Rio De Janeiro

Layo & Bushwacka | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Global Underground
• ASIN: B000VDDBSY
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,277 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Endless options and unique elements, November 20, 2007

By 

LexAffection (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GU33 RIO (Audio CD)

I expect a lot of people to shy away from this album, very much like Adam Freeland's effort. Global Underground's fanbase is understandably leery after the release of several atypical EDM releases consecutively. For me, however much I might expect one thing and get another with GU these days, Rio de Janeiro was not what I expected. I suppose, secretly, I was hoping for a double-disc version of "Night Works." But to their overwhelming credit, Layo & Bushwacka! step up and deliver an album that resonates acoustically, feels unrestrained and is alive with color and flavor. The flavors of almost twenty years of electronica can be savored on the two discs, which are perhaps as different from one another as current fashion is from that of 1982.

Twenty-six tracks swarm the first mix, forming a hive of musical activity. The concept, however controversial, is a novel one; the first disc is an alchemist's mixture of hard-to-find tracks spanning (as far as I've been able to track) 1988-2005/06. It is also the liveliest mix of pre- to late-90s house that I have heard from a contemporary artist that is modernized by swift mixing techniques and close attention to detail (I could call it "progressive nineties house" if I were so-inclined!) The bulk of the tracks are kept characteristically washy, braving loose hi-hats, hollow kick-drums, resonant snare, brightly unrestrained cymbals and a few numbers with the attractive stuff in a jazz pianist's nightmare. The defining characteristic of this album, and the one that makes it such a standout disc, is the successful blend of new sounds with quite-forgotten gems spanning the foundation, reconstruction and evolution of dance music. Sprinkled in healthy doses about the first disc are those unmistakably soulful and robust female vocals. None seem to impede upon the mix's free-flow timbre, instead adding a dash of boogie to this unique breakdown. This disc is downright funky and smooth and is a simply banging mix of bright-eyed dance nostalgia - now sounding fresher and better than ever before. Layo & Bushwacka! unleash the soul like Dobermans and drive the funk like a stake into your heart. Like it or love it, Rio's first mix is one of the most truly original collaborative efforts in years.

Disc two is in every way radically different from the first disc. Somehow evading the displeasure of such an abrupt shift in musical discourse, Layo & Bushwacka! usher in more contemporary and progressive trance, dabbling in house and electro throughout. The second mix represents immense versatility, though not as much as does the former disc. This isn't a bad thing, because both discs are great in their own unique element. Fifteen minutes into the second mix and I've found myself bobbing along at a comfortable gallop of a tempo. This is right before really taking off. With a solid foundation of rigid off-beat hi-hats and a remarkably dull sounding kick, the music takes on a sinister attitude, almost hypnotically so. Eventually surpassing its own evil, Layo & Bushwacka!'s second journey slowly becomes a compelling and powerful dance album. This one really had me moving thirty minutes into it as it began to show off it's electro-house influences; in many ways it is like what Dave Seaman toys with on Therapy Sessions Vol. 4 - crisply mixed arrays of exquisitely fresh sounding instrumentation. And then back to sinister. Delightfully sinister. Much of this album is a lot more like what the duo have been spinning live in 2007, though it is not a perfect match. In my humble opinition, those who don't find aural pleasure in the first disc, and/or those who appreciated past GU's such as Taipei, Los Angeles and Romania, are more likely to dig this disc because it pits similar musical forces together. Beware; a third stylistic change is about to occur in this mix. The last thirty minutes of the disc feels like GU:Melbourne on LSD. The atmosphere becomes a planetarium, sans the gravity, and the music takes on remarkable and rare form: it fully leads your mind as the minutes tick by. I become very easily entranced by this dynamic sweetness and look forward to it each time I play this disc.

What one is liable to find within the packaging of Global Underground 033: Rio (de Janeiro) is without a doubt relevant to GU032: Mexico City because it defies progressive trance idealists' hopes and expectations of the label based on its history. On a brighter note, however, the album defies these expectations in a less assaulting way than Freeland's effort did. Truly, if ever an album deserved the description of "having something for everyone," it ought to be GU033. You've got a colorful and robust smashing blast from the past in the first mix, great to play at a party or generally rock out to. The second disc is essential during tasks that involve concentration and pleasure, like driving, studying, background music, and - towards the end - even sleeping! I truly love Layo & Bushwacka!, and I think Global Underground's commitment to electronic freshness supercedes low expectations. On top of that, I think it's the most unique of all the Global Underground: City Series releases. As you listen to these discs, you may find yourself wanting to don some neon striped clothing, or sling some glowsticks, or begin to sing out loud, or prepare for a speedy ride down the highway, or gloss over while chilling out, or zone out as you fall asleep, or take a trip down memory lane, or...

