Screenatorium – Flyentists
Posted by tipkin
I still find it really mind-boggling (shocking, actually) that Screenatorium a) isn't HUGE (even though it has a large and dedicated fan base in Russia for whatever reason) and b) is distributing all their music for free. Including this new gem of a release, eagerly awaited by yours truly among many many other fans of quality electronica. I knew I was going to like Flyentists before hearing a single note of it. Djeh & Co is a sure freakin' bet. Creating a good trip-hop record is a balancing act - limit yourself to minimal beat with some vocals thrown on top and you gonna end up with a forgettable snorefest, a disposable dime-a-dozen Bandcamp fodder. Overload your sound with every single bell and whistle your music-making software is capable of producing and you'll get an irritating un-listenable mess. Screenatorium can walk this fine line with the eyes closed after 10 shots of tequila. Flyentists is a very slow and quiet record that is also extremely intricate in its construction and... not boring. If it wasn't for the overall melancholic tone of the album, I would even call it "fun". But the tone is very gloomy, with the saddest trumpet you've ever heard (courtesy of Manu Aurousset), so I'm just going to replace "fun" with "entertaining". According to Picasso "good artists borrow, great artists steal", and there isn't much borrowed in Flyentists. Screenatorium develops the whole "stealing music" concept very cleverly throughout the entire record, and nothing is what it seems. There's nothing stolen in the opening "Gran Theft Audio" despite the title, but there is a suggestion to "keep a pretty close watch on these guys", and if you do so you could get tons of extra enjoyment out of Flyentists. And I'm not talking about "Raiders Of The Lost Art" (I might just borrow that title for my next trip-hop mixed CD), where music is crafted from samples from trip-hop dinosaurs of the past and lyrics are quilted from titles if their hits - it's a "red herring" in the Flyentists' complicated plot (and I found that particular track more amusing than actually good). I'm talking about tracks like "Hypnosapiens" where all the same trademark elements of trip-hop's founding fathers - from Archive's piano to Morcheeba's country guitar are masked so craftily with the sharp beat that we can't help but fall under the tracks hypnosis (womp-womp)... I'm probably reading way too much into this, but doesn't the very fact that a trip-hop record can produce such thought process make you want to listen to it, like, RIGHT NOW? It also plays with the concept of time a lot (you can here that clock ticking in more than two tracks), but I will spare my theories here. Nearly every track on the record is pure trip-hop gold, it's really hard for me to pick favorites (but the title track is undoubtedly one of them). Even the last track - the 29-minute long "Soundtrack Of My Day Vol. 2", a concept that has all the chances to go wrong - sort of music version of exquisite corpse, where multiple musicians (namely Kesakoo, Superpoze, Berry Weight, Asa Zen'Seï, Degiheugi, Mobster & Mr. Grandin) draw their sketches on the canvas of continuous beat, - ends up being an extremely captivating mini-adventure into sound (I really want to know who picked up the 20-minute mark, because that, my friends, is the work of genius and just that chunk alone makes the whole album worth listening). Get your copy here and don't forget to thank me later.
