Album Notes

The Subterranean Philharmonic Orchestra is the brainchild of Minnesota based musician, songwriter and composer Richard Griffith, a longtime fan of classical electronic composition, electronic science fiction movie scores and popular artists like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Vangelis. “The Disorienting Appeal of Shiny New Things” is the first offering of entirely electronic realizations of the odd noises, goofy melodies and endless grooves that occupy some of the darker recesses of Griffith’s mind.

“...Shiny New Things” runs an eclectic gamut from hardcore avant-garde atonal trips (“Fantasy on a Theme by Heisenberg”, “Etude 1"), to mellow melodic offerings (“The Disorienting Appeal of Shiny New Things”, “Moonrise Mantra”), to the kind of music that typically accompanies the machinations of evil geniuses (“Fugue in X Minor”, “Night of the Kraken”). There are snappy dance grooves here as well, including the disco-esque “Danse Astronautique” and the pseudo-urban “In the Future, All Men Will Wear Plastic Fedoras” which pokes a bit of fun at the early sine wave compositions of electronic music pioneers like Milton Babbitt and the composers of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Savvy listeners will recognize tongue-in-cheek references to sundry electronic music cliches (of which electronic musicians never seem to tire) and an overall patina of humor–often absent in the works of “serious” electronic composers–is evident throughout the album.

This is perfect music to listen to while building giant robots, re-charging your disintegrator ray, or plotting the demise of your local superhero. The Future Begins Tomorrow!