~Lex

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sick, Sick, Sick, April 18, 2008

By 

A. Sayad "Dre's House" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GU33 RIO (Audio CD)

Wow, I must say this one was a shocker. I have been a GU-fan (like everyone else) since Tony DeVitt dropped the first one. But L&B bring some amazing music that has brightened the look of house music today with classics from the early warehouse days. Heavy synth, funky, smooth, deep, vocal, yet very "Tenaglia-esque" with its witty mixing and acid-based electro house that gets you in a zone. CD-1 STEALS the whole disc hands down and I have not even heard CD-2 yet!!!

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Endless options and unique elements, November 20, 2007

By 

LexAffection (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rio De Janeiro (Audio CD)

I expect a lot of people to shy away from this album, very much like Adam Freeland's effort. Global Underground's fanbase is understandably leery after the release of several atypical EDM releases consecutively. For me, however much I might expect one thing and get another with GU these days, Rio de Janeiro was not what I expected. I suppose, secretly, I was hoping for a double-disc version of "Night Works." But to their overwhelming credit, Layo & Bushwacka! step up and deliver an album that resonates acoustically, feels unrestrained and is alive with color and flavor. The flavors of almost twenty years of electronica can be savored on the two discs, which are perhaps as different from one another as current fashion is from that of 1982.

Twenty-six tracks swarm the first mix, forming a hive of musical activity. The concept, however controversial, is a novel one; the first disc is an alchemist's mixture of hard-to-find tracks spanning (as far as I've been able to track) 1988-2005/06. It is also the liveliest mix of pre- to late-90s house that I have heard from a contemporary artist that is modernized by swift mixing techniques and close attention to detail (I could call it "progressive nineties house" if I were so-inclined!) The bulk of the tracks are kept characteristically washy, braving loose hi-hats, hollow kick-drums, resonant snare, brightly unrestrained cymbals and a few numbers with the attractive stuff in a jazz pianist's nightmare. The defining characteristic of this album, and the one that makes it such a standout disc, is the successful blend of new sounds with quite-forgotten gems spanning the foundation, reconstruction and evolution of dance music. Sprinkled in healthy doses about the first disc are those unmistakably soulful and robust female vocals. None seem to impede upon the mix's free-flow timbre, instead adding a dash of boogie to this unique breakdown. This disc is downright funky and smooth and is a simply banging mix of bright-eyed dance nostalgia - now sounding fresher and better than ever before. Layo & Bushwacka! unleash the soul like Dobermans and drive the funk like a stake into your heart. Like it or love it, Rio's first mix is one of the most truly original collaborative efforts in years.

Disc two is in every way radically different from the first disc. Somehow evading the displeasure of such an abrupt shift in musical discourse, Layo & Bushwacka! usher in more contemporary and progressive trance, dabbling in house and electro throughout. The second mix represents immense versatility, though not as much as does the former disc. This isn't a bad thing, because both discs are great in their own unique element. Fifteen minutes into the second mix and I've found myself bobbing along at a comfortable gallop of a tempo. This is right before really taking off. With a solid foundation of rigid off-beat hi-hats and a remarkably dull sounding kick, the music takes on a sinister attitude, almost hypnotically so. Eventually surpassing its own evil, Layo & Bushwacka!'s second journey slowly becomes a compelling and powerful dance album. This one really had me moving thirty minutes into it as it began to show off it's electro-house influences; in many ways it is like what Dave Seaman toys with on Therapy Sessions Vol. 4 - crisply mixed arrays of exquisitely fresh sounding instrumentation. And then back to sinister. Delightfully sinister. Much of this album is a lot more like what the duo have been spinning live in 2007, though it is not a perfect match. In my humble opinition, those who don't find aural pleasure in the first disc, and/or those who appreciated past GU's such as Taipei, Los Angeles and Romania, are more likely to dig this disc because it pits similar musical forces together. Beware; a third stylistic change is about to occur in this mix. The last thirty minutes of the disc feels like GU:Melbourne on LSD. The atmosphere becomes a planetarium, sans the gravity, and the music takes on remarkable and rare form: it fully leads your mind as the minutes tick by. I become very easily entranced by this dynamic sweetness and look forward to it each time I play this disc.

What one is liable to find within the packaging of Global Underground 033: Rio (de Janeiro) is without a doubt relevant to GU032: Mexico City because it defies progressive trance idealists' hopes and expectations of the label based on its history. On a brighter note, however, the album defies these expectations in a less assaulting way than Freeland's effort did. Truly, if ever an album deserved the description of "having something for everyone," it ought to be GU033. You've got a colorful and robust smashing blast from the past in the first mix, great to play at a party or generally rock out to. The second disc is essential during tasks that involve concentration and pleasure, like driving, studying, background music, and - towards the end - even sleeping! I truly love Layo & Bushwacka!, and I think Global Underground's commitment to electronic freshness supercedes low expectations. On top of that, I think it's the most unique of all the Global Underground: City Series releases. As you listen to these discs, you may find yourself wanting to don some neon striped clothing, or sling some glowsticks, or begin to sing out loud, or prepare for a speedy ride down the highway, or gloss over while chilling out, or zone out as you fall asleep, or take a trip down memory lane, or...

~Lex