Customer Reviews

Lunatic Harness

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know many people like to compare Mike Paradinas to Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) and Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher), but Paradinas has far surpassed both of his contemporaries with this album. Whereas James like to put emphasis on the melody while backing them with complicated rythms and Jenkinson puts the emphasis on rythm with the melodies backing everything else up (usually), Paradinas takes the best from both worlds to create a unique, highly diverse, intricate, and emotional album. There has never been an album of this quality before Lunatic Harness and there will probably never be another one for a very long time.

Every single track on Lunatic Harness embraces some emotion or memory or dream and pushes it past its extremes. In each song there are several different melodies running together, overlapping, and complementing each other, and there, at the base of it all, are highly complex drum patterns, running at high speeds that whisk you through your fantasies as if on a tour of a magical kingdom as seen from the window of a speeding freight train made entirely of glass.

The compositional structure and style of each song is very hard to pinpoint. It is as if the musical genres of classical, jazz, rock, and the blues all decided to have a roman orgy and have a single love child.

Paradinas also has a natural talent when it comes to dynamics. At times the music whispers its secrets into your ears, telling of love and sorrow and loss. At other times, the music swells to a thundering frenzy where one can learn of agony, fear, and despair.

I am sure that there are many people that will disagree with me. I am sure that many people will say that this is nothing more than Nintendo music on crack (a term which has been used before in reviews on Mu-ziq). I am not disagreeing with that statement. I am just saying that this Nintendo music on crack has quite a bit of meaning, emotion, and complexity behind it that people should observe. In my opinion, this is the Paradinas' aural Citizen Kane.

I first heard of Mike Paradinas (u-ziq) on an online broadcast of a show he did with Amon Tobin in 1997 (I think.) Most of the stuff he spun comes off of this album so I had to have it. I am a fan of electronic music, more so the emotive, experimental end rather than huge, dumb big beat. Lunatic Harness is now one of my favorite picks from my collection. You've never heard such textured and touching sounds behind what is some of the most edgy drill-n-bass ever but to plastic. Strategically placed bass breaks and interwoven sound scapes make this a rather moody work (see 'Hasty Book Alert,' 'Secret Stair' and 'Catkin and Teasel'.) The title track displays some outright wicked beat-boxing along side some scattered beats racing along before dropping you into a rather flowery, upbeat movement before pummeling you with more bass beats. If you want a varied, introspective electronic work, this is what you're looking for.

This is one of (M)u-ziq's (Mike Paradinas) best recordings and is also a good introduction to his sound. Several tracks contain soaring melodies accompanied by erratic beats. One nice thing is that the music never really gets old since you can't remember the structures immediately and don't know when and where to snap your fingers or tap your foot. Actually, its best if you don't try to do that - you might pull something. The album is also fresh for its manipulation of electronic, ambient, hip-hop, and other musical styles. My favorites from this album are "Brace Yourself Jason", "Hasty Boom Alert, "Mushroom Compost", and "Catkin & Teasel". All of these tracks, like I mentioned earlier, have a pleasant melody backed up by some very spontaneous and hyperactive beats. If you like Aphex Twin, then you may want to check this out. I don't like to compare U-ziq and Aphex because in my opinion their styles are different. U-ziq seems to have nicer melodies in his songs and his beats sound more drum like than Aphex's nut's & bolts in a blender sound. Not that Aphex Twin doesent have pretty melodies and varying beats, he just has less, and their usually placed in the middle of a set of unsettling tunes. The two actually made an album together, "Expert Knob Twiddlers", which isn't really that exciting when compared to either's individual recordings. Also recommended is U-ziq's 8 song EP, "Brace Yourself", which includes two remixes of "Brace Yourself Jason" and two more of my favorite U-ziq songs, "Summer Living" and "Abmoit". For something very refreshing and different in your CD collection, "Lunatic Harness" is definitely a must.

Really is one of the best electronic albums of the 1990's.

You can listen to this from start to finish as many times as you like and never tire of it

As the years go by "Brace Yourself Jason" becomes funkier, "Midwinter Log" more melodic, "Catkin And Teasel" more demented and the title track "Lunatic Harness" even funnier.

