Energy Does Matter Dance influenced electronica : 1999 / 2005 Here's what I think... I think that when I look at this world, you know, I can see it, hear it, feel it, smell it and touch it, but you'll never convince me, never in a million years that it's real. No way. That's a big no-no. I mean, do people actually have to pay to do all this stuff, and if so, how much? Do these people know about me? Do they know what I'm thinking? I'd better be quiet just in case I upset them. You know how some people are so easily upset. It doesn't take a lot, just one strange comment or badly chosen word can cause them to get really angry... start shaking and trembling sometimes, going red in the face, and even crying... so tread carefully...
Album review by Landschaft. Overview: As a collection, all of the pieces are in the right order: build, plateaux, breakdown. Energy Does Matter is a holistic work. Some of the pieces build tension, some loosen you up. Produced initially in 1999, it is still a potent, relevant work and benefits from a recent re-master (we all get better over the years at compression/limiting and relative volumes). What I like about this album is there are no musical cliches. None: a cheese free listening experience. Placing the album I would call this a dance-influenced electronica or left-field techno. I am a very picky critic and know what's good and what's not - this is good! [1] Caapi and [2] Lutea Pixeluna: Starts off with some nice radio noise and a gutsy swoopy bass, taking us into a held note, building suspense, then seamlessly into a big melodic tension build-up and on to a closely sequenced metallic percussion. Transitions, working down into bubbling a-tonal fade out. Caapi and Lutea Pixeluna are essentially one piece in two parts and work very well as an intro to the album. A complex interesting and accomplished trope whetting our appetite for the goodies to come. [3] Muricata: A separate entity from the preceding. Lots of stereo ping pong. Synth work reminding me of Travelogue-era Human League, (when HL were respected cutting edge innovators). The melody transitions work very well here - some big chunky analogue bass in the background underpins this mature considered piece. Ends with some complex electronic noodling metalic stuff. Takes the adrenaline count a notch up. [4] Bugliner and [5] Arcman Out: The highpoint in this suite. A big chug-a-lug dark acid-house workout. A simple evolving drum pattern and a VERY infectious 303 bassline that grabs you by the throat. The builds in this piece really hit the spot. I'd love to hear this on a club sound system. If I win the lottery and get my basement disco - this is the first thing on the decks! A simple dark tune underpins all of the energy bursting out of this masterpiece. A nice morse code tune kicks in around the 4 minute point and some swooshy stuff keeps the interest and the tension building right to the end. That 303 keeps on piling it on right to the end with the drops and builds comprising simple riffs and repetition. A brave breakdown about the 6 minute point introduces a new pace - and we know that 303 is going to kick in soon and the anticipation builds. This review typed in real time, head nodding, foot tapping... 7:34 and waiting chugga chugga, chugga - BLAM into Arcman Out - FASTER... a 303 driven flat out steam locomotive. Truly wonderful drum patterns weave in and out of the baseline and a big build takes this one to the limit. Decomposes nicely down to conclusion. I'm a greedy fellow and would have liked this pair to have been 30 mins long. [6] Styloptera: A bit of a Yellow Magic Orchestra / Human League soundclash. A good compliment to the manifestly up-beat Bugliner/Arcman dyptich. Some complex stuff going on here from this very accomplished musician. Mark effortlessly breaks the pace back down - takes us smoothly back to the ground floor and deposits us gently on the pavement ready for the next percussive ride. [7] Indent Seas: Looser in structure - early Detroit techno in it's feel, the 909 snare and hi-hat combo boshes along at a merry lick, with some simple melody sketch over the beats. Sparse and effective. [8] Eternal I Bits: 808 rimshots rat-a-tat-tat under this big chunky end-tro, nicely rounding the collection off. Listen hard and there is a hint of Autobahn white noise electro-percussion tapping along under the beats. |
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