Isolation Therapy, the new compilation from Stamp the Wax Records, was assembled in three days as the Covid pandemic began spreading across the globe. In addition to the high quality of music featured, and speed at which it was turned around, what makes Isolation Therapy truly unique is that the 27 artists who contributed an original track to the collection will each receive a higher royalty rate for their work, delivered in a shorter period of time. The end goal is ensuring that artists can have some sort of income in these uncertain times.
Unsurprisingly, the Stamp The Wax team managed to assemble a mightily impressive cast on incredibly short notice. The album boasts an array of mainly electronic music, from soothing beat-less oddities to lawless rave-y breaks and back again, stopping off almost everywhere in between. The Head (Joseph Shabason and Thom Gill) contribute “All The Things I Am,” the soft chords and sun-soaked guitars of which feel designed to ease quarantine-induced anxiety. Manuel Darquart channels Patrick Adams and Leroy Burgess on the gloriously funky “It’s a Dub,” and Tom Blip joins forces with Ugandan flautist James Ocen on “Pineapple Boosts Your Melatonin” to deliver a coarse, shuffling house jam. Although the album volleys between a wide variety of moods and styles, the overarching mood is one of positivity—whether it’s the sound of the music itself, the track titles or just the net effect that comes from listening to the whole thing at once. Isolation Therapy is an optimistic soundtrack for uncertain times, staring hopefully forward while at the same time offering the occasional melancholy gaze at the past.
