Customer Reviews

Riddim Warfare

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this CD when going through the record store and I had heard some of his piece's on the radio it standed out I put it on and I was hooked. It's now a prize piece in my collection, his use of different bass guitars, live bands, DJ mixing, and samples makes for an album that has such a vast soundscape that it pulls you in. It is a absolute Masterpiece!

Otherwise I'd wear it out. Of the three Dj. Spooky Cd's
I have this is my favorite. It has the right amount of rapping
and enough smooth beats to make it pleasant to listen to. The other stuff i've heard of his is harsh and disjoint enough that you really have to be engaged with it to enjoy it. An earlier posting expressed their disdain for cool keith. I actually think he enhances the album. I've never like anything he has produced himself, but his voice works well with this sound. It's sometimes cheesy to hear peeps with philosophy backgrounds appropriate scientific terms to sound futuristic, but when Cool Keith does it on this album, it actually works.

As DJ Spooky says himself about his scratching and "illbient" hip-hop mixing -- it's "music made from fragments of the world." I think DJ Spooky is one of the few artists out there who is innovating and creating new music without compromising humanity of art by only adding new technology.He is asking the questions that need to be asked through music. His album is challenging and has beautiful moments that reflect the postmodern pace of life and of interaction. I love this album because it's what life is all about -- intensity,energy, ecclecticism, creativity, and passion, as fusion of other's ideas,art, perceptions, philosophies.Check it out. A refreshing album and dj.

Though I'm always looking for interesting, innovative electronic music, I have resisted DJ Spooky for a while. Mainly because what I heard from him prior to Riddim Warfare sounded like someone tuning their ham radio while practicing their bass down the hall from any microphones. But (his pompous theorizing aside) I wanted to like him. And I figured Riddim Warfare might be my window into his work. It was on a major label. Hell, he was even working with rappers. Well, unfortunately, Spooky's still a work in progress. Despite a few interesting tracks, Riddim Warfare is all over the place. It's drum n' bass, it's Brazilian music, it's underground rap, it's reggae, it's pompous theorizing! All of this with no strong unifiying purpose. And unfortunately, he still drops into that annoying "illbient" vaporousness. I'm all for artistic diversity. But until Spooky develops some consistency to his work, he will just seem like he's genre browsing.

Sounds like DJ Spooky can't make up his mind about what to sound like. Plus, the rap vocals ruin what he does best: amazing instrumental sonic collages. Get "Songs of a Dead Dreamer" (his amazing first album) instead.

DJ Spooky creates music for the emotions, but not for the deliriously positive ones. His art fits wonderfully in those dark corners of the world where night riegns and shadows are as alive as those who are fighting to find their way out.

So this is what schizophrenia sound like? Organic beat chemistry with plenty of soul. For fans of Plug and Roni Size this will fit right in.

"Electronica," for lack of a better term, is a religion; you're always in danger of offending the true believers. Hip-hop is similar in that an artist's "cred" is on the line. I take a different approach to my music: if it sounds good, I buy it; if it doesn't, I don't. Anyway, I have a vast array of diverse music, and Riddim Warfare definitely has its place. I enjoy the beats, the samples, the mood. I bought it. If you're drenched in one musical genre or another, however, you'll probably find that aspect of Riddim lacking; if not, give it a spin.

Dj Spooky is someone that has had a hand in a multitude of aspects of Hip-Hop/Electronic music. He's a Turntablist, arranger, Producer & musician. And he invariably has a very diverse selection of musical influences (spanning a great many genres, everything from Classical, Jazz, Soul, Funk, Rock, Techno, etc...), which invariably influence the creation of his music. What this means is that because he is (in theory) an experimentlist with his music, most listeners will find that there is very little continuity in his albums, with some albums sometimes displaying massive leaps in accessibility, sound, moody and even genre. And you find that what attracted you to a particular album/release of his, may not be applicable for the next.

"Riddim Warfare" is arguably an album, that although primarily a 'Beat - Orientated' album, that is a very diverse album, its an album that See's Spooky cast his net further afield and includes a disparate collection of figures from the Hip-Hop, Indie, Rap worlds (everyone from, Rappers "Killah Priest", "Kool Keith", "Organised Konfusion", Sonic Youths - "Thurston Moore", Rock Experimentalist "Arto Lindsay" and shoehorns them all into an album that takes the concept of being primarily beat-driven, and touches upon: Electronica, Breakbeat, Dub, Trip-Hop, Drum 'n' Bass, Techno, Hip-Hop, Illbient & Experimental and electronic avant-garde.

