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When you think of Memphis, Tennessee's Manifold Records does a plethora of cutting edge, high quality, underground beat-driven projects come to mind? Didn't think so. Enter the fresh-faced Economy, a 'splinter' label branching out from the trunk of Manifold with a new direction and style. In a sense this is a reactionary label working to fill a void in a tight-knit scene fragmented only by the array of tags used to describe it: drum 'n bass, darkhop, dark beat, evil beat etc. etc. The talent and potential here is immense -- a fact not overlooked by Economy, as a slew of releases (predominantly on CD) are already planned and underway with half of these artists.

Chad Jones contributes two-fold, first paired up with C. McRae to open the disc with an energetic Gone Postal track. Drifting tones and relaxed melodies are pinned down by relentless, driving beats that typify the direction of things to come. Jones' second appearance is in the form of Totemplow, his solo project, where he remixes a track from Mick Harris' Quoit. Thick, tense, abstract beat arrangements pound away, coated in the steaming sound of their own sweat. Cylon (aka Justin Broadrick of Techno Animal, Godflesh etc.) remixes another Quoit track, allowing more room for the cold, rigid atmospheres to stew behind the beats. A better idea of the pure Cylon sound can be gleaned from "Seeker," a no-frills mesh of intense, repetitive drum loops padded with dark backdrops and a fitting, intermittent sample of exhausted breathing.

This is the first Ocosi material I've heard since Simon Smerdon left the project to found Mothboy, with Paul Molyneux (who is also heard here as Blankmove) choosing to keep things moving solo. The short "Carrier" is easily one of the most infectious of these tracks, due in part to the predictable simplicity. A low key, 'funky drummer' loop is strung together over a bassy sound undulating in time with the beats and subtle washes of ambience. Mothboy is also represented with the frothy "Machine is a Fuckwit." If the divergence shown between these two tracks is any indication the pair's split is no real surprise. Here Simon throws a polyrhythmic base into high gear -- a spattering of beats with the hectic unity of a Jackson Pollock painting, melodies and horn samples adding a touch of colour.

Economy isn't setting out to gain acceptance with the rave/party culture, seemingly polluted with an importance placed on image and an abundance of trends. They're simply out to release great music that's lacking in outlets and strong in every other area. And with a price-tag true to the label's name you can't go wrong.