Freaks & Icons

Dzihan & Kamien | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B00004Z3Z3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Austria
  • #59 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Techno-House

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what world dance music fusion is all about, January 5, 2001

By 

TJ (LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freaks & Icons (Audio CD)

First of all, this is not trip-hop or downtempo, and really is not that similar to K&D, Thievery Corp and others that Dzihan and Kamien are compared to. What it is, is an excellent blend of various dance styles with Middle Eastern beats and melodies, and loungey elements. It is an amazing debut LP, with a huge amount of instrumental dexterity and sampling genius. While countless bands have sampled Middle Eastern music, nobody else has blended it so skillfully and made it so danceable as well in the process.

Elements of house, trip-hop, lounge, trance, drum'n'bass, and dub combined on this CD. There are a lot of great songs on it, but I particularly like the ethereal "Ocean Air" -the Turkish saz flavored "Slowhand Hussein" the funky Arabic "Just You and I" and the piano-tinged "Homebase."

Highly recommended for anybody who likes interesting dance music in ethnic flavors.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool stuff in K&D vein!, November 9, 2000

By 

HHK (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freaks & Icons (Audio CD)

Here is another downtempo duo from Austria in the same vein as fellow Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister.(They got a lot better since Falco :))

Kamien is Swiss, and Dzihan is Bosnian. They are apparently very much influenced by Turkish music.(turkish zither samples on some songs, samples from an instrument sounding like an electric saz on others) This influence is especially obvious in "streets of istanbul" , "slowhand hussein" and "just you & I". The last one is one of the best tracks in the album along with "after","homebase" (also in a cafe del mar compilation) and "dabudei" in my opinion."Just you & I" and "after" are also the most danceable tracks in the album. The rest is perfect for after-party chill-out.

Buy this album! Also check out Kruder&Dorfmeister's and Thievery Corporation's (especially last album "Mirror Conspiracy") work.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Infectiously cool..., January 1, 2005

By 

nicjaytee (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freaks & Icons (Audio CD)

In amongst the huge amount of distinctly second-rate laid-back electronica and chill-out music that's out there are some real hidden gems. And here's one... an album full of cleverly arranged, addictive beats that will grab repeated space on your CD player. Why? Well, despite its distinctly "tacky" cover, "Freaks & Icons" is in fact one of the coolest albums around... closer to Thievery Corporation than Kruder & Dorfmeister, but with the same beautifully crafted, multi-layered instrumentation of their more popular peers, it incorporates East European & Asian influences into familiar, rock-solid jazz-funk and "chill out" structures that, seemingly effortlessly, roll along from start to finish. After a couple of times through, the infectious melodic "hooks" that underpin virtually every track take hold and, before you know it, you're hitting the replay button yet again.