Artist description In Art and Science alike, things start to mutate when new materials are introduced, whether they be spices from the East revolutionizing European cuisine in the Middle Ages or the development of Plastics and psychedelic drugs laying the groundwork for the furniture, fashion and industrial design of the 1960s. In this case, the unprecendented possibilities of today's electronic technology, the ability to manipulate every conceivable parameter of sound, is what inspired CE to produce The Impossible World. And in a way, that's very much in keeping with the example of their predecessors, artists who balanced canny pop craftsmanship with a keen interest in expanding the frontiers of music. Combustible Edison's "Impossible World" is a rich and strange place that exists in a future and a past that never were and might never be.... but it's happening NOW, baby! It's a kinky, colorful odyssey through a universe of poignant yearning, deviant eroticism and droll humor, guided by the seductive, psychoactive powers of pure sound. At the bridge of this sonique spaceshyppe are two uniquely talented Englishmen: Producer/Engineer John Holbrook began his career mastering a few obscure rock'n'roll records from the '60s: The Who's Tommy and Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. He has worked with Todd Rundgren, Don Byron, Jewel, Brian Setzer and Natalie Merchant, and scored a hit of his own in the early '80s with a new-wave take on Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown" (under the name "Brian Briggs"). The man known only as Scanner has been praised for his subversive, evocative electronic soundscapes by everyone from DJ Spooky to Karlheinz Stockhausen.He served as Dubmaster-General on this project, performing acts of transformative musical terrorism on the unsuspecting songs; changing their specific density, altering their duration, amplitude, latitude, attitude; de-contextualizing, re-texturalizing, mangling, massaging and metamorphosing the sonic source material.....and sometimes just leaving it alone! Even the most astute listeners may have difficulty discerning where CE ends and Scanner and Holbrook pick up. Not necessarily where you'd think! The Impossible World finds another transformation in the Edisonian organism. Fans of the group's live show have long been familiar with keyboardist Brother Cleve and percussion dynamo Michael "Laughing Boy" Connors; on The Impossible World, they make their recording debut with CE, joining original members Nicholas Cudahy, Miss Lilith Banquette and The Millionaire. The Science-Fiction-Baroque stylings of Combustible Edison c.1998 are almost certainly destined to dismay the Fez-clad Lounge purists; but for those who understand that a world of High Style and Smooth Sounds need not exist solely in the past, Com Ed proffer this passport to ....The Impossible World.

Music Style Cocktail-sipping electronica-infused lounge.

Musical Influences Martin Denny, Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, Esquivel and Kurt Weill

Similar Artists Space-age bachelor pad artistes.

Artist History Combustible Edison have been purveying their brand of vibrant hypnotica since the outset of the '90s, when they made their debut in the grand multi-media revue "The Tiki Wonder Hour." Inspired by musical heroes such as Martin Denny, Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, Esquivel and Kurt Weill, they sought to rehabilitate the reputation of "Easy Listening"; a form of music that, at the time, seemed to be the most universally reviled and derided in history. Since then, they have succeeded admirably; signing with Sub Pop in 1993, their "suave and sybaritic" sounds first made a splash with their '94 debut, I, Swinger, followed in 1996 by Schizophonic!. They have garnered attention from quarters as varied as Spin, The Utne Reader and Newsweek magazines, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Space Ghost:Coast to Coast" and "Regis and Kathy Lee"; among the unusual places their music has turned up are a sitcom from Singapore, a Broadway dance production, Italian television commercials, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (among other Hollywood movies), and the Japanese pop charts! In 1995 they composed and performed the score for the Quentin Tarantino-produced "Four Rooms" (an omnibus comedy directed by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino). They have toured tirelessly and extensively, bringing their doctrine of ease to grateful sophisticates around the world, occasionally sharing the bill with acts as diverse as Tortoise and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and opening an entire American tour for Bryan Ferry. Except for sporadic local gigs, Com Ed took 1997 off to write, study and experiment with their sound; reconceiving the notion of Leisure music for the year 2000 and beyond. Finally, spending the Spring of '98 in Providence, RI's Soundstation Seven, they emerged with a new recipe for Cocktail Music.

Group Members Miss Lily Banquette Brother Cleve Michael "Laughing Boy" Connors Nicholas Cudahy The Millionaire

Albums I, Swinger--Sub Pop Records, 1994 Schizophonic--Sub Pop Records, 1996

Location Wakefield, Rhode Island - USA

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