Customer Reviews

Consumed

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I remember casually browsing around the local record store when I came across this album in USED RACK. I was a bit surprised and taken off-guard, considering the praise which this album has received. I bought it for 8 bucks and rushed back home to take a listen. For the next 70+ minutes, I sat in my beanbag chair completely captivated by this disc. I couldn't move, nor could I answer the phone or even speak. THis is a powerful work which will stand the test of time. I am not screwing around here. Like Kraftwerk has done for electronic music and techno altogether, Richie Hawtin has done to not only minimalistic techno . . . but for the senses. s

Like the album title, that is exactly what this music does to your mind, ears, and soul . . . it "consumes" you. THis album is a living and breathing entity to me. It fluctuates and moves like no other music you will hear. It repeats over and over and over, whipping you into a trance in the most aesthetically pleasing ways. It has extremely low bass and has waves of synth washing over you with some serious effects. Mixing this music with a nice atmosphere and peaceful setting will reduce you to nothingness . .. in Richie's world, EVERY SINGLE ENTITY IS ESSENTIAL. He makes sounds which range from a frog to factory machinary grinding along to empty space to the bottom of the ocean. He took me places I never knew imagined, and in just the simplest ways.

Minimalistic techno is not for everyone. It is a very mature and complex sound which takes time to grow in a person's "scheme of things." All the 14 and 15-year-old candyravers can forget about this one . . . it's far too over their heads. And I mean that in the nicest way.

I urge all those interested to purchase and give it a try. It takes time and can't be listened to every single day. I hope you will cherish it like I have. Richie Hawtin is honestly one of the best I have heard since Aphex Twin and The Orb.

Wow, I am truly fascinated by this CD. No matter how much I listen to it, I never get sick of it, I always find new components each time I listen to it. The word "dark" has been used many times to describe this CD, and that is the perfect choice, as this music is in no way "happy" or "upbeat." I would call this music very serious and surreal. This CD is a must have, it was great the first time I listened to it, and it is still great after my 20th listen. Pick it up and listen, you will love it!!!

Of the thousands (literally) of cds that I own, I can honestly say that this one has had the greatest psychological effect on me. I feel kinda bad about saying that since from my own understanding, it's the album that Richie Hawtin spent the least amount of time on. It was recorded under pressure shortly after he was let back into the US after being deported. I think the events in his personal life are seriously reflected in the music. It's VERY dark, seductive music that will put you in an altered state. I highly recommend picking up this album, turning down the lights, and preparing yourself for a mind-expanding experience.

Some not so intelligent people like my friends try to convince me that the Chemical Brothers are far better techno (duh Phil they acutally hyave a beat! ) Well so does this. If I have any bass on my stereo while playing this my cieling tiles vibrate. So it does a bassy beat, that is unaudible on alot of stereos if you were wondering about that. Its a new direction for Richie Hawtin (plastikman) but its a good one. If you liek ambient or trance get this. This is closer to the word trance than any crap Paul Van Dyk or Oakenfold can spew out.

I don't think i've heard this guy do anything bad. Its dark, minimal. A stripped down blend of beats and techno. To the unitiated (my girlfriend for example) it's repetitive. But for those willing to sit with an open mind and listen to something that is not typical saccharine pop or derivative indie guitar, there is reward.

An album of sliding surfaces, hypnotic pulsations and ethereal, background textures: "Consumed" is clealy not mutated Techno for the Dancefloor, but rather a step in an alternative direction. In fact it's almost sound-art installation material. Coming from the same strange spaces as Hawtins Ltd Edition "Concept" series, "Consumed" is an extended and cohesive exploration into minimalist technological abstraction. Whilst the pieces are essentially repetitive in nature, it's as though they enter a new space: a space in which the usual 2D linearity is replaced by a 4D expansiveness. This not only applies to the production, (which makes use of spatialising technology) but to the arrangments as well. In fact, the production and arrangement on this album are so intertwined as to be indistinguishable.
There a lot of subtle details woven into the mix and the sense of depth is something to be experienced. Sonically, the pieces don't astound, though they are very pleasant to the ear. However, what it lacks in sonic originality it makes up for in design, managing to convey a sense of future-ness within it's minamalist outline. This album feels out of place on my humble stereo: it seems more suited to some kind of specialised environment. I imagine some kind of vast hall or series of halls, where the sense of depth and space within the music would be more greatly enhanced. It's not easy-listening or lounge-core, or ambient. It's not even particularly enjoyable, (remember: art does not always equal entertainment) but it's a fascinating ride nontheless.

Took me awhile to get into that one. Really the 3 or 4 first times I listened to it I went "WTF?" and did not listen for at least 6 mo. Then I picked it up again and decided to give it another try.... boom it was so simple so clear so powerful.... how could I miss it?

I really think it has to do with the fact that you mature and you can, or not, change your perception. "Converge" really did it for me, it still gives me goose-bumps. Again the only thing that makes me sad is that I did not get it right away when it came out but almost 6mo later. I must be getting old or something, I can't believe I have been following music, techno music that long and I could not grasp this at once.

It *is* beautiful though. Give it time you'll see and hear.

One of the finest works in electronic music (arguably the most innovative music sub-genre). Absolutely sublime. Rich, resonant traces of music, so sparse yet so full. This goes beyond emotion, it goes beyond comprehension. It transcends all...

This is the music God gets funky to.

This CD needs to be listened to on a high quality system to be enjoyed. Lingering in the immediately apparent aural landscape is not enjoyable: the surface is repetitive and, being mostly devoid of progression, boring. One must isolate sounds and then listen beneath them. Listening to this, really listening, is a bit like going on a guided tour of a complex landscape. Meditative music in the sense that it must be meditated upon to be appreciated.

Get consumed.

And I don't just mean get the cd. This is a dark, atmospheric album; gone are the 303's of plastikman past. The basis for many of these tracks is bass bass and more bass; synths float over the darkness like will'o'wisps(for a surreal otherworldly experience, listen to this album through a good pair of sealed full-size headphones).

I don't recommend this album for someone who's just starting off with their plastikman experience (it may turn them off; it's very very dark). It is an amazing album, and an incredible addition to the fantastic catalog of the master that is Richie Hawtin.