The same is true here, in fact, yet I'd argue even more patience is required here with this release, given the compilation's lengthy hundred-minute runtime.
With time, however, highlights in the compilation are plentiful and come strongly: first and foremost, coming from the four artists mentioned prior -- my favorite artists on the label, if I'm being honest. But other song highlights come from Unterm Rad himself, tsrono, symmDrone, Aphorism, the supergroup-project Recompiler, REKT, Tokee, and label-newcomer vcam. It's quite a journey of glitchy, icy IDM excellence that sits perfectly right in the middle of a sort of split-mix of the now-defunct Tympanik Records' sound -- cinematic idm electricity, more or less -- and the early 2000s era of Autechre, along with Richard Devine and artists like Hecq: leftfield electronics at their best, so abstract that it's melodic.
5th Edition does take time to really love though, however, as stated. Getting to know a lengthy abstract IDM compilation isn't easy, nor is it immediate at all. But just like my favorite albums from artists like exm, Hexalyne, and yes, Autechre themselves: patience is greatly rewarded here. The more time you put in, the more enjoyment you get. Point Source Electronic Arts is celebrating a half-decade of existence with their Artist Showcase - 5th Edition, and if this compilation is anything to go by, the label is stronger than ever. The way I see it, it's up only from here.
