Beautiful My Child (Dig)

Euphoria | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 3, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B00005ARFL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,764 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Electronic music has always been most interesting when DJs and artists get adventurous, wrapping their particular obsessions around those familiar fat beats. In recent memory, it has been done well (see Everything But the Girl's Temperamental) and badly (U2's Pop misstep) but Toronto guitarist Ken Ramm has done a more than decent job of it with Euphoria, melding his space-rock guitar riffs with the loose structures, atmospherics, and danceability of techno (some have called this style "guitronica," as if we need yet more sub-genre definitions in dance music), Ramm's songs still stay songs, even while floating out on the wandering edge of trance and trip-hop. His decidedly acoustic touch sets off the contrasts inherent in this kind of mind-meld and makes little instrumental whispers like "Desert Drive" more interesting on the 10th listen than the first. There's an almost rootsy hue to songs like "Cactus," as Ramm's slide guitar ambles through the melody like a tumbleweed. Vocal enhancements from gospel singer Maddie Willis (who also made contributions to the band's self-titled debut record) and Gayle Day's R&B-laced pipes light up other songs like "By the Sea" with welcome doses of soul. Finally, Garry Hughes' production sheen dresses it all up in silky smooth electronics and lazy, shoegazing textures. The whole package manages to be experimental and instantly appealing all at once. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

Euphoria are pioneers of the unique sound dubbed 'guitronica.' Euphoria's new album Beautiful My Child, features the group's signature combination of acoustic slide guitar and propulsive beats. Their latest single, "Sweet Rain," builds upon their success at radio (and the impressive retail response generated by "Delirium," last year's breakout instrumental from Euphoria), with sustained airplay in Denver, Boulder, San Francisco, Seattle and Minnesota yielding strong sales in those markets.

Euphoria comprises Toronto-based composer/instrumentalist Ken Ramm, as produced by Garry Hughes (producer of Vitamin C, who's also worked with Art Of Noise, Garbage, and Sly & Robbie); the group's profile was recently enhanced by the use of their music in the Infiniti SUV ad campaign.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music From CSI: Crime Scene, January 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Beautiful My Child (Dig) (Audio CD)

I bought this album after hearing the second song,"Little Gem", on the hit CBS show CSI:Crime Scene. This is one of those bands that you hear all over the place(tv,films etc.)as their music seems to fit many moods. My favourite songs are the hypnotic "Desert Drive","1001 Dreams" and the Bert Jansch-Pentangle influenced "Devil May Care". Euphoria adds a very original approach,the slide guitar and beats, to a genre that needs a breath of fresh air.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 'Chill' album, but in a good way..., July 22, 2001

By 

S. "mediaddict" (Jamaica Plain, Morocco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beautiful My Child (Dig) (Audio CD)

What snared me on Euphoria was the 'slide guitar meets beats' blurb, plus this Six Degrees label. What keeps me coming back is how darn smooooooth this CD is. It's background music without being dull. Chilled without being asleep. It's hard to draw any particular comparison to other groups, as certain songs call to mind (for me) anything from Forest For The Trees to Sneaker Pimps to Sixteen Horsepower or Calexico. Calling it techno country & western doesn't do the music justice, but the slide guitar really does carry the focus of the melody, and gives something of a rural, western feel to the music.

It certainly is not a CD to make you want to get up and shake your tookas, but there is a diffuse energy that courses through the CD ('sweet rain' for example jumps with a nice skitter step). I'm more partial to the insturmental tracks over the ones with (admittedly soft) female vocals, but others probably prefer the vocal tracks. The beats and drums have a bit of a global feel to them on occasion, with what sounds like dumbeks or bongos on certain tracks replacing the typical pre-programmed rhythm section.

This would be one heck of a CD for a warm and rainy summer day, sitting on the covered porch with a cool drink, watching the rain splash off the dust-cleaned cacti.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful blend of guitar & techno/trance, August 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Beautiful My Child (Dig) (Audio CD)

I bought this CD after a brief listen at a book store; i was hooked immediately. I agree w/ what most other reviewers have to say, so i'll only add one additional thought: for any of you who like Acoustic Alchemy (earlier CDs, before one of the guitarists died), you should try this CD; it takes a variety of guitar styles and blends them nicely w/ a driving techno beat. Conversely, those who like the guitar styling of Euphoria might want to try AA, as you will hear a wonderful range of influences. Warning: Acoustic Alchemy is not 'trance or electronica.