With the stunning quantity of music the modern listener is subject to, it is no wonder that the quality of an entire album is very rarely worthy of an uninterrupted listening. It would seem that with more bands would come more interesting music and more ideas branching from the pack-yet with the help of the recording industry, imagination is often brutalized and those seeking to take a new and creative direction often become suffocated with ignorance.

Auditory Sculpture is a rare venture into unknown territory; a rather intelligent mix of ambient and electronic music ranging from non-rhythmic pads to polyrhythmic, exciting drum looped madness.

In fact, in a landslide victory from the office, Keith Schreiner wins the award for the most amazing use of programmed beats to this juncture in Groove NW's life of four years! You think you have heard all that electronic/techno/ambient/groove has to offer because you own the Chemical Bros. and Crystal Method? Think again, and get yourself a copy of the double CD "Merge", just released this year. The release is tough to liken to anyone else-perhaps a little Squarepusher thrown against a wall and sprinkled with melody might help? No? The two CD's contained within "Merge" are quite dissimilar; one contains all the wonderful beat driven music, while the other contains the ambient realms and mood bending goodness.

But really...Rather than expound for a week on the amazing, technical drum programming and beautiful soundscapes created by Keith, it shall suffice to say that we at GNW have attempted to persuade you to buy this item. It is amazing.

Keith himself is really a cool cat too. Meeting at a third party's birthday bash, he was terribly unassuming and quite pleasant to talk to-a real treat when dealing with some who believe they are truly rockstars and must act the part. Yet another reason to support him in the Auditory Sculpture adventure, no doubt. When you see a live show, make sure to talk to him, introduce yourself, and see what happens.

As a note, Auditory Sculpture also has the BEST website of any band in the NW region, as far as we can tell here. It was designed by SightWorks out of Portland, and it is so very well done. Not for the faint-of-bandwidth, if you get the drift-but abolsutely great and quite an amazing place to visit.

So next time you get a chance to see Auditory Sculpture or Dahlia (for whom Keith creates the musical background) then look him up and take in a show. And buy the CD. Listen to it, all the way through; it will put you in a different place than you were...

-MAS

Take me to their website!