R.I.Y.L. Hugo Kant, Alif Tree, Georges Simenon novels
personal favs: "Flyentists", "Hypnosapiens", "Soundtrack Of My Day Vol. 2"
tipkin's rating
Coba Stella – Now Is The Time
Posted by tipkin
Sometimes (pretty often) I miss being able to just listen to music without digging into each song with sharp surgical instruments of criticism. Sometimes I just want to say that yeah, I liked the record, without having to go into any details. Music could be just... good, for no particular reason. Right? Well, I'm past that point at least with the downtempo electronica (I still have my Swedish pop for pure nonobligatory enjoyment), so it won't be enough to just say "I liked Coba Stella - Now Is The Time, it's a good record". I took notice of Coba Stella a while ago, while sifting through Reverbnation's diverse selection of trip-hop/electronica acts. Something just instantly drew me to their music, it seemed alive and vibrant, there were some intriguing and unexpected elements embedded into the usual vocals+beats+programming formula. I've been waiting for the release ever since hoping (almost expecting) to be blown away and torn to pieces by the innovative and powerful sound. That, unfortunately, didn't happen. Was I disappointed? No, because, see above, it is a damn good record. It's just somehow all those interesting elements, all that mixture of genres and styles started getting in the way of thoroughly embracing the sound. I am a complex individual when it comes to music, my apologies to whoever is reading this blog (not that I never warned you). I can absolutely love a record that has "nothing special" about it if it doesn't make it want to skip any tracks on it. Now Is The Time has many absolutely fantastic tracks, but it's that couple that (speaking in lingo of Project Runway guest judges) "I didn't get" that, combined with smorgasbord of stylistic elements, corroded the album's integrity. But screw it, I really want to talk about those great ones, the ones that could (and do) listen over and over again, appreciating them more and more. Now Is The Time has clusters of greatness, pairs and trios of songs that could have made killer EP's. Filed under different categories in music stores. My favorite is the one that begins with "State Of Passion" - an example of trip-hop brilliance where all the goodies that Coba Stella has to offer - Julie Winn's powerful vocals, Mike Scott's multi-instrumental skills and thoughtful electronic design by Kahlagh, - come together in a sweet harmony. This is where the band's ability to blend and merge those stylistic elements shines - it is a trip-hop song, but there's so much more to it - from quiet piano at the beginning to dub beats to rock-ballad guitar to cleverly gentle turntables. "Black Ink" follows, eerie and intense, with anxious beat, dueling guitars and vocals that rise above the darkness. Another chunk of goodness on Now Is The Time is the beginning, especially "Take The Mic" - a fun bright hip-hop track (bringing to mind the works of Dan the Automator & Co) - one of the few hip-hop numbers on the record (on which I sometimes wouldn't mind hearing actual rapping - Mr. Lif wasn't available?). As a whole, Now Is The Time is a very bright, playful and aware album, bold but approachable. Coba Stella definitely has tons of potential and skill that may sometimes be hard to control in order to create a cohesive record. Creating a fun record does not seem to be a problem at all even when they take on social issues with the lyrics (and especial kudos to them for that). Check it out and turn off your inner critic - you will enjoy it a lot more. You can listen to the entire album (and purchase it) on Bandcamp.
R.I.Y.L. Lovage, Anomie Belle, people watching
personal favs: "State Of Passion", "Take The Mic", "Black Ink"
tipkin's rating
DJ Cam – Seven
Posted by tipkin
Yes, this is the new DJ Cam. The man who gave us Mad Blunted Jazz and The French Connection. The man who defined the genre (hate the cliche but there's no way around it, 'cause he did) and probably influenced every single downtempo producer in France and many hundreds outside of it. Now, when there's nothing left to define and influences don't matter, he just makes music. I'm having a hard time figuring out Seven. If it wasn't so cohesive (and didn't have three tracks featuring the same vocalist) it would almost seem like a compilation of unreleased material that was created back in the early 90's and forgotten until one day DJ Cam was cleaning up his archive and stumbled upon it and thought "hey, this is actually some pretty cool shit!" (which it undoubtedly is). And this feeling is not created by multiple and deliberate homages to the beginnings of 'electronica' - the days when there wasn't even such word in music vocabulary yet - one of tracks is even titled "1988". It's the whole mellow and nostalgic atmosphere of the album that gave me that feeling. It doesn't have that jerky nervousness of the trendy "retro-electronica", where DJs are, too, using old-school synths and loops but strain themselves to make sure it sounds "avant-garde" enough so the listener would "get it". All this doesn't seem to concern DJ Cam in the least. "Love" (feat. Nicolette) could have been on any 90's trip-hop compilation next to any track from Massive Attack's Protection and no one would suspect that the track was made 20 years in the future. Does that make the album sound... old? I'm sure some people would say so. I wouldn't. Seven has something that is hard to capture with words and requires multiple listens to notice. It's not an old master desperately trying to keep up with young turks making a "retro" record. This is a true master looking back and paying his respects and recognitions, to genre, to people, to his own heritage. In this sense the album reminded me a lot of Moby's Last Night (which is, not accidentally, one of my favorite Moby albums), but where Moby does it with spunk and even a challenge to all the hot shot new DJs out there ("this is how it's done!"), DJ Cam soaks the tracks in nostalgia ("they don't do it like that anymore"). Sad-face. This is why I have all kinds of admiration towards Seven (which keeps growing with every listen), but I cannot love it the way I loved Last Night. I hope that many of you can though and I'm sure that many of you will. The single "Swim" (feat. Chris James) is a quiet masterpiece where vocals are floating among so many wonderfully put together elements, which never distract or overwhelm, they just work. And that drop 3 minutes in is to freakin' die for. The other two Chris James tracks are very good as well - the Radiohead-y "Ghost" and gorgeously layered "Uncomfortable". And I could certainly philosophize about meaningful title of the final track - "A Loop" - but do I need to? It's just music after all - and good music doesn't have anything to do with time, it just needs to be listened to.
