Adam Beyer - Ignition Key

maroko, Feb 02, 2009

A few years down the line, and you may recall Adam Beyers third album being one of the seasons biggest surprises, with a collage of styles few could have expected of him to come up with, and a determined change of direction, which resulted in his abbandon of hard & heavy, bass driven techno, which brought him to the international spot light in the first place.
As an album, "Ignition key" has it all; the epic opening title track, a long and warm tribal/tech-house clash, with a groovy bass line and gentle melodies, Sthlm, the funky techno bouncy track with playful synths, Flamethrower, one of the most sincere and touching pieces of electronic music ever, with a heart tearing feel to it, Triangle, which takes a ninety second build up before the beat is thrown in, and is all about a surprisingly spooky and high pitched melody, Active, an upbeat stomper reminiscent of Discipline from his "Protechtion" album, Truncated Truth, a break beat track with a super old school sample going "once again", all layed over a mesmerizing set of violin strings, Second Sorrounding, which, speaking of old samples, starts off with with a vocal effect that could have easily been jacked off an anceint Joey Beltram track, plus the siren hook and the overly electroish feel only give those last extra oldie goldie touches.
You heard it right! Electro! Nanobots follws hot on the heels of the previous number and ventures straight into some electro land, naturally, coupled with hypnotic melodies. We then have The Convertion, an interlude where a robotised voice is layed over an eerie choir chant. Split Second is another tune with an erratic and broken beat, with many weird sound effects coming from all over. It also signals the first track where melody is not the main ingredient. With Bluetone we enter the albums end zone, and float away into downtempo territory, with barely audiable percussion and nice melodies collaborating in harmony throughout the track. Those Funny Moments has a deep bass line with a slow, steady yet throbbing kick, something in the vein of dub music, but Beyers tune has an orchestral melody thatll you have you weeping all over your monitor three minutes into the track. Dissolve closes this spectacular album with a short and spacey journey, with only hints of percussion as subtle drum kicks appear every once in a while...
What to say? It may not be perfect, it may not please everybody equally, but everybody will have something to their liking here. Compared to his previous albums, it may lack the raw punch and drive they had, but "Ignition key" most certainly remains Adam Beyers most three dimensional and lively album to date. Very emotional and laid back, with a knack for modulating melodies in a manner that only a very talented and musically gifted producer can. Trust me on this one.

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