Customer Reviews

Himawari

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OKAY: first of all swayzak is an incredibly amazing talented duo who perfectly and precisely fuse Detroit techno minimalism with thumping house beats and repetitious trance grooves. But before i go on about the wonders of their music, i must debunk the naysayers.

ONE: for those of who say swayzak is a lousy rip-off of a Berlin sound, then read the liner notes to their first CD 'snowboarding in argentina'. They give a shout out to Maurizio and Basic Channel (in addition to Orbital, Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys and mark rothko, the brilliant 60s abstract artist who committed suicide). So these guys know where they're coming from and are paving the way for whatever direction they want to go.

TWO:sure it's been done before but musically what hasn't? Nowadays good music seems to be about taking tried and true formulas and ideas and re-inventing them. swayzak is awesome at doing this and because they're so good at this, almost too good, people seem to be afraid to give them the accolades and recognition that they so richly deserve.

THREE: then there's the music. on 'snowboarding...' vocals were almost non-existent (except that 'life' thing on 'burma heights' and that weird chant on 'cone') and the beats are straight forward trance. However on 'himawari' the first half of the CD drifts across different genres of sound whereas the second half is more driving trance.

standouts are the 80s synth-pop of 'state of grace'. kristy hawkshaw(former lead singer of opusIII) sings in that blissed out way of hers and when that click-beat kicks in and kristy croons in german. . .euphoria!!!!

'illegal' is a dubbed out reggae tinged affair. it reminds me of early massive attack for some reason.

'kensal rising' is classic deep house down to it's 'love me' refrain. . . ambrosia!!!!

But it's from track 6 on that the deep down and dirty grooves begin and don't let up.

'caught in this affair' is a standout and, although predictable, is dreamy in it's house sensibility, washes of gorgeous synth and the delicious vocals of j.b. rose. . . pure perfection!!!

'pineapple spongecake' is full of teutonic industrial beats and wah wah wah wahs like old school techno. . . good stuff!!!

'the frozen loch' is gorgeous in its simplicity. A spoken word intro and a downtempo groove that reminds me of opusIII's 'into this universe'(perhaps the inspiration for their colaboration with kristy or maybe a by product of it???)

'floyd' is my fave. four-on-the-floor beats and claps, synth keyboards and this pounding pulse of a groove that dares you to defy the urge to get up and boogie.

'betek' closes things out with a cool yet not very memorable groove that's still as good as the rest of the tracks.

FOUR: i cannot praise this CD enough. Being heavy into IDM and moving further and further away from the predictability and triteness of most techno/house/trance artists and DJs i was beyond pleasantly surprised by this disc and went back out the same day to purchase their first release as well.

Surprise yourself.

Buy swayzak.

There are countless great albums released yearly that get hardly any recognition or label push; you know this, of course, being an electronic fan. So when a new record gets a press spurt, and it's not Global DJ #24 or Label Comp 200X, well, you take notice.

Thankfully, James Taylor and David Brown (Swayzak) aren't wasting your time or the company's money. The duo have worked up a fine techno/house long player, shuffling a broad range of styles and making a complete artistic statement.

The early tracks mostly establish the mood- "Illegal" is a cursory spoken word exercise, and "kensai rising," while catchy, shows how easy it is to make dance music. Then they start to diversify their sound: "State of Grace" gets things going proper- if you survive the seizure-inducing 80's flashbacks it causes, you'll realize it has that synth/tech/pop thing nailed. I swear I'd seen a blonde in a blownout-white studio singing this. "Leisure centre" is a sublime little treat trying to hold back it's dangerous bassline. "Mysterons" is an old-school car thumper, "Doobie" (a mild letdown) slowly draws you in but can't keep it together. The standout "Caught in This Affair," will be in precisely 245 compilations soon courtesy of J.B. Rose's smooth voice and the sharp beats that try to penetrate a swirling atmosphere.

Things peter out from here, though. "Japan Air" is eh, "Pineapple Spongecake" is dark, creepy, and bass-shuddering- nice, but you won't reach for seconds. Stick through it, however, for the ever-building energetic finale "Betek".

"Himawari" tries to do more than offer a dozen variations of shuffling techno beats; these are songs, not programming exercises. It may not all work, but quality - yet diverse - albums are a rarity these days, and Swayzak pulls it off. Grade: B+

I don't wish to say much about Swayzak other than they are just a total head trip listening to their stuff. I just purchased this CD after downloading "Kensal Rising" and I have to say that I favorite track. "Kensal" is just a deep house groove with a funky bassline that I just can't stop listening to! I love "Mysterona" as it has a cool Kraftwerk-meets-GrandMaster Flash-meets-Herbie Hancock (old school breaks, yo!) feel to it. I have "State of Grace" in a different version on the NuBreed-Sander Kleinenberg-Series; both are odd, yet still scary and errie, similar to a teacher scratching her nails on the chalkboard! OUCH!

