Dieselboy? Who's Dieselboy?!'s Journal
 

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I've wanted to make a journal for awhile now, but really had no idea how to make it clever in any way, or even what to do for that all important 1st post. I wanna draw people in, but after racking my brain for interesting ways to start I haven't come up with much. I'm just going to say, "screw it" and dive right in.

As far as what you will find in here...I suppose it won't be anything too different than most journals. I'll be doing mostly reviews of albums I've recently picked up, with a few old favorites and artists tossed in if I get bored. I think this journal will be a little more current or cutting edge than most though, as I tend to look forward to newly released music, as opposed to the majority here who tend to dig and sort through older releases.

I DO love radio shows. As far as I'm concerned they are the best place to find new music I enjoy, and so I listen to quite a few weekly shows, usually 4 - 6 a week. I may discuss some of those as well. I might even just write some random essays if I have a gripe or praise for something that I can't link you to directly. :)




My Tastes:

My tastes aren't as eclectic as some on MB. I do appreciate all types of music though, and make it a rule to never discount anything without listening. Here is my pie chart that Tore (thx again) made for me in the Music Taste thread:

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/967/dbtaste.png

^This is still pretty accurate. As you can see, my main passion is Electronica and its millions of sub-genres. Lately though that small slice of Hip-Hop has been growing and the Metal slice has shrunk a bit I suppose. I'm only linking that so people might have an idea what to expect here, as my journal won't have any specific direction or theme...just a random mess most likely. Ok, here goes...

My first post works well for the direction I've originally declared for two reasons. This artist has been a HUGE favorite of mine for the last 7-8 years, and has a new album coming out in a month as well. Here it is:





His name is Brian Wayne Transeau, or simply BT. Electronica artist and production genius. Not to mention I have a massive guy-crush on him.

"A music prodigy, BT started playing the piano at the age of two. At age thirteen he learned classical licks." (Wiki) I wasn't even close to being alive then though, so I didn't actually discover him till much later when a good friend lent me his 1999 released masterpiece titled:


Today I wouldn't hesitate to list this in my top 10 all time favorite albums. An incredibly produced disc, that has enough musical variety as to never get boring, even to this day. Songs like Dreaming and Mercury and Solace roll along slowly and beautifully with dreamy female vocals. There's songs that are very hip-hop influenced like Love On Haight Street, as well as the harder Smartbomb and the brilliant opener where he really shows of his production skills:

This disc is so well rounded and every song so strong. This would be the recommended starting point for BT for sure, as well as a gateway album I'd give to people who simply wanted to get into electronica as well.








OK, this review isn't over yet...Don't worry. I may have done his best album 1st, but there's more works in his discography. Everyone of which I'd call brilliant without hesitation.


His first two albums, Ima and ESCM, (released in '96 and '97 respectively) are two true trance/dance floor classics. If you listen to these 2 albums today they will sound a little dated, but the key words there are a little...and not in a bad way at all. What I mean is, you can tell they are from the 90's, but in a way that makes you remember how great 90's techno could sound when done really well. Just check these out...you won't be saying, "Ugh this is some old-skool cheesy sh*t right here." I guarantee.



Cont. below...Image limit. :(

In 2003 and 2006 came his most recent 2 albums, Emotional Technology and This Binary Universe. BT has been shifting away from the dance floor inspired tunes as time moves on, and into more intelligent sounding material.

In Emotional Technology he leans to a more hip-hop/poppy sound. Lots of scratching, and emceeing, while at the same time sounding incredibly friendly and accessible. Brilliantly produced. This album has been destroying my headphones and truck speakers lately. So, so good. This song here is a good reason why too:


In 2006 he put out This Binary Universe. Getting softer, and more intelligent (very much so). This is mostly a collection of lullaby's he wrote for his daughter Kaia and set to music. Looking at some reviews I see words used like, "majestic" and "unsurpassed beauty in musical form." I mean, I can't describe it with better words than that I suppose, even though they sound generic. Just trust me I guess? :)


His sixth release, These Hopeful Machines, is scheduled for Feb 2 of this year. I'm beyond pumped for this and will be buying it the day same day. Haven't been this hyped for an album in a while. Here's a single that's been released already. Very very intelligent sounding:






PS: As this is my first review, anyone who reads it is welcome to comment on the style I wrote it in. If you think something looks sh*tty, or is hard to follow, I'd appreciate the criticism.
PPS: If you want to check out anything I put in this review or future reviews, just ask. Don't even hesitate. I'll get mad if you hesitate. Just PM or whatever.

It should be interesting. I love new journals.

Good start Diesel, I'll keep an eye on this one for sure. Looking forward to your first review in this thing... try not to let it die out like most journals do hahahaha.

I don't see that happening soon. I'm actually gonna have to work hard to pace myself here though I think, cause I can think of so many things I wanna review now that I've got this going.

That first review looks really sloppy now that it's finally up. Hopefully by the time most people see it, it will look alot neater. ><

Nice bio on BT :) My personal favourite will always be Flaming June, such an underrated track and Balearic/Dreamy trance at its best.

Spot on with your assessment that his work has become more intelligent, there's definitely a maturity in his music now that wasn't so prevalent in his earlier stuff. Still wonderfully produced and a good example to many aspiring artists.

Good job!

(Thx for the replies guys. I told myself I wouldn't be surprised or whatever if there was none, but it's cool to see that a few people looked at it. :thumb: )





For my next entry I'm going to be discussing a weekly radio show. Well, I'm going to discuss this show first, and then review and offer to you a great example of said show actually.

The show I'm speaking of is easily one of the best weekly shows in the world. It's quite famous, and I'm sure many of you have heard it at least mentioned even if you are not a listener. This show is aptly named:

The Essential Mix

Started way back in 1993 by producer Eddie Gordan and host Pete Tong, they decided on a 2 hour format of uninterrupted music, which is now seems to be the norm in many electronica shows today. This format allows artists to create what has been described as, "A musical journey." instead of just a collection of songs.

