This is particularly true of the brilliant second track, ‘Thomas Edison Invents The Lazy Dance’ as the tempo is lazily cosmic with big black hole booms of electro. Vectors Lovers take the dream to some old skool electro ambient space ship and you’re getting the idea.

It’s hard to believe this label has been going 16 years and they’ve only just got around to doing a compilation like this.

While, the vocals and the heavy beats make it more soma house than downtempo, it won’t leave your head alone.

Getting back to the album, due to the theme, it would have been so easy to have gone for a mix CD but this unmixed approach is much better. Big names like Slam (whose fourth studio album Human Response came out Monday) and Funk D’Void make a strange fit on this album as it’s the dark minimal tracks that are the most haunting like ‘Look At Me Now, Falling’ and ‘Tokyo Glitterati’.

And you don’t get much darker than The Black Dog (‘Mental Ward Sleep Machine’ will rip your head open for some surgery) and Silicone Soul’s ‘Burning Sands’ throbs under some light electric guitar. The album closes with some pan pipe inspired synths on ‘With Respect’ and is a fitting relaxation after what’s gone before.

Soma’s Coma may have its ambient downtempo elements but it’s hardly what you’d call chill and definitely won’t put you to sleep. Just the right mix of soothing bang.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘Thomas Edison Invents The Lazy Dance’, ‘Don’t See The Point (Henrik Schwarz Remix)’, ‘Left Drift’, ‘Mental Ward Sleep Machine’, ‘Burning Sands’

Reviewed: Various - Soma Coma Vol.1: Out of Body Electronica (Soma) Cat. No. Soma CD62 Release Date: 16th July 2007
Tracklist
1 Slam — This Is (2:23)
2. Lee Van Dowski & Quenum — Thomas Edison Invents The Lazy Dance (8:33)
3. Vector Lovers — Metrolux Forever (4:40)
4. Alex Smoke — Don’t See The Point (Henrik Schwarz Remix) (6:45)
5. Hystereo — Velocity (3:21)
6. Maas — Look At Me Now, Falling (6:19)
7. The Separatists — Once In A Life (1:53)
8. Alex Smoke — Left Drift (4:52)
9. Slam — Bright Lights Fading (5:35)
10. Envoy — Prologue 2 (1:51)
11. The Black Dog — Mental Ward Sleep Machine (6:24)
12. Silicone Soul — Burning Sands (8:05)
13. Vector Lovers — Tokyo Glitterati (6:33)
14. Funk D’Void — Thank You (Reprise) (2:09)
15. Octogen — With Respect (5:26)

Links:
www.somarecords.com
www.pnumarecords.com
www.myspace.com/alexsmoke1
Definitions of coma on the Web
The Unknown Wanderer — ‘Don’t start just finish it’