For those of you that are into the more deeper, mental, and emotional site of techno (Aphex Twin, Wagon Christ, Squarepusher, the defunct Electric Sky Church, etc.), then you should get this CD. It will not disappoint as it reminds me of the Detroit and Berlin house scenes of the 80s and 90s that I miss so much and can never be repeated!

With the exception of a couple of vocal tracks, Himawari has a sound that I think of as 'busy' trance.  Strictly speaking, the songs here are quite formulaic, with similar tempos across all the tracks.  Most open with a soft riff before gradually progressing, climaxing, and fading out.  Yet, with Himawari, this formula sounds so good that there's really nothing to complain about.  The addition of varied and interesting sounds within the tracks, like the distorted bass line on "Leisure Centre" and the industrial sounding groove of "Pineapple Spongecake" serve to give each track an extra spark.

With its forceful beats, much of Himawari is loud and insistent.  This is good, but unfortunately it also alienates the somewhat softer songs on the disc. "The Frozen Loch", coming right after "Pineapple Spongecake," lacks punch, and "Japan Air" ultimately isn't much more than filler.  Overall, the first half of the CD seems to have more energy to it than the second, with the exception of the last track "Betek" that takes it up a notch to end the album.

The vocal tracks are quite different from all of this, though. "Illegal," featuring Benjamin Zephaniah, has much more of a stark, dubby sound.  On the other hand, "State Of Grace", with Kirsty Hawkshaw, is borderline dance pop, albeit with lovely vocals.  It would benefit from a good house remix, in my opinion.  The track "Caught In This Affair," with J.B. Rose, is a trance number like the rest, but I found the vocals here a little underwhelming.

Because of the fact that it doesn't pull any punches, Himawari is quite listener-friendly.  I can imagine it being played at a club somewhere.  It may not be particularly inventive, but what it does, it does well.

Swayzak's second album has managed to wow me just as their first did. I love the way they subdue the beats and the melodies are thick and sticky... this music is extremely intimate; it feels like it's coming from inside you head. Personal highlight would have to be "Doobie;" they way it builds reminds me of someone desperately trying to squeeze one last use out of an empty tube of toothpaste!

The first time I heard Swayzak was on a local radio station where they play underground techno music. I fell in love with Swayzak when I heard their song Mysterons, which has a large amount of drum and bass. This whole cd has plenty of drum and bass and is a great cd to dance to. I recommend this cd to anyone from a hardcore techno fan to someone who is just curious in this genre of music.

a tech-house masterpiece! with a couple other styles thrown in as well. 70-something minutes of pure sonic synth-bliss. There is no weak point to this album! mind-soothing and hypnotic. If I was teaching a class called Groove 101, would be required listening. This cd is enjoying HEAVY rotatation in my cd players right now! If a cd could eventually be physically worn out through overplaying, this one probably would. I can't seem to stop listening to the trance-inducing, euphoria-producing melodies and rhythms.

Swayzak creates music that takes you places where one would think only dreams could. Atmospheric trips for the mind, body and soul. "The Frozen loch" has me there right now, somewhere in the winter bliss watching snowflakes fall ever so slowly. Mind tripping. Much like their last album, "Himawari" continues with the same builds and etc etc ..excuse me..i sound like a critic...just get the album...it's fantastic...i promise.

These two guys are by far one of my new favorites. Already a fan from their first album, Snowboarding in Argentina, I just bought Himawari and I must say, BRAVO! The addition of a few vocal tracks have expanded the mad skillz Swayzak already possess and luckily, they pull it off. This has influences accross the board, touching on bits of electro, deep house, step, dub and more. Two vigorous thumbs up!

Smooth and melodic are the only two adjectives truly necessary to describe this album. Having never purchased anything of Swayzaks prior to "Himawari," I wasn't altogether certain what to expect from it. I had read several immaculate reviews and thought I would go out on a limb and actually purchase an album without hearing even one single track on it. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed.

"Himawari" has a couple tracks that are less than enthralling, but if you buy this album for nothing less than exposing your ears to Kirsty Hawkshaw's angelic voice in "State of Grace" or simply to groove to each introduction of a new synth sound in "Mysterions," you'll have gotten your money's worth.

Bottomline, this is an album that I would wager most electronica fans - particulary those that enjoy melodic trance - could sit back... relax... and enjoy.