Its an album that skips rather erratically from genre to genre, without much consideration from what went before, and tracks are sometimes interspersed and broken up with dialogue ranging from stream-of-consciousness thoughts and observations. Which although separating tracks nicely, will irritate some listeners, but others (such as myself) will be familiar with Spooky's trait for adding intellectual (pretentious??) statements in his music. And although the album is more a musical kaleidoscopic of experiments that generally do lean towards a more speedy fusion of manic sounds and fiery breakbeats, there is a decidedly futuristic / Avant-garde approach, with some tracks actually revelling in sublime downtempo trip-hop, and elements of illibent, where atmospheric pastiches of ambient noise, Dub, Jazz and eerily unpredictable sounds ("Polyphony of One"), are all spread, and intergrated throughout the album. But that just makes up part of an album with many sides....for instance, tracks such as "Object Unknown" are futuristic rap-tracks (in this case featuring "Kool Keith"), that merge fantastic, high-speed lyrics with tech-step styled breakbeat. And indeed "Rekonstruction" takes a more dense and paranoid-orientated sound, with 'Organised Konfusion' brilliantly guesting on vocals. Or if your feeling the need for something decidedly more kinetic and intense, then the jungle styled breaks of "Scientifik" & "Dialectical Transformation III (Soylent Green)" will more than suffice. But such is the nature of Spooky's work, he doesn't sit with any one genre for too long, and "Roman Planetaire" & "Theme of the Drunken Sailor", see's him brilliantly skirting with Dub-reggae /Experimental-Dub.


And Spooky himself, makes his presence felt with the transitions between some tracks that are virtually seamless, and using his considerable skill as a D.j. to provide scratching that may be considered unconventional, but sat within the context of the atmospheric instrumentals and cerebral sound collages, and beat-driven tracks, it works too brilliant effect. This is an album that anyone considering purchasing should make sure they know what they're getting. This is a album with a 'restless spirit', and contradicts itself on virtually every turn, on one hand it seems incapable of remaining structured, and just as you're becoming settled in, it changes direction and runs in the opposite direction, yet its approach and direction is something uniquely different and deserves recognition. on another hand, It doesn't exactly make itself easily accessible, and the sometimes articulate, cerebral approach, is shattered by furious breakbeat fusions, that are nothing particuarly intelligent, but remain beautifully produced beat-electronica. The lack of chorrence throughout the album merely reinforces this, yet it's certainly not an album designed for mainstream consumption (like pretty much all of Spooky's albums), so it's more a album that you'll grow into, rather than immediately accept. And as much as this album owes a massive debt to Hip-Hop, it's frequent excursions into breakbeat / Drum 'n' Bass, will repel those like for music to nod to in the car, and thus...should give this album a wide miss. But those that like (or indeed love) those two genres, will certainly appreciate Spooky's intergration in the album, which is near seamless. And at some 21 tracks and at over 70Min's long, this is an album that shouldn't be digested in one sitting. It's far too concentrated and intense, to fully enjoy in one go. But if you do what I do, and listen to chunks of the album (rather than in one go), it's truly remarkable what Spooky has done here. I have at least 5-6 Dj Spooky Albums, and I have to say that although this might not technically be his best album ("Songs of A Dead Dreamer", is widely considered his best), It find this amongst his most intriguing, and most imaginative. Its sacrifices immediacy and accessibility in favour of pushing the envelope both musically and creatively, and although I'd be more inclined to recommended this to Spooky fans that know what to expect, or those those like the occasionally breakbeat/D'n'B referencing album, or even people that like the idea of musicians messing with the structures, of Hip-Hop, then I can't reccommend this gem, highly enough.

Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, shows much style and versatlity on Riddim Warfare. You cannot really narrow him down or categorize him. Non conformity to any labeling or classification in music style, to me, makes for the most interesting artists. This is the only record I own of Spooky's but I am impressed with it because of his different talents, musical interests, and usage of sound. Very cool, to say the least. Lets call it mind blowing. Which brings the question, "IS it nice not to lose your mind?"