Catfive Kataphonics, CD Balanceman, who released the critically acclaimed Well Balanced Meal (DeLuxe) in 1999 and was a member of pioneering mid-nineties East Bay drum'n'bass outfit H.S.O, has worked as a producer & engineer in various Bay Area studios for the past decade. Balanceman (beats, trumpet, etc.) formed the group Cat Five last year with Darkat (keyboards/piano/turntables), along with Dr. Oliver Klossoff (sample vocal overlay), and Tweak-Tech who has been assembling soundbots from his work bench in the Vulcan studio since he was a kitten. Who or what the fuck is Cat Five? Answer: three things. A cat, a drug, and a new group. First and foremost Cat Five is the name of the bleary-eyed, blatantly blitzed, feline pictured on the cover of this CD. Although he can't play any instruments he (Cat Five) insists that he's the band's "fifth member" and claims that his voice is sampled on the opening track although he "gets no credit." One thing is certain though. He is constantly dosed on "Cat Five" blotter: the controversial new drug of choice at East Bay underground parties. This new locally manufactured chemical is described by experts as "a relatively safe and inexpensive, 100% pure & untraceable liquid-drug, like a combo of MDMA, LSD, and opium." But apparently unlike X or acid there is no negative comedown period from this new designer drug. Another distinction is that the high lasts exactly 74 minutes. And at $5 a hit it costs considerably less than other party drugs. It is under the constant altered lysergic influence of this drug that the Cat named Five hears, blasting inside his small feline skull, the music of his four cohorts: Darkat, Tweak-Tech, Dr. Oliver, and Balanceman. "Our music controls how he feels," coughs Balanceman between bong hits. "We like over-modulation and shit which have, on occasionally unfortunately, made his little skull bleed. Alternately they like making seductive turntable & computer generated, collage-happy, deconstructed pop: something that prompted The Face magazine to dub Cat Five "A prime example of the Left Coast's new laptop music revolution." Responded the Cat named Five, "Fools be trippin! This ain't no goddam revolution. And if there was an actual revolution we'd miss it cause we sleep in too late. We just wanna make music and visuals and pirate radio and get loaded and do what the fuck we wanna do!" Balanceman (beats, trumpet, etc.) formed the group Cat Five last year with Darkat (keyboards/piano/turntables), along with Dr. Oliver Klossoff (sample vocal overlay), and Tweak-Tech who has been assembling soundbots from his work bench in the Vulcan studio since he was a kitten. "The group evolved in part from the creation of vulcanradio.com, where we all kind of met and got together," says Dr Oliver Klossoff of the mixed media musical melding that travels each year to Burning Man to microbroadcast kataphonic emissions. "Cat Five is four channels mixed into one (5)... utilizing rhythmic patterns and colorful accents to design a visual experience," adds Tweak-Tech noting that in concert, computer generated visuals are an integral part of Cat Five's mix. Balanceman, who released the critically acclaimed Well Balanced Meal (DeLuxe) in 1999 and was a member of pioneering mid-nineties East Bay drum'n'bass outfit H.S.O, has worked as a producer & engineer in various Bay Area studios for the past decade. Two years ago he first collaborated with turntable/computer manipulator Darkat who is also an accomplished visual artist. "As a painter I am particularly drawn to sacred imagery and imagery that defies boundaries, universal imagery such as geometry and mathematics, and occult symbolism," says Darkat who sees no boundaries between his music and his art. "My sound and my visual art relate in that they are both about reprocessing the media, taking imagery that we are exposed to on a daily level and somehow twisting it to expose the underlying intent behind the original message." DJ Bre-ad of Exact-Science (www.exact-science.com) added cuts to tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, and 10 1 Cat Breaks 2 Shadrach 3 Magnificent Vibration 4 Breakdown Sequence 5 Transformer 6 Travelite 7 Carfly 8 Run 2 the Jungle 9 As I Dreamed 10 Something Magical 11 11-11 12 What? 13 Linkage
