Customer Reviews

Songs of a Dead Dreamer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone who associates DJs with corny dance remixes and dull club beats, DJ Spooky will blow that image away. "Songs of a Dead Dreamer", a collection of primarily ambient and textural works, is a dark and atmospheric work that shows Spooky's astounding ability of combining a variety of sources, from classical to electronic, and combining them into a smooth and beautiful whole. Anyone who is interested in the dark side of the ambient movement, especially fans of early Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, should get this album. There is a somewhat self-indulgent but still interesting essay also included in the liner notes. Though Spooky does proclaim himself a "music futurist," the tag line is surprisingly true. For anyone willing to slow down and listen, this album is an ambient classic.

The New York City illbient scene has definitely paved the way for more ill/ambient artists still to come. Many people say that the ill/ambient scene is dead (the artsy types out there enjoy pronouncing an artform dead on arrival, it may make them appear to be on top of things) - a passing fad, so to speak. (WE and Subdub are still releasing fresh vinyl albums/singles/tools off of Theagriculture, Liquid Sky, and Asphodel, for you who claim that they have vanished).
DJ Spooky claims that the world is a mix, which is definitely the philosophy's adage - in that the listening to music is more than passive, its active dissection into your self, any sound can indeed be you.
The year is 2001, and I can fervently claim that this (along with Viral Sonata)is one of best ill/ambient albums out there, in that Spooky has effectively merged the spatial, sparse sounds of ambient music with the driving beat of hip-hop and dancehall reggae/dub to make a new product, a.k.a illbient music. I say that ambient music is still fairly vibrant, in that DJs/noise-progenitors can site this album (as well as Necropolis, and various releases by other artists from Liquid Sky and Asphodel, TheAgriculture and Wordsound are also in the house) for a common and mutual reference point - much like how progressive rockers refer to Pink Floyd or how avid hip-hoppers refer to Grandmaster Flash or Grand Wizard Theodore.
As a DJ, I find this to be an excellent tool in that one can fragment (deconstruct) it into different parts and create a fresh, brand new product. Miller understood this concept (one in which many electronic Djs still refuse to understand) way before the illbient scene developed in the mid 90's. One only has to understand Miller's philosophy to feel his music (I must admit, his written essays are a bit hard to follow for the common man, one has to understand philosophical jargon to read it - he has a very... interesting vocabulary, lets say).
This album has a right to anyone's collection. I still listen to/deconstruct this five years after its release, and it can only be stale to those who aint ready. Like many forward-thinking artists, Miller's works will probably be re-discovered sometime in the future, and hopefully it will accepted along the lines of Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, Brian Eno, and perhaps even Akrikaa Bambaata and Kool Herc.

The term 'illbient' is a sound largely based around eclectic atmospheric ambient sounds steeped in 'Dub, Hip-Hop, Drum 'N' Bass with a mostly conceptual nature. So what should you expect???....think the occasionally dense moods & atmospherics of "Dj Krush", coupled with the Avant garde downtempo of "Aphex Twin's - Selected ambient works", with a large helping of the textured Sonics and genre fusion and melodic beats of "Dj Shadow"...yet managing to completely separate himself into something completely unique to him. Usually starting with a simple wall of ambient sound, to start proceedings, a Multitude of layered samples are gradually applied over the course of some of the sprawling 7 minute epics....(one track doesn't even introduce a actual beat until 3 minutes into the track). Its truly is a great album, of that there is no doubt, but with an overall sound that is predominately Cerebral, abstract, creative & yet largely reliant on mood, its certainly not a widely accessible album, but those entering into this with 'Their eyes wide open' will treasure a artist willing to sacrifice commercial appeal or creative exploration.

Your driving downtown, the bars have closed for the night, and somehow you've managed to get yourself lost in the bleak concrete jungle. You pop in your favorite DJ Spooky cd and become convinced that you are being followed. Looking for a dark, after-hours, paranoid mood? This is your album. As a whole, the album is a coherent piece that should be heard in its entirety from beginning to end. That said, there are several stand-out tracks that have become personal faves: the smokey film-noir jazzish "Nihilismus Dub"; "Galactic Funk" which has a nasty 1970s inspired funk groove; and "Juba", an African-inspired piece sandwiched in between some organ playing that sounds fit for a baseball game; and "the terran invasion...", which has a distinctly Eno-esque quality supported by a reggae bassline. Well-worth the price of admission. Check it out.

Paul D. Miller or DJ Spooky has proven himself over the years to be a creative genius on many different levels. Songs Of A Dead Dreamer is considered by many to be Mr. Miller's masterpiece of sound and mixing technique. A mind blower CD that is guaranteed to take the listener on a fantastic journey that is a much dark as it is light. No need for drugs here as the music itself has the power to alter and warp reality.

I don't remember how I got into DJ Spooky, but at first, I was not impressed (the first CD I got was `File Under Futurism' - still not my favorite) - however, I started to buy more, and I realized my first CD was a black sheep, and that this guy REALLY knows what he is doing. This is my fifth DJ Spooky/Paul D. Miller CD, and I will keep buying them.

It is hard to describe this CD. It is absolutely futuristic, but not in a science fiction way, just science and technology (this will probably make no sense to you, but I am trying!) - it sounds intelligent and futuristic.

Regardless, from the samples Amazon has provided, you can get a good idea what is in store, except you really need to just listen strait on through.

The kicker is, this is a serious, mature ambient/IDM/whatever CD, while his other work, like Modern Mantra, is more of `rap' and organic. Same quality and flair, but way different results. Still, amazing work.

Songs of the dead dreamer is the amazing ambient influenced debut of one of the 1990's best minds. Spooky has a view of the world that he exposes through songs, writing, and speaking that is much needed. While Spooky's other albums are all great for various reasons. This one is the deepest subliminal terror on wax YET.

DJ Spooky is the most famous Illbient artist. However, he didn't invent the genre. Check out the WE CD called "As Is." That CD is truly breath taking, and may be the best CD in the Genre. Also check out anything on Wordsound, which is the only Illbient label.

I absolutely like Spooky's work. However he is relatively over rated.

This is the thinking person's hip hop, morbid and tense. It's not easy listening an all! Spooky has the ability to constantly surprise and challenge the listener--it's a real tour de force. It can't think of any parallels.

dj spooky is doing for hip-hop what pink floyd did for rock. he is making ambient soundscapes that all of a sudden swirl into hypnotic hip-hop tracks and then into some alien tribal rhythms and after that, maybe a little ambient classical music and jazz.

the sounds never seem to stop pouring out of your speakers.

this album proves that hip-hop does not need to rely on rap to keep it afloat. this is not your typical hip-hop scratch-a-thon where the dj plays a beat and scratches some overused rap lyric cliche. spooky is a sonic painter, who creates spacious aural vistas like no one else.

this album is by no means representitive of his catalog. all of his albums have a totally different sound. 'riddim warfare' is also very unique and reccomended for hip-hop lovers