After years of being best known musically as a rock guitarist and singer with Madhat and Air Traffic Control, Kirk Comstock is turning heads with his new electronic music.

 "I like watching people's expressions on their faces when they hear it. ... People really don't see this coming," laughed the Centre resident about his Electric City Underground project.

 "I get a kick out of that."

 Mr. Comstock recorded the 11 songs on "All Means Necessary" at his home recording studio.

 "Electric City Underground was kind of my 'anything goes, don't worry if you can play it live, just make really cool and unusual music with what you've got in front of you.' It was a side project that was probably a little bit experimental. I just kind of did it for awhile and the next thing I knew, I had a record in my lap."

 The album combines electronic dance music with a more traditional pop songwriting style.

 "So you get a song underlying the music, it's not just a bunch of cool sounds that build up to a crescendo, there's a real song behind it."

 After finishing the album, he met 12-year-old Egan John at a Chester Playhouse benefit and immediately thought about making a music video featuring him.

 "I knew a song that was perfect for this kid, who was an amazing dancer."

 After talking to Egan's family, Mr. Comstock gave him a copy of the track "Son of the Beat."

 "He totally choreographed a routine for the song in the weeks I was busy with the Air Traffic Control release. Then I met him in Chester about a week later and we shot the video in about two hours."

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 Since then, the video has been picked up by MuchMusic's "The Wedge"; another song from the album, "The Invisible Man," is being played daily at the Six Flags amusement parks; and Mr. Comstock has recently received a Music Nova Scotia nomination for urban recording of the year.

 Meanwhile, Air Traffic Control, with brother Jordi and cousin Luke, continues to be played on radio stations across Canada, and was recently named one of the top five bands to listen to by influential music personality Alan Cross.

  "We've been following the progress of Air Traffic Control for a couple of years now, so we figured it was time to present them to a national audience. The response from the audience was very positive," said Mr. Cross, who writes and produces "The Ongoing History of New Music, the longest running music documentary in Canadian history," and has been a three-time Canadian Music Week program director of the year at 102.1 The Edge in Toronto.

 Air Traffic Control has previously been nominated for alternative album of the year by the East Coast Music Association and Music Nova Scotia; had a handful of number 1 hits on the East Coast Countdown; had songs placed in a movie, a television series and an EA Sports video game; and their video for "At Any Cost" was shot by award-winning director Annie Bradley and received rotation on MuchMusic.

 For more information about Air Traffic Control, check on-line at http://airtrafficcontrol.ca/live, and for Electric City Underground, go to http://electriccityunderground.com.

posted on 09/07/10