It was a struggle at first to get big name DJs and artists to commit and pre-record a 2 hour set every week, and Tong actually ended up doing the first weeks show in the end. Slowly though, The Essential Mix began to gain cred in the years that followed. There is no shortage today of artists that would love to be invited to mix it up for this show, as it more or less means you've arrived.

On occasion though , the reins will be given to an artist on the rise and what could be called a "breakout mix", which has happened more than a few times, will occur. Where an artist is on the verge of becoming well known, and a good EM show will be their career turning point into the big time. Perhaps the best example of this would be Pendulum's EM from 2005/09/18. Pendulum was probably known to some at the time, but not to me, and not to many others as well. This show was played out right as their debut album Hold Your Colour was about to be released, and I really believe that this show was a huge stepping stone to advertise for this amazing album. They just rose to amazing heights from there. This mix is still highly worth checking out today, as it was almost strictly high energy and hard D&B, and an easy indicator as to why they became as huge as they did.

This show has introduced me quite a few other amazing artists over the years as well. The first time I ever heard the Scratch Perverts was on an EM mix in 2004 and more recently, Fake Blood from this past March. Both were astounding and made a fan out of me. Every time I see an artist scheduled whom I don't recognize I look forward to it with high hopes.

How To Tune In

If anyone is interested in checking the Essential Mix out, it airs every Saturday from 3:00-5:00 on BBC Radio. DON'T PANIC. I know that time is weird for people especially with the time zone differences between users on this board and all. LUCKILY, Radio 1 has the Iplayer on their site now so you can listen to any show they play, any time during the following week. I could seriously write a review of praise for this IPlayer in itself.

It's so easy to use as well:

Step 1 - Go to this site: BBC - BBC Radio 1 Programmes - BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix (EM main page)
Step 2 - There's a schedule link up top, as well as a genre link too, so finding the show or style you want shouldn't be a problem. Just find the show you want to hear and click on Listen Now. The show you picked will start playing in another window.
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Profit!

Nothing else required. Incredibly simple. :thumb:

(Seriously, this thing still excites me to this day. I used to have to DL all these shows on torrent every week. ><)





But yeah, if you have any interest in staying current with who's hot in the current electronica scene atm, then this show is a great place to be. It's one that I do my best never to miss, and I highly recommend it. :)

you totally just got me into bt

This next review is going to be for a mix which aired on the radio a few months back on on 2009-08-29. Specifically, the Essential Mix by Sharam. The idea to do this came when I saw that his mix recently won top honors in a vote amongst all 52 of this years choices (a pretty prestigious honor really...if you read my EM post above).

First I'll say, that I've always been a fan Sharam and Deep Dish (of which he is one half). A duo of very solid house DJ's who's name you've possibly already heard on occasion. I've said in at least a few threads on MB that his Global Underground 29 CD is one of my favorites.
As far as this mix, I did remember hearing it when it aired, and that I enjoyed it, but forgot the particulars. So I've picked it up again recently (when it got voted the best) and given it a few more complete listens. So yeah, I'm gonna break it down for you guys and try to convince you that it's worth hearing for yourselves. :) Ok, time to shutup and start reviewing the mix and its highlights:

Best Essential Mix of 2009 (Sharam)

You Press 'Play' and...The mix starts off with an introduction from Pete Tong, and then, with a soft violin heard in the background, Sharam introduces his set:

"Hey everyone, this is Sharam and you're going to be listening to my new Essential Mix on Radio 1. As you will hear on this mix, I don't play the genre game. I'm a fan of good music and great production. [...] So,this is my essential mix, and I hope you enjoy it."

The sound of the violin and the background music grows into something unexpected. What will his opener be? I'm pretty sure no one woulda guessed this (I didn't):

Seriously? Are you kidding me? How COOL is that to start off a mix. Anyone who doesn't enjoy this should just stop reading now. You won't enjoy anything that follows, and probably just don't like music in general. Moving on...





As Morricones song fades out, in comes Sharams own Track With No Name. A slow, sizzling, housey burner. Sorta calming, but cool after getting pumped up from the opener. This is the kinda tune that I'd assosiate with Sharam most easily, but as we'll continue to see, he has many more sides to him.

The mix continues as the next couple songs build on the 2nd and then suddenly turn into Samburu by D-Unity which brings some cool tribal chants into the mix with a simply amazing beat behind it. Listen closely and you can hear the jungles sounds of birds, big cats, etc in the background. You can almost picture yourself hiding in the jungle leaves watching an African tribe dance around a bonfire with glowsticks. No? Anyway, I like this. Nice one.



Suddenly you leave the rain forest and are on a beautiful moonlit beach. Samburu blends well into the next track, as you can hear the jungle sounds in the background for a good 2 minutes or more into it. Entitled Beach Kisses, a trancey track...you could probably guess that it would be a slower tempo and quite lovely. It has a muted sounding trumpet playing almost through the entirety, and a soft bouncy beat. Together, they make me think of walking on the beach at night...on the best day of my life. Just incredibly sassy and bouncy at the same time. I could not see any fan of music not enjoying these last 2 songs played back to back. A highlight of the mix for sure.

(This song has quite a long intro. To hear the part used in the mix skip ahead to about the 3 minute mark.)

Skipping ahead now a bit to the 9th tune. It's called, She Came Along. Hmm, this is cool and all and...WTF! I can hear a twangy sounding country guitar creeping into the mix?! Oh wow, it is, and now some lady with a southern accent (Patsy Klein I guess) and a chorus of guys is singing behind her. This doesn't last too long as it exits the mix (only to come back later) and we are treated to some nice loops, but it was a bit scary (to me)...and interesting too I suppose. :)





There's a mini climax with Photon Inc.'s - Give a Little Love, but the next track that really stands out to me is, Squarez by Nadastrom. It's a pretty decent little electro-house tune. It's nothing fancy, but does have a nice little build up near the middle of unintelligible female vocals rising and rising to a cresendo and then dropping off. I like the loop in this song alot, and even though its sorta simple, it makes me nod my head pretty good. The 15th track, Get Up Jude, follows along the same lines and then...





