Sonics III
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sonics III
Miles of Styles by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Shawn Lee's Miles of Styles is definitely one of those great finds on my part, completely based on chance. I think I checked out the band simply because it has a funny name, who'd name their band after a sport like ping pong anyway? The marriage of a very eastern sport with a western electronic artiste is an album that fuses a dozen cultures into one. The title of the album is really self-explanatory, and Shawn Lee has drawn musical inspirations from a dozen different countries around the world to make this album. We have everything from a punjabi music, to a very european styled lounge music, to something slightly Scandinavian in nature, to a club mix with Chinese roots. It is a very interesting album to listen to indeed, something you'd want to chill out to if you are desperate for an around the world trip, but can't make it due to whatever reasons you've got. This album incapsulates the essence of music in every culture and layered it with the kind of music you'd expect to find in a lounge bar or a club. This is the type of album that breaks music boundaries, a very fascinating piece of music making here. I still remember the look on my sister's face when I fired up the first song "Punjabi Lullaby". Some people just don't understand.
Alright, I admit. It has taken me a while to catch up with the Daft Punk bandwagon. This band has been around for nearly two decades, and here I am being new to this French electronic band. But let's just say, I like what I am hearing, and I definitely want more. Daft Punk has been said to be the most famous and successful electronic band, and a lesser claim would be an insult to them. I think this band has been made even more famous by Kanye West using one of their songs in his latest album, but that doesn't mean people should look upon this band as being in the "supportive" role in the music business. Daft Punk is the ruler in the dance arena, and it is clear to see why. This band electronic duel is out of this world, with their strange stage outfits and their weird antics while doing interviews with reporters. They seldom reveal how they look like, and they'd even put bags over their heads during interviews just to make sure. I haven't seen this band live, but their concert videos are certainly quite a visual blast, and it certainly compliments the music very well. This whole album is a high frequency, high intensity, high power album that attacks all your senses at once. A very fitting album for a party, or a big crowd that just wants to go crazy all night long.
Bitter:Sweet is my latest find, and I guess I just wanted a little change from the genres before this one came along. Bitter:Sweet is a very captivating band indeed. They are a cross between Thievery Corporation, Psapp, and perhaps Elysian Fields for me. The Los Angeles based electronic/trip-hop band is quirky and fun in a very sexy and mysterious way somehow. Shana Halligan's vocals reminds me somewhat of the lead vocalist from Elysian Field, with the same kind of laziness and style which I admire so much. However, the difference is that you can get a little tired listening to Elysian Fields, but the same cannot be said about Bitter:Sweet at all. They are just upbeat and buoyant, it's the kind of music you'd want to dance to. Dance, not like Daft Punk kinda dance, but just the grooving type of dance. I'm not great at dancing, in fact I resemble a stick in the ground most of the time. But I imagine this sort of music to be the kind that'd make people move on their own two feet on the dance floor. The Mating Game is their awesome debut album, and their latest album Drama does seem as promising, if not better. I particularly love the playful tracks like The Mating Game and Dirty Laundry, the kind of music I'd like to hang my head to.