R.I.Y.L. Massive Attack - Protection, Coldplay, whales
personal favs: "Swim" (feat. Chris James), "Love" (feat. Nicolette), "Seven"
tipkin's rating
J.Baracuz – A Contemporary Witness EP
Posted by tipkin
I remember the name of J. Baracuz from a while ago when I tried to contacted him for a permission to include tracks from his 2006 debut album Lasergun Romances into my radio station playlist. And I don't do that very often. No siree! If the music is not CC-licensed, fuggedaboutit, next, please! Unless it's something really awesome and I really want it for the radio. Which Lasergun Romances was and which I did. And now here is A Contemporary Witness EP - and what a freaking tease it is, leaving me wanting more and SO MUCH MORE after listening to those four tracks. Gimme! (I could just construct the entire review just out of idioms and exclamation points) Gimme more of that rich sound, of those mountains and waves of sound! Of that "a tour bus of symphony orchestra crashed into a warehouse underground hip-hop party" sound of "The Overture", of turntables galore of "One Way Ticket", of jazziest jazzy jazziness of "Jazzy Conqueror", of diamonds of sweet-sweet vocal bits and pieces of "Everyone's The Same". Seriously though, do yourself a favor and get this one. I don't know, maybe I'm in a very good mood today, or maybe (quite possibly actually) A Contemporary Witness EP is one of the absolute best electronic releases I've heard in a long while. Everything that I like about abstract hip-hop/downtempo electronica - fat beat, crisp production, aggressiveness, clever combination of very different elements, array of samples, experimentation without self-indulgent weirdness, even freaking female vocals! - it's all crunched into those four tracks. And "crunched" is the right word - the tracks aren't even that long! The longest one is just over 6 minutes, and for a track that has "jazzy" in the title it's pretty short. I guess you do need five years to create something so impeccable. I can only hope that I won't have to wait that long for the LP. Sit tight, listen loud. Head nodding not required. But inevitable.
Traditionally, no rating for an EP, but I think you could take a pretty accurate guess:)
R.I.Y.L. DJ Shadow, Blockhead, massive things
personal favs: every single one
J. Baracuz - One Way Ticket by J. Baracuz
Mimi Page – Breathe Me In
Posted by tipkin
Having read some other reviews of Mimi Page's work that compared her to the likes of Fiona Apple, I was a bit concerned approaching her debut LP Breathe Me In. I guess the trip-hop crowd is knowingly so hungry for the new quality sounds that upon hearing one randomly inserted electronic bleep on any female singer-songwriter pop-album they readily and happily tag it as "trip-hop" (remember Dido?). But all my concerns disappeared (very quickly) into thin air. Or, rather, a crystal clear and full of pre-storm electric charge air of Breathe Me In. "There's a darkness that adores me" sings Mimi Page in the opening of "Black Valentine" and pounding, almost industrial beat and anxious piano illustrate that darkness with cinematic perfection. Breathe Me In is an electronica album (I'll leave further unnecessary classification to whoever enjoys such things) - beats and loops are not only plentiful, they are also thoughtful and purposeful. Even though they never quite develop into primary vehicle for the album. Which they aren't. Because Breathe Me In is an album by Mimi Page the singer-songwriter, not Mimi Page the DJ. The primary vehicle of the album is Mimi Page. Just the combination of her exceptional voice and piano would be enough to make a very good record (check out "Jigsaw" for example), but the clever use of electronica really makes is stand out and makes Breathe Me In approachable to the audiences that include... well, me, for instance, who doesn't mind the female singer-songwriting in general (I wonder if there is a shorter and less chauvinistic-sounding title for that genre), but would never spend time browsing copious new names and releases in that category. Don't get me wrong though, - I'm not saying that electronica is used here as some sort of artificial flavoring, to make the candy sweeter to downtempo kids. See above - plentiful, thoughtful and purposeful. "Colorblind" (not a Counting Crows cover - even though, ironically, there is not one but two songs on the album that bring that "Colorblind" to mind) is based on progressing glitchy beat sharpened with echoing piano. In "This Fire" (one of my favorite tracks on the album that demonstrates that perfect balance of songwriting and electronica) the piano is muted to make room for powerful duo of beat and vocals. And the title track, which closes the album, features some very intriguing exotic strings (as well as other instruments which I, being a total dilletante in music production, cannot identify) that put some colorful and intricate ornament on the canvas of Mimi Page's vocals. It's a very good conclusion to the album - on one hand it reflects both the complicated beauty and effortlessness of the album. On the other hand it gives us a peek at some new and exciting things that Mimi Page has in stock and that will surely shine on the following releases (which I personally am looking forward to).