...Can you say, "Climax!"? When you hear this next song you can...and then you...probably will.

The song is called Mauri's Dream (Sharam's Eternity Remix) and it must be heard to be believed. Nine minutes long, keeps you on your toes for its entirety and never gets boring. Starting off as a mix of maybe electro with some acid sounding beeps mixed in. It then evolves from there and a really hot violin sample is introduced about half way through. The violin and the beeps work together for awhile and then at seven minutes in...POW...it explodes. Sexy, sexy song, and probably my favorite on the mix.

(Unfortunately, there's no video of this version on youtube for me to link. Very depressing...moving on sadly.)

A couple songs later, and the mix is still near its peak. The tune on now is called Sax Me Up (another pick from D-Unity). It's a fun mix of muted sax samples, robot-sounding vocals, and a heavy HEAVY bass-line. I don't need more adjectives for this. 'Fun' really just is the best word you could use here. Fun song.





The mix is starting to wind down now, but stays so strong with another self picked tune of Sharam's called Vikings. Here we have yet another genre-defying tune that will make you smile. Sounds like something straight out of an old movie score...maybe a western...It goes back and forth from a catchy soundtrack orchestra to a nice bouncy beat and back again several times. At one point an effect pops up that sorta sounds like a horse galloping, but sorta not...it's hard to describe. The song in itself however, is not hard to describe. It's brilliant.

(Vikings is another song I'd love to link for you guys, but it's not on youtube either. It's a crime. Oh well, moving on.)

Finally, the list comes to an end with a 2-minute excerpt from a song simply called, V, by an artist called Namito. Slow and bouncy, nothing to catchy or fancy, it closes out the mix well. It serves its purpose and is about as good as a closing track can be I suppose. Aaand then, Pete Tong interrupts and blabs a bit about this and that and...PHEW. It's over. A great mix indeed, and not a bad way to spend 2 hours at all!






All in all, this is a really cool mix, and I can see why it got the top 2009 vote to beat out others like Sub-Focus and Deadmau5. Sharam is all over the place, with suprises around every turn. At the same time though, I'd say it's still all about the music for him in the end. It never gets nerdy or confusing. Everything here works well together and makes you wanna move, even if some of it isn't exactly conventional.

Here is the complete tracklisting for the mix (copied from Mixing Bowl):

- TRACKLIST -

1 - Intro with Sharam
2 - Ennio Morricone — Ecstasy Of Gold (Sharam Edit) [White Label]
3 - Sharam vs Nic Fanciulli — Track With No Name [Data]
4 - Marc Antona & Xiki — Hawah [Micro Fibers]
5 - Rodriguez Jr. — Pandora [Kids of Gula]
6 - D-Unity — Samburu [Yo****oshi]
7 - Dosem — Beach Kisses (Joris Voorn Green Mix) [Green Records]
8 - DBN — Asteroidz (feat. Madita) (Sharam's Crazi Remix) [Yo****oshi]
9 - Sharam — She Came Along (feat. Kid Cudi) (Sharam's Ecstasy Of Ibiza Mix) [Data]
10 - Steve Aoki — I’m In the House (feat. Zuper Blahq) (Sharam's Lovefest Remix) [Dim Mak]
11 - Okain — Blackrock [Quartz Records]
12 - Photon Inc. — Give A Little Love (DJ Pierre's Tha Wild Pitch Mix / Sharam Edit) [Strictly Rhythm]
13 - D-Nox & Beckers — Cala Boca (Gabe Remix) [Global Noises]
14 - Nadastrom — Squarez [White Label]
15 - Fiord — Get up Jude (Beckers Remix) [Vapour8 Recordings]
16 - Cedric Gervais — Mauri's Dream (Sharam's Eternity Remix) [White Label]
17 - Namito — Train To Tehran (Daniele Papini Remix) [Kling Klong]
18 - D-Unity — Sax Me Up (D-Unity's Crazy Sax Mix) [White Label]
19 - Sharam — Vikings [DCI]
20 - Sharam Vs. Julien Jeweil — Pattgate [White Label]
21 - Namito — V [Yo****oshi]

If anyone would like to check this out, you could find the torrent online I'm sure. HOWEVER, I managed to dig up a .cue sheet for this though, so I'm more than willing to send the mix to anyone interested, with all the songs separated and named appropriately. Makes it easier to follow I think. Just lemme know. :D

Glad to hear it! :thumb:

Brilliant journal so far dieselboy, good write ups. I'll watch the videos later though.

Thx Kayleigh. Glad you think so. :thumb:

Yeah, I think it's kinda impossible to watch all the video's on this site. Users here are just linking them constantly, and if you did watch them all you'd never get to listen to any of your own music probably.

Makes me feel bad when I skip video's in other peoples journals cause of this, but I really don't expect people to watch all the ones I post either. I've sorta been trying to put little hints or guides/markers as to what would be the best part of certain vids to check out though. Or which might be the best single video to click in a certain post. Even if people just read and don't click anything though, it's all good I suppose.

For my next review I'll be discussing my favorite album of 2009. I wish now that I'd started this journal sooner, as I wanted to. Now, instead of it being the cool thing to do, it's just going to be "so last week", but oh well. I've seen this album mentioned here and there on the boards, but never seen it get a proper review, so I guess it's up to me.

