Customer Reviews

Nu Breed 3

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

after all of the hype i've heard surrounding this release, my hands were shaking as i unwrapped this 2 disk set. i popped it into my cd player, and right away i was floored. steve lawler does an amazing job of staying true to his intuition and lays out a great slab of chunky tribal house, taking the vibe that digweed explored on the second half of the first disk on his sydney gu set and letting it simply explode in a calm expression of controlled fury. this album is a deep steaming set of dark tribal house, much like tenaglia, but i think lawler does a better of job of providing quality tracks in succession, with no boring time-filler anthems to skip. this mood runs from deep and dark to groove-laden bass, but it's the precision and patience that lawler exerts that finally hooks you. definitely not a set for fans of seaman and oakenfold, but rather for those who revel in seas of percussion and minimalism, with amazing technique to boot. a true inspiration for dj's like me, and a definite winner any way you look at it.

Well people, this will be the last review for 2001 and I'm happy to say it will end on a good note. Steve Lawler takes the helm with his Nubreed Global Underground edition. This is yet another of the tribal house renditions by the current king of the tribal house genre.

I'll start out by saying although these are two nice sets, they were just a little mild. Although these sets are deep, they didn't consistently deliver the type of cuts that demand you get on the dancefloor. Not to fret though, as you still get plenty of good music for you hard earned dollars with a total of just over 140 minutes of music. The mixing is good and the beats are deep. Again, my only complaint is that the music selection is a tad bit mild and lacks the bangin' tracks that sell good sets.

CD1 starts out excellent with some real funky, deep tribal house. After the intro and the first cut I had the feeling this was gonna be a really tight set. Unfortunately this set jumps out of the blocks quickly but fades in the end. As the set moves along the beats become less aggressive and towards the end takes on a mellow tribal feel. My cuts of choice are "DBD", "Especiale", "Twisted", "Peptide Bass", "Hifi Freaks", and "Reap What You Sow". This set clocks in at over 73 minutes and is the better of the two. CD1 gets 4.5 stars.

CD2 starts out the same way set 1 ends, slow! That style worked in set 1 but really sets up the second set for a mild and uninspiring mix. Some of the cuts are good and others are filler music. I just never got into the second set like I did the first. Even though set 1 loses its attraction towards the end, it really keeps you going for the first 10 cuts. This set here never really captures my interest for more than two tracks in a row. My cuts of choice are "Treaty", "Outside Looking In (Down)", "Mangamania", "Beats & Drums EP", "Groundworks", and "Fever". This set clocks in at over 68 minutes and lacks the continuity of the first. CD2 gets 3.5 stars.

This is not a CD I'd recommend to a house music beginner. If you're currently looking to expand your house music collection then you might want to give this a try. Personally I liked Dark Drums Vol. 2 better, but for the amount of music you get these CDs make for a good deal. If you're looking for the funky house such as Roger Sanchez or Erick Morillo then look elsewhere. Looking for Tribal house, then get with the Steve Lawler connection.

Steve Lawler is one of the newest DJs to make it big in the House scene, and his brand of house and tribal percussion have garnered him comparisons with Danny Tenaglia. Nonetheless, Lawler shows he has a long way to go before reach anywhere near the great Danny T's level of talent. On this, his mix for Boxed Record's NUBREED Global Underground series, Lawler displays his clumsiness.

Disc one starts off with an unpleasantly Pro-Tooled and shamelessly self-lauding introduction with Crowt's "Acidfire" quickly mixed into Dan Robins' "DBD." The set starts off low, and meanders for some time before reaching any sort of energy with the overplayed "Arriba, abajo" of Matthia "Matty" Heilbronn. The set manages to sustain a building feeling after that, but any sort of excitement is blown apart by Green Velvet's "Answering Machine." As superb as this track is (it's definitely a House classic), *it does not work where Lawler places it*. I can't imagine him being happy with where he drops this track. It nearly disintergrates the listener's interest.

Disc two has a slightly better tracklisting, but suffers from severe pointlessness. Lawler opens up with Tantic's "Sex on the Beach," but the Latina's voice is infuriatingly annoying and doesn't compare to the wonderful "sleaze-house" of Tenaglia. Worse yet, Lawler ruins one of Tenaglia's best tracks, "Elements," by mixing through the most uneventful section of that driving track. The following Peace Division track doesn't go anywhere. The disc picks up energy with Yothy Yindi's "Treaty," but none of the tracks seem to join forces to bring the listener anywhere. Satoshi Tomiie's "Up in Flames" almost saves the day, because I'm a sucker of Tomiie's deep-house (don't tell anyone), but after that Lawler wastes the rest of the disc on go-nowhere percussion.

This effort's tracklisting is the worst I have *ever* heard an a Global Undergrown mix, and that's unfortunate because there are some great tracks here. The mixing's excellent, but on gets the feeling that Lawler was *really* good friends with Studio ProTools.

This is the lowest point of the NuBreed series. Get Anthony Pappa's (amazing, the future of house, he's up there with Sasha!) or Sander Kleinenberg's NuBreed mixes instead.

Completely floored me. There is no high or low point. It's all very constant. Not repetitive, mind you, but constant. The constant throb of tribal drums. Bass and syncopation. Dark, wonderful, beautiful.

