PLAINS, PLANES

Based entirely on the vibrations of Mars' subterranean ice caves, TOPO reverse-engineered detailed maps of the frozen network and fed them manually into a spectrometer conversion synthesizer (patent pending). To be fair, it wasn’t their spectrometer conversion synthesizer; in reality, it was an untested science experiment commissioned by a local excavation organization to locate a missing drilling unit that had fallen through an uncharted catacomb. Without understanding the technology, the members of TOPO plugged their synthesizer into what they assumed was an XLR input. With much sparkling and a rumbling as terrifying as any earthquake, their MIDI sequencer began to record the very networks beneath their feet. Add in a tasty beat and this eight-song LP added itself into our catalog, securing its spot indefinitely. Three follow-up albums used the same technique, albeit with different backing styles, producing four distinct genres that were highly imitated, but never matched (mostly due to the technology being phased out).