Dieselboys Best Album of 2009 - La Roux (Self-Titled)

Some quick artist info:
La Roux is a duo of Eleanor (Elly) Jackson and Ben Langmaid. Elly being the "face" of the outfit, and Langmaid being more behind the scenes and secretive. The groups chosen name, La Roux, is quite interesting in itself. It is french for "Red-haired one", but is the male version of that term. This fits Elly well enough, as she keeps her sexual preferences well hidden. Indeed, she even seems to enjoy the confusion and talks about how well it fits her, as she sees herself being androgynous. In some of her videos she is beautiful, while in others she is quite handsome looking (is that the best way to say it?).
All this is interesting, but don't be worried that it might be some kind of distraction from the music quality, cause this is some great music. Very 80's synth-pop inspired, but sounding very fresh at the same time. Her vocals are quite unique and I've heard plenty of complaints about how they're too high pitched or ruin the music and such. I got used to them quickly enough after giving them a chance and really love them now, so maybe something to keep in mind if you aren't feeling her singing at first. On to the album:





When you first press play you're greeted with a bouncy and fun synth line that is interupted abruptly when Elly starts singing. As stated earlier, her voice is not conventional, and I still find it a bit jarring even to this day when I start this disc up.
Once you're over that though, this track is pretty great, with some nice sing-a-long ooooohhhhh's throughout and a bridge at 3:10 that is really very beautiful. It only lasts a few seconds and then you're jarred out of it again as it quickly ends and the singing resumes. This was the second single released for the album. I think In For the Kill is a fairly decent opener.





Following the opener is a song called Tigerlily. Interesting, as it really doesn't sound quite like the rest of the album and could be described as a bit more agressive sounding. One interview with Elly I saw, she picked this one as her favorite tune on the album as she reasoned, "It the least 'white' sounding track on there." Another good bridge in this track as the music stops and we here a very creepy sounding man talking about stalking a lover. His voice sounds very similar to Vincent Price in MJ's Thriller. Definitely a note-worthy song.





The third song on the album, Quicksand, is my personal favorite and was also it's first single. The synth line in the chorus is truly amazing and at 1:30 yet ANOTHER amazing bridge...probably the best on the cd. It's obvious if you listen, why this one was the one picked to represent the album first.





Towards the middle of the disc is another highlight called I'm Not Your Toy.
The intro to this song is pretty tight, and never fails to perk me up and get me excited for the rest of the track. It's just one of those intro's that's just so identifiable. It starts with a nice little melody of an mellow instrument that I can't identify, sounding nothing like anything previously heard on the disc. Then at about the 15 second mark the music completely stops and there's a catchy little drum breakdown, and then the music all starts again. It really just has to be heard.
I'm just going on about the first few seconds here, as if the rest of the song isn't great...well it is. This would probably get my Top Chorus of 2009 honors if I was lame enough to make such a list. It's almost embarrassing how much time that part has been stuck in my head since this CD released.

(Check out the first 20 seconds if nothing else.)

I'll stop with those four, because I don't want to make this review too bulky and discourage people from checking it out. That's just the singles though. Other tunes on this are just as quality. Songs like Colourless Colour and Cover My Eyes are favorites as well, and are right up there in consideration for my second best song. Believe me when I say that I rarely skip songs on this disc and I play it through even to the last, Growing Pains, which is just another amazing tune among so many.

In the end, I feel like many people will pass this disc by because of the pop label and maybe the cover which is a shame. Its worth checking out if you're a fan of any of these; the 80's, synth-pop, catchy vocals, or even just great chorus's.

1. In For The Kill
2. Tigerlily
3. Quicksand
4. Bulletproof
5. Colourless Colour
6. I'm Not Your Toy
7. Cover My Eyes
9. Fascination
10. Reflections Are Protection
11. Armour Love
12. Growing Pains

Nah I was on my iPod, sorry I didn't elaborate!

Needed to add, that what adds to her androgyny is that "La" which is the female pronoun... before the masculine adjective.

Didn't find her vocals unconventional, maybe cause I never got to understand what is considered truly "conventional". So anyway, I didn't get jarred or jolted by her vocals, I kinda enjoyed In for the kill but I much preferred Tigerlily, that I think I'll consider as my favourite of the four. As for the other two, I pretty much agree with what you said in your description.
...they've got great videos all around by the by.

Really good write up from the beginning till the end. I somehow needed a beginner's guide to La Roux, and I think this journal entry has successfully introduced me to them. I'll maybe download the album later today, to enjoy in its fullest.

Yeah, true. What you said about the "La" part of their name makes sense. Feel a bit dumb for not realizing that.

About the bolded part...I think unconventional mighta been the wrong word now. I don't think it means what I think it means. I'm too lazy to look through a dictionary and find a better choice now though.
I am a little surprised you didn't mind her vocals off the bat. Usually that's the first thing people will talk about when she's brought up or this CD is put on, in my experience. That's cool though.

Hope you enjoy the rest if you do check it out. :)

I did notice in the youtube discussion that people are all bout the "weird" voice, and then I noticed that I'm actually reading youtube discussions. I just feel that a band sound should be recognizable, and not common to all others, and that's what La Roux achieved.

Though I think your use of the word "unconventional" was in its place, I don't think you need to go through a dictionary or a thesaurus to check for a better word. :p:

Ah jeez...I'm personally a sucker for reading Youtube comments. They're like a train-wreck. You don't wanna look cause you know it's gonna be horrible, but I'm just drawn to them every time I watch videos. Usually I just get all enraged by how stupid people can be, but sometimes, rarely I'll see a small piece of useful info or something so completely off the wall and hilarious. Here's a good example:


To which someone replied, "Wow, this song is like crushing up a Super Nintendo cartridge and snorting it."

I donno...I liked it. ><





Anyways, enough of that. Since I'm not making a real entry today I'm just gonna link two songs that have been completely engraved in my brain as of late. One people will probably recognize, and another that you might not.



First the unknown. A song called Permission by Veronica feat. Mumzy Stranger. I've heard this on DJ Nihal's - The Best of Asian and Desi Beats show quite a few times. A filthy but beautiful electronica/R&B song.
I've listened to this tune so many times and realized I would do anything for this girl...her voice...I donno...just so silky and hot. When she sings, "I gotta let you know, that I love you so." I just melt.
This song actually hasn't been officially released yet I'm pretty sure. This is the best video I could find, and it actually has Nihal blabbing a bit over the first few seconds. :( Definitely still worth a click though.





