A record made solely of samples seems an exhausting effort; one hard not to approach with skepticism. Essentially records created using this technique promise no hook, no point of entry. That has certainly been the case with much of Junk Culture’s label mates. Illegal Art is one of those niche labels that many like-minded musicians call home. And while these artists do need and deserve a home, it’s hard to glean too much significance when running through their records. Often times what’s most memorable is a familiar sample, rather than how it is used in a new context.

Junk Culture – West Coast

That being said, I’ve listened to this West Coast EP so many times now, the samples that were once familiar to me, as samples, now sound like they were made organically for this record. In this context the record flows so effortlessly through the brain. The perfect blend of familiarity and potency makes what could be a tiring 19 minutes of very varied soundscapes enjoyable throughout. It’s experimental, and for that reason inaccessible, to be sure. But the blurbs and dirges break up songs like ‘My Two Hands’ and ‘For Elise’, which might have been too somber for a sample based record if placed next to one another; and the vocal samples and repetition create a sort of non-traditional hook, easing the listener through tracks that might otherwise have been too noisy.

Download the entire West Coast EP on a ‘Pay What You Want’ basis from Illegal Art.

There’s just so much going on from track to track. The hip-hop style beat may be what you like about the track ‘West Coast’, but by the (relatively short) time you get to ‘Daydream on Olea’, its the acoustic disco elements that have and hold your attention. It’s a record of variety, which isn’t surprising considering Junk Culture’s assorted background. Working with film, photos, music and words gives Junk Culture’s Deepak Mantena (now living in Portland!) a large body of source material to sample from. How he succeeds with West Coast EP is in posing samples so wisely. He leaves the listener determined to repeat the EP, rather than longing for the source of the sounds. At nearly 19 minutes, the record demands repetition. If label-mates Girl Talk and Oh Astro glean anything from Junk Culture, it should be the benefit of restraint, and the power of a significantly shorter record.