Multi-instrumentalist, Dimitri Manos has recorded with Golden Boots, Krab Legz and a half dozen of other bands in the Tuscon area for years. After leaving the neo-psychedelic group Dr.Dog recently, he decided to focus on his solo career. American Monoxide was born.
What makes American Monoxide interesting is the way Manos comes up with the music without prep work. One of his personal rules is to not write anything before beginning a session. He just sits down and records whatever comes to mind. Guitar riffs can be unorthodox, lyrics can be incoherent, and structure can be other-worldly, just as long as it’s from an honest place in the subconscious, it gets put to tape! This raw and spontaneous approach reflects every second of the music he produces. For the second American Monoxide release, Web Content, Manos takes full advantage of the spontaneity of his creation method to deliver an albums full of digital and analog wizardry that’s arguably of of the most interesting records of the year!
It’s extremely difficult to explain what kind of music that makes up Web Content, but the best way I can put it is, picture Odelay-era Beck teaming up with Nile Rodgers to record a pop record using a Sega Genesis and a Tascam 4-track recorder. There’s hints and flavors of Devo, Tobacco, and Kraftwerk but manipulated in an alternative sense like Primus meets The Chemical Brothers, making it both psychedelic and insanely catchy at the same time!
Just as interesting as the album, Manos enlisted a group of indie labels to handle the physical format distribution. Not only is it a cost efficient approach, but it elevates the theme of creation by letting each label put their own creative spin on the release. One of the most intricate releases comes from Lazy Boy Recording Co. in the form of their Private Browser variant.
The album sleeve looks like a retro computer, and the sleeves like floppy disc. It perfectly plays up on web aspect of the album title, but it doesn’t stop there! Enclosed in the packaging is a paper airplane that houses the project’s credits as well as make-shift instructions on how to ‘hack’ the five mysterious, transparent sheets that also come along with the album.The transparent sheets look like a jumbled mess of random markings and what looks like binary code but by following the instructions, the pages must be stacked on top of each other like a puzzle to reveal an article of original artwork. If this wasn’t cryptic enough for you, when the transparent sheets are exposed to UV light for a short period of time then stacked properly, the binary code disappears and reveals the final part of the hack!
Each of the Private Browser variants include all the related articles for the hack, random colored vinyl, and album 
cover silk-screened by hand, making no two releases alike! Upping the ante is the fact there’s less than 50 of this particular variant being produced, making it an extremely collectible release.
With such a strange combination of digital and analog music, coupled with the astonishingly complex packaging, it’s hard not to name the Private Browser variant of Web Content the most interesting release of the year, and one of the most ambitious indie releases ever! The Lazy Boy Recording C0. team have really outdone themselves in terms of producing a vinyl release that enhances this surreal analog landscape Dimitri Manos has created within this American Monoxide album. I can’t think of any other release that makes the listener feel as if they’re part of what they’re hearing! Order your copy while you can!
For more information on American Monoxide, visit the official Facebook page
To pre-order Lazy Boy Recording Co’s Private Browser variant, visit Lazy Boy Record Co. Store
