mr dave

i've got just about everything he's put out. very awesome musician.

his early stuff is most definitely DnB, especially his first release 'adventures in foam' under the moniker cujo (i've also seen it listed as 'adventures in form').

his first proper release under his real name is 'bricolage' which is still very heavy on the DnB side of things but incorporates a healthy dose of old school jazz samples into the mix.

'permutations' is where his early style really comes into its own. it's a very dark album with some middle eastern flavour mixed into the DnB jazz angle. well worth checking into if you prefer his beat based tracks.

'supermodified' came out next and continued expanding on what he started with P. this is the album where he seemed to start paying more attention to how the sound of his music was presented to the listener. there's a lot more depth to the production. your first two videos are tracks 2 and 3 from that album.

'out from out where' was the next offering and i consider it to be a transitional album. there are still big beat tracks that would have fit nicely on permutations or supermodified (like your example of 'verbal') but then you get stuff like the final 3 tracks (which includes 'proper hoodidge') that definitely show a new atmospheric direction with his music. the ennio morricone influence really starts to show, especially on 'el wraith'.

there's a 'solid steel' live disc that came out after this which is, alright, but i've downloaded better live sets off soulseek. better sound quality but overall not a necessary addition to anyone's collection.

then there's the 'splinter cell: chaos theory' soundtrack. don't kid yourself into thinking it's not worth getting just because it's a video game soundtrack. if anything it's the other way around, the video game is worth getting because of the soundtrack (doesn't hurt that they both kick piles of butt).

his last album is 'the foley room'. this is the reason i call 'out from out where' a transition. the big beat DnB jazz stuff is gone. it's an album of avant garde field recordings reworked into a fantastic display of beatsmithing amazement. it's not to say there aren't giant beats to be found on the record, just don't expect to hear the amen break at 180bpm for 6 minutes on any track. it's like he took all the unique elements of his previous albums and rolled it into a fresh new style.

i put him on par with squarepusher in terms of reinventing what can be done under the guise of 'electronic' music. i don't ever expect to hear a boring or repeat album from tobin, based on interviews i've read i figure he'd quit making music before releasing something like that.

__________________
i am the universe