The second song is just as good, but not new or even close to it. Featuring one of the best beats and catchiest chorus's ever, but the real reason to check this out is the incredibly ghetto music video.
I can't even decide what the most ridiculous part of this video is. Those crazy camaflouge safari outfits? The synchronized dancing? The computer generated graphics that look like they were made by the first computer ever built?
Still, the song is amazing. :)

I mentioned DJ Nihal's - The Best of Asian and Desi Beats show with my last entry. I've decided to continue in that direction and review another artist and album introduced by him, which I've ended up buying.










In 2009, Midival Punditz, released their third full length album. With it, Delhi-based producers Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj, have an eclectic album with many eastern styles (and a few western as well) fused together. I was trying to think of a decent description for this disc last night as I listened again. I came up with this: "Infected Mushroom if you dropped the goa and mixed in some indie. Then you sprinkled it with a bit of pop." Confusing right?
I should probably refer to Wiki in this case, which explains, "MIDIval Punditz is an Indian fusion group whose style revolves mostly around bhangra, jungle, electronica, and North Indian classical music." It then goes on to list the many traditional and newer instruments the Punditz use. Thanks Wiki!

Anyway, this is one of my favorite albums of the past year easily, and I feel like that fact owes much to the variety on display here, as well as the opening/closing songs. I'll try to showcase highlights and diversity with a few videos:








The first song as this album starts, Electric Universe, is definitely a keeper and also a good indication if you would enjoy the rest.
The first few seconds are nothing more than a traditional instrument that I cannot name, but it sounds just beautiful. From there a soft acoustic guitar enters, followed by a warm bass-line. I interpret this first minute of beauty as "waking up" or being born into the album.
The song continues and vocals are introduced with a vocorder (but not in a bad way). The singing goes on and he begins to repeat in a soft voice, "Turn on the lights, turn on your mind. You've gotta keep me alive, keep me alive, keep me alive." The bridge starts at 3:25 and is a soft piano melody backed by the instrument you heard at the start. All these things work together to sound so warm and welcoming. One of the best album openers I've personally heard.







Following that fine start, the Punditz change the tone a bit for the following track. Tonic sounds far darker and more brooding, and even though it rolls along slowly, it sounds very sinister.
It features a woman singing/wailing in what I must assume to be Hindi, sounding like what you'd hear in a movie soundtrack when it changes scenes and shows the Taj Mahal or something. Following that, in what is pretty much the bridge of the song, is a guy rapping in half English and half Hindi again. He actually rhymes suprisingly well, considering that English is probably his second language...like REALLY well. The last line he says here, "In my gulley Rupees beat the dollar." rhymes with the previous line that was spoken in Hindi and is a highlight of the song for me. This whole tune just sounds like revenge to me:

Unfortunately, the only vid I could find of this song is live with bad sound quality, and doesn't represent the album version very well. Oh well.

Then there's Atomizer. This is the song Nihal played on his show for about a month straight, which convinced me to check out and eventually buy this fine disc. Starting with a catchy guitar riff and drum machine beat, it moves into the chorus which sounds like something off of Eiffel 65's Europop album. Vocoder singing and the Eiffel effects. This is just a straight up dance tune. Makes you wanna boogy.

(The only vid I could find for this is a remix that doesn't represent the album version very well, so I chose not to add it here. Sorry...if you want to hear this properly just ask. 0_0)

The fourth, and final song I want to discuss in regards to this album is called Sun Mere Sanam. Meaning Listen My Beloved, this is a slow and traditional sounding ballad. There's nothing dancey or aggressive about this tune at all. Just a very beautiful composition of Indian instruments with an electronic twinge and great vocals. It's all about love here:

(I can't think of many music fans that would not enjoy this song in its entirety.)

I think the descriptions for those four songs do a decent job of showing off the versatility this outfit has. Even if youtube failed me a couple times, I think what I wrote about each is spot on, and hopefully enticing. This is a very strong album and even though there are 2 songs on here that I would classify as just a bit higher than filler, I never fail to enjoy listening to it in entirety.

Finally, I do want to give special mention to the albums closing song. It is a shorter acoustic version of the opener. The songs tempo is much much slower and has a slow piano melody mixed in instead of the electronic beats. The lyrics are the same, but sound much sadder and slower. This time when he sings, "Gotta keep me alive...gotta keep me alive..." It sounds much different, almost as if the album is dying...and then does as the music stops. This is how I picture it in my head anyway. Great, great way to close this album out.

For fans of Electronica, Indian, and just great music. Just ask if you want to give it a listen. :)

Complete Track List

A band I have heard of and the description piqued my interest but I was underwhelmed by the vids. Sounds a little disjointed to me and probably a little too light for what I was looking for.

You might want to check out:

Thievery Corporation
Transglobal Underground
Nitin Sawnhey
Karminski Experience
Orange Blossom

If you like the fusion of Electronic and World beats.

That's a shame. Looking at my review now, I'm a little disappointed with it. Youtube failed horribly as far as what songs I wanted to show. All I have there is two tunes that are sorta same-y sounding when my goal was to show of some of their diversity. Ugh, oh well.


I've heard Thievery Corporation of course, but not the others. Just judging by the names, Orange Blossom strikes me as a pretty chill sounding. I'll check them out, thx. :)

(From this point forward I'll be trying to make my reviews a bit more compact. Hopefully they'll be more pleasing to read.
I'll also be labeling reviews as either 'New Release' or 'Old Favorite'. I just think it will be helpful to differentiate between the two. Old favorites, you can pretty much assume I would recommend, while new releases will just be albums I've been looking forward to, but may be rated pretty harshly. Ok then.)

