Customer Reviews

Rio De Janeiro

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

 

 

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

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!!!

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

Luckily, I went with my instincts and did not buy this 33rd installment of the GU city series. I borrowed it from a very displeased friend and tried to listen to it with a fresh set of ears.

This is a terrible album for Global Underground. Hats off to the label to opening up their doors to include other DJ's and genres of mixes, but Layo & Bushwacha!? A little too generous in my opinion.

Disc 1 is suppose to be experimental...well I guess you can call it that if experimental means turning a GU disc 1 into something that sounds like someone's random playlist on I-tunes. The tracks are all over the place, poorly mixed and the layout is aweful. I was just waiting for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leopard to come on at any moment during my first run through. What an aweful mix.

Disc 2 improves slightly and of course has L&B trying their unfamiliar hands at mimimal techno. Not much to get excited about this mix either, except the last 20 minutes are pretty good and the tracks flow nicely.

Disc 1 gets 2/5 stars, and disc 2, 3/5 stars.

Layo & Bushwacka! - the last set I heard from them was around 4-5 years ago, at that time more hiphop, house and breaks. The house you can find on the first CD which is a collection of classic house tunes. So this is very party compatible and ok for history of dance, I do not really listen to it. BUT: CD2 is dark, rolling, minimal techno. After a kinda slow strange start with Phonique and then Tiga (which does not really fit in the mix) L&B using their exquisit mixing skill to create an atmosphere which reminds me of dark, underground, smoky club with too much booze. Guy Gerbers "Belly Dancing" pushes, Richie Hawtins "Spastik" rolls and hands up in the air for Jesus Loves You - After The Love/Layo And Bushwacka! - Ashes Remain, really cool. After this the mix delivers what great minimal techno always does - keeps you on your level - let's you dance without exhaustion for hour. Wanna see those guys live again - 2 h or more must be amazing. However, a CD is 70 min, so they have to round up a great evening in the club faster - and they do that with "Saudade", which is a breaks influenced masterpiece and makes me think of the sunrise you see leaving the club in the morning....

This is in my top 3 best mixes of 2007. After reading all these bad reviews I had to come to the rescue. Layo & Bushwacka! have dropped a bomb!!! I can't say enough about disc one, TAKING IT BACK OLD SCHOOL! This disc is what late night clubbin is all about. Be warned trance lovers: THIS IS HOUSE MUSIC 101!!! Disc two is THE modern sound. Solid!

And what a hotter place to to do this than RIO!!!?

Second disc is a bit forgettable though :/

like i did, unless you're into 80's and early 90's synth house music. i realize that the first disc is experimental, but it's just not good music and the mixing is awful. the second disc is more trance-like, but there are better djs out there. save your money for something better.

It is not what I expected. I have to play it a little bit more, but for sure I didn't fall in love the first couple of times I played it.