Co Kla Coma - Coklapop

Label: Decibel
Catologue Number: DEC020
Format: CD
Date: 1996
Style: Electronica/Ambient
Rating: 8/10
Reviewer: Sidney James


Coklacoma is a side project of Severed Heads main honcho Tom Ellard in collaboration with two co-pilots from Okalahoma. Originally released in 1996 and re-released in several times in different formats via Sevcom (the homepage for all Ellard related musical projects) Coklapop still stands up as one of the finest pieces of electronic music released in the mid 1990's.

The band name may be an amusing pun; the music is just as equally playful and wholesome. Those who are aware of Mr Ellard's musical output will have some idea what Coklapop sounds likes. So if I mention it sounds like the best bits of Piscatorial meets Haul Ass then you know the quality musical heritage I' m babbling on about. The only question I have to ask is if you are a Sevs fan and don't own Coklapop is why? I recommend you stop reading this and order it now.

For those less familiar with Mr Ellard' s work then let me describe Coklapop in a more open way. First of the album is completely Instrumental but its not a Techno album even though it uses similar rhythms. Neither is it an ambient album although it uses melodies close to pioneers like Eno and the lost radio transmission sampling of The Orb. Neither is it an IDM album, no fractured beats and strange time signatures here and finally neither is it an Industrial album, as there are no distorted drums and schlock horror film samples to spoil the mix.

Rather Coklapop is a collection of melodious synth driven tracks, spiked with sturdy beats and a plethora of voice samples culled from who knows where. Thankfully Coklapop is not of one of obvious sci-fi, horror film sample spotting fests that plagued most albums of the era. Instead Ellard and partners have delved deep into the archives for their sample material. All of which gives Coklapop an otherworldly sound.

Coklapop is in a very beautiful and haunting album, it flows from start to finish and works as a whole rather than a collection of individual tracks. It draws you into a world of strangeness where the lost voices of years gone collide with modern technology in a perfectly balanced realisation of the past and the future.

Coklapop succeeds at being superior chill-out music, not falling into the traps of meandering too much into ambient minimalist wallpaper or turning into lazy coffee table muzak. It's quirky, it's humorous it' s adventurous without being overly experimental. It's also a must buy for all lovers of electronic music.