Customer Reviews

Music Detected

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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).

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.

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

I don't understand the problem with everyone. Sure this album is different from their "Sweet Lullaby" days but it's not like Deep Forest has completely abandoned their original roots with Music Detected; they've just enhanced their musical styling with synthesizers, dance beats, drum sets and keyboards to further demonstrate their theme of how technology might someday wipeout mankind, which is really quite funny given the fact that man actually made machine. And while there are many standouts for me, the opening track "India" has an interesting blend of piercing guitars with indian-style singing by female vocalist Mahalakshmi Iyer. It wasn't until I noticed that Anggun was a guest vocalist on one of the tracks that I really took an interest in Deep Forest for her cd had practicaly bore into my soul as I was listening to Tulka one day at my favorite record store. And while I was tempted to pick up her cd I didn't. Now I'm wondering if I should have because her contribution to "Deep Blue Sea" is an amazing accomplishment to say the very least. At first I didn't really care for any of the Beverly Jo Scott songs but now I'm starting to really like them. I also really enjoy the dance-infused "Beauty In Your Eyes" as well as "Will You Be Ready" with guest singers Angela McClusky & Chitose Hajime. The apparent single "Endangered Species" is also quite good but, in my opinion, the Galleon remix is slightly better with its pulsating dance beats...

This album may not be for all Deep Forest fans but if you give it a chance than it's bound to grow on you. I myself wasn't crazy over Music Detected the first time I heard it but the more I listened to it the more I began to like its eclectic fusion of world, rock, dance and soul.

Since Deep Forest exploded on the map with their masterpiece first album it's been a strange ride to say the least.The next two follow-ups were either loved or hated.I personally wasn't the biggest fan of either one.Now comes Music Detected in an entirely new direction.Some find it to be too loud and rock orientated and others find it's too techno or pop orientated.I disagree with all of these folks.To me, this is quite an eclectic collection of songs and musical landscapes.So different in fact, it's refreshing to my ears.Music Detected does contain a couple of clunkers here and there but also contains some beautiful and invigorating tracks as well. Upon first listen to India, I was not impressed,however,another listen or two and I find myself really enjoying the song-again,so different it's refreshing! The use of English lyrics was both a shock and warm welcome for me,I truly love that vocoder used heavily in my two favorite tracks:the wonderful Endangered Species and equally fantastic Beauty In Your Eyes.Both these songs are rather dance orientated,but the addition of live drums and those touches of ethnic chants make them special.Another stand out has to be the stirring Far East which blends into Deep Blue Sea forming a moving piece of ethnic pop featuring Anggun on vocals.Others I enjoy are Elemental,Will You Be Ready,and Yuki song.Overall,I would have given this five stars but the clunkers to me, were really bad.If you like Enigma and Delerium,give this a go!

I had wondered what had gone on with Deep Forest following their 1998 third album "Comparsa" which I thought was uneven and their "Made In Japan" album as I had heard no news of them until when out of the blue came their 2002 comeback album entitled "Music Detected" which by the cover alone, I knew would be a major change in their sound but even then, I would never have guessed the culture shock that this newest album of theirs would bring but let me tell you, this album is awesome! In fact it ties with "Boheme" as their best album to date and marks a whole new chapter in Deep Forest's history. If you are familiar with the traditional New Age sound that defined a lot of their first three albums of theirs, then you will find it a great idea to adjust to a radically different sound because "Music Detected" is radically different from any of their older material and has almost none of the New Age genre sounds of old. The New Age sound is replaced with a heavily explosive techno dance sound along with rock, pop and even some occasional alternative rock elements in some places and this could almost have made a dent on the rock or techno charts. To me I think this album is the most radical change of sound that I've heard a New Age artist make since Enigma did with "Cross of Changes" over a decade ago.

