From Che Sent Tue, Apr 28th 1998, 21:40
From Che Sent Tue, Apr 28th 1998, 21:40
> >From: James Skilton <xxxxxx-x@xxxxxxxxx.xxx> > >At 02:09 15/04/98 -0400, Christopher Miller wrote: > > > >> Oh, and this disc credits Marc Royal and Cris Stevens. Don't these > >>two guys pretty much make up T-Power? So I guess Chocolate Weasel = > >>T-Power, right? > >> > > > >yep, that's what I heard. haven't heard the disc tho'. what the hell's it > >like? Chocolate Weasel - Spaghettification - This is one album that's sure to be misunderstood. I'm not sure I'm even listening to the same Spaghettification that other reviewers reviewed. Anyway, it's always good to have expectations wrecked. If you're still waiting for "Self-Evident Truth III" (Police State was SETOTIM II), you'll be disappointed. This is "Waveform II", in which Marc Royal strays further from his D&B roots into downtempo experimental weirdness. I haven't done acid in a few years, but who needs to, with this album as a soundtrack to some of the surreal commercials on TV? A typical track features philosophical ramblings on the psychological underpinnings of "Scooby Doo" weaving in & out of intelligibility under trip-hop beats groove-loked by the always tasty Royal basslines & overlaid w/ synth-noodling of the not-too-indulgent sort. I could do w/o some of the vocal ramblings, especially the more apocalyptic ones. Otherwise they're pretty humorous. I played this for my cousin, as usual TV on w/ no sound, and he was totally fooled that it was the soundtrack for some Dirty Harry movie (complete w/ dialogue). Anyway, if Marc Royal hasn't done huge amounts of acid, his music sure sounds like he has. Music For Body Lockers starts out like it could be a Black Dog track. Then the 70's style pulse wave synth solo kicks in and you know it ain't Black Dog. Brilliant drum programming. The Other Side Of Madness is as achingly beautiful as anything on SETOTIM. Only one track is even vaguely D&Bish - In-Continuity qualifies for the IDM-centric "drill n' bass" tag. What fascinates me is the influence of D&B on the beat programming. Slow down D&B & take away the Amen break; what's left is a very cerebral rhythm, which is not to say it isn't funky - it is, but it definitely comes from a different place. What baffles me are the electro & funk references in previous reviews. There are some synth sounds that are reminiscent of classic electro/funk synth sounds, but musically neither genre is represented. For instance, Reworked From Scratch Backwards has a bass sound with a closing filter (very common early-80's sound), and a handclap, and rapping over the top. Very minimal, but not what I'd call electro. The most retro thing about this album is the cover, which is hideous, like a nightmare out of the mid-70's, only a poorly done nightmare. As my cousin says, the pics look like they were taken at a 70's-themed costume party, not in the 70's. If you MUST do retro (and please reconsider), then at least do it well. At nearly 76 minutes, most of which is music, not soundscape noodling, Spaghettification is a better deal than Waveform. Buy it if you're ready for a challenge. What I like about Marc Royal's work is that he has a superb sense of melody matched with an innate sense of rhythm. I do wish he'd pursue the faster rhythms more often, though. The only other person who seems to be able to marry d&B w/ melody is Squarepusher. While I'm at it... Chocolate Weasel - Music For Body Lockers - not your usual Ninja maximum bang for the buck, with only 11 or 12 minutes of music worth having. There's the album version, a radio edit which is so insignificantly different from the album version that I don't know what the difference is besides being shorter, there's a reprised version which is a minute and a half slowed down version, and finally there's a dub version, which is almost too orthodox in its dubness - I like my dub weirder, thank you. There's also a remix of Reworked From Scratch Backwards which is ok, but, it's hard to justify buying this single. Che