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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Problematic Release with Some Moments of Gold...,
This review is from: Music Detected (Audio CD)
Fans of Deep Forest tend to chart the release of their albums in an almost bell curve like shape. Their first release, "Deep Forest", was incredibly well received. "Boheme" is viewed as their artistic peak. "Comparsa" split the audience, but was generally felt to be of lower quality then "Boheme." And then comes, "Music.Detected_." This fifth album (if you count the international-only release "Pacifique") represents an admitted new direction from the French duo, and will not necessarily appeal to everybody.The core of Deep Forest has been electronic instrumentation, combined with looped rhythm samples and vocal samples from a variety of cultures. These core elements have been fundamentally reworked in "Music.Detected_". Deep Forest relies on live vocal performances, and live instrumentation much more heavily. The result is a very different, much less "techno" oriented sound. Indeed, this album feels less like a cross-cultural experience, and more like an album that simply features international artists. While the opening track, India, features sitar and the distinctive vocal stylings of Indian classical music, the rest of the album has less specific musical roots. English lyrics -- unheard of in previous Deep Forest releases -- abound. And the inclusion of dance remix of the first single ("Endangered Species") seems more of an afterthought, and throwback to the past, than a logical extension of the album. Overall, the effort comes off as muddy. The first half of the album has some shining moments. "India" has a strong cultural influence, and some good rock guitar that nicely juxtaposes with the main Indian components. "Endangered Species" is a throwback to the more dance-oriented, techno feel of Deep Forest, but showcases some weaknesses in lyrical content (including a strange rhyme including 'flamingo'). "Yuki's Song," which features Beverly Jo Scott in full force, is actually a very powerful vocal indulgence. Perhaps the overall problem with the album is that it doesn't hang together very well. Without a single unifying cultural experience or theme, the songs simply seem like a compilation, instead of an album. The second half of the album seems particularly spotty, in a way that can't be easily explained. In creating this fusion, I don't think Deep Forest felt as comfortable integrating the components parts into a whole. While the new direction is laudable, it might take another album for them to really hone into this style. Perhaps their next release in this vein will be a second "Boheme" (or a "Comparsa," which is my personal favorite in their catalogue).
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Before there was chill.....there was Deep Forest!,
By jacques g (Kona, HI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Music Detected (Audio CD)
Before ethno-lounge was even a musical genre, the producers behind Deep Forest were already adding spicy, ethnic flavors to their brand of ambient electronica (going Latin with Comparsa and exploring the Far East in Made In Japan). "Music Detected" can aptly be described as a passage to the Indies, but not the one of traditional lore, rather it is the brash, electronic-age, rock and rollin' Orient as can be experienced in Richard Branson's Virgin megastore and through movies such as "The Pillow Book" or "Chinese Box." The CD opens with the assault of an air guitar as "India" with its South Indian female vocal, courtesy of Mahalakshmi Iyer, evokes images of that silicon valley of the subcontinent. "Endangered Species" follows, with the debut of the vocoder, soon to be evident as one of the distinguishing characteristics that separate this collection from other Deep Forest releases. A nod to fellow-electronic mavericks, Daft Punk, other than that, one can't help feel that Deep Forest posse must be Lufthansa Senator cardholders, since their musical journey to the Near and Far East seem to include layovers in Germany ("Soul Elevator" sounds like Jam & Spoon enraptured by Turkish Sufism, "Computer Machine" with its overt Kraftwerkian references, and "Will You Be Ready" with its Enigma-esque rock beats). The CD does have some standouts: "Deep Blue Sea," featuring the inimitable Anggun, prima ethno-rock diva (Shakira's Asian contemporary), whose haunting vocals in Sundanese-inflected poetic Bahasa Indonesia and English soar over a Joy Division-like beat, but with Balinese gamelan percussion. "Beauty In Your Eyes" represents the best combination of a vocodered vocal and a melodic beat while "Dignity" is perhaps the (acid) jazziest cut featuring Deep Forest vocaliste d'album Beverly Jo Scott and yet another Indian female vocal. The CD ends with the Galleon remix radio edit of "Endangered Species," a 4/4 stomper that brings the collection to a climax. While the CD has more rock-electronica as opposed to dance nuances, it is this surprising flavor that is pleasing to the ear. A throwback to the early 90s in the sea of all the French vocodered and filtered stuff of the millenium, if you will. 4 stars to these guys for having the gall(ois?) to show their age.