IDM

Allbums

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Jeans Team started life as a Berlin-based video art performance group, but they soon evolved into making electronic music for the masses. On Allbums, a collection of their best songs and previously unreleased material, I got a chance to sample almost ten years of Jeans Team’s IDM that is as suitable for the club as for dancing by yourself in your bedroom.

“Faul 2” stars out the sampler with a very good, almost minimal beat, with Kraftwerk-esque vocal samples in the background and calm German vocals. It’s clear from this track that Kraftwerk is an influence on Jeans Team, but they’re not copying the German masters, either. This is something different, something very contemporary while still understanding the history of electronic music. On “Baby 3,” a funky bass and '70s funk guitar lick start the song, and blend with synthesizer beats and an array of different little noises to make a quietly funky little dance song that stays in your head long after it’s over.

“Keine Melodien,” the best song on the sampler, has a pumping groove throughout that definitely made me want to get up and dance. I couldn’t understand the literal meaning of the German lyrics, but when the talk-singing turns into a yell, the song gets intense in a way that you don’t need to understand the words. I could definitely see dancing like crazy to this song at a party.

Thanks to Allbums, I discovered not only another band to put on my party playlists, but one to search out for everyday listens. The spirit of Kraftwerk is alive and well in Jeans Team, but they’re giving the legends a run for their money when it comes to pure dancing grooves.

Written by: Dana Reinoos, May 28th 2009

Franchise Player 01

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:47:00 +0000

By JT Donaldson

Dance music, by definition, is meant for dance floors, but it would be mistake to assume that dance artists are lazy or unskilled. JT Donaldson is known as an important house music producer and remixer who not only creates music that is enjoyable to dance to, but also is compelling and aesthetically intriguing. The work of dance music producers often is undervalued because they are lumped in with disposable genres, like disco or dance-pop, but Donaldson deserves the acclaim he’s garnered for his work. Like luminaries such as Junior Vasquez, Frankie Knuckles and DJ Irene, Donaldson has amassed an impressive oeuvre of intelligent and original dance music.

Franchise Player 01 is an excellent collection of seemingly conflicting and clashing sounds that manage to mesh, united under the thumping bass of the tracks. Those expecting wailing divas will be sorely disappointed, as this collection of dance music is definitely more underground than the radio-friendly mixes of Deborah Cox or Kim English. This music is more akin to Massive Attack or Fatboy Slim. The opening track is a Yoruba Soul remix of UK artist Ben Westbeech’s “So Good Today.” The song expertly blends Westbeech’s soul-inflected vocals (think a more credible Justin Timberlake) with gurgling synths. Rhythm & Sound’s “Freedom for All (Soundstream Remix)” is reminiscent of the more mainstream drum ‘n bass outfit Faithless, with its understated, muted vocals. The most accessible and closest pop song on the radio is the head rush of a club stomper, “Space Cadillac (Derrick Carter Club Vocal),” which uses the sexual double entendre imagery of a car similar to Grace Jones’ dance staple “Pull Up to the Bumper.” The vocals are more energetic than most of the other songs on the record.

The album closes with a trio of songs credited to Donaldson. “Just Bounce” starts off with a classy, jazz introduction before the sounds melt into a thumping dance beat with voices chanting over the drums, telling the listeners to “just bounce,” while horns accent the song. “Stop,” a collaboration with Fred Everything is a rushing club number, appropriate for catwalks with its stately and strident beat and chiming keyboard and samples of voices. The album closes with “Gone,” a song credited to Donaldson and Four Feet; it is a high energy throw down that’s sprinkled with snare drums, squealing synths and disembodied voices droning in sampled snatches.

Written by: Peter Piatkowski, March 27th 2007

At Home and Unaffected

admin — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:53:00 +0000

By Decomposure

Unschooled Records

At Home and Unaffected starts off deceptively poppy. "Whose Side Are You On?" could be heard on any Top 40 radio station in the country, if it would only get rid of those glitchy noises. From the beginning of "At Home Part One," however, the listener gets an idea of what he or she is really in for – an Intellegent Dance Music album with surprising vocals and samples. This album is a mixture of pure pop music and the noisy style popularized by artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre. While most of the tracks don’t have a hook, or any recognizable musical structure at all, for that matter, the listener is drawn in by the pure emotion visible in the music. The album’s best track, "…And Unaffected," is even pretty danceable, which many IDM songs, despite the genre’s name, are not. This album is a triumph of genre-melding, and makes something new altogether: a genre that is sure to inspire artists to come.

Written by: Dana Reinoos, December 23rd 2006