Second List: Weird Electronic II

07Feb08

I am sorry everyone, my wit (if you thought I had any) has left me for the evening. I have started working out again and I am fucking exhausted. I suppose the following list is influenced by my fatigue, because all of the albums are more or less relaxing; and even if they aren’t relaxing, any dancing you could do to them would be rather slow. I consider all three albums worth listening to while lying on my couch and getting high. In fact, maybe that is what I will go do right after I finish writing this shit.

Hint “Portakabin Fever” (Mellow Electronic)
[Ninja Tune; 2003]

Check out some of Hint’s remixes here.

Portakabin Fever is a relatively old release for my blog, but, I did just find out about it, so I think I am justified in giving it a little praise. Released in 2003, Portakabin Fever is Hint’s magnum opus–a surreal journey into laidback, instrumental, fantasy hip-hop. Being on Ninja Tune, you can be sure that Hint uses every genre he can get his hands on, from hip-hop to jazz to funk. There are hints (heh) of artists like Amon Tobin and Four Tet, but Hint’s style is definitely all his own. The most striking feature of this album is the consistent strength of the song writing. I have been impressed by some electronic artists in the past, such as Caribou on “Milk of Human Kindness” and Four Tet on “Rounds“, but such consistency is hard to find in such a fast moving genre, making Hint’s achievement that much more impressive.

Harmonic 313 “EP1” (Electronic Hip-Hop)
[Warp; 2008]

Listen to samples from the album here. Also, solve all the word problems (hint: they are the names of the songs on the album) and download a free bonus track!

After the slow death of Prefuse 73, the continued stasis of artists such as Flying Lotus and Daedelus (who just released a surprisingly good live album that I hope to review soon), and RJD2’s fall from hip-hop iconoclast to confused wannabe indie star, I was seriously worried about the state of instrumental hip-hop. Yes, Madlib is still pumping out beats and his little brother, Oh No, has just released some of the best instrumental hip-hop to date, but they really aren’t weird enough for me. Just when I thought god had forsaken electronic hip-hop, this release from Harmonic 313 has given me hope. Harmonic did everything right on this album: solid production, wonderful song writing and the creation of foreboding , yet a surprisingly chill, space age soundtrack. Strangely enough, a lot of the album is very video game-esque–an 8 bit anthem if you will. However, play this at your next party and watch the crowd either sit back and smoke a joint or stomp along to some of the slickest tracks released from an electronic hip-hop artist in a while.

Pinch “Underwater Dancehall” (Dubstep)
[Tectonic; 2007]

Listen to some Pinch here.

Like all good albums, Pinch’s Underwater Dancehall doesn’t fit nicely into the genre it’s labeled as. “Angels in the Rain” is certainly straying from dubstep roots, the only thing that belies this claim are some of the percussion elements that underlie Indi Kaur’s vocals. However, there are other songs that fit snugly into the genre, such as “Battered”, though I tend to think that some of the more dubsteppy tunes are still slower than those from Pinch’s contemporaries. Regardless, almost every song on this album works and works well. What I tend to think really hurts almost every track they are on, are the vocals. I am rather picky about vocals, and simply cannot get passed some of the choices dubstep artists make (I absolutely despised Spaceape when I first heard him, though I am now kinda attached to the big gorilla). Rudy Lee’s vocals on “One Blood, One Source” are not only ridiculously trite, they simply do not work. He has a sensuous, soft voice, and the beats are fucking badass and dark. Thankfully, Pinch released the album with and without vocals, a saving grace if I have ever seen one. Try listening to “One Blood, One Source” without Rudy Lee and you will know what I mean. All in all, this album is bold and proves that dubstep is a a production style to be reckoned with.

Filed under: Albums, Dubstep, Electronic, Hamonic 313, Hint, Lists, Music, Pinch   |  2 Comments