This album shifts away from the Western Hemisphere from the Carribean sounds of "Comparsa" and Eastern Europe on "Behome" and Africa on their debut and heads to the Far East to Indonesia, Japan, China and India as this album has a far more Asian color to it and lots of exotic vocals from this region of the continent meshed perfectly with the crazy techno sounds that dominate this album. In all honesty, while this CD is a radical departure from their 1990s era albums, "Music Detected" offers styles for almost everyone to enjoy. What's also interesting too is that this album also have more live sounding drums as opposed to drum machines or the like. For the weird parts of this album, "India" is probably one of the most bizarre tracks on this album starting with Sitar strings and finally blasting into full-fledged rock N Roll before a strange Eastern Indian amplified vocal comes in giving the song a really strange but highly appealing Asian sound. "In The Evening" is another Eastern Indian Sitar influenced instrumental that is unfortunately really short and could've been longer to create a spectacular track but for what it is "In The Evening" is a good and eerie reprise interlude track.

Most of this CD though is strongle techno electronic rock music. "Computer Machine" is an awesome groove that starts with an eerie intro and robotic voice effects before it becomes a danceable mix of techno, pop, dance, and even some jazz elements that would almost make this song feel like café dance music for the distant future. "Soul Elevator" is another bizarre track that incorporates Alternative rock and electronic to create a really amazing track like nothing DF have ever done before. "Endangered Species" to me is the most explosive track on this album. It starts with ominous electronic melodic effects and echoing voice effects, a pulsating techno beat comes in and the song finally becomes a highly energetic intense, and dramatic techno dance track for the dance clubs! The live drum beats are fast and energetic. The Galleon remix has a harsher more techno-beat as opposed to live drums and has a different rhythm but both versions are incredibly awesome. "Beauty In Your Eyes" is almost purely techno rock but has really amazing vocal effects and a fast techno-beat for the dance floors.

The best songs however in my opinion are the two mid-tempo ballads "Yuki Song" and "Deep Blue Sea". "Yuki Song" starts with a haunting New Age ambient intro and becomes a dramatic power ballad like song with incredible vocals by Beverly Jo Scott and has amazing Asian flutes to give the song a slightly melancholy sound to it. This song is amazing and is one of the highlights. The best song however is the twosome track duo "Far East" and "Deep Blue Sea". "Far East" is a hauntingly beautiful interlude with a haunting New Age sound and exotic instruments. The track is only a minute long but brilliantly merges into the best song on this entire album "Deep Blue Sea". Featuring the seductive vocals of Indonesian singer Anggun, this song is an incredible song that mixes pop, rock, world and some New Age and to add Anggun as a guest vocalist makes this already incredible song even more so and this song has a lot of the great sounds of her 1998 masterpiece "Snow On The Sahara" which I strongly recommend alongside "Music Detected". Any other songs that I haven't pointed out on this album are must listens as well but the ones I did mention are among the best songs that they've ever done.

As much as I may be nostalgic for sounds like "Nightbird" or another "Sweet Lullaby", I am glad that they didn't make a "Deep Forest part II" nor something in the vein of that. Making "Music Detected" was a smart move and showcased one of the greatest artistic risks I've heard since U2's "Achtung Baby" from the early 1990s. "Music Detected" finds Deep Forest finding a fresh new sound and stepping into a whole new arena with incredible results and I strongly recommend that you purchase. Unlike a lot of people who needed time for this CD to grow on them, I loved this album the first time I bought it and I think it's their best album alongside "Boheme". Some may find themselves overwhelmed by the loudness of this CD but if you listen closely, even they will find that Deep Forest have lost none of their spirit and I look forward to they may bring next on their next outing whenever that comes out. God only knows how awesome this album would sound if a live CD of these songs were released someday. Highly Recommended CD.

But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

This disc is decidedly more.. "rock band" than previous releases, if once can dare stick such a specific label on Deep Forest. The energy level is certainly much higher; On most tracks, drum machines have been replaced with actual drum kits. Looped samples of the natives have been replaced by songs with lyrics (that you can understand!) but there's just enough of the Forest still left to keep it familiar.

