Customer Reviews

Another Late Night

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Four months after its original release, it seems American listeners are going to get a taste of Fila Brazillia's eclectic mix CD, "Anotherlatenight."

I don't see how this can be called "chillout" music. The songs on here fail to reach the height of relaxation offered by say, Kruder & Dorfmeister, or any other downtempo group. It's not prime-time floorfilling material, but it's pretty funky in and of itself. "Anotherlatenight" is best looked at as an excursion into a number of different genres; splitting time between the famillar and the obscure.

Beginning John Barry's "Theme from the Persuaders" (remember how awful that show was?), seguing into the jazzy dream of "Firefly," then Mike Ladd's Infesticons, and then Prince Alla's roots reggae...could it get any more eclectic? The true climax appears when Marvin Gaye's "T Plays It Cool" is looped and Eno & Byrne's "Regiment" takes over. Masterful! If anyone knows where I can get a Dunya Yusin CD, let me know. I won't describe the rest, but suffice to say, it ends on a cover of a Bach fugue. Heh heh heh.

It's not a smooth CD, and I don't think anyone is expecting beat matching skills from the Fila boys, but it really works. It's eclectic and funky, just like the band itself. But you probably already knew that.

I bought this one quite sometime ago. I have a lot of respect for Fila Brazillia as their name speaks for itself. Well, at first it was a bit hard to fully get. There is so much on this disc that it is a bit overwhelming. After three years I catch myself still going ga ga over it. What a great choice of selections. I love the Brian Eno track. Not to mention the crucial reggae track they drop, wound up getting the whole record of that, I believe it was Prince Alla. Mr. Scruff is great. And I am not a real big rap fan or anything ( track 3) but I even like that track, it is entertaining and it isnt all in your face tough guy stuff which is all cliche these days. I like the whole record in its entirety. It is great for travelling, going for a long drive or walk or a trip in your own living room. Highly recommended.

i believe that this is the first fila brazillia mix available. many thanks for the folks at treacle/kinetic who have kickstarted this new series, "another late night" which appears to have been inspired by the "back to mine" series. apparently, this is the first in what will hopefully prove to be a number of "another late night" compilations as i have discovered that howie b is releasing the next one.

the emphasis here is not on seamlessly blending each tune into the next. fila instead focuses on quality song selection, which i believe, is the greater challenge of the artist-as-dj. fila brazillia are more than up to this challenge, drawing upon the melancholy, cinematic "the persuaders theme" of john barry, the fresh lyrics of the infesticons, the soulful crooning reggae of prince alla, the 30's-horns-meet-the-70's-discobeat of mr. scruff's "get a move on." "t plays in cool" an instrumental track of marvin gaye has been sampled on andy smith's "the document" but sounds good wherever it's placed. fila then moves ahead to more modern rock-electro hybrids with the beta band's "it's not too beautiful" (a gorgeous song) and david holmes' "rodney yates" which has a nice calypso/hip hop groove to it. the only song which is typical fila brazilla fare is "nature boy" a brilliant re-tooling of the nat king cole song by fila themselves. "les nuits" by now is included; i've heard this song on many other mixes as well but just like the marvin gaye number, their beauty is undeniable. "suspended" by kelis is a very tasty r n'b gem even for those who don't normally favor such cuts. what a voice. fila brings the mix to a close with the swingle sisters' "prelude & fugue in c minor" an accapella version of bach. don't cringe - it's eerily beautiful.

i hope that the "another late night" series continues the tradition set here by fila brazillia and manages to lure artists who normally don't make a living releasing mixes to share their own personal favorites in such a format. don't expect to hear all unearthed underground tracks here but do expect fresh cuts from unexpected sources mixed in with safe but sublime standards.

This is a really great CD. I've been a Fila fan for a few years and I've heard all their work, I own Power Clown, Mess, Maim That Tune, A Touch of Cloth, and now AnotherLateNight. The ONLY bad thing about this CD is track 3. "Infesticons" is a rap, for lack of a better word. It's just awful. I played this album for some friends and skipped that track out of embarrasement. I won't waste time telling you why- just wait until you hear it. Everything else on the CD is just stupendous. The selections are impeccable, and the transitions are brilliantly timed. There are moods ranging from reggae on "Bucket Bottom" by Prince Alla, to Unforscene who sounds like he might actually *be* DJ Shadow, to the ... r&b stylings of Outside on "Blue Skies"- all the way to choral beauty of the Swingle Singers on the final track entitled "Prelude & Fugue in C Minor". I encourage you to take time out of your day to sit and listen closely to this album. It's been expertly crafted layer upon layer, and subsequent listenings peel back more layers of previously unheard or unrecognized musical skin. At the core of it all we find the same two talented boys from England working their magic. I absolutely cannot wait to see what the future holds for these guys. They are true musical pioneers if there ever were any.

This CD is always in my car, and tracks 10 thru 15 (the funky, jazzy, mellow portion of the CD) help me fly thru 2am traffic the best. The only track i always seem to skip over is the Hero theme - of all the choices, why this? - and the Prelude & Fugue in C Minor. I'd rather this CD had gone out in a blaze of funk than that brain-drooling, wishy-washy note.

Brillant array of sounds. While some listeners find the mood swings a bit jarring for the late night "designation"...I find the shifting pieces to be like a bedtime tonic...a comforting replay of the sounds one might experience during the day.
Cobby & McSherry offer quiet lush meditations, spikey throttled guitar segments, metallic percussion, R+B chorus styles, jungle variations , improved elevator music, take on hard rap, and much much more.
To quote the American Heritage Dictionary: "...Vibrations transmitted through an elastic material or a solid, liquid, or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing. .."

To get right down to the point, if you're purchasing this CD in hopes of more of what we have all come to know and love from the Fila boys, you will not find it here. Not to suggest that any of their previous albums have been the same, but they all share some common themes that allow us to distinguish Fila from the sea of other electronic-musicians. The track selections themselves are highly diversified, and the album lacks continuity, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. Unlike the description found on the back of the album, this is hardly a chill out album. This is not what you will want to put on after a late night dancing at the club. This is more like the CD you play on the way to the club. The transitions between tracks are not like a typical continuous mix. Here, they tend to be more like lulls in the volume and musical complexity to signify the end of and the begining of another track. The boys also experiment with some restrained cuts and scratches, but it's pretty clear that they are not professional turntabalists. At this writing, I've only played the album once. I usually come back and write a second review after a few months of listening to the album, when I feel I have been able to more closely examine it, get used to it, and reflect on it. Stay tuned.

Interesting collection of musical styles, from ambient to dance to funk to rap. Despite the diversity of sounds, the cycle is mixed together beautifully. I didn't know any of the artists going in except the Beta Band, and I still loved it. The liner notes say it best; good mood stuff, great as a background selection after the clubs. "God bless the Infesticons, f*** the Majesticons!" Ya gotta love it.

I love Fila. In my opinion this one is a little weird. The track selections are ok but not great. I expected more of an ambient mood to this one being a late night but some of the tracks are a little too upbeat.

I usually love their (Fila's) work, but as mixers on this compilation, they sort of put me to sleep. Since, I tend to listen and focus into the music, this proved a little frustrating as I passed it off as background ambience. Maybe this what they were going for???