You can listen to some of the tracks from Breathe Me In (as well as to her excellent and very successful A Lullaby For The Lonely EP) on Mimi Page Soundcloud profile. The album is scheduled to be released in Winter 2012. Check out www.mimipage.com for the updates.
R.I.Y.L. Tori Amos, Dot Allison, kites
personal favs: "This Fire", "Black Valentine", "Breathe Me In"
tipkin's rating
Doctor FLAKE – FLAKE UP
Posted by tipkin
I feel like I need a new Category here at trippin' the rift, called something like "Kick-ass French beats". France became the main exporter of dark electronica awesomeness - we covered Screenatorium and Hugo Kant recently, and now it's time to take a chill pill prescribed by Doctor FLAKE. Yes, French trip-hop for the most part equals abstract hip-hop, and FLAKE UP is not an exception, but even on its most 'hip-hoppiest' tracks it carefully preserves that sexy darkness and unsettling mood that puts them right on "My New Trip-Hop Favorites" playlists. The best example is "Une île", where sharp rocky shores of the hip-hop beat frame the gulf of melancholic strings and poetic soft vocals by Vale Poher (of Mensch). Dark intensity never leaves the album, from the anxious apocalyptic drone of the opening "Hollow People" (featuring yet another exceptional guest - Nawelle Saidi of Screenatorium) all the way to the nope-there-is-no-light-at-the-end-of-this-tunnel love song "Silver", - making FLAKE UP a cohesive record recommended for consumption in its entirety. The instrumental tracks, which make a somewhat unfortunate minority (not meaning that I wish that there were fewer vocal tracks, I just wouldn't mind hearing more of them instrumentals) of the record, play a very... erm, instrumental part in maintaining that cohesiveness - check out the smooth-ass transition between delusional paranoia of "Voices" and the desperate rebellion filled "Followers", or the striking contrast between the clean calmness of "Walk On The White Side" and the abysmal gloom of the "Aorta". Definitely one of the highlights of the album, "Aorta" hits hard with the dark pounding beat, however, for some reason, the lyrics (or/and maybe their delivery in certain parts by Black Sifichi) seemed borderline silly to me, producing an unwelcome chuckle (unless it was the idea, in which case joke is on me, big time) - I think a non-English speaker would actually benefit from not understanding what the song is actually about. The same goes (although to a much lesser extent) for the tracks featuring another guest - Miscellaneous. His raps are intense and powerful and fit perfectly the record's 'the world is shit, whatcha gonna do about it' (or, to be exact, "Life is real wicked, I’m the pussy the lil’ midget / bullied and pushed around and I’ve just gotta deal with it") atmosphere, especially "Followers" that seems more personal and not as literal as "Addiction" (which also features an irritating an unneeded attempt at "street-ness" in its hook: "You want it badly don’t ya / You gots to have it ain’t ya? / 'Cause you’z a junky..." Ugh). "Une île", on the other hand, is pretty damn perfect in every aspect, including the lyrics (even in the crude Google translation which I had to use). All in all, the pill prescribed by Doctor FLAKE is pretty bitter - it doesn't provide a temporary escape from the horrors of our everyday life but does the exact opposite - shoves our faces right into them. It's not a sleeping pill, it's a wake-up pill, and while the albums intensity hits one hard target after another, it also provides enough quiet meditative moments to reflect and gather strength to keep fighting this never-ending fight. Beautiful music that makes you think - what else could you ask for? A few minor side-effects aside, FLAKE UP is a very effective medication, and you better take it now, before Doctor FLAKE gets his scalpel out.