On the other end are tunes which trick you at the start as being 'yet another dance song', but jet off in a far more interesting direction than any monotonous and repetitive techno track ever will.

All in all an interesting disc, worth the listen if you don't like your favorite artists to keep churning out the same stuff with every new release and are instead willing to accept a little evolution.

Let me state at the outset that Deep Forest's first album made a huge, positive impact on me. As strange as this may sound, it really inspired me in high school to develop a wider appreciation for the music of foreign cultures and, by association, foreign cultures themselves. In fact, I've played that album for friends of mine from all walks of life, from blue collar to academic, and without exception, all have seemed to really enjoy it. Somehow, Deep Forest managed with that first album to connect with people in an intellectual and visceral way.

Deep Forest's second album, while a bit different and maybe not as tight, grew on me over time. Every album since, though, has been progressively worse--thus, "Music Detected" is so far the worst of the bunch.

Frankly, all you have to do is listen to the laughably awful muzak that is "Computer Machine" (sadly indicative of most of this album) and you'll understand why Deep Forest's "Music Detected" is one of the WORST new age-y albums ever. And at a time when the rare good stuff is buried under a vapid avalanche of John Tesh and Yanni, that's sayin' something.

I hate to be the first one to point out that the emperor has no clothes, but a cold wind is blowing through said emperor's legs, the shadow is burned on the wall, and Deep Forest is what it is--an extremely mediocre studio group of sound-mixers who got lucky on their first couple albums, and have been suffering from a musical identity crisis ever since.

"Music Detected" swings wildly from new age to muzak to hard rock sprinkled with arbitrary foreign yodeling without even the simple, ambient quality present even in, say, Enigma's weaker songs. The ONLY exceptions are "Yuki's Song" and "Will You Be Ready", which show a bit more care and depth and are actually decent. At least compared to the rest of the muzak. Perhaps two decent songs on an album would be enough to pass, were this anyone else, but I guess I'm still holding out a fading hope that Deep Forest is capable of more than this.

As a long time fan of Deep Forest, I waited in anticipation for this CD to come out. When I got it home and listened to it, I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. Hardcore techno/rock Deep Forest? This is not the same band that brought us "Sweet Lullaby" and "Marta's Song." Instead the disc is a pounding, techno-heavy affair, with little hints of the old DF we know and love. With hardcore techno/house becoming more and more popular, it is quite apparent that Deep Forest has followed suit.

I know how important it is to grow and evolve as an artist, but I really think that this drastic a change is nothing more than culture shock.

I will give some musical merit to a few of the tracks on the album. The most noteworthy track is "Deep Blue Sea" featuring honey-voiced Indonesian import Anggun, whose voice fits the song & genre impeccably.

"India" is another strong and very interesting track...a bit more drum heavy than previous DF tracks, but still has the flavor of previous albums.

So all in all, if you're a fan of Deep Forest, be prepared for some drastic (and not always positive) changes in their sound.

About half of the reviews bomb the album, and the other half sing its graces. Personally, I think the album is between 4 and 5 stars, but its closer to 5 stars so I'll give it 5. I never was able to get into any of their other albums except Boheme. But I loved Boheme so much that I still bought Music Detected when it came out. I hated it at first and thought it was completely different from Boheme and was a waste of money. But I'm the type that leaves the CD in the car for a few days to see if it grows on me. Well, it did. The music is different, but its also very similar in alot of ways to Boheme that you won't notice if you don't grok it (or at least listen enough). It has a sugar coating of pop music, but there's alot of body underneath the pop and just as much experimentalism as their previous works (or maybe more). I really can't explain the music any other way except that it is an experimental blend of world music and electronica. You know its experimental because you've never heard it before. But you don't think its experimental because its so polished and so perfect. So, to conclude... This music is very different from the rest of Deep Forest's works, but its also very similar. I can't explain why I like it because it touches something so deep in me that I can't see it. Love it or hate it, don't claim its crap because its not. Play it a few times before giving up on it at least.