Miles of Styles by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Shawn Lee's Miles of Styles is definitely one of those great finds on my part, completely based on chance. I think I checked out the band simply because it has a funny name, who'd name their band after a sport like ping pong anyway? The marriage of a very eastern sport with a western electronic artiste is an album that fuses a dozen cultures into one. The title of the album is really self-explanatory, and Shawn Lee has drawn musical inspirations from a dozen different countries around the world to make this album. We have everything from a punjabi music, to a very european styled lounge music, to something slightly Scandinavian in nature, to a club mix with Chinese roots. It is a very interesting album to listen to indeed, something you'd want to chill out to if you are desperate for an around the world trip, but can't make it due to whatever reasons you've got. This album incapsulates the essence of music in every culture and layered it with the kind of music you'd expect to find in a lounge bar or a club. This is the type of album that breaks music boundaries, a very fascinating piece of music making here. I still remember the look on my sister's face when I fired up the first song "Punjabi Lullaby". Some people just don't understand. Albums by the band:
1. Music and Rhythm (2004)
2. Moods and Grooves (2005)
3. Strings and Things (2006)
4. A Very Ping Pong Christmas (2007)
5. Hits The Hits! (2007)
6. Miles of Styles (2008)
Bonobo is really the stage name for the British music composer and DJ, Simon Green. No, it is not the name for a type of monkey, I have checked. Bonobo is yet another chanced find while I was doing my routine surf through the iTunes music store. The type of music is rather similar to Shawn's Lee's music, but the difference is that Simon Green tends to focus a lot more on the vocals. Especially in this album, Simon Green frequently used the voice of Bajka, a German female singer in tracks like "Days to Come" and "Between the Lines". Bonobo is somewhat like Zero 7, only with more style and more funk than you'd expect. While Zero 7 is meant for a lazy Saturday afternoon at home, Bonobo belongs more to the Friday night clubs somehow. His music is said to be soothing, sensual, and even sexy on the first listen. It inevitably evokes a sense of high in the listeners, and anything you do while listening to this album is going to seem as if you are doing it under the influence of alcohol. This album does not require your attention at all, it just forcefully grabs you by the collar and demands it. It is a vibrant album that is fitting for any occasion, choked with the kind of music nobody can resist to. Anybody is going to find something that they like in this album, and Bonobo has two other studio albums to boot at that. This is a brilliant album beyond words, and there is a little bit for everybody out there, surely.
Four Tet is yet another one-man band like Bonobo, whose real name is Keiran Hebden, a British posk-rock and electronic DJ. It is said that anything he touches becomes gold, and that is evident in his extensive discography. If Bonobo is the adult hanging around in bars, then Four Tet is probably the playful kid in the neighborhood who likes to pull pranks on other fellow neighbors. Four Tet has a rather playful take on lounge music, and it is obvious in tracks like "No More Mosquitoes", which really doesn't make any sense at all. However, you can't help but bob you head to the heavy bass and the beats because, well, it is just that contagious and controlling. It is interesting how he actually blends a little bit of jazz elements with post-rock elements, something which I have never ever heard before. It is a very engrossing choice of genres to experiment with, and I must say that the end result is pretty eclectic, if I do say so myself. Some may complain how he may sound like an underground DJ in one song and a posk-rock band from Iceland in the next. The styles may not be the cup of tea for everyone out there, but I personally find that this permutation of genres is definitely something worth listening to, and all the credits and the praises. After all, this man has worked with the likes of Thom Yorke, Battles, Beth Orton, and Radiohead for a reason - he is just that good. By the way, I really do think that "No More Mosquitoes" should be used as the theme song for the anti-dengue campaign in Singapore.
Days To Come by Bonobo
Bonobo is really the stage name for the British music composer and DJ, Simon Green. No, it is not the name for a type of monkey, I have checked. Bonobo is yet another chanced find while I was doing my routine surf through the iTunes music store. The type of music is rather similar to Shawn's Lee's music, but the difference is that Simon Green tends to focus a lot more on the vocals. Especially in this album, Simon Green frequently used the voice of Bajka, a German female singer in tracks like "Days to Come" and "Between the Lines". Bonobo is somewhat like Zero 7, only with more style and more funk than you'd expect. While Zero 7 is meant for a lazy Saturday afternoon at home, Bonobo belongs more to the Friday night clubs somehow. His music is said to be soothing, sensual, and even sexy on the first listen. It inevitably evokes a sense of high in the listeners, and anything you do while listening to this album is going to seem as if you are doing it under the influence of alcohol. This album does not require your attention at all, it just forcefully grabs you by the collar and demands it. It is a vibrant album that is fitting for any occasion, choked with the kind of music nobody can resist to. Anybody is going to find something that they like in this album, and Bonobo has two other studio albums to boot at that. This is a brilliant album beyond words, and there is a little bit for everybody out there, surely. Albums by the artiste:
