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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For all disillusioned junglists.,
By killabean (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Secret Art of Science (Audio CD)
This is, without doubt, one of THE best drum & bass mix albums released in the past five years. Ever since Reprazent's brilliant "New Forms" album, jungle has degenerated from being a truly advanced music with seemingly limitless potential to 'just another' dance subgenre. The exhilarating ragga/hardstep and impossibly twisted techstep of the past have somehow ended up at the formulaic sounds of second-rate Bad Company, Ed & Op, and Ram imitators. Little good can possibly come from following a musical template that, though fun on occasion, is simply inferior to the stuff that preceded it.Anyways. What all this means is that pretty much every drum and bass mix released during this time of dancefloor suckiness sounds the same -- a bunch of unimaginative records mostly composed of linear two-step rhythms, filtered-to-death basslines, and 'scary' sounds. Which makes this latest DB release such a treasure to own and listen to. Though I don't really agree with the comments in the liner notes about 'putting the music back' into drum and bass by bringing more melody and 'emotion' (a vast majority of the best jungle tunes had little melody, or even 'soul' as most people know it), the tunes here are still way better than any of the current dubplates hurting the dancefloors. Though it easily falls into the 'atmospheric' category, one should know that it's not just another collection of the pseudo-intelligent, sissy coffee-table jungle that Bukem and friends have been churning out as of late (though it's safe to say that their contributions to this mix aren't nearly as formulaic as their newest stuff; Bukem's own 'Music' is beautiful and a certified classic). Nope, the drums here are mixed into the forefront, distinct and emotive. The linear two-step patterns are well balanced by more intricate breakbeat programming from the likes of Photek and Pieter K (who's looking to be the next big auteur-producer on the scene). You can tell DB really thought out the track sequencing, because though each track stands alone as a marvel of craftsmanship, the way they blend into each other just sounds so right. He's not just matching beats, he's playing with moods, colors. Just listen to the mix between the very first two tracks to see what I'm talking about. Highlights here would be Blame's jazzy (but different!), rolling "Overhead Projections", both of Pieter K's tracks, Omni Trio's aching "Secret Life", Bukem's anthem, and Klute's "Chicks". Unlike Richard "progressive-house" Diaz, I find "Chicks" a flawlessly constructed minimal piece, hypnotic and understated. Good stuff. All in all, I would suggest you forgive the awkward title and BUY this mix if you're sick of boring noise masquerading as jungle. Peace.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful and inspiring....,
By Scott Matthews (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Secret Art of Science (Audio CD)
The negative reviews seem to be missing the point. As it says in the liner notes "this is not a collection of the hardest, darkest plates currently smashing up the dancefloors." If that's what you're looking for, you've come to the wrong place. Check out the new DJ Dara or Dieselboy's CD instead.On the "Secret Art of Science", DJ DB avoids the stranglehold that dark, nasty, mechanical beats have had on drum & bass in recent years. Instead he offers lush melodies and real breaks in a seamless mix that hasn't left my cd player since the day I bought it. I love drum & bass/jungle in all its forms but there's only so much darkness a man can take. Props to DJ DB for letting the light in!
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accessible, credible, melodic, conceptually on-point,
This review is from: Secret Art of Science (Audio CD)
The Secret Art of Being Brilliant, really. While professing to know little between dark-step, tech-step, and blah blah blah, it's certainly obvious that DJ DB offers up (yet again) some of the most accessible and credible work to be found. His prior Shades of Technology served as a roaring flyover of the depth within drum and bass, and this works as aptly by exploring the rarely charted, song-oriented fare the scene offers. He certainly has an ear for melody and vocal; sharp revisions of house producers Lil Louis, Everything But the Girl, and double dips of Jonny L infuse warmth and emotion to the precisely calculated beats. Gluing the tracks together are layers of atmosphere and flat-out musicianship as predominant as the rapid backing. Big names Photek and LTJ Bukem ("Music" still sounding fresh after 8 years) sit snug next to small records - major points just for daring to drop Nautilus's quaint guitar stroll "Small Adventures." There's some sag in the paunch (Klut's blah "Chicks") but ultimately the concept overcomes those quibbles. After all, it's not often you'll find drum and bass your hyper-caffinated mom would adore, right? Grade: 4.5 stars
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