R.I.Y.L. Alif Tree, Screenatorium, dark time of the day
personal favs: "Une île", "Hollow People", "Silver"
tipkin's rating
Anomie Belle – The Crush
Posted by tipkin
It's hard for me to find inspiration these days. Between summer blowing chilly goodbye kisses, all kinds of monetary annoyances and just this never-ending inexplicable tiredness clinging to body and brain, I need something REALLY inspiring, a punch-in-the-nose, a flashlight-straight-to-the-eye kind of inspiring. I turned down a couple of submitted albums, even though they weren't bad, they just failed to wake me up from this change of seasons languidness. Luckily, there are music geniuses out there capable of just that. Anomie Belle's new release The Crush is both a great illustration to this emotionally exhausting time of the year and a great remedy for it. What I admire about Anomie Belle (among many other things) is that she openly embraces being associated with trip-hop, and trip-hop fans will listen to The Crush and nod their trip-hop heads and think "yeah, this is is totally trip-hop". But at the same time her music is so complex and versatile that people not even familiar with the term 'trip-hop' will enjoy it just because it is (ready for it?) good music. Perhaps the strangest and most wonderful thing about nearly every song on The Crush is that if you would be cruel enough to remove one of the many elements - vocals, electronic bits and pieces or live instrumental parts - the remaining components would still make a damn good track! But it's exactly that abundance of elements and nuances, composed, layered and arranged smartly but never predictably, that makes The Crush so great. Maybe 'abundance' isn't the right word, for it implies over-fullness, but there's no excess weight on the record, everything is right where it's needed and the only abundance here is of the emotion that every track emanates. In fact, on certain tracks, like the gorgeous "Picture Perfect", where the vocal duo of Anomie Belle and Jon Auer (The Posies, Big Star) is so powerful that the surrounding elements are cleverly trimmed down to the framing beat, dreamy background melody and the impactful string finale. "Mosquito In The Closet", on the other hand, is an intense audio-attack with strings galore (from droning swarm-like hum to bites of pizzicato) and (something that sounded like to my amateur ear) cymbals. Even the shorter tracks manage to carry an immense amount of energy, like the just over two minutes long "Lost Horizon" that starts out quiet but steadily escalates into cascading waves of powerful sound. "Machine" (featuring another talented guest vocalist - Mr. Lif, who had worked with Anomie Belle before) creates an image of an intelligent steam-punk-meets-cyber-punk apparatus driven by chugging beat and looping piano rhythm program, with Mr. Lif as the confident operator and Anomie Belle's echoing vocals as "ghost in the machine". Another exceptional quality of The Crush is that is able to preserve its unique style while inserting those always welcome "inspired by" moments that are like little sparks igniting great memories from music history. For instance, both "Lavender Days" and "Phantom" reminded me of different parts of Massive Attack's discography without ripping off or trying to imitate any of them. Perhaps the only track that left me a bit confused was "It's A Crush" that almost sounds like a remix of an Anomie Belle song by some British breakbeat DJ - still a great track and in line with the album's style and atmosphere, I guess it just left me wanting more (of Anomie Belle's singing mainly). I can go on forever, trying to find explanation for why is "Inky Drips" is so catchy, or how "Bodies Offering" (gloriously) enters the "nu soul" territory, but I will let you make your own fun discoveries, and there will be many of those as you listen to The Crush - the last great release of the summer, the first fantastic release of the fall.
Visit Anomie Belle's online store to purchase The Crush on CD. Digital version is available on iTunes (and in other online stores).