Disc one. Put it in. Press play. And whatever you do, don't hit the "forward" button. Repeat the process when time comes for disc two.

Lawler opens the mix with a soundscape of distorted samples and rushing analog synth swells. But the drums rise out of that. Then comes the voice from "DBD" conjuring up the story of that tall dark stranger. "We were in the dark..." It's not joking. And it goes from there. Don't expect any melodies to rush at you and teleport you into the safety of commercial club trance. The bass will throb against your eardrums. Those drums will pound. And then come the samples...

Fortunately, disc two is the same.

The problem with a mix this "constant" (again, mind you, not "repetitive") is that it's difficult to describe it with words. It doesn't build up. There's no progression. And while everyone won't agree necessarily agree with me -- that is it's best quality. Like I said, no highs, no lows -- just one constant high.

If forced to call out a few highlights, I'd say "DBD," "From Here to Eternity," and "Answering Machine" on the first disc and "Treaty," "Up In Flames," and "Matica" on the second. Basically this: If you liked either of Danny Tenaglia's Global Underground mixes and/or Danny Howell's, buy this.

Wow--first listen and I simply can't turn it off. I don't want to get up and go to class (not that I would anyway)--I just want ot sit here and listen to this all day. I hear a lot of things nowadays being called "tribal" just cause they've got some funky bongos thrown in. This is not one of those pseuedo-"tribal" things. "Deep" and "dark," for a lack of better words (I'm in a hurry). I recommend this one for people who like Tenaglia but are a little wierded out by his more diverse influences (that real New Yorky garage sound, divas, etc.). This is awesome stuff. I really like the sample at the beginning of the first disc--it lends a sense of foreboding and uneasiness (my favorite emotion!) that you don't forget throughout the course of the disc. Rarely am I this affected by a cd at first listen. The groove will haunt me for the rest of the day, week, or longer--who knows with this kind of stuff? First-rate.

Like all the other Nubreed DJs, Steve Lawler found his niche to stand out from the crowd. His style could be best described as tribal, erotic, dark, moody, and tasty, not something you will hear everyday, and definitely not the kind of music for people who are more commercial or melody inclined. Yes, it takes time and patience for most people to appreciate the sets. I personally thought Steve did a good job. As a progressive house fan, I find his song selections and programming ranks among the best, creating an atmosphere so unique that it sends you into another space almost. cd1, the first 5 songs seems like it's dragging a bit too long, for the first 30 minutes there's no velocity, it stays. then, from 6 it starts to pick up a little more energy, but the answering machine thing kinda kills it, and it's almost rushed in with the last track that again picks the pace up. cd2 is what i really enjoyed, with one of the most interesting intro i've heard, but it's a dangerous move, i can see how some people will get annoyed by it. overall, cd2 is a lot more like a real set that make people wanna get down with the groove. that voices track and outside looking in track are just purely amazing. nice tunes and well mixed, it's not as pretentious as cd1. i'll really recommend this cd to anyone who's tired of the mainstream or someone that loves dark, tribal, and sexy groove.

I will not ruin the magnificence of these cds by saying too much. The track selection is suberb, and the mixing brings out all of the elements that only a professional, experienced, and creative DJ can produce. Steve Lawler carries on the exact ideas that NuBreed have always expressed.

I had to listen to this a few times in order to give it a fair review. My conclusion is that Steve Lawler may not be the most elegant mixer, but his track selection is damn fine indeed. This is without a doubt, hands-down, bar-none the dirtiest music in my collection. I sit in my cube at work and listen to this with decent headphones at 120 decibels or so and love every moment. The best part is, no one knows what I am listening to or how crazy it is! Hee Hee!!

I could do without the way that disc 2 starts off and a couple tracks here and there on both discs (example = #12 on disc one is substandard), but overall, the finished product is quite good.

Lawler's intro to the first disk is one of the best attention getters, mood-setters I've heard. From there on out, however, both disks are a big disappointment. I hoped for "a trip down the Congo" -- something like an extended version of the first two track on Tenaglia's Athens2 CD. I didn't expect much melody; but I did expect it to take me on some sort of journey, however deep, dark, and nasty. Instead, Lawler soon loses the plot, drifting off into uninspired, percussion-orientated middle ground. This isn't sex, it's banging; neither deep enough to be challenging, nor accesible enough to be fun.

Ever since I heard 'The Baguio Track', I did wish more artists could produce singles like it, all the better if there are albums that sound deep, dark and tribal and drive the grinding mix into the listeners' guts from start to finish. Steve Lawler's latest exactly fulfills my wish and is, personally, the best Nu Breed LP I have heard yet, and the best since Digweed's Hong Kong. Quite similar to Tenaglia's GU:017-London, but whereas Tenaglia's approach is a little more avant-garde, you can easily hit your living room floor with this one. I do not tend to buy major-label compilations, and I could have ignore this as well if not for a very compelling overdose of latin/samba/african percussions as heard throughout this heady mix: could be the first of its kind. Am particularly surprised to hear Yothu Yindi's 'Treaty' getting the mix treatment. I call this the 2nd Baguio Track. Watch out for Cormano's 'Mangamania' where at this point everything comes to the head, just too much. In short, THIS IS RIO man!!!