Chocolate Wheelchair Album

Venetian Snares | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Planet Mu
• ASIN: B0000D96YN
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,307 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Dance & DJ > Techno > Hardcore Techno
  • #11 in Music > Dance & DJ > Drum & Bass
  • #34 in Music > Dance & DJ > IDM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ventriloquist Snakes, November 21, 2009

By 

D. Sanchez - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chocolate Wheelchair Album (Audio CD)

Like all other VSnares albums, you have to listen to it from beginning to end in order to get a full experience of the Snares Man. This album was actually the first Venetian Snares album I bought when I discovered Mr. Funk, then went backward then forward again, getting everything I could possibly get from him. Now as a true fan of his articulation, there should be a sub-genre of electronic music based off his style. Hand throw!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 7.6 out of 10 - mr. snares goes for a walk, and gets lost, November 18, 2003

By 

Lorin Reed (moreno valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chocolate Wheelchair Album (Audio CD)

Anyone who's interested in Aaron Funk's music is aware of his complete disregard for conventional musical structure. Fans are also probably aware of how attractive that disregard can sound- i know i am. My first time listening to "doll doll doll" all the way through, i felt like my life had changed. It was dark, and raining, and i was on my way home from somewhere in the dark and rain with the volume on my stereo cranked all the way up. It was amazing; relentlessly attacking snare sounds placed at jazzily flawed time signatures, and distorted voices from under the bed from god knows what horror film. It was scary, and i wanted ta shake my booty to the fear. Who else can do that?

On his first and second albums "print/f" and "songs about my cats", Funk showed obscurity through fractured drum & bass songs with odd time signatures, and there was an individual theme for both. These themes were vague, and ended up being more like undertones (did you really imagine different kinds of cats when you listened to "songs about my cats"? Probably not). However vaguely the songs represent their theme though is irrelevant; when listening to either album, your brain can fill in the blanks, and you'll get something that could possibly be the sound of cats, or evil (or in the case of this year's dissapointing "nymphomatriarch", sex).

With Chocolate Wheelchair, it seems Mr. Snares has abandoned all theme structure, and created an album full of songs that are all experimental in their own right. The opening track "Abomination Street" begins with some jazzy meddling; horns swell and flush while the snare drums segment them on a cutting board. Eventually a punk-esque female vocal comes in, which acts as a hook for the song. Venetian snares songs don't generally have hooks, so this is a relatively new thing for listeners to hear from him. And when they do hear it, they'll love it.

"Einstein Rosen-Bridge", the album's strongest track, takes a funk guitar segment, a cow bell, and a sample from something old and science fiction ("its about time, its about space, about strange people in the strangest place!"), and blends thems into one of the catchiest songs of the year. And its a Venetian Snares song! Epidermis continues in a slightly similar fashion, with emphesis on its chorus / hook vocal, and lightning fast drums of all shapes & sizes.

good stuff. But herein lies the problem- what about the more experimental stuff? What about the songs without hooks? This is what makes the album inconsistent. Its not that any of the 10 tracks on this album are "bad", per se- its just that a select few tracks stand out, and the others...don't. I found myself popping this cd in my discman and skipping stright to "einstein rosen-bridge", over and over. Is it the album's lack of flow, or is it my impatience? Either way, Mr. Snares sets the listener up for accessible songs done in a violent and drum-driven fashion, but falls slightly short of that expectation with the more obscure stuff. This is a good album, and i'm sure snares fans will find alot to like in it. But for those looking to dj some snares songs at their next party, a word of advice: go with the einstein rosen-bridge 12".

5.0 out of 5 stars Marty's Tardis, September 9, 2010

By 

Peter Sanderson "Peter 'Pan' Sanderson" (Doha, Qatar) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chocolate Wheelchair Album (Audio CD)

Yeah, I like Einstein-Rosen Bridge, but for me the key track is Marty's Tardis. I love the gradual transition from what sounds like Tourette's Syndrome to a gorgeous mellow soundscape. Not sure, but from the title I'd say the track mimics the Hostile Action Defense System (HADS)feature on Dr. Who's tardis that teleports the 'ship' from danger when under attack. In this case, it has moved Funk from the usual breakcore to the sort of music I'd like to hear a lot more of from him.