Customer Reviews

Ba Ba / Ti Ki / Di Do (Dig)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

. . . but the nowhere it goes is somewhere you want to be. The first track on this, Sigur Ros's fourth release, is purely, ravishingly beautiful. Comprising simple, one is tempted to say mindless, musical materials, it nevertheless conjures the most unpretentious, most evocative childhood memories-of safety, security, bliss, mother-warmth. Things clarify and simplify still further on the second cut, where electro-acoustic materials dance and cavort in a mesmeric static sound signature that evokes proto-childhood, somewhat reminiscent of the space-child birthed at the end of 2001, A Space Odyssey, with just the slightest worm of a hint that everything's not as it seems to be introduced and thematized by scratchy, somewhat mechanical-sounding percussion, warmth and assurance seemingly coexisting with uncertainty and potential destabilzation.

Cut three fully launches menace into this childhood Eden. Processed wordless vocals, of an uncannily ominous sort, combine with storm-like electronic background soundscapes to skew the proceedings in an eldritch direction: A new Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience? Perhaps. Indeed, there is a Blakian signature all over this remarkable music. With the introduction of annoying, jarring electronic effects and layered freak-out guitar, all semblances of innocence are destroyed, only to fleetingly reemerge near the end with an astonishingly short finishing flourish.

In all, I find this music to be at once warmly encouraging and coldly menacing. Just like the real world.

This is a very interesting release for Sigur Ros. Completely different from their two full lengths, but that's good isn't it? We don't want bands making the same album a bunch of times. (Not that the first two were "the same" really). This is entirely instrumental, and much more minimal and abstract than the other albums.

"Ba Ba" gradually materializes from silence with a gentle, ethereal, keyboard melody, which keeps unfolding to reveal more little melodies of music boxes winding up, bells, and pianos. It really evokes a magical kind of dream-like atmosphere in the clouds. I think this track really flows the best and sounds the fullest, sounds like it could be from ().

"Ti Ki" has more music box sounds and odd repetitive electronic dings. very sparse for a while then really builds up.

The last track "Di Do" is kind of creepy, with strange mangled robotic voices repeating the song titles, and swooshing noises, but actually evolves into a good rhythm for a while until the song is tortured and distorted to the point where it is pretty much random experimental noise. This is probably one of the most bizarre songs I've ever heard .

I admit, I probably won't listen to this very often, but it was a very worthwhile purchase for the collection. Fans of the Icelandic band Mum will probably dig this album, as it sounds more like Mum than Sigur Ros. Sometimes I think i'm listening to Mum rather than Sigur Ros, usually on the second song. They had to get some inspiration from them, it sounds so similar. It also reminds me slightly of Aphex Twin, and very slightly of Ulver, mostly on the "Quick fix of melancholy" EP. You should definitely check out Mum and Ulver's electronic music if you enjoy this.

Sigur Ros is one of those blindingly good bands that occasionally churns out something... not so good. Not bad, but far from good. Sadly that is the case with "Ba Ba/Ti Ki/Di Do," a simplistic little soundtrack EP that sounds pretty, but doesn't inspire a second listen. Heck, it didn't even inspire a title.

"Ba Ba" is perhaps the prettiest song on here, a coldly delicate little synth melody that slips back to where it began, on an ambient loop. After some babbly vocals, "Ti Ki" debuts with a cracked, disjointed sound, followed by the wavery, eerie "Di Do."

Created for the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, this EP may be better if you watch people dancing as you listen. It's somewhat like Sigur Ros's previous work, but somehow it feels more simplistic and sloppy, as if it were slapped together quickly.

Jonsi's falsetto vocals are pleasant, even when he utters baby noises. Backing him are a bunch of experimental samples -- a robotic voice, bells, music boxes, clock gears, and so on. They definitely have the makings of brilliance, but they also overwhelm the delicate ambient melodies. The experimental tracks never quite gel.

Perhaps the worst thing is that Sigur Ros's elusive, almost elfin emotions seem to be missing. The songs of "Ba Ba/Ti Ki/Di Do" are definitely interesting and offbeat, but it's not great. They dart very close to the musical grandeur from "( )" and "Agaetis Byrjun," but fall just short because of a lack of musical focus.

The die-hard Sigur Ros fans may want to give this a spin. "Ba Ba/Ti Ki/Di do" is an interesting EP, but by a truly excellent band like Sigur Ros, this blurry collection feels like a bit of a letdown.

