Customer Reviews

Jelly Tones

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I speak from personal experience, the recent history of the Japanese underground club scene could have continued to go understated if not for this manga-inspired Jelly Tones, which I consider as Ken Ishii's watershed, even if I sometimes feel the straight-ahead techno of Innerelements is a better accomplishment. No doubt the anime MTV video of 'Extra' helped a lot in raising Ken Ishii's profile, and more importantly, brought the whole idea of the 'Ken Ishii Sound' and Japaneses-style minimalist techno down south of the Asian region to my friends' exposure 3 years ago. Jelly Tones as a studio production album is a very creative exercise at synthetic cheesiness with funny bleeping, clicking and sqawking sounds and so on, hence the 'manga-inspired' label. Very instrumental and melodic trance music that's not for the dancefloor and almost ambient, grooving but not pounding bassline, and filled with warmth. It may not sound as good as it seems, it just seems more important than it sounds. Then from then on, Ken Ishii as a techno-futurist constantly changes his musical directions in the name of creativity. By the way, I'm still enjoying Jelly Tones ever since I bought it 3 years ago, and my version has Dave Angel and Boom Boom Satellite remixes. I also recommend another album called 'Grip' which Ken Ishii did for Sublime Records under the pseudoname 'Flare'. To further experience the 'Ken Ishii Sound', listen to sound samples at his official website.

Although the sound of this album may be a bit dated, at its time, Ken Ishii's "Jelly Tones" was paving a new sound. Techno music at the time was sounding much the same, but when Ishii's "Extra" came out, coupled with the supurb video on MTV's 'AMP', this album reached a whole new audience. A mixture of trance, minimalist techno, and breakbeats now and then, the album definitely delivers. What's special about the album is the fact that Ishii tries out different styles and elements in his tracks. This is definitely one to add to your collection.

Sparser than Flatspin and not as colorful as Sleeping Madness, Extra is full of clean, understated, dancable techno, fond of video game style bleeps but never adverse to live percussion. All the tracks with the exception of Cocoa Mousse (which I found to be strikingly boring) make for great study music and remind me in places of Kenji Kawai's soundtracks for the Ghost in the Shell movies. Highly recommended.

After reviewing Future in Light, I had to give Jelly Tones another listen; after all, this is the CD that really launched Ken Ishii into a techno main-stay and introduced the Japanese dub circuit to the world masses. I wondered: was it all just the electronica craze of the mid-90's, the incredibly lush anime video by the creative director of Akira, or was it the brilliance of the man behind the tracks? Perhaps it was all of the above.
Jelly Tones isn't a typical techno CD, with its ambient, minimalist trance and slow-building, slow-moving (and in some cases, anticlimatic) soundscapes; but Ken Ishii knows where the pressure points are, and just how much to press them.
Take "EXTRA:" dreamlike, almost drifting, with percussion elements (that sound very Asian and stick in your head) introduced and eliminated, unfolding slowly...
"Cocoa Mousse" is another ambient tableau, but with a more "clickty-clack" drumming and emotional synth notes. It leaves the impression of stroll (not exactly a dance track pace).
With "Stretch" I first realized (thanks to my V600 Sony Headphones) that KI uses a lot of low register sounds. Various rhythms all come together to an effect that's both subtle and complex.
"Ethos 9" brings a jungle sound to the mix, and its bridge still gives me chills: everything but the jungle rhythm is taken away and then that is perforated by a pattern of silent pauses.
"Moved By Air" is the weakest on the CD: more of soundtrack piece, but is somehow a little flat. "Pause in Herbs" has bubbly sounds on top of a more trance like melody (used more as a percussive element).
"Frame Out" is a drum and bass attack that changes as soon as you think the you've figured it out (I like the doppler shifting). "Endless Season" feels sort of endless, and it is the only place the CD feels a little sad; it is a excellent ending track, though.
The two remixes on the domestic release are ok: the Boom Boom Satellites remix is somewhat repetitive and annoying.
All in all, I think Jelly Tones lives up to the myth; some may feel the sound is somewhat dated, but maybe the logarithmic pace of electronic music could use a slow-down, and some past reflection.

_Jelly Tones_ is Ken Ishii's breakthrough album, the one that brought him widespread attention. He brings in a strong Detroit influence to this album, infusing it with not a small amount of soul to accompany the anime otaku attitude. "Extra," the standout track, swirls and thumps gorgeously -- it's definitely a highpoint of Ishii's career. "Cocoa Mousse" has much more delicacy to it, while "Rusty Transparancy" has some archaic harpsichord hits to add some sonic texture. "Ethos 9" gets us back into some twisty techno, with some touch-and-go breaks. And the heaviness comes on strong with "Moved By Air," which takes a more tribal tack. The dense and complex "Pause in Herbs" has so many distinct and interacting layers that it may seem bewildering at first, but it quickly resolves its main melodic line. Luckily, "Frame Out" is much more straightforward -- almost a pure rhythm track. And as hard and rhythmic as "Stretch" is, it also glistens. "Endless Season" takes the album out on a more ambient, mostly beatless note. Even though this took Ishii to the top in 1995, it still sounds fresh today.

This CD is "out of this World"; clean, smooth sound, takes you to places you never knew existed; I've never heard a style such as in "Endless Season" . . . its nearly addictive!

"Jelly Tones" is a pretty decent album which doesn't try and expand the genre in any way - it's here simply to try and make dancy club tracks. It somewhat succeeds, but occasionaly it does not. The first track, "Extra", is a great tune which I WOULD say goes on a bit too long, but it's still good. The sounds Ken makes are distinctly Japanese even though there's no real way you could prove that (it just SEEMS like something a Japanese artist would create). In this sense it's pretty interesting, but sometimes the songs become generic sounding. The production is good, but not really worth noting. Overall it's an uneven album with a few really good tracks, so if you're an electronica fan you might like this. Slightly recommended.

Highlights include:
"Extra"
"Cocoa Mousse"
"Stretch" (parts of it)
"Ethose 9" (sort of)
"Moved By Air"
"Frame Out"
"Endless Season"
"#10"

This man is the best DJ the Asian East has to offer! The sounds flow and the beat is movin. A great Trance CD...check out track 5...its a style u never heard before. Buy it if you love a smooth bumpin Trance CD.

Ken Ishii shows us again why he's a master with Jelly Tones. Check out the song EXTRA, it is just pure awesome! And video is just as cool!