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Name: None Member Since: Sep 28, 2002 Rank: 134 Rated 100 releases, average: 4.83 | |
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100.0% positive
(2 ratings)
Buyer Rating:
100.0% positive
(18 ratings)
Brisk's groups (4)
Chicago Music Syndrome - Work It - 14-May-08 04:01 AM
One of the true hidden gems of chicago house music. Tough and uncomprimising but with the purist of spirit, this is quite simply one of the best house tracks from the era and it is truly a crime that more people don't know of it. On the other hand, it makes the release even more special and is sure to cause a stir whenever you play it for others. I managed to snag a still-sealed copy of this recently, which is pretty incredible for a record which is 23 years old. Needless to say, if you find it, buy it.
Global Communication - Maiden Voyage - 19-Mar-08 06:08 AM
Maiden Voyage (otherwise known as '8 07' and '5 23' on their seminal album '76 14') is a brilliant track. Yes, it does sample the melody from 'Love On A Real Train' by Tangering Dream. However, that track in itself was heavily influenced by 'Music for 18 Musicians' by Steve Reich. The fact of the matter is, everything influences everything else and I think all three tracks (GC, TD and Steve Reich) are great interpretations of a classic melody! Be sure to get this release, it is quite brilliant.
Future Sound Of London, The - Dead Cities - 21-Feb-08 03:14 PM
Listening in retrospect of FSOL's career, this was the final realisation of a sound which started with Lifeforms, was nurtured with ISDN and finally matured with Dead Cities. It is without doubt the darkest, most emotionally-brittle album they made and clearly paints a picture of the frustrated, turbulent mindset of two artists who had reached a destination in their career, which perhaps wasn't where they wanted it to be. That's not to say the album is weak, as in fact it is probably their strongest, most cohesive work. Still, the overbearing downbeat mood of the music the track titles and even the cover art suggest that nothing more could be said and a time for change was needed.
Funnily enough, it happened and 10 years later, they returned with an optimistic, warm new sound as Amorphous Androgynous, which associated itself more with the sounds of the past than the future - almost like an inverted reflection of Dead Cities, which depicts a lonely, suffocating future. The irony is, after two AA albums, I feel myself yearning for a return to the Dead Cities. It will be interesting to see where (if anywhere) FSOL arrive to next.
Laurent Brondel / Frank And Bill - SMAK 11 / 12 - 04-Feb-08 04:29 AM
I was never a big fan of the SMAK series personally, but this 12" stood out amongst the rest for me. Worth it purely for the Frank and Bill track 'K20' which really is one of the unseen gems of the entire SKAM catalogue. A lovely melody, quite melancholic but never overbearingly so, topped off with a bass-friendly electro breakbeat. It reminds me a little of Autechre around the time of their Amber period and is easily as good as anything from that album. Highly recommended.
Burial - Untrue - 02-Jan-08 04:17 AM
As with the first album, there was a lot of hype and conjecture about this album, even before it was released. The debut album was rightfully praised by critics across the board, so all eyes were on Burial to see how he could follow it up. To be fair, Burial does a great job of promoting himself, whether he realises it or not. In a recent interview, he said this album took about 2 weeks to finish, yet I seem to remember the track "Endorphin" was uploaded onto his myspace page months previous...
Regardless of this, the music itself is very strong, taking all the hallmarks of his last album and developing on them to make a record which is powerful yet accessible. There are a lot more vocals on this record, but due to the way they are implemented (pitch shifted, doused in reverb, delayed etc..) they add a ghostly, ethereal quality to the already heavily atmospheric Burial sound.
Once again, production-wise, he seems to have stuck to his near-legendary wave editor/sample approach. A few of the samples I seem to recognise (I think that deep vocal sound used in "Near Dark" and "Homeless" is lifted from the classic deep house/garage track "We Life Our Hands In The Sanctuary" by DJ Oji & DJ Una) Some of the horns and strings have been carried over from the first album too. Most remarkable of all is how he managed to turn the god awful by-the-numbers R'n'B failure "One Wish" by Ray J into something as astonishing as Archangel. Truly a feat in itself. For the most part, the source material is edited and manipulated to the point where it becomes a ghost of its original self.
Like in his first album, there are ambient interludes in this, which I feel are easily as strong as the "proper" tracks. "Dog Shelter" in particular is quite beautiful. I'd love to hear him do a full-length album of these kind of tracks one day.
As for negative criticisms, they are few and far between. It took me a long time to get past the cheese of "Etched Headplate" which still reminds me of something a chav would play at the back of the bus on his or her mobile phone. But it is slowly growing on me. I'm not entirely convinced by "Homeless" either, which is probably the weakest track on the album. The vocals just don't work in the context Burial gave them and it recycles far too many sounds from both his previous work and samples used on this album. It does however have a great breakdown about 2:40 into the track, which I wish was developed further.
As a previous reviewer mentioned, it isn't the complete paradigm shift in electronic music, which some journalists would have you believe. It is however a deeply enjoyable 50 minutes of music. Like the first album, it is better suited for home/car listening than the dancefloor and if you let it, the music is sure to touch the heart.