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boheme II: Music Detected is a secon Boehem!,
By RS (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Music Detected (Audio CD)
Music Detected is in my opinion, the best Deep Forest album after their changeable Boheme. Mixing music from Western Civilization, with chirpy chants from Asia (Turkey, Japan, Indonesia and others), and using again the Baka chants from Deep Forest s first album, Welenga from Wes and chants from the pacific islands used before in Pacifique, Deep Forest re-invented the world new age music with a rock-western sound, powerfull and lovefull close to the album Enigma 2: The Cross of Changes.I think this album is more accessible to much listeners and as different to previous works as Boheme was in the past. The best songs are Endangered Species, Beauty in Your Eyes, Deep Blue Sea, Elemental, Galleon Remix and India. It worth it to have in your collection. Song by Song India 4:01 is the beginning on this new album, with a strange voice wich is a remembrance of Marta from Boheme. The song is deeply world music with rock incorporated with an electronical guitar. Violin feature in this song the same way as in Marta-s Song. This song is one of the four singles of the album 3/3 Endangered Species 6:18 Is a nice hit. Even that the song is in English, it has an oriental chorus, the same way as Forest Hymn. The rhytm could be close to Madazulu. This is the single for the West Hemisphere. 3/3 Soul Elevator 4:11. This is the Turkey song of the album. Is is maybe the most strange, not only for the samples but for the changes in the rhytm. Its a good Song. 2/3 Computer Machine 5:10. The fisrt time I heard the CD I did not like this song, but after many times listen to it, this blues-techno song is just a bridge between the songs 1, 2 and 3 (world music) and Yuki Song (pop oriented) 2/3 Yuki Song 5:22 This is a nice pop song. World Music is almost not present into this piece, but the piece is like a second starting point in the album, because from this song starts a new Deep Forest, wich combines World Music from Asia with Pop-Gospel sounds from the West.2/3 Beauty In Your Eyes 4:22. This is one of the best songs of the album. Mixing vocodered voice of Eric Mouquet with English lyrics, the chants from the song Haunting (from the first album) and the voices of Asia, from Endangered Species song. I love to listen this song again and again. 3/3 Elemental 5:24. Elemental is a new vision of the song Twosome from the Boheme album, but this time mixing English and Asian singer. Sounds like the Enigma hit Return to Innocense. One of the better songs of Deep Forest in their whole career. 3/3 Far East 0:58. This is a nice peaceful short song and an introduction to Deep Blue Sea. With this transition the album changes their orientation again in order to travel to Indonesia and two more singles: Deep Blue Sea and You-ll be ready. 3/3 Deep Blue Sea 4:16. One of the best songs of Deep Forest in their career is the sweet and strong Deep Blue Sea. Indonesian and English lyrics are mixed into a powerful song. This song maybe will be one commercial success togheter with Endangered Species. 3/3 Will You Be Ready 5:11 This is a Rock song mixing English and Japanese languages. Into the style of Mary Jo, the song capture the attention of the listeners. One of the best songs in the album. 3/3 In The Evening 1:36 Peaceful transition. It says that the album orientation will change again to a sweet mood: Dignity. 3/3 Dignity 5:22. This is the last song before the remix, a nice song to finish because it mix the rock and power of sound in the beginning with some peaceful Asian instrumentation in the end. 2/3 Endangered Species Galleon Remix Radio Edit 3:51 This is the radio song for Endangered Species. Sounds so good. Better that the album version even than the album version is quite nice. 3/3
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