If BBE records are champions of new electronica then they’ve really thrown themselves behind the genre this year. The tail end of 2011 sees the release of another hard-basslined, drum and synth-heavy predominantly instrumental album ‘Glimpse’, this time by antipodean producer Julien Dyne. With mysterious Germanic sounding names such as ‘Koln3’ ‘Ernst’ and ‘Thirts’, ‘Glimpse’ is one of the stronger, more melodic Hip-Hop/Funk/Electronica hybrids from the label this year.
The album starts off on a sure footing with instantly likeable tracks such as the soulful ‘Bent’ intro and Krump-tastic ‘Mask’. ‘Glisten Up’ is reminiscent of J Dilla’s early work with the Pharcyde. The alluringly tranquil ‘Thirts’ is one of many tunes on ‘Glimpse’ that appears to have the freestyle Hip-Hop dancer in mind. ‘Looseends’ with its deliriously lyrical bassline is another. ‘Ernst’ could be the soundtrack to a thrilling intergalactic vehicle chase.
With the exception of the Parliament Funkadelic-style vocals on ‘Creebin’, on the few non-instrumental tracks that there are on offer, (‘Get Closer’ featuring She’s So Rad, ‘Who Are You?’ with Lady 6 & Parks and the jaunty ‘So Far’ with Mara TK)) the vocals are just another part of the production; pressed down as far into the mix as possible without them disappearing altogether.
‘Glimpse’ is a consistently pleasing sound fest even if, clocking in at 19 tracks, it feels a bit overindulgent (the album wouldn’t have suffered if one or two didn’t make the final cut). It’s a shame then it comes after BBE have released a few hit and miss affairs. Electronica-meets-Hip Hop fatigue is starting to set in and this first amongst equals could get overlooked.
‘Glimpse’-coming soon on BBE Records.
0 comments:
Post a Comment