|
TESTSPINZ 014
|
| BEAM / TESTSPINZ 013 | ||
  REVIEWS
Testspinz: Albums + Singles Send vinyl 12"/CD for review consideration to:
They might blow up...
From the first eagle cry of the Demetras and Soper Project's premier release, Cycling Infinity, you know that this is going to be a chill affair. The nine-track disc on Stephen Soper's and Chris Demetras' own label, Latitude Records, is an album for going out in the afternoon, relaxing a day away in deep thought. The bass does not hit hard in many of these tracks but the melody is carried like a forklift driven by ballerina, in other words with strength and grace. The piano and building synthesizer tracks are my personal favorites, such as track 2 "Breaking Fields" and track 9 "Lost Inside." DPS blends analog and digital sounds in collaboration with instrumentalist Jason Hunt. AWT
Tom Withers aka Klute has composed an artistic followup to Casual Bodies. As we've come to expect from Certificate 18, this release delivers loads of clever drum programming, often expressing a feel of machine-like simplicity. Once in a while there is relief from the steel edge, when overlays of soulful vocals come in, such as "Chicks" or "Phone Call." Delicate moments of the gentler tracks contrast with cold sci-fi effects and darkness of tracks like "Moving Finger," "Rivals" and "Autokarma." Despite the dynamics and interjected melody in "Angry Woman," overall, Fear is not about bounce and raw energy, rather more about containing the upbeat levels and rollers lest the human condition become too exposed. Sophia
If you at all familiar with OM Records and its OM Lounge series then I won't even bother going into the details...just add it to the other three releases in your collection. If you, for some crazy reason, do not know of OM Records or the first three releases under the OM Lounge title, then prepare to be educated on the various forms of mid-tempo music. Always progressing, diverse, soulful, jazzy, mellow and full of stomp-your-feet grooviness! For example, Alpha Children space you out with their beautiful track "Morning Star" which supplies you with slow-grooving rhythms, tripped out acid layers and a deep bass line, while "The Season (Swag Remix)" by Beanfield pushes you along life with the poetry of the changing times. Slow down a little and enjoy J Boogie's Dubtronic Science as "Rosada Flor" mellows you out with its thick, deep beats by keeping you grounded while your thoughts drift away with the layers of floating flute. Listen...just before the journeys end, Jasmine & Face lift you up with analog air-flows, chimes, Spanish and electric guitar, horns and driving percussion as you dance your way to a brighter day or night with "Flamenco Fusion." After listening to OM's newest release, you'll be searching for the first three if you don't have them. If you do, well then you'll be happy that your collection continues to get better each day! Wunjo
What an excellent journey through a musical representation of the universe. At least it felt that way. This album has everything for those who love downtempo, spacey, electronic music. Haunting tones, and pads, earthy drum beats are all over, accompanied by chanting rhythmic waveforms; lamenting voices soaring on pulsating energy streams and best of all, lots of bongos. Yeah! It's a great compilation, including Banco de Gaia, Original Rockers, Pentatonik, and A Positive Life. Definitely a must-hear for anyone who enjoys beautiful beats. Good LOVE music. Personal Benderecommendations: Banco de Gaia's "Desert Wind" and "Shanti (Black Mountain Mix)," just deep dope beats from space. Also, A Positive Life's "The Calling" is heaven. It's like, if there is a god, he/she/it just came from the far reaches of the Nexus, grabbed me and blasted my lobe into another universal plane, then shot it back into my head. Bender
Re-Rooted: Beatz From Da Ground Up compiles a variety of modern dance beats with a pronounced South African and world flavor. What makes this fun is the positive energy and heartfelt tribal vocals. The rhythms are enjoyable and foot-tapping, whether it's downtempo, breakbeat or progressive, making a clear case that genre-skipping keeps it interesting. Musicians, producers and remixers try their hand at making new patterns out of the collision between traditional and futuristic vibes. Africa with a millenial tinge. The most successful ones like RSL take the familiar voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo in "Elungelo" and add their own d&b swing, while Baba Do's "Planet J" turns lively-up drum-kit sounds and rock performance into a danceworthy piece characterizing the feel of Johannesburg. Sophia
From the suspenseful & dramatic swankiness of breakbeat genius T. Power's "American Psycho," to the ULTRA-funk mayhem of Kasha's "Itsasnarlykindafunkything," this disc is bursting with the sharpest cutting edge in breakbeats and dance music in general. My favorite track, hands down, is the Heavyweight Champion Freq-Nasty's over-the-top Nu Skool Remix of that epic track, "Boomin' Back Atcha'"--an absolutely FOOL-PROOF weapon to pulverize dance floors everywhere and anywhere. Watch out! Also included is the hybrid remix of "Boomin' Back Atcha'" once again featuring the female vocalist Phoebe One. Now I won't say that her vocals aren't clever, and even catchy, but I do still wish they weren't there. This track has super junglistic bassiness and a really neat, almost goatrance-esque synth line. Another big highlight is Orange Kush's "Neon Sparks"--punishingly deep hardbeats (I mean *HARD* beats) juxtaposed by a seriously killer dreamy melody and extra-huge bass BOOOOMMM. Mmmmm...I can't get enough. Killer mixing on the 2nd CD, too, done by DJ Orange Kush. Lorin
As I made my way to school this morning, I dropped the new Warp Factor 3 into my portable and proceeded to make my way to the bus stop. As the lyrics flowed from the phones into my day, I soon realized that I was tapping my foot and singing along in my head..."You love it, you like it, you live it, you breathe it." Elevator Suite laid down the grooves as well as the lyrics that stayed with me throughout the day with "Man in a Towel." As I looked around at the faces on the bus, frowns abound except for me as I kept tapping along while Les Hommes pushed my smile wider with its jazzy-drum-n-bass track "Les Hommes From Outer Space." Nothing makes a day better than some smooth jazzy grooves to keep you progressing through life. As I reflected on my upcoming exam, the music seemed to follow my thoughts and the smooth disco-jazz of "Eclipse" by Kyoto Jazz Massive helped keep my spirits high. No matter what the day brings, Warp Factor 3 definitely keeps your toes tapping, your smile and good feelings expanding and your day on the up-and-up. Wunjo
|
|