About a week ago I received a message in my inbox from someone at Triple Down Records. As their first track on their MySpace page is an indie rock song, I was more than a bit confused. Upon clicking the download link, however, my qualms were immediately soothed.
I haven't been able to find out any information about Adaledge, the enigmatic producer behind Triple Down's latest release, Vintage Feelings. His music is an espresso blend of dubstep and IDM, two genres which are very foreign to little-old-disco-house-producer-me.
Regardless, these tracks are soulful expressions which have broadened my mind to new genres--and, since these are beyond electronic, they merit inclusion in this lovely blog.
On with the show!
'Computer Kaki' is pretty arrhythmic, but has a sort of groove within it. Now, I know next to nothing about dubstep (aside from listening to Hyph Mngo last year and hating every second of it), so I'll assume the offbeat guitar stabs throughout the track are supposed to be there. The rest of the track (electronic beat and chopped-to-hell guitar melody) is fascinating to me; as much as I love chopped samples, I'd like to call this overkill, but it really isn't. It takes a genius to manipulate miniscule samples so much and still make a cohesive track. To make a disco house analogy: there is a fine line between The Phantom's Revenge and Rapid Sound.
The title 'Can You Dig It' evokes images of Isaac Hayes and all 24 Shaft blaxploitation films from the 1970s and, coming from a community of disco sampling, I was almost expecting his sampled baritone voice to open the track. What I got, however, was even more satisfying. A melting pot of synths, electric and acousting guitar and of course that bumbling jungle beat we love, this track is one of my favorites on the EP. The message of the track seems to be "Everything will be alright," or, perhaps, for our American listeners, "Keep calm and carry on." I've listened to the track 3 times in a row whilst writing this blurb--it's infectious in a way that talks to your soul.
'Make It In Metaphors' immediately caught my attention as it's actually somewhat housey for an IDM track. The cavalcade of synth stabs and bells is a bit overwhelming at some points in the track, but not so much in an ear-raping kind of way. Simply, they kind of bypass your ears and move straight down. There's not much to say about this track, other than I very much like it. It too sends a message; I'm not sure what it is, but the track is awesome, so who really cares?
Closing the album is the lead single 'Telos', but I think the penultimate track 'Quick On Your Feet Head' is a much better end. The track itself seems to say "We're over, now move on with your lives" in a way that's endearing. Rapidly quickening and slowing down, synths and piano fading in and out, beat constantly changing and disappearing, it is a reminder of the sporadicness of life. Adaledge seems to capture a unique human element here. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but regardless--I want this track played during my funeral movie scene montage.
Overall 'Vintage Feeling' appropriates a unique sound, shifting and changing itself while still remaining constant in a way that is the opposite of mathematical. All of the tracks on this release could easily go with a scene of someone's life, or death, or time in the interim. Now, I've grayed out the links to these because Adaledge is awesome--and the full release is only $7. Pick this one up and support a great artist--you won't regret it.
Now I'm off to watch the sun rise and then head off to bed. Ah, the life I pretend to lead.
-Wulf
1 comment:
See? This is what you get when you send out promos directed to one person and not 500 million people.
Post a Comment