The artisans of minimalist electronic-based cartoon pop, Soul Coughing, are in the final phase of recording material for their forthcoming album, El Oso (Spanish for "The Bear"). According to drummer Yuval Gabay, the follow-up to 1996's Irresistible Bliss will likely see a mid-September release, followed by a U.S. tour.

This weekend, the band will re-enter the Sunset Sound Factory studio in Los Angeles to begin working with DJ extraordinaire Optical (Goldie, Grooverider) on a new song called "Blame." According to Gabay, "Blame" is offspring of another El Oso track called "Rolling" which, he says, has a two-step beat, jungle vibe with a "twisted darkness from hell" feel.

At last Saturday's HFStival in Washington, D.C., the group debuted two songs, "Miss the Girl" and "Circles." The first featured wicked breakbeats and discordant keyboards, while "Circles" was more in the pop realm, with frontman M. Doughty singing a typically infectious chorus: "I don't need to walk around in circles/Walk around in circles."

"Everybody used a sampler on this record," says Gabay, "as well as their other instruments. We went in the studio with the mindset of experimenting and tried to record songs written in the studio as well as pre-written songs."

BLAIR R. FISCHER