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Boy Eats Drum Machine is the solo effort of a turntablist named Jon Ragel of Portland, Oregon. However, he's not your ordinary turntablist. He's also very well versed as a songwriter, producer, singer, saxophone and organ player, guitarist, and percussionist. From this, you can imagine that he's probably capable of shelling out some pretty eclectic, talented material - and you're absolutely right. He refers to his latest album, "booomboxxx," as an experimental pop album "loaded with unique turntable textures, saxophone blasts, expertly chopped break beats, and gutsy vocals." A handful of the tracks are much more instrumentally based, with more samples than vocals. The rest, however, have plenty of the "gutsy vocals" that he's referring to. Although he may not have the prettiest voice I've ever heard, he definitely manages to make it work with his tracks. The turntable textures, synths, and myriad of percussion samples going on blend incredibly well throughout each track of the record. What makes his music unique, however, has to be the use of his saxophone. I can honestly say that I've never heard of (or even thought of) someone using a brass instrument over an electronic, turntable heavy piece of music. Boy Eats Drum Machine manages to do it though - and incredibly well.

Below are two tracks from his latest record "booomboxxx" (which are also available FREE on his website). The first track, "Demonic With Horns," is a great example of his use of the saxophone, and is very light in terms of vocals. The second, "I'm Alive Don't Bury Me," is a much more vocal-based track.

"Demonic With Horns":


"I'm Alive Don't Bury Me":



THE SKINNY: Boy Eats Drum Machine puts a new spin on experimental electronic pop with the integration of brass
FAVORITE TRACK: "Demonic With Horns" off of "booomboxxx"
APPROPRIATE FOR: Anyone looking for electronic pop that doesn't sound like every other electronic band you listen to
FOR FANS OF: DJ Shadow, The Postal Service