Neill's background lay in more experimental and wayward musics than the contemporary drum 'n' bass vibes that pulse throughout TRIPTYCAL. But the man who invented a device known as the mutantrumpet (an embellished horn with a multivalve set-up that can be subsequently MIDIed to trigger outboard electronics) didn't need the vagaries of electronica to set him off. Already well schooled in the art of complex sound design, Neill's compositions manage to be conceptually dense, rhythmically challenging, and engagingly melodic simultaneously. The opening "Propeller," for example, finds Neill co-opting the vocabulary of d 'n' b and adding his own unique signature, harnessed to churning electronic noises and that strident trumpet of his. Featuring the equally galvanic DJs Spooky and Olive on a few tracks only helps to brighten these already formidable soundscapes. Dancehall Shangri-La in the middle of the Big Apple--who'd have guessed?
