As of this writing, ULYSSA has some 65 hours of music collected in our private playlist titled “<1,000: TOEJAZZ.” Mind you, this is comprised of just one or two songs for each artist, collecting our favorite toejazz cuts — mostly serving as a reminder for us to explore an artist’s full oeuvre at a later date. <1,000; TOEJAZZ grows by the day, even if just by a single tune. And yet, this figure is nothing compared to the 700 hours of music collated into our main, cumulative tank, simply titled “<1000 TANK.” It’s full of genres both known and mostly unknown. It’s like how they say rain forests contain species of plant and animal we’ll likely never discover — cures for cancer, cures for AIDS. And one day, we’ll get back to the good, miscellaneous compilation work we started with our Hotdogging & Peacocking releases. As to exactly why we’ve decided to drill down and define Toejazz as an honest-to-goodness genre, thereby forsaking other <1000 discoveries in genres like pontoon spiritual, out house and gluebrass, is unknown — especially to us. Across three compilations, we’ve written nakedly and vividly about Toejazz. We’ve delved into our personal origins with the genre. We’ve underscored its influence in contemporary underground culture. We’ve written fanfic about an erotic Toejazz VR experience. And still, nothing seems to quite do it for you people. So, taking a nod from the literary world, we’ve tapped some Friends of ULYSSA to blurb our new toejazz collection, expertly titled Toe Hunters. Hopefully, their words rattle you awake into this new dawn. And so now, as often said by Reading Rainbow’s LeVar Burton: “You don’t have to take my word for it…”
JOHN HASSELL, TRUMPETER: “ULYSSA’s ‘Toe Hunters’ is a tour de force in a Ford Taurus. Another entree into the canon. Welcome to the Fifth World. Hell, maybe even Sixth!.”
JACK DeJOHNETTE, PERCUSSIONIST: “Most will say you absolutely cannot be polyrhythmic and arhythmic in the same moment. And yet, most haven’t attempted to open a coconut with a machete riding a burro through a crowded McDonald’s PlayPlace. So yeah, you could do that. Or you could simply listen to the fried, murky toejazz of OTX and probably save yourself some blood and tears.”
FLEA, KNOWN ROCK BASSIST: ““The loping bassline of Bla69’s ‘Joy To Life’s’ on their self-titled debut was the inspo for much of my pocketplay on ‘Californication.’ A simple plodding bass riff can open up a netherworld for other players to shapeshift within. Bla69’s synthbass taught me that shit. Go Lakers.”
WAYNE HOROVITZ, KEYBOARDIST: “Tangmo’s ‘Another Bag’ is a pure Satanic bliss. Squirrel Nut Zippers caught in a computer duster thought loop, crawling assbackwards into their own Malkovich Portal. Sand worm music or some such, if you ask me.”
RALPH TOWNER, CLASSICAL GUITARIST: "The only motherfuckers I fucked with in [19]91, [19]92 was Toejam and Earl. And goddamn if I don’t got the dialysis and studio bills to prove that shit. God rest they souls. Toejazz headass genius bitches. SEGA Genesis? More like SEGA Revelations motherfuckers! I’ll see ‘em both in hell."
DARREN J. CUNNINGHAM, ACTRESS: “Fans often ask me if I’m actually Darryl Holt. Wish I was, mate. Wish I fookin was. Innit.”
KEITH JARRETT, CLAVICHORDIST: “I once ran Mario Paint Music Composer through a KAOSS Pad soaked in battery acid. This was back in 1993 or so. Almost did it on a 2xLP ECM thing but got cold feet last minute. Listening now to Jonthony’s ‘Cyberfunk’ I’m glad I didn’t enter the ring. Yeeesh.”
ANDRÉ “THREE” THOUSAND, NOVICE AMBIENT JAZZ PLAYER: “ULYSSA puts out literal goody bags for your earholes and eyeholes alike. I find it frustrating folks ain’t nutting out all four of them eye-and-ear holes over their generous offerings. This Toejazz shit, I mean FORGET IT. Pungent tangy funk. Too good. I quit.”