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Soundtracks can be more than mere bad pop collections - no, really

Hans Jorgen Fjellestad's documentary on Tijuana is bolstered by an ace soundtrack. This should come as no surprise for electronic-music fans: About four years ago, the city came up with nortec, an exciting hybrid that brings together norteño (Mexican country music) and techno. But while Clorofila's buoyant "El Animal" is a superior example of a nortec track, most of the soundtrack explores the further reaches of techno and laptop ambience. Las Cajas del Ritmo's "Com Com," for instance, is a perfect slice of minimal techno that wouldn't be out of place on a Kompakt compilation, while Panóptica's "Camposanto" manages to be hypnotic while messing up your synapses with injections of laptop white noise. This CD opens up a whole new field of exploration for lovers of electronic adventure.

- Elisabeth Vincentelli

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