STS9's music better on its own

Reviewed October 2005

A dub jam band with psychedelic overtones, Sound Tribe Sector 9 is like nothing you've ever heard before, drawing on everything from the latest house sounds and electronica to Pink Floyd.

A remix interpretation of their last album, "Artifact," shines the light on yet more facets of their music, although it sometimes strays too far afield.

Where STS9 has an electronic sheen to its music, the fact that the band is, above all, a live band d– a jam band – keeps their music from ever falling into a robotic, inorganic sound.

But on this collection of remixes by various dee-jays, much of that "live" quality is lost, giving the band's melodies a rather forumulaic sound at times.

The cuts that work best here include a rap/hip hop remake of "Possibilities" credited to Collective Efforts, and another similar reworking of "Peoples, Cause and FX" by Lowpro Lounge.

Still, listening to "Artifact" and "Artifact" Perspectives" back to back reinforces the notion that STS9's own vision of their music remains the most moving and memorable.

Review by Jim Trageser. Jim is a writer and editor living in Escondido, Calif., and was a contributor to the "Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD" (1993) and "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues" (2005).