If you've got a city of 29,000 people, and your latest annual compilation CD of local bands includes 40 acts - well, you don't need to be Blaise Pascal to figure out that's an insanely great per capita ratio of tuneage-to-citizenry.

Indeed, the New London area music scene continues to grow and flourish, and "The Long Hundred," the 2011 survey of talent out from hometown music label Cosmodemonic Telegraph, is a two-disc exploration bursting with tunes and players from across the stylistic spectrum. There's punk, indie, Americana, garage, funk, hip-hop, rock, swing, and pop.

In fact, "The Long Hundred" is a reference to the number of discs released by Cosmodemonic Telgraph over the label's scene-nurturing history - and even that is a bit of an underestimation. There actually have been 120 Cosmo Demonic releases, but it's also easy to understand how even the label folks could get confused.

Consider that, in addition to the "Long Hundred" collection, the label is also releasing 35 different two-song CDs, each featuring a different artist from the compilation.

This is the fourth year in which a series of the individual two-song discs have been available. Called "Cosmo Singles 4," each artist's disc features an "A" side song and a "B" side song - following the format of old-fashioned vinyl 45 singles.

The plot further thickens with an inspired conceptual twist. Along with a new original tune by the artist as the "A-side" - the song that also appears on "The Long Hundred" - most of the "CosmoSingles" participants contributed cover tunes for the B-sides - and did so by rearranging songs by contemporary or archival bands from the New London scene.

Copies of "The Long Hundred" as well as the "Cosmo Singles 4" discs go on sale Saturday at the Rock Fix portion of Hygienic Art XXXII taking place in the Crocker House Ballroom.

As for being able to include 40 different artists on "The Long Hundred," Rich Martin, founder and chieftan of Cosmodemonic Records, says, "The thing that always strikes me with the compilations is the diversity of our musical community here in New London County. We really cover so many ends of the musical spectrum here without too much focus on any one genre like you might find in other 'scenes.' We've got it all."

As varied as the musical styles are, a particularly intriguing aspect of the collection is the mix of new and old artists. The immortal godfathers of the scene, The Reducers, are infectiously represented with a new song called "Sound of the City," Americana wizards Jim Carpenter & the Hoolios present the sudsily autobiographical "I Can't Drink Enough," and roots-pop stalwarts the Rivergods present "Big C."

Meanwhile, a wealth of later-breaking talent includes the beat-happy post-reggae of the Hempsteadys and their hilarious "Judas Priest," Get Haunted's spooky "Falling Stars," the harmony-spangled "Jezebel" by the Red Hot Stove Tops, and the fluid guitar rock of John Fries & the Heat's "Traveling Home."

"I was honored to be asked to be on the compilation," Fries says. "It's great to be involved in such a diverse work. Plus, 'Traveling Home' is the first time I've recorded with my new trio and it's a brand new song I wrote with the compilation in mind."

There are several other new acts making their compilation debuts. Burnouts from Outer Space, a delightful space-punk outfit, is the latest project from ex-Royale Brothers drummer Bobby Crash. Love Lessons is an intriguing duo comprising Daphne Lee Martin (Raise the Rent) and Matt Potter (every band in New London history - or so it seems). And Silverline is a supergroup with guitar hero Hollis Dunlap from Above/Below, Martin, and Mike Winslow from Fatal Film.

Sodium Lights, a relatively new trio whose members are sprinkled across the history book of the New London/Mystic scene, chose to use their cover arrangement - of Paisley Jungle's "Rip Torn" - on the actual compilation release instead of an original piece. Sodium Lights, making the final touches on their second album, thought the idea of working up a cover tune would be a therapeutic break. They reached back to the days when two of the Lights, guitarist Alex Pellish and drummer Rich Freitas, were just starting out in the pop band 17 Relics.

"At that time, Paisley Jungle was the local band that really blew our minds when we were just beginning to write songs," Freitas remembers. "Their rhythmic intensity and Paul Brockett's rock star front man persona captured us. Paisley also gave the Relics their first big breaks, having us open shows in the summer of 1986 at Toad's Place and the old Agora Ballroom in Hartford."

It's that sort of nostalgia and spirit of ancestral brotherhood that makes the cover song B-sides a delicious addendum to "The Long Hundred."

"(The cover tune idea) is something I've really wanted to do for a long time now," Martin says. "My hope was to have bands point to the rich history of acts that New London County has produced over the course of the 30-plus years of its original rock scene. There are a lot of incredible bands that some of the newer acts didn't even know existed that helped pave the way for the vibrant musical community we have today."

r.koster@theday.com

IF YOU GO

What: "The Long Hundred" and "CosmoSingles 4" CD release.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Rock Fix, Hygienic Art XXXII, Crocker House Ballroom, 35 Union St., New London

How much: $15 for the two-disc "Long Hundred" set. CosmoSingles are $3 each or 4 for $10. There is also a limited number of complete sets of the 35 singles for $75.

For more information: (860) 443-8001, hygienic.ning.com