R.I.Y.L. Massive Attack - "Teardrop", Lamb, bonfires
personal favs: "Mosquito In The Closet", "Machine" (feat. Mr. Lif), "Inky Drips"
tipkin's rating
Karmacoda – Eternal
Posted by tipkin
I was going to criticize the crap out of this release. I was going to use harsh words like “bland” and “stale” and bitch about “not progressing” and “no one needing this kind of music today”. About filling this very narrow niche and feeling too comfortable doing it. I was even going to go as far as saying something along the lines of "music like this is giving trip-hop a bad name”. But then asked myself, what am I actually so pissed about? What is so damn wrong with Karmacoda’s new album Eternal that I’m fuming out of my ears? Then I tried to find answers to those questions, chilled for a bit, listened to the album a few more times and realized a few things. I realized that making such record today actually takes some guts (especially in the US). You can inject your sound with a bunch of trendy glitchy droney Botox or go all "electro-retro" and get everyone talking about “re-inventing your sound” and staying on top of things, or you can stay true to yourself and make the music that you want to make and infuriate all the smartass blogger reviewers like yours truly. Or, maybe even worse, - get ignored by them, because… yeah, “no one needs this kind of music today”. Well, guess what. You have no idea how many people do need this kind of music. Today. That infamous ‘niche’ has been either empty or filled with all kinds of “related genre” junk for wa-a-ay too long. And whenever something comes out that fits that niche as it was made for it (because it was) – lots and lots of people are genuinely and utterly happy. Karmacoda is not Portishead and never tried to be. Geoff Barrow is mad when Portishead’s tracks are used in relaxation therapy ads, I’m sure Heather Pierce & Co wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, this album, - unlike many records reviewed here before that require thorough listening as a whole, - could easily be taken apart song by song and used in all kinds of compilations, soundtracks, ads, mall boutique muzak. And yes, I'll say it again, there's nothing wrong with that. On those rare occasions when I do find myself in mall boutiques (usually accompanying my wife and playing Angry Birds) I'm glad when they play something I can actually enjoy and nod my head to as opposed to, you know, Maroon 5. Most of the album is filled with bright, lighthearted tunes that float and sparkle like raindrops in slow motion. "Into Each Life" (not an Ella Fitzgerald cover) is a chillout delight with kaleidoscopic vocals and very apposite strings. "In A Little Bit" is guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days thanks to its catchy piano loop and the crystal bells of Heather Pierce's voice. What my real problem with Eternal is though, it's that the tracks I liked the most reminded me of something that I've heard before and from other people. "Epic" and even more so its "Eternal Reprise" inevitably brought to mind Hooverphonic down to the echoing strings (and echoing everything) - but I loved the beat and the drama of the vocals. And "Love Will Turn Your Head Around" featuring not one but two fabulous guest vocalists - Beth Hirsch and Anji Bee, I immediately nicknamed 'Massive Attack Lite', which is really a compliment, but still, I would like to hear more of Karmacoda in Karmacoda, and less of "this one trip-hop band that sounds pretty much like every other trip-hop band". As long as it doesn't have that awkward pop-music playfulness of "Somewhat". Still, production quality is superb, vocals vary from good to 'to die for' and overall Eternal is like a drink that you enjoyed and got a bit of a buzz from and wanted another but realized that it's closing time and you ran out of money.
R.I.Y.L. Hooverphonic, Olive, sunrise
personal favs: "Epic", "Love Will Turn Your Head Around" (feat. Beth Hirsch and Anji Bee), "Into Each Life"
tipkin's rating
Marilyn Carino – Little Genius
Posted by tipkin
Don't you hate it when a certain band that you like doesn't do anything for a while, and then, when you're about to give up on them altogether, their (usually female) vocalist comes out with a solo album, and you're like, OK, I'll take that! - only to be bitterly disappointed by this mellow uninspired poppy singer-songwriter dung fest. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule, but for every Róisín Murphy there are dozens of [insert any other name of a trip-hop vocalist gone solo]. Now you understand the position I was in approaching the new record Little Genius by Marilyn Carino, whom some of you may know as the vocalist for Mudville. I don't know what exactly the reasoning was behind making a solo record (I'm planning on asking that question in the upcoming Q&A with Marilyn, which I'm really looking forward to). If some of it was to get her name more visible, not shadowed by the title of the group, then I must say - even though Little Genius is full of shadows, none of them hide the talent of Marilyn Carino. This, my friends, is how you do a solo album. You don't just do something different for the sake of doing something different. You do what you do best for the sake of making it sound even better. Despite its chilling downtempo base, Little Genius is anything but mellow. There's so much passion in Marilyn's singing, that it becomes overwhelming in some parts. But the album is also so well structured that instead of hitting your senses randomly and leaving you crushed and confused, it captures you whole and washes you away, providing a complete experience, painting a picture abstract enough to be mysterious yet totally relatable. This image will of course be different for every listener, but I couldn't help picturing the ocean. Not just your generic ambient ocean as in "lots of water". A very particular ocean, ever-changing and alive, going through various stages of demonstrating its power to us mortals. "Time Bomb" - the storm gathers, you can feel it in this pulsating beat and eerily calm vocals (which multiply, echoing and overlapping, just like dark clouds scattered across the sky). And then it starts. "King Of The World" makes its theatrical grand entrance. It's huge. It doesn't crush you - there aren't any elaborate orchestrations or layering of crafty samples. It just makes you feel small by its sophistication. It's perfect. "Monster Heavy" - devastation. There's no escape, this song captures whatever is left of you, the drums are ruthless and echoing vocals (Marilyn uses this element quite tastefully) drag you into the whirlwind of sound. But you already can hear the upcoming calmness in the keyboard parts. And "No Disgrace" brings it, with the beat carrying over some of the nervousness of the storm but the vocals are sunny and instrumentations are soothing. And it continues on, from the wavy cool boat ride of "S'cool" to the dangerous deep waters of "Whisper". From the trip-hop beat of "Special Dark" counterbalanced by psychedelic keyboards and jazzy vocals to the ambient anthem of "Modern Love". And the smooth sailing of "I Will Have Everything" takes us to the new and wonderful beginnings.