1. Animal Magic (2000)
2. Dial "M" for Monkey (2003)
3. Days To Come (2006)
Rounds by Four Tet
Four Tet is yet another one-man band like Bonobo, whose real name is Keiran Hebden, a British posk-rock and electronic DJ. It is said that anything he touches becomes gold, and that is evident in his extensive discography. If Bonobo is the adult hanging around in bars, then Four Tet is probably the playful kid in the neighborhood who likes to pull pranks on other fellow neighbors. Four Tet has a rather playful take on lounge music, and it is obvious in tracks like "No More Mosquitoes", which really doesn't make any sense at all. However, you can't help but bob you head to the heavy bass and the beats because, well, it is just that contagious and controlling. It is interesting how he actually blends a little bit of jazz elements with post-rock elements, something which I have never ever heard before. It is a very engrossing choice of genres to experiment with, and I must say that the end result is pretty eclectic, if I do say so myself. Some may complain how he may sound like an underground DJ in one song and a posk-rock band from Iceland in the next. The styles may not be the cup of tea for everyone out there, but I personally find that this permutation of genres is definitely something worth listening to, and all the credits and the praises. After all, this man has worked with the likes of Thom Yorke, Battles, Beth Orton, and Radiohead for a reason - he is just that good. By the way, I really do think that "No More Mosquitoes" should be used as the theme song for the anti-dengue campaign in Singapore. Albums by the artiste:
1. Dialogue (1999)
2. Pause (2001)
3. Rounds (2003)
4. Everything Ecstatic (2005)
4. Everything Ecstatic (2005)
5. Remixes (2006)
6. Ringer (2008)
Discovery by Daft Punk
Alright, I admit. It has taken me a while to catch up with the Daft Punk bandwagon. This band has been around for nearly two decades, and here I am being new to this French electronic band. But let's just say, I like what I am hearing, and I definitely want more. Daft Punk has been said to be the most famous and successful electronic band, and a lesser claim would be an insult to them. I think this band has been made even more famous by Kanye West using one of their songs in his latest album, but that doesn't mean people should look upon this band as being in the "supportive" role in the music business. Daft Punk is the ruler in the dance arena, and it is clear to see why. This band electronic duel is out of this world, with their strange stage outfits and their weird antics while doing interviews with reporters. They seldom reveal how they look like, and they'd even put bags over their heads during interviews just to make sure. I haven't seen this band live, but their concert videos are certainly quite a visual blast, and it certainly compliments the music very well. This whole album is a high frequency, high intensity, high power album that attacks all your senses at once. A very fitting album for a party, or a big crowd that just wants to go crazy all night long. Albums by the band:
1. Homework (1997)
2. Discovery (2001)
3. Human After All (2005)
The Mating Game by Bitter:Sweet
The Mating Game by Bitter:Sweet
Bitter:Sweet is my latest find, and I guess I just wanted a little change from the genres before this one came along. Bitter:Sweet is a very captivating band indeed. They are a cross between Thievery Corporation, Psapp, and perhaps Elysian Fields for me. The Los Angeles based electronic/trip-hop band is quirky and fun in a very sexy and mysterious way somehow. Shana Halligan's vocals reminds me somewhat of the lead vocalist from Elysian Field, with the same kind of laziness and style which I admire so much. However, the difference is that you can get a little tired listening to Elysian Fields, but the same cannot be said about Bitter:Sweet at all. They are just upbeat and buoyant, it's the kind of music you'd want to dance to. Dance, not like Daft Punk kinda dance, but just the grooving type of dance. I'm not great at dancing, in fact I resemble a stick in the ground most of the time. But I imagine this sort of music to be the kind that'd make people move on their own two feet on the dance floor. The Mating Game is their awesome debut album, and their latest album Drama does seem as promising, if not better. I particularly love the playful tracks like The Mating Game and Dirty Laundry, the kind of music I'd like to hang my head to. Albums by the band:
1. The Mating Game (2006)
2. The Remix Game (2007)
3. Drama (2008)
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