Very Neon Pet - Peter Scherer (1994)

Ideated from: some things I discovered through my CMJ New Music Monthly subscription back in the 90s.

Scherer was in a duo called Ambitious Lovers with Brazilian oddball art rocker Arto Lindsay. I couldn’t really say if they were a big deal because I’d never heard of them until I read the review of this album. After this album was released, Scherer looks to have settled into a low-profile life as a film composer and teacher. Whatever he did before and after, this record really stunned me. I still love it, even though it’s hard to find because it doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere except some random Youtube channels.

When I was getting into wiggier non-mainstream music in this period, I wasn’t really aware of the dubby, trippy directions European jazz was taking. This was kind of my introduction to that. It has elements of Euro-jazz, with some world music flourishes and a lot of chilly drums and synthy bass sounds that are more at home in a dance music context.

This was one of those that I found on a whim (as I recall, there wasn’t even a comp track in CMJ, just a review that was interesting enough to make me buy it). It stuck in my head and wound up being a precursor to a whole range of concentration music I listen to now.

Tracks I Liked

Blur - a bit of an industrial feel, but still very melodic and groovy.

Nerve Type No - A smooth jazzy bass line with some horns and burbling electronics.

Anonymous Shark - a soaring violin line gives this one a modern classical feel despite the marching band drumline beat.