Customer Reviews

Soulhack

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Melodic yet surprising. Percussive, but with unidentified things struck. Acoustic instruments in an airy studio melded seamlessly with perfectly chosen crossed circuits. Swinging, soulful clicks-and-cuts. I'm not sure from whose head or computer this genius was sprung, and I don't care. It is unique. It punches me in the gut, then sings me to sleep. It is jazz. It is rock. It is IDM. No, forget genres. Music like this needs no label and creates its category. Beautiful. Visceral. Full of hope. Essential for jaded ears and minds.

I was listening to an internet radio site one night when a tune caught my ears. I looked to see who the artist was and found it. I went to Amazon and searched for Soulhack and ordered right away. What a treat to put it in my CD player! All the percussion hacking, sound bending and mixing that came out of my speakers were driving. Tracks 2 and 4 are my top 2 favs, although all of them are great. I enjoy the extreme contrast and dotting of the music's dialogue that the mixologist puts together whilst staying on a rhythmic beat. Soulhack, I belive, creates a new and exciting section on the ol' music shelves of the world. Mixed jazz fusion is the category I come up with. I guess the closest I can come to painting Soulhack's style is that the groove constantly stops and goes abruptly, leaving the listener with a sense of unbalance. But underneath the contrast of mixing instruments, there lies a constant beat which re-establishes the sense of poise. The poppy snare (brushed at times), the thick upright bass picks and a perfectly separated bass pedal team up to the mixed and bending sounds of the organ and piano. It's loungy, groovy and full of new and exciting sounds to energize the off-the-beaten-path music lover. I can't can't CAN'T just sit there while Soulhack is on. Jazz fusion is fairly new to me and Soulhack definitely gave me a fantastic first impression!

If a beautiful, bulimic model ate a ghastly amount of mixer cross-faders and purged herself in a 23rd century, titanium-alloy toilet...this is what it would sound like. If you have any appreciation for the effort, pre and post production, mapping and arrangement of complexed and layered electro-jazz music, then Eric Wahlforss' "Soulhack" is an imperative addition to your repertoire. Notable tracks are the title track, "Soulhack", "Funk For Nerds", "Flicker... honestly...there is no way for me to pick notables off of this album; it oozes with ambience and there are surprises around every corner. To save you from more synopsis, I will say this: "Soulhack" by Forss is an essential. Buy it. Play it. Let it eat your brain.

WOW. I borrowed this CD from a friend and as soon as i heard it, i was amazed at the the amazing production and blissful beats. So amazed that i went out and bought the CD myself, and it still remains my favourite album. This album is suitable for listeners with a taste for experimental electronica.

Glitchtronica soul jazz? Forss does it with ease. SOULHACK is a beautiful surprise, at once deep and challenging. From the clatter of the title track to the sweet syncopated bass of "Funk for Nerds," sample-based jazz has never sounded so progressive and modern (with perhaps the exception of Jan Jelinek, who approaches the form from completely different angle; the chopped funk of "Flickermood" easily draws the line between them). The spoken word of "Journeyman," is a slight misstep, since it shifts the focus to the vocals, rather than the music, but the dark, dense and dystopic "Atomised" recovers the mood. There a sense of heartache on "Characteristics," from the piano melody to the blues sample. The more symphonic "Tacit Knowledge" brings a classical grace, and the final track, "Paradigm Shift," shows that downtempo can have an experimental cut-and-paste heart to it. An outstanding debut.

If you like odd rhythms and sounds. This is for you. Heavy duty.

This excellent little recording is a nice mix of earnestness and soulful fun wrapped in a decently rough but deliciously smooth package of some funky and unique blend of jazz, acid jazz, electronica, lounge, funk, soul, trip-hop, clicks + cuts, downtempo, and what have you (just where DO all these "genres" begin and end?). There's a heavy current of flowing samples and keyboard devices underlying this music, which lends continuity to the variety of sonic devices that slide in and out. There's also a nice balance and flow of moods, from intense to reflective, from clanging and percussive to gently ambient, with enough quirky sound insertions to maintain a good interest level throughout. Some deep moods are established, and there's generally a feeling of earnest funky reflection throughout, occasionally moving in more somber and intense directions.

Related music can be found on recordings by Koop, Jazzanova, P'taah, & Mocean Worker, among others, although Forss seems to revel a little more in discontinuities and jump cutting, while managing not only to maintain but to enhance the prevailing thick rhythms and jazzy funk. Despite some sophisticated compositional work this is not a slick effort. There's a real earthy atmosphere, maintained by a certain up-front separation of the instruments in the mix and by the slappy bass lines and straight up drum figures anchoring the various exotic sonic excursions, and actually enhanced by the manipulations of the digital sheen. The quality level is pretty consistent throughout and the songs are intelligently ordered to form a smooth excursion, which helps to lock in the emotional connection as the music moves through its various sonic landscapes.

A consistently satisfying journey: interesting, mildly exotic, intelligently earthy and soulful.