If you’ve got time, listen to Ulrich Schnauss’s “Between Us and Them” all the way through. The song is a growing sequence that builts on top of it self, and doesn’t flourish until well into the second half. It’s best listened to in the darkness of the night or, better yet, out in the open summer’s sun (ok, just in a quiet place). Either way it’ll put your mind at ease… which will help me offset all the dubstep I’ve been listening to.
As for the rest of the album, it carries on with the same vibe as “Between Us and Them”, but doesn’t hit the highs that the featured song does. It, however, is still an excellent collection of soothing ambient sounds. If you really need to get out of your head for a while, this will get you there.
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I wonder what people from past generations would think of music nowadays? I don’t mean lyrically, but the actual sound. Take Pretty Lights for example – Derek Vincent Smith’s use of traditional instruments are only a small portion of his entire sound set.
Smith’s use of untraditional beats has set him, and many other electronic musicians, apart from conventional music. His newest album, Spilling Over Every Side, the second EP of his 2010 trilogy, is a step in a new direction, although not a leap forward from his previous work. The most noticeable difference is each song’s length, topping at close to nine minutes on “High School Art Class”. I’m not sure I prefer the lengthiness, but as he points out, there’s a “sort of dimension flip” occurring in each song.
In a document included with Spilling Over Every Side, Smith points out that he’s tried to incorporate different genres into his work, “transitioning between something pretty and organic to something heavy and electro”. Although this may be true, I don’t see Smith pushing forward and building from his previous work – it’s more of a side step. I’m sure if I was out hitting up one of his shows, this would be some awe-inspiring shit, but I expect his albums to be on the highest levels, only because I respect his craft so much.
Despite all my criticisms, it’s still phenomenally fresh, especially compared to countless other electronic albums I’ve heard over the past few months. I’ve been a big fan of his for a while, and with this latest addition, Pretty Lights continues to impress meh.
As always, you can hit up his site, PrettyLightsMusic.com, and head over to the downloads section to pick up this, and any of his other albums. Just make sure to give back the love if you enjoy his tunes – I just got a t-shirt form his store and it’s quality. Or go to the North Coast Festival this upcoming Labor Day weekend, and show him some support. Plus you might see me there (if you’re so lucky).
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What the hell’s a Doomtree anyway? My guess is it’s got something to do with the Tree of Life, maybe its arch enemy!… maybe not. Doomtree is a collective consisting of a mix of MC’s and DJ/producers from Minneapolis, including Paper Tiger. I’ve been following Doomtree ever since I heard “Flex” – check it, guaranteed like. And now for the second time, one of the group members has created a solo project – Paper Tiger’s Made Like Us.
My first thoughts after listening to Made Like Us was that it’s got some killer beats and vocals, namely Dessa, but why not include some of the MC’s I’ve come to love with Paper Tiger’s beats? A recent interview with Paper Tiger at Sunset in the Rearview brought up this very question. Apparently he wanted to go solo on this one and make it all his own. Now the question is if he pulled it off… (I’d say so)
Question: On the last track of the album, “Cigana” has about half a minute of silence in the middle – why is it that on some albums the last track has a silent part towards the middle or at the end? The first person who can answer this for me will get entered into the contest we’re holding next month- I really want to know!
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Helllooo, sexy! I haven’t been this titillated by a song since Pretty Lights. Hell, I haven’t been titillated by a song ever… and I’ll try never to be again.
I’ve been listening to Bassnectar for a few months now, but didn’t get into him past the occasional blackout session – he never seemed to sound as good when sober. Well, after coming across these two over the past month, and sober at that, I’m hooked. Both blow me away every time I listen to ‘em, wasted or sober. I’ve never wanted to go to a concert so much and get completely obliterated. And Bassnectar plays in Minneapolis on Halloween, could it get any better than that?… well, if he played here sooner, but whatever.
So I’m wondering which of the two do you like better? I go back and fourth, but the “Massive Attack Remix” is on repeat at the moment.
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I’ve been stuck to the television watching Sons of Anarchy all day, so I’m gonna make this quick – gotta finish the second season up!
“Genetic World” sounded like another electro trip hop song, sprinkled with nature sounds, but surprised me about half a minute in. The song sparked something in my head. It’s just one of those songs that hit it right. The bass kicks in and the vocals drop nicely, which brings be to my next point, the lyrics.
I’m known for hearing words in a song that are completely, well, wrong. At first I thought the chorus was in French, saying something like, “Jun-a-tick-twa-t”. After a while I realize it was “genetic world”… sometimes I just don’t know what I’m thinking…
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A friend suggested I check out Emancipator’s Soon It Will Be Cold Enough a few months back, but I put it on the back-burner until recently. While browsing my feeds, I came across a song from the album that really hit the spot. Emancipator or Douglas Appling’s chilled-back, trip hop beats are steadily growing on me. I may not be an expert on the trip hop scene, but producers like this are moving me in the right direction.
The song that I mentioned above, as you probably figured out, is First Snow. Like a lot of the music I listen to, this song isn’t just for listening fun but seems to have a deeper meaning (yes, even without words). Another aspect I like about Appling’s music is how he switches up the tone in the middle of the track – a good example is at 3:00 in First Snow – similar to what DJ Frane does. I also found out, when researching the album, that it was mastered by Nujabes, a music legend for his jazzy/hip hop instrumentals. (R.I.P. Nujabes)
Alright, I’m off to listen to his latest album – Safe in the Steep Cliffs. Look this over and give me some input. What do you think the future for trip hop is?
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This man is the master of marijuana music. With three full albums on beats to blaze to, a stoner will never go hungry for a good tune to tune out to (that’s fun to say). I’ve featured Frane’s music countless times, and I still can’t get enough of it. Although, each album contains a wondrous story composed of an eclectic set of beats, his final album, Journey to the Planet of Birds, left me awestruck. How this man can pull together such varying beats to create a stunning soundscape is beyond me, but I like it!
I wanted to show off “Nectar for Isis” not because it’s my favorite track, but I think it’s an overall good display of Frane’s talent. The hypnotic vocals slapped on top of a downtempo, trip-hop beat is an eargasm in its own right, but Frane slides in, ever so delicately, a classic piano solo, which tops it off nicely. One thing Frane loves to do is change up the beat in the middle of the piece. The second half of this track was featured in a post I did on Some Cool Ass Ringtones. There’s a few different ringtones to choose from, so if your in need check it out (I’m actually using one myself).
DJ Frane is one of the main reasons we started this site up. Anything he comes out with amazes us each time. If ya wanna here more about him subscribe to our Facebook Page, so you’ll get the updates sent right to ya (and so we know you like us). Enjoy!
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