Customer Reviews

Bodily Functions

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Even if you're hip enough to love the "Verve Remixed" projects, nothing can quite prepare you for the experience that is Herbert. Never before has such an organic blend been achieved; it's damn near impossible to determine where jazz ends and electronica begins.

Tracks like "Suddenly" and "Leave Me Now" percolate at tempos fast enough for dancing, even though their musical backdrops are dreamily mesmerizing, perfect for chilling on a sofa. "On Reflection" takes it one step further and puts its toes right on the edge of the dancefloor; the tempo and percussion make you think the bass drum will kick in at any minute, but the song stays content as a supper club ballad with a beatnik crashing the party with his own bongo drum groove.

"Addiction" and "I Miss You" are intoxicating ballads with similar percussion flourishes, but other cuts like "I Know" and "About This Time Each Day" prove that ringleader Matthew Herbert could hold his own with straight-ahead jazz cats. Vocalist Dani Sicilliano casts a hazy spell throughout the album, managing to chart that rare territory of vocals that sound dreamy, lazy and still passionate. Herbert goes out with a bang, however, as "The Audience" challenges one and all to sit still while Dani's "move with me" chorus floats over a bubbly and irresistible club groove.

The credits are shaped like a human eye and are hard as hell to read, but finding out certain percussion sounds came from laser eye surgery or a mouse who fell into a wastebasket make it well worth the trip. In a way, it all proves "Bodily Functions" is the epitome of jazz: its creative spirit is influenced only by itself and becomes more profound when it feeds off its own origination. Music fans who take the time to sit and absorb "Bodily Functions" before they let it be background fare may well find themselves immobile from the disc's hazy, alluring start to its rousing, celebratory finish. You are hereby challenged to find anything else that sounds like this.

A truly astonishing album from start to finish. A more complete work from Herbert, I have not heard. The journey you experience while listening to an album full of clever, heartfelt songs, will leave you completely satisfied and yearning for more. This album is one of those rare musical experiences, which allows you to lie back and drift away with ease, while still holding a rhythm that urges you to tap your foot and shake your thing. 'Suddenly' and 'Leave me Now' encapsulate this perfectly, while 'The Audience', will have you probably being forcibly removed from the dance floor. Beautifully crafted songs set against a backdrop of ingenious beats and samples. Far ahead of its time. Buy now, not later, NOW!!

British keyboardist, producer and DJ, Matthew Herbert, continues to keep it real (as his musical manifesto goes) having put out his eighth production right on time for a summer filled with some largely expected releases: REM, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Faithless, BJork, etc.

For percussion, he sampled all imaginable bodily sounds. In fact, the sleeve reads for one of the songs: "All percussion taken from bodily function sounds kindly donated by strangers and friends around the world." This, he combines with the sound of some more traditional 'instruments' including at some point a very jazzy piano ('The Last Beat' and 'I know' are a good example of this).

Finally, Dana Siciliano puts in a touch that makes this production somewhat resemble the sound of Everything But The Girl (songs like 'It's Only' and 'Miss you'), with her sweet voice, to match Herbert's intimate bodily compositions.

Not your typical production, not a grand, grand production either, but definitely one that deserves being listened to and given a try.

Matthew Herbert's new album is one of the crucial dance recordings of this year.Although it's going to be categorized as a house record it's much more...there's some gorgeous jazz,and a few killer torch song ballads.The thing that is remarkable about this record is it's sound...all manner of human body sounds were used to craft these tracks,and there's even some sampling of his baby's voice on it.It's pretty safe to say that no other record really sounds like it. If you're into electronica of all kinds you should do yourself a favor and buy yourself this record....

As DJ Rez mentioned in his review, Herbert's pregnant missus contributed all the squelchy sampled noises that the some of the tracks use, and his baby makes a few guest gurgles. With that in mind, you'd imagine that this is a fairly tuneless album, but you'd be so wrong. Apart from the few jazz interludes, the more dance-orientated tracks are some of the most hummable, funkiest and memorable tunes I've heard all year. It reminds me a little of 'Dubnobass..' by Underworld with it's lo-fi approach and sound effects, but the inclusion of a Suzanne Vega-esque singer (Herbert's missus?) elevates some of the songs into sublime epics. Check out the eerie Twin Peaks sounding 'It's Only' with it's emotional synth washes, the bouncy 'The Audience' with it's jazzy Saint Germain like outro and the tune that's been stuck in my head for the past bloody month, 'You Saw It All' (that bass line at the chorus is hypnotic I tells ya.) His other album 'About the House' is supposed to be better still, but I've yet to locate it.

For all the KIDS that want to go bang!! This album is not for you. For the people that can listen to a album from start to end and want to be totally blown away with emotion this IS the album of 2001. This album makes you chill, dance, laugh, think and get your groove on from start to finish. This album is classic Herbert..big vibes out to matt.

What goes on in the mind of a man as outstandingly creative and innovative as Herbert? Does he play around on the sampler/mixer/keyboard to create sounds that one would never think of placing in a song? Or does he get some sort of divine inspiration from the Music Gods? Whatever sparks Herberts creativity and brilliance will probably remain a mystery, but after hearing "Bodily Functions", a music lover like me can't help but respect this man for what he does and how he does it. After hearing "Bodily Functions" a few of my friends were like: "What is this mess? Sounds like somebody doing something obscene!!!" Then my other more open-minded cronies took to the songs and "sounds" right away, admiring the mix of jazz, rich vocals, minimal house beats and the "obscenities"--actually these are supposed to be sounds the body makes, hence, the title of the CD. This is definitely a classic in my book, and if you're a fan of DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin, or any other genre-crossing artists who give "dying" music that "UMMMF", then check out this man! You have to!!!

This album was recommended to me... I had seen Matthew Herbert rape a cereal box on german TV once before (he was being his 'Radio Boy' charater) which made me decide to stay far far away from him.

However, after downloading the first half of the album, I immediately decided this was definitely one (of many) to own! It's something you'd play after coming home from going out, after coming home from work whilst taking a bath, while smooching on the couch with someone special and even while sitting on your balcony on a mid-summer night.

If you wanted to compare this album to something else; think Everything But The Girl's most recent studio album, Temperamental. It's dancey, but not too loud... Very jazzy, melodic. VERY soothing.

I honestly don't think you'll be disappointed.

This is not at all what I expected. Don't let the "IDM/house" music tag throw you off track. BODILY FUNCTIONS is some of the smoothest and most gorgeous downtempo (with a heavenly female vocalist) that you will have encountered in all of 2001! It is for sure HERBERT'S masterpeice of beauty and sensuality. No wonder BJORK enlisted him to remix tracks for her VESPERTINE. He is tops! Even my mother in Pittsburgh loved this album when I played it for her.....

Certainly "Suddenly" and "You Saw It All" stand out as the demented deep house cuts on this new album. Its quite unfortunate that a few people can't seem to immerse themselves in the perpetual walls of emotion given in this fine work.

This is certainly my favorite underground album of the year (besides the likes of Victor Malloy and FUG) thus far and I listen to a wide range of music...from classical meets viet blues, to middle eastern ambience to deep house to dark downtempo, etc.

Herbert has always been on the cutting edge in his productions and probably has two or three different types of fan bases...one for this style of deepness, another for his more noisy improvisations and "other".

He has definitely managed to mix them all up on a wonderful full length. I love how he flows from psychotic jazz on to tech-flavored ambience to things yet unnamed.

If you're a music fan with an open mind and would like to be taken on a refreshing journey into sound and emotion, give this one a try.

BTW, all of the percussion on the project was made from an unborn, then born child. Magnificent.