The anonymous brains behind the Rubber Band Banjo project (who I assume is male) presents himself as a sci-fi soundtrack composer and biology geek.
The name Rubber Band Banjo made me think of one of those inventive William Heath Robinson contraptions and this analogy also seems apt given the artist's sophisticated application of limited resources.
Homemade instruments and an array of portable sound gadgets, samplers and processors are utilized to create a collage of styles, producing something that might be described as ambient dub electronica.
There are also elements of krautrock, jazz and avant rock in pursuit of the artist's ambitious aim to translate a complex scientific concept into musical terms. The album is conceived as a soundtrack to an imagined film about the artificial introduction of DNA into a host organism in outer space, a theme evoked by blending natural and artificial sounds.
The first three of the eight tracks are the most striking. The title track has the kind of cut and paste techniques that DJ Shadow used to great effect on the masterly Endtroducing. Chase Scene Through DNA Wormholes is, as the name suggest, a busy tune with the motorik beat that gives a real sense of momentum. The otherworldly theme of Terraforming Planet DIY Bio (dig those crazy titles) evokes a dark sci-fi mood that is more Terminator than Kubrick.
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Brief extracts from an interview with synthetic biologist Drew Endy on the opening and closing tracks are neat touches as they give a sense of narrative structure to the eight instrumental tracks. Personally I'd have like this device to be used more, but then again I'm a sucker for voice samples.
The pulsating and sinister edge of Dark Matter Of The Genome follows three more predictable ambient tracks and the album ends with the longest and most complex piece (Human Engineered Pathogen) which for my money should have come been sequenced as the album's centrepiece.
All in all, the skill and resourcefulness of the artist shines through but this is something of a double edged sword. In the eagerness to impress with the range and depth of his palette he misses out on a few subtler, minimalist brushstrokes which would have given an even more satisfying overall picture.
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