This is a recording of music that Sigur Ros did for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was performed in New York City in October 2003. Radiohead was also involved in this performance. It's twenty minutes of music. There are three instrumental songs. This is probably the most abstract music Sigur Ros has done. The music is very ambient and evocative. It's mostly bell sounds, music boxes, and percussion. It's a chill out record most definitely. I was listening to it on a long drive to Northern California with my friend from France. It was very striking and very much a mood maker, while seeing the mountains near San Jose. The use of music boxes makes it almost like music about childhood. Sigur Ros is always interesting.

This, like many others for this cd, is my first review, but too many people are complaining about Sigur Ros's new single. It is a hypnotic and beautiful layers of music box's and keyboards that is just and album to listen to while thinking or having a revelation. It was a project for Split sides and nothing else, the band has already said the new album will have lots of vocals, maybe even in english, so we know this isnt permenant. If it's beautiful music i dont care who is making it and where they have been, and that is what this is, if i want Untitled then I'll listen to it.

Between waiitng for Sigur Ros' next album and enjoying their last, this is indeed a welcoming news for fans of the Icelandic band. The three instrumental tracks are seamless here. You'd be forgiven for thinking that there's only one track.

There's no overlayered production or much electronica infusion here, just some simple percussion, music box and bell sounds, which all worked perfectly to showcase the emotive and dramatic soundscape the band has always been known for. Track 1 Ba Ba benefits most from the whimisical bells and comes across as a very beautiful piece of music that comes right out of the music box. Think of it as good as Bjork's Frosti from Vespertine. It's that good.

This CD single brings us a little closer to the next full album from Sigur Ros and I know they won't disappoint. And once again, kudos to Geffen for taking a chance with a small indie band like them. There's hope in music still.

Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do is a wonderful twenty-minute electronic ballad. I've seen reviews that say it is repetitive, but no more so than a chorus is within a single song. I think people try to read it as three separate pieces because it's broken into three tracks, but it's not intended be read as such - it's a cohesive work. And it's not the same as their full length album work either. They took a different direction with this piece, which is what real artists do. It's frustrating to see the reviews that say this single lacks everything that Sigur Rós is about and expect Sigur Rós to just rehash the same old stuff like so many popular bands would do. But anyway, to give an idea of the sound, those who appreciate Múm, another Icelandic group, would likely enjoy this single. Any Sigur Rós fan that appreciates artistic expression would also probably like it.

I have never written a review before, however, it seems as though there is some confusion about this Sigur Ros release judging by the reviews so far. This is NOT a studio album. These three tracks were improvised and recorded on October 14th, 2003 as part of The Merce Cunningham Dance Company's performance "Split Sides" which was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The performance incorporated two separately designed pieces of scenery, costume, music and choreography which were then paired at random. The other musical "side" was performed by Radiohead. You can read more about the recording and its performance on Sigur Ros' website.

Completely different from everything else I've heard from Sigur Ros, this EP comes off more as an ambient expirament than a new focused effort.
No vocals (aside from samples) or discernable melodies. Instead, the songs on Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do seem more intent on generating hypnotic layers of pretty blips and clicks. It's a great deal more subtle than their other work.
It reminds me of the more hypnotic tracks off of Mum's "yesterday was dramatic, today is ok" album, or practically anything off the Raymond Scott LP "soothing sounds for baby," which was basically a similar (albeit slightly less accesible) set of playful, child-music...
I love the direction of this EP, but if fans are looking for something similar to Aegetis Burgeum or Untitled, they could be in for a dissapointment. I admit that I was looking for more of the slow, brooding builds and peaks topped with the signature phonetic "outlandish" singing style of Untitled 1, but ended up feeling pleasantly surprised by the completely different direction.
Hopefully you will too.

I've read several of the reviews here that both liked and did not like this album, but there was one thing in common with ALL of them... No one seemed to know the origins of the album. In the case of Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do, that is the single most important thing in understanding/appreciating the music. CONTEXT.

American choreographer Merce Cunningham made a dance piece / ballet entitled "Split Sides." The idea was that there were two lighting arrangements, two soundtracks, two of everything that could be interchanged from one half of the show to the other. He got Sigur Ros to write half of the music (Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do), and he got Radiohead to write the other half (music they chose not to release). The music was a collaborative effort with cunningham and his choreography, so it follows a logical progression, much like the build-up in (), albeit a much shorter trip.

Given this knowledge, I found Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do to be rather amazing. From the first notes of the ballerina music box in Ba Ba, I was captivated.

Hope this helped.