Even though I personally would like to hear more instruments accompanying Marilyn Carino's wonderful voice and sometimes the album's intentional borderlessness was throwing me off, Little Genius is an excellent record, brave and powerful, atmospheric and intimate. Preview it here or on Marilyn Carino's website and get it on iTunes.
R.I.Y.L. Tracing Arcs, Moby - Everything Is Wrong, stormy weather
personal favs: "Monster Heavy", "King Of The World", "Special Dark"
tipkin's rating
Hugo Kant – I Don’t Want To Be An Emperor
Posted by tipkin
Abstract hip-hop is a very tricky genre. It's very easy for a musician to go into one of its extremes. One could either start juggling with funny and bright samples creating a kaleidoscope which seems interesting at first but gets boring really quickly because of its silliness and lack of depth. Or one can create something very dark and gloomy, filling the record with creepy sound-effects, David Lynch quotations and heart monitor beeps. Which could also get old in a little while because, well, it's been done sooo many times. Finding that balance between fun package and wholesome substance isn't an easy task, but if you listen to Hugo Kant's (aka Quentin Le Roux) new album I Don't Want To Be An Emperor, you'll witness a pretty good example of how it's done. I'm going to break my usual review pattern and go straight to the title track, for it is a perfect illustration of my point as well as of the album's concept and overall vibe. The track is built around Charlie Chaplin's (as Adenoid Hynkel) speech from The Great Dictator accompanied by haunting rhythm and sad symphonic melody (as well as other subtle but poignant additions and insertions). As the film itself, the track (and the album) create this strange environment that combines comedy and tragedy, silliness and drama, fun and important message. What exactly this message is - that's a different question and the answer is not easy to figure out. Certain parts of the album are just excellent - it has a very strong opening that grabs your attention with "This Old Tune" where sentimental flute and strings meet some no-bullshit drums and percussion. Wind instruments are very prominent throughout the entire record, so if you're not a big fan of woodwind and brass you may have a hard time digesting this one. The flute goes crazy on "Thou Shalt Not Kill", which, again, takes on a serious subject but interjects its discussion with the scolding "I'm not interested in your idiotic conversation". Then there's a very trip-hoppy "Leonids" filled with an eerie vacuum (I don't know how can you fill anything with vacuum, but it does) despite the calmness of the beat - the worrisome strings, nervous piano strokes and static-y conversation do the trick. Speedy "Delirium" returns to the cinematic motif of "This Old Tune", but this time it's definitely a chase scene. But then at certain moments the records veers into some very strange and unexpected directions, and you cannot hep but feeling like watching a very compelling foreign film with a very intricate plot structure, but the subtitles suddenly disappear or, even better - switch to a different language. The worst (or the best?) part - this is all intentional. The Arabian flavor of the silky "Ranija", the tropical heat of "No Jazz", the retro-modernization (another oxymoron) of a classical piece in "The Chord Cracker", - none of those are random, they are all cleverly placed pieces of the puzzle (maybe too cleverly for me). But the question stated in the final "So Why?" (another excellent track with quietly dominating strings and tons of other elements twirling around them in a hallucinatory dance) is, in my opinion, answered pretty clearly - to provide the listener with an experience, sometimes challenging, sometimes confusing, but always exciting.
R.I.Y.L. Chinese Man, Backini, vintage posters
personal favs: "Leonids", "I Don't Want To Be An Emperor", "So Why?"
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