DI EVANTILE: Inertia (CD on City Sound Productions)
This release from 2007 offers 42 minutes of electronic pop music.
Versatile electronics provide a luscious foundation for peppy embellishment and nimble rhythms. Central melodies cavort with frisky exuberance, and peripheral accents chitter with the same exhilaration, generating a solid dose of cheery tuneage.
Shrill tones establish riffs that are tempered by additional harmonics, producing an electronic pastiche that is alluring and invigorating. Keyboards trigger crystalline chords that glitter with attractive charm. Moodier tones contribute a sobering foundation at times, enhancing the sparkle of the lead threads.
Percussion lends suitable locomotion to the tunes, whether the beats are lively and snappy, or when the tempos adopt a more languid temperament to propel slower tracks.
These compositions display a wide range of styles, from bouncy pop to brooding ambient soundscapes. The energetic pieces are crisp and delightful, evoking a definite sense of jubilation in the listeners. The moodier tracks retain a subliminal sprightliness that bestows a sneaky optimism on these placid structures.
Fans of the Chemical Brothers and Depeche Mode will enjoy this release
OUTLAW DERVISH: Outlaw Dervish (CD on Outlaw Dervish Music)
This release from 2008 offers 53 minutes of downtempo groove music.
Outlaw Dervish is: Travis Wernet (on didjeridu, guitar, bass, flute, darbouka, Handsonic, vocals and effects), Ben Leinbach (on drums, percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, vocals and effects), Thea Izzi (on vocals), and Aharon Wheels Bolsta (on tabla, kanjira and frame drum).
Although present, electronics actually play a minor role in this techno tuneage, with didjeridu fronting for percussion, bass, guitar and vocals.
Didjeridu dominates most of the music with somber drones that stir the bottom of the stomach and generate a reverent tribal presence--that is then oddly abolished by the modern sentiments generated by the gritty vocals which deal with social matters like relationships and people’s public idiosyncrasies.
The rhythms are mostly meted out in a relaxed manner, establishing languid tempos that serve to mesmerize through a pleasant lassitude. Even when the beats achieve a peppier velocity, they retain a leisurely disposition. At times, a complexity enters the rhythms as additional beats are introduced into the mix.
Delicate guitar contributes a steely glisten that lingers under the sonic surface, twinkling more than searing. Basslines smolder with subliminal heat, creating a liquid sense lurking in the songs.
Vocals are found in most of the tunes, mostly of the gritty spoken word variety. A few tracks feature a lilting crooning, though, acting as a counterpoint for the lyrical recitations.
These compositions utilize a downtempo mode which produces a sluggish pace designed to soothe instead of agitate. The grooves are sultry and serpentine, embellished by soft rhythms that support the lyrical content.
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