Customer Reviews

Colours

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Warning: this album is addictive. If you happen to be getting started on the drum'n'bass scene, as many Brazillian fellows are; this album, pardon the cliché, is a MUST HAVE. It was not for nothing that "Circles", the best-selling single out of this piece, has been awarded worldwide acclaim ever since its release. This track welcomes you into Adam F's "beat craftmanship": very intricate patterns, smooth bass programming and dreamy-like ambiences push you towards an introspective mood, as the samples "check, check, check" (which my girlfriend simply loathes) announce tempo changes. May I suggest that listeners avoid "Circles" during daytime: it loses much of its magic. Also, the single "Metropolis" was responsible for the dark turn drum'n'bass took back in '97. It's more floor-oriented and features an impossibly dark, claustrophobic urban flavor with basslines so rough you will start wondering about the reliability of your speakers. I would also choose "Music in my mind" as one of the top tracks in the album: it teaches d'n'b producers the miracles which flutes, horns and sudden tempo changes can perform against the boredom provoked by the ever-so-linear typical d'n'b tracks (did anyone say Ed Rush ?).The jazz samples have an organic feel and are overall well placed (that is, you don't feel they're samples), melting gracefully with the ambient soundscapes. "Music in my mind" also features Adam F's own voice through a vocoder - and vocoders are so cool. 4th top track: "The tree knows everything". Although it sounds like a remix swap between Adam F and Tracey Thorn (since F has worked on EBTG's "Before today"), don't be bothered by the purists saying it's just too cheesy. The ambient-like vibe skillfully constructed sweetens Tracey's voice even more, making it a beautiful track, setting the mood for "Circles", which lies next. Last: "F jam". Acoustic drumming, electronic drum kits and MC Conrad (those familiar with LTJ Bukem will remember)take you on a future soul, jazz-influenced journey. My idea of a chill out tune. Well, record this album, steal it, buy it, but give it a try. It's unlikely to disappoint. (Almost forgot: try and look for the US edition. It has a Roni Size remix for "Circles" that you will miss should you buy the UK version).

Hardcore DnB fans would choose to discard this,due to lack of the traditional,rough feel that is normally expected of the genre.This is an excellent album for people who are new to DnB.Very accessible,very clean feel.The music has been more focused on electronic danceability than complex breakbeats. It goes from jazz to funk to full- on techno and back again.Some excellent remixes as well.The US version contains a well done remix of "Circles" by Roni Size.Adam F has already made a huge impact on the underground circuit with seminal tracks such as "Circles", "Metropolis" and "Aromatherapy" and his presence on stage at nights like Goldie's legendary Metalheadz club and Promised Land at The End has given him a reputation second to none. The album will take you on a journey of Adam's emotions and musical taste.Buy it and let yourself be touched.

Adam F is surely a drum n bass DJ, but much removed from the other frivolous drum n bass DJs. He uses the beats so moderately that his drum n bass DJings creates the cosmic and fantastic mood like ambient or post-rock. 'Colours' is a very meditative and intellectual drum n bass masterpiece. Great!

Adam F is definitely going to be remembered for this album. Drum'n Bass has never sounded so "colourful". Mixture of ocenic dubs, along with powerful electrifying beats and eclectic voices (such as Tracey Thorn from EBTG, and Adam F himself behind a vocoder) are the essential plot of this album. Adam F's sensibility overcrosses the limits of the initial DnB and Jungle premisses, achieving an outstanding result. YOU'D BETTER BUY THIS RECORD !!!!

As a Hip-Hop / Drum & Bass musician & Producer that has worked with some of Dance music's most revered artists (Goldie, Redman, LL Cool J), he burst onto the album scene with this his 1997 debut "Colours". Forget hard edged Drum & Bass...this album has its hand in the smooth Jazz-tinged 'LTJ Bukem' intelligent Drum & Bass end of this...."Metropolis" opens the album very strongly, with late night ambient Jazz layered over the D & B breaks. "Music in my mind" is a smooth synth-sampling breakbeat excursion of sublime structure. But it not until "The Tree knows everything" that the introduction of a accomplished vocalist is introduced (courtesy of "Everything But the Girls - Tracey Thorn") that the true melodic spirit of the album truly unleashes on the listener. And the inclusion of the astonishing atmospheric "Circles", easily matches anything produced by similar artists, and matches 'LTJ Bukem' seminal "Logical progression" for innovation, scope, production, atmosphere & downright influential tracks.

Drum & bass has not got the best of reputations. Many people belive the stereotype - that it is repetative, boring and bad quality. And for many drum & bass tracks, I would have to agree, and the real talent, the tracks with genius, are rarely heard. Luckily for me and the other scores of true supporters of the underground, somebody with talent has been recognised. Colours from top producer Adam Fenton is one of the best breakbeat albums for a long time. A heavy flavouring of jazz and ambient in his tracks, making them good for plain listening, actually help to compliment the prominent syncopated beats, making them perfect for the dancefloor too. The only thing I do not like is the tracks that contain vocals - vocals do not work in drum & bass, and definatly spoil his otherwise flawless productions by filling them with cliched lyrics. Still, the brilliance of Metropolis, Jaxx, Aromatherapy, and of course the absolute genius of Circles, lets the album deserve 5 stars. May we have many more albums like this, from more talented, and unsigned acts, so that the underground scene may lose it's stereotypes, and thrive to a ripe old age, and, like a fine wine, improve as the years pass.

Adam F. blew up on the drum 'n' bass scene with his debut album _Colours_, throwing funk, jazz and hardstep into the mix. Certainly, "Metropolis" lays on the darkness, while "Music in My Mind" brings an R&B vibe with the vocoder into a breaks-based setting ("F-Jam" carries the same vibe). "Dirty Harry" sounds like a deliciously funkified version of the _The People's Court_ theme, whereas "Jaxx" is reminiscent of Goldie at his best. "Mother Earth" feels slightly unfocused, in a free jazz sort of way, and "Colours," featuring Ronny Jordan on the guitar, edges uncomfortably close to smooth jazz. But things come back into focus quickly, when Tracey Thorn takes the helm for the gorgeous "The Tree Knows Everything." Adam F's best track, "Circles," follows quickly on those heels -- a dense and heady mélange of jazz bass and quick synths. This Japanese version offers two surprises: the solid groove of "Aromatherapy" and a cover of Madonna's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" that shows that d'n'b and pop aren't completely incompatible.

I love this album. I first heard it in my favorite music store being played from the promo CD. I was enchanted by the Vocoder on the track "Music in Your Mind." I ordered it from the store that day and I haven't regretted. It is simply one of the greatest albums I have ever heard. The beats are so fresh and alive, the bass is so smooth. Jazz influence is laced throughout the tracks. Circles is by far my favorite track, but all the tracks, including the ones with vocals are incredible.

Some of the best breaks out there, Adam F has truly taken the drum and bass genre to a whole new level. Tracks such as "music in my mind" and "The tree knows everything" show melodic skills as well as catchy bass-lines. Adam also shows his darkside jungle with "Metropolis (Rated 1998 best Drum And Bass song by The DJ awards) and "Jaxx"...When, not if, but when drum and bass gets huge in the states, F's "Colours" will be considered a classic.

BRILLIANT! FANTASTIC! Adam F.'s masterpiece is in my opinion a must for every D&B/Jungle-lover. Grooverider did a magnificent work with Dirty Harry's anthem: Not even Lalo Schifrin would be able to create such dirty-groovy fantasy!!!! SIMPLY AWESOME