Various

A city like Columbus may not have the cosmopolitan glamour of New York and London, but if the tracks off this sampler are any indication, it's the home of a relatively undiscovered electronic music scene that's far more innovative and spirited than that what's coming out of either of those world capitals. The collective of musicians and friends at 2122 Corporation has been at the centre of the action since 1991, and this compilation samples the best of their releases. Enhanced, FBK and Ihannoa reply to the spirit of Detroit techno with their twitchy bass lines, low-attack soundscapes and staggeringly funky drum programming. Charles Noel shows two sides of himself with electro-interludes as Monochrome and then with the subdued grooves of Archetype. The tracks from Titonton, however, are the ones go the farthest. "Ticklishwhere?" blows up with fire-cracking drum claps and loopy melodies, while "Flirtation" simply bathes the listener in a gorgeous, futuristic house groove. The liner notes make extra-mention of the Columbus crew's fixation with 4 Hero and the music on Reinforced in general, and so it just make sense to have Dego (under the alias of Nu Era) make an appearance on the disc. His contribution, "Lost in '94" is a deep techno tune coupled with jazzy breaks and sax. To the credit of the 2122 Corporation, the track is exactly on par with these parallel Ele_ments of Light.