King Midas Sound - Waiting For You (2009)

I first heard this outfit on a dub-step compilation from a label called Hyperdub, which also boasts Burial among its ranks. Indeed, the song they had featured on the comp, Meltdown, sounded quite similar to Burial in my mind. The slow bass-lines, the dark and almost depressing atmosphere, even the haunting vocals. Not identical, but near enough to get me excited for their full release.

On first listen to the full album however, I was very underwhelmed. Most of the songs are very minimal, more so than Burial I'd say. It's just bassline, drums, and vocals on some of the these tracks. It's unfortunate, but I'd have to say the largest variance between the two artists would be the vocals. Where Burial samples soulful sounding R&B'ish vocals that are packed with emotion and heartache, KMS only has the same singer for the majority. He sounds very relaxed and pleasant, but at the same time, sings with the exact same "half-whisper half-singing" tone in every song. It almost sounds like he is trying to lullaby the listener to sleep. Not surprisingly, the best way I could think of to describe this to a new listener would be; the music you might hear in the middle of a dream, as everything around you moves in slow motion and blurs (see the cover). Pleasant and soft enough that it easily gets lost in the background, and never jarring enough to wake you up.

A few of the tracks stand out off the bat, such as the previously mentioned Meltdown. Not to mention the fourth track, Earth a Kill Ya is spoken word poetry, and is also a nice break from the norm on this album. Apart from those two and a couple others though, most of the songs tend to blend together, and this disc might take many spins before the listener will be able to differentiate on their own. After ten or more complete listens at this point, it's grown on my slowly, but is still one of the biggest disappointments I've had in recent months. Looking back now, wanting this to be "the next Burial" and hoping for anything comparative to Untrue was pretty unfair. I think I would have enjoyed this alot more without those preconceived notions going in.

Despite what might look like a negative review...this isn't terrible. Not amazing either, but I'd say it's listenable from time to time. If slow and/or relaxing dubstep is your thing, or you just want something really chill to put in the background while chatting with friends, you might wanna check this out. Personally, just not what I'd hoped for.

I've only heard this very recently, but am completely obsessed with this song atm. The group is called called Broken Bells, and they just released this, their first single, late last month. A collaboration between super-producer Danger Mouse and former vocalist/guitarist of the Shins, James Mercer. To me this song sounds like the sum of its parts, with catchy indie rock and a great chorus mixed well with a lot of production tricks and effects. The verse might have something to do with my obsession as well, as the way he sings it sounds very familiar, just something I can't quite put my finger on.
The full length album will be released on March 10th.

this songs blowing up on counterculture radio and I have to say I'm excited that people outside the community are using James Mercer in some capacities that give him some range.

While this isn't earth shattering, it makes tremendous use of the tools at hand. Danger Mouse strikes gold again.

I think 67/100 is harsh. You already addressed it so you clearly understand that rating an album by comparing it to another one that you hoped it would sound like is not the best system. In my opinion it's the worst possible system. You may not like this as much as Untrue but there's no good reason to compare them.
Judged on its own merits I think the album is worth a lot more than 67/100.
Anyway, it's interesting that you like 'Earth A Kill Ya'. Instead of the reedy-voiced poet who does vocals on most of Waiting For You - these vocals are by Roger Robinson who did a bunch of the vocals on London Zoo by The Bug - which is another project (much heavier dubstep - I guess) by Kevin Martin who is also King Midas Sound.
http://mapsadaisical.files.wordpress...ndon_zoo_b.jpg

Anyway, I love the KMS album - but the bigger point is that, if you want some livelier dubstep you need to check out The Bug if you haven't already - just don't compare it to Burial;)

Broken Bells is honestly exactly what I expected it to be, and that's a good thing. I'll definitely be playing that album for a while.

As for the 67, I do tend to grade a little more harshly than most, I feel like, when using number/star grades. To me, 67 is above average, and not bad at all. I mean if you convert that to stars...that's nearly 7/10, ya know? I didn't grade La Roux (my favorite of the year) on here, but if I had then it would have gotten an 85/100 I think...just to give you some perspective I guess.

Looking back, I think you're probably right about the Burial thing. Even if I went in with those hopes, I shouldn't have used the comparison so many times in my review. I don't think it effected my final rating as much as a reader might think, as I gave it many more listens after the initial spin (which is the only time I expected similarities). I'll try not to do that in the future though. :o:


-_-

I will go look for this. Your taste seems pretty great from what I've seen you post, so I imagine this will be cool, thx. :)

So I'm listening to Mary Ann Hobbes experimental show last night. As the intro comes on, and she starts introducing this weeks features, including how tonight's show would feature the youngest producer to ever be played in the program's history. My ears perked up a bit of course. How old could this producer be? sixteen?...maybe fifteen? Surely you couldn't get much younger than that and be putting stuff out that deserves air time on RADIO 1 right?

Towards the middle of the show Mary Ann finally got around to this subject again and then stated,

"From Bristol...his name is Lucas, but he is better known as Majik. Only TEN years old..."

I did one of those half-laugh, half-snorts. Ten years old? I'm sure it's cute, but how good could this actually be? The music started playing, and I admit to being a bit shocked as I listened. Check out some of this for yourself:

Magik - Interceptor

Not bad. When you consider that he's only been alive for a decade though, it's incredible. I mean it's not perfect. The intro is a bit short and weird, but other than that, no major complaints. Apparently his dad is a producer of some sort, and he's just spent his last 2 years of free time in the studio every day. He's been learning and making his own tracks during that time. Very cool kid! From what was said after the song ended, they're going to be pumping his stuff pretty good on future shows as well.

The song that was played on the radio though, was actually called Future Predator. You can hear it as it appeared on the show, with an intro from Hobbes and then his own spoken intro as well, on his myspace. His page also has quite a few other impressive songs he's done, not to mention some pictures of a 10 year old striking hard pose's. :D

I was very disappointed with The Bug album myself, lacked cohesion for me and didn't quite know what sort of sound it was gunning for.