A rare, warm, wickedly funny and FRIENDLY drill n bass album.

Makes a perfect pair with Aphex Twin's "Richard D James" cd.

There's also a collection of "offcuts" called "Brace Yourself" which is interesting but nowhere near as good as "Lunatic Harness"

If you're new to u-ziq start with this album.

The first four or so tracks on this album are absolutely essential -- the spazzy xylophone and "ha!"-ing kung-fu girl on "Brace Yourself Jason", the churchy organ and demented drums of "Hasty Boom Alert", the off-kilter swagger of "Mushroom Compost", the almost-dancefloor-anthem of the title track. The first two tracks in particular are strongly reminiscent of an insanely breakbeaty take on In Sides-era Orbital, and that's high praise. Unfortunately, the inventiveness is too much to keep up for an entire album and the last few tracks are frankly dull. Still worth four stars for the quality of the start. Mind-expanding, infectious, enjoyable, and full of things to come back to.

Typical mu-ziq: music that constantly changes, cathcing the listener totally unprepared for what's coming next. It's true that this disc doesn't have tremedous flow to it, but that's a product of the fact that each track is essentially an experiment unto itself. Paradinas is a genius who's redefining of the ways in which music is conceived and how it can sound; on this disc, he combines machine-gun drum breaks with some of the more imaginative ambient soundscapes around, blending the two tempo extremes seamlessly. The searchings he does on this album ("what does this knob do") don't always produce beautiful music in the classical sense, but the common thread in all his experiments is that they universally create unique and intriguing mixtures of tempos and textures. Not an album to relax to - rather, it's one which demands constant attention on the part of the listener to be fully appreciated. The results, however, are well worth your (and his) efforts. Thanks, Michael.

Ever since I've heard Aphex Twin, I've been looking for another artist that is playing something similar. I've found it in u-ziq. u-ziq has a very interesting style that is similar to RDJ in some ways, but totally different in others. I must say I do not particularly like "My Little Beautiful", "Wannabe" and "London". But other than that all the tracks are incredible. ESPECIALLY "Brace Yourself". Oh my! If you are interested in drum(drill)+bass/experimental electronica, than this is definitely for you. Just incredible.

This is without doubt the most emotionally involving album ever made in the field of electronic music. And i think I've listened to just about all the rest of them.

Catkin And Teasel (Track 11) on its own displays more invention and depth than most other electronic artists manage in an entire career.

The drum programming on the album maybe have been surpassed in complexity, but never in inventiveness. Like watching Groucho Marx come out with a string of one liners, the rhythm tracks are utterly astonishing and display an impish sense of humour that appears simply nowhere else in music - especially in 2004.

Forget Weird Al Jankovic or DJ Rubbish. Think Thelonius Monk. Think Captain Beefheart. Real wit in music - not lyrically but in the actual notes - has been missing for decades. This album will make you wet yourself.

To combine such emotional intensity with a unique and seemingly inexhaustible rhythmic invention would be enough to ensure this album's place amongst the all time classics - but to present these ideas with a razor sharp musical wit makes Lunatic Harness come alive with a human personality that is sadly missing from the majority of electronic music - from 20 years ago or from today.

So all I can say is - "Ugh!"
(listen to track 1 "Brace Yourself Jason - you'll know what i mean)

This was the gateway album that introduced me to the wonderful world that is µ-Ziq and I have never been the same since.

I first heard the track "Brace Yourself Jason" off of a streaming techno radio station called imusic about 3-4 years ago. Once I bought his album I loved EVERY SINGLE TRACK! The statement made by amotion about this being a tour of a magical kingdom could not have been said better! Every song takes you to different parts of the "kingdom." From "Brace Yourself Jason" to "Midwinter Log" and everything inbetween, Mike will bring you up and just as quickly take you back down.

If you like this album, might I recommend getting the follow up EP "Brace Yourself." Enjoy!!

the record that makes the break with all previous works by mike paradinas - well-engineered and consistent - as compared to [bluff limbo] and [royal astronomy]. not terribly original when compared to the seminal works of richard james and tom jenkinson (in terms of programming) but [lunatic harness] is more than saved by its beautiful and sublime melodies.