Customer Reviews

Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man [Vinyl]

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

 

 

High grade break-beat succeeds with keen, clean production and (mostly) memorable and creatively juxtaposed sampling. Some of the more scientifically-minded IDM fanboys may reject the more accessible hip-hop vibe we find here, but this album is impressively layered enough in analysis, even if slightly underdone on the whole, for that to be a mistake.

40 minutes of the sickest beats I have ever heard! I can listen to this album over and over again and not get sick of it. You can break or make love to it, but you can't go wrong with a member of the 1200 hobo's!

I came across this album on iTunes after searching for artists and albums similar to DJ Spooky. After listening to all 13 parts, and reading up online about the history and musical background of the DJ and musical producer Sixtoo, I really have a developed a genuine appreciation for the cool, Canadian hip hop feel and sound of this album. The track last consists of songs that are all named "Jackals and the Vipers in Envy of Man", but can be distinguished by the Parts 1-13 listed next to each track. The songs rang from 0:40 seconds to nearly six minutes and are all a different assimilation of sampling, computer sounds, random beats and live musical instruments. It is a very random assortment of sounds, but after you start listening to them for a while, you can start feeling the beats. Your mind can really start to wander when listening to Sixtoo's "Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man" and I think that the collaboration of totally random sounds makes the album all the more interesting. Two of my favorite tracks is Part 1, which sounds a little bit like the background of a popular Macy Gray song, and Part 13, which is a pretty slow song that gradually starts to pick up and really get a good beat going, which I really like to listen to. I noticed that some of the songs sounded like computerized animal sounds, and you could also hear a hint of foreign sounds like in Part 4 which sounds like someone is trying to get a genie to magically swoop out of a bottle. In class, I feel like we have talked about the samples that were heard in this song, and I remember listening to a song even in section that had these same types of sounds. Aside from class, I have not listened to really anything like this and I consider Sixtoo a very original and spontaneous DJ. Another aspect of the album "Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man" that I found interesting was the lack of really any real human presence. There were no lyrics, and I felt like the music really had to tell the story as opposed to someone singing or rapping lyrics, which tell a story. The originality of the sounds made it possible for there to be no lyrics, yet for a really compelling story to be told through just plain music.
All in all, I thought that the music of Sixtoo in this album was very intriguing and moving, even though it was full of randomness. There is more to music than lyrics, and Sixtoo's DJ capabilities really show this in this album. Though some may think this album is confusing or repetitive, if you really start to listen to the sounds come together throughout all 13 parts, I think that you will really be surprised with what you think of it in the end. Overall, I give this album a 4.5 out of 5 stars and will definitely start listening to the music creations of Sixtoo more often.