Hey Dieselboy,
I've been enjoying your journal. I like the musical taste pie chart Tore made for you. Isn't he a hoot? And so helpful. Electronica isn't a genre I know much about, so your perspective and knowledge are helpful to me. Your journal style is friendly and personable. It's fun to hear how excited you are by the music!

So far I've especially liked "All That Makes Us Human Continues." The video, combined with the music, makes me think of being under a wooden dock as light reflects off a lake onto the wood...or perhaps being in a house or ship under construction with shafts of sunlight flitting through trusses or scaffolding in timelapse photography. I especially liked a sound he incorporated repeatedly in the music...it sounds like a ship's deck or a wooden floorboard creaking when under tension while someone walks on it. The lullaby bell-like melody combined with the powerful lower notes makes me imagine the song is describing the delicacy of his child's life that is so fleeting while also being connected to the lives of those around her (parents, ancestors, and humanity in general).

I also enjoyed La Roux's music, particularly "Tigerlily." Her voice didn't surprise me...she has nice clear high notes and a strong middle range. It suits their music well.

I've always loved the feel of it. Dubby anger? Maybe you're right about the cohesion and as for the sound - to me it was like he was going for pure dub made with the newest technology and the loudest bass. Still in the field of dubstep but with intentions to make some new dubs.

Just got done checking Bug out...Yeah I like this man. Definitely will get a few more listens in the very least. :thumb:

Haha, thx. Yeah, I love this journal to be honest, and am having a lot of fun updating it. I'm kinda learning as I go, and I feel it was pretty sloppy at the start, but improving. I have quite a few items in mind that I want to talk about still, and I really hope it will continue to be helpful if you are able to keep up. :thumb:

Very cool interpretations. I can see all those things you mentioned as I watched it again with those in mind. Personally, I always pictured the first half of the song as the middle of the night and early morning, with not much going on and just the creaks and groans of the house settling as he, or someone, thinks about their kid. Then around the 4:00 to 4:30 mark in the song, the sun comes through the window, the alarms go off and they get out of bed to get their child dressed. Then the rest of the song is them walking down the street holding hands in slow motion, on a sunny day, to get to the bus.
I think both work. That's what's great about songs like this right? There's no right or wrong way to interpret it. :hphones:

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast

To be released on: January 19, 2010

Inspired by Gavin B.'s recent recent Song of the Day entry about Laika & the Cosmonauts, I went on sort of a mini-hunt for some more surf music. Incredibly, I came across this very cool group from Palm Beach, called Surfer Blood, who is actually set to release their debut album Astro Coast on the 19th of this month.
After reading up on them, and listening to samples on Amazon, I am pretty excited for this groups release atm. The amount of styles they mix, and the happiness they convey through their sound, makes this sound like a great choice to play at any fun outdoor function...ESPECIALLY the beach. I feel like I sometimes fail to describe sounds accurately enough for these boards, but I will tell you what another reviewer used to describe this debut:

Sounds like fun to me. I would probably add that they do sound a little lo-fi, if that is the correct term. Just not extremely polished.

Their single, which they've been using to pump the album, and playing on live shows, is called Swim (To Meet the End). I've just been playing this over and over on youtube these past few days. While the vocal intro here is a bit abrupt, the rest of this tune has the nice grungy rock sound that sorta takes me back to my high school days, while being light-hearted enough to keep a smile on your face. The way his voice changes range during the chorus was really bugging me for awhile, cause it sounded so familiar. I figured it out as I was making this post though...it sounds very similar to the singing style on the chorus of the Adam and the Ants song Stand and Deliver. The little xylophone part leading up to each chorus is a nice touch as well here, even if it is very short.

Surfer Blood - Swim (To Reach the End)

M.O.M., Vol. 1: Music for Our Mother Ocean

So the story behind me getting this album is simple. Young dieselboy is on vacation with the family, driving across country. At a random stop I saw this disc on the shelf and reached out for it, drawn by the cover art. I turned it over and, being the musically uneducated young man that I was, became excited by the list of names, which was almost a who's who of popular 90's artists. There were a few acts on there I failed to recognize...but with names like Beastie Boys, Silverchair, Sublime, Pennywise, etc. on the list, I figured this had to be a safe purchase that I would enjoy. I wanted it to be something to keep from getting bored as we drove. It did that, but little did I know, it would also be a favorite comp of mine for many years to come too.

Starting with a small clip of tribal sounding drums, it then goes right into a band that I was unfamiliar with at the time, Sprung Monkey. Fast and snotty sounding with a catchy chorus about good times, I fell in love with this song right away and was very psyched to continue on. The song that follows is called Gremmie Out of Control and is Pearl Jam sounding like I bet you'd never expect. Surf sounding guitars and yells of "Cowabunga!" really make this song quite fun.

There's really too many highlights to try to list here, but the rest of the disc is just choke-full of upbeat sounding original recordings, as well as covers like: Surfin' U.S.A., Surfin' Bird, and Wipe out. All by artists at the height of their popularity in the late-90's. Even those artists that were unknown to me really added some amazing songs, which I would listen to in entirety. In fact, the Pato Banton and Common Sense songs on here are probably my 2 favorites with the reggae sounding songs they bring. After it's all over, the closing song is simply a soft instrument playing over the sound of crashing waves.

I know all these big names is most likely a turn-off for most MB'rs. I would definitely recommend this to people for at least one listen though...for the covers and also the Common Sense song if nothing else. Everyone I've previously played this for while driving or just hanging out, has loved it. The best part with this comp is that, even the popular artists on here aren't just showcasing singles (with the exception of Soundgarden...whose My Wave just fits too well). The songs all mesh and fit together to make this an amazing sunny-day listening experience. Bottom line: If you want a nice variety of sounds for the beach, and don't mind (or actually would enjoy) feeling a little nostalgic at the same time, then you really can't get much better than this compilation.

Pearl Jam - Gremmie Outta Control

This is the best single youtube had available to sum up the sound here. Fun.

Tracklist:

The trio is called Outlandish. They represent three separate nationalities (Moroccan, Pakistani, Cuban), and two religions (Muslim and Catholic), they come together to form a single powerful unit of socially consciousness messages and amazing music. Labeled as hip-hop, they also have strong leanings into R&B and soul, as well as some world sounds. They have released quite a bit of material in the past decade, but I made this post to mention one song specifically.

The song is called Rock All Day and is one of my favorite songs of 2009. With a catchy hook and a chorus that is SO simple, but just begs to be sung along with, this is the perfect song for busting out of a bad mood or remaining in a good one. The vocals are a good mix of soulful singing, rap, and the chorus...oh that chorus. Oh, and it's also my theme song. That's right, whenever people throw that lame question at me, I'm going to answer with this tune from now on. So fitting. I think it would probably fit a few other MB'rs as well. :thumb:






^If you like this, the album it comes from is called Sound of a Rebel, and is very good as a whole. If anyone wants to check that out just ask.

(Also have to up DJ Nihal's show again here. Introduces me to so much good music, like Outlandish.)

Moving forward with great songs from this last year, I'm going to put another in this post right here. I'm also going to introduce the artist responsible (who I'm REALLY excited for atm) with a short bio. So, with no further adieu, I give you:




Ok, the favorite that I mentioned of last year is called Diminishing Returns, and it is amazing. I'll get to that at the end of this post though, after a proper introduction. Thing is though, some of you might have already had your introduction to this man. You might tell me I'm wrong, but have you maybe heard this little diddy...by a very popular group indeed:


No, he's not one of the Chemical Brothers. Those are Mr. Love's vocals on the track however. He actually had a couple independently released singles of his own prior to this Chemical Brothers hit, but I'm putting this in here just because this was what most people would call his "first big break."

Shortly after Do It Again, Ali released his own single called Secret Sunday Lover. Sort of a wussy sounding title you're probably saying, but this tune is definitely fun and upbeat, with a disco feel and catchy chorus. It actually climbed up to #22 on the UK singles chart in '07. Unfortunately, this is probably one of the dumbest music video's I've ever seen. I'd suggest starting this video and tabbing to something else personally, if you do decide to check it out. ><


After Sunday Lover...Love's album was supposed to be released, but for reasons unknown, was never actually put out commercially. He ended up more or less going back under the radar.
In mid '09 though, he returned with a bang when he released the amazing Diminishing Returns. This song, heralded as his "comeback single", is an absolutely brilliant tune. I'm a sucker for anything with 80's sounding synths...and this song uses them and uses them well. Throw in a melancholy, but catchy chorus with a nice bass-line, and this song is sure to make your head nod as you suck in your breath on first listen. Hopefully a good indicator of the quality album that Ali Love will put out. There is a full-length EP supposedly on the horizon. Please god, let it happen this time. :thumb:

You get the feeling right away when listening to this album, that Blockhead isn't too thrilled with musics direction lately. One hint to this is the crooner sounding sample in the title track, which repeats, "The music scene has got me down. Cause I don't want to be a clown." over and over. If you pay more attention too, you might see that the title of the album on the cover, is all left in lower case...perhaps suggesting that the current scene is just so generic that he doesn't even find the need capitalize?

Ok...that second one might be a stretch, but if you want another clue to his dismay, then you could simply look at the music itself. Nearly every song on here has a string, horn, or vocal part that sounds as if it was probably taken right off a very old jazz or blues album. Of course many artists in this genre, such as Shadow and RJD2 use older samples as well, but never this much I don't think, and not this well either. After many listens now, I get the same feel from this album that I used to get listening to Moby's Play cd, where I feel like I have one foot in the past and the other in the present.

Whether it's old or new sounds though, the amount of sampling and layering here is immense. You can listen to this and just nod your head with the beat, but if you really pay close attention and get into the music here, it's almost possible to get dizzy with the progression. This can be realized right as you put the CD on and listen to the opener, It's Raining Clouds...and it just builds from there. Because of this, I really feel that this disc is more designed for sitting by yourself in the dark with a nice pair of headphones, or maybe just night driving...as opposed to partying with friends (though I haven't had this opportunity I admit.) With the exception of Tricky Turtle, none of the songs on here would be what I'd call upbeat. Indeed, quite a few of them could actually be described as depressing...but in a good way!

As you make your way through the album, another thing that really stands out and must be discussed is the vocals. Yes it is technically instrumental, but there's quite a few vocal samples mixed in with it all. Some of the samples here, although short, say as much as a full song of verse/chorus could. The couple shouting and cussing at each other throughout The Daily Routine, and the nun talking to "her flock" of kids in the intro of Hell Camp both set the stage incredibly well for the tones of those songs. When you get to the middle of Hell Camp there's yet another vocal sample of a male counselor saying good-night to the kids. It's just so weird...I honestly feel pained for those little campers when I listen to this tune. I really feel like the vocal samples on the entire album are something special though, in connection with the music.

In conclusion, everything works well together on the music scene to make this a very solid album. Beautifully done. Highly recommended...and yes, I'd have to say...the best album of 2010 (so far)! However, RJD2's new album is being released today, so there may be some competition very quickly. Seriously...what a month for instrumental hip-hop. :thumb:

Here's the title track. A standout for sure.

This song breaks my heart. Poor kids.

Tracklist:


1. It's Raining Clouds
2. The Music Scene
3. Only Sequences Change
4. Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer
5. Attack The Doctor
6. The Prettiest Sea Slug
7. The Daily Routine
8. Tricky Turtle
9. Four Walls
10. Pity Party
11. Hell Camp
12. Farewell Spaceman

How to make a mash-up that Dieselboy will listen to until his head explodes... in three easy steps.

By - DJ Kayper