Customer Reviews

Styles of the Unexpected

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For a guy with such a big record collection, this album is surprisingly straightforward. Votel is a DJ who loves 1960s and 1970s exotica and progressive and has shown this on mix albums like Vertigo Mixed and Songs in the Key of Death. These are incredibly ambitious, and if that were not ample, Votel makes habit of reissuing many of his sample sources.


This album is Votel's own songs, and is a different matter. As a composer, if we believe this disc, Votel prefers small, almost 70s new wave arrangements on almost Casio like keyboards. Styles Of The Unexpected contains these--interesting minis from a DJ who usually loves maxi's.

Nothing wrong with this, and as background trip hop, this stuff is melodic and a lot of fun. Get this if you like the above description, not Votel's mix work/

Andy Votel is startlingly young, considering his wide range of accomplishments: he is already a DJ, producer, remixer, talented musician and label head, with Badly Drawn Boy on his roster. With that sort of accomplishment it wasn't surprising that, as a prelude to two full-length albums, he eventually released a EP.

"Styles of the Unexpected" is not terribly unexpected to fans of Votel's remix work. It's a sweet, melodious mix of jazz, post-rock, electronica and little sonic flourishes. It opens on a suitably pleasant note with the slow-motion percussion and xylophone being overlaid on a bed of soft synth. It's a nice way to start things out.

Then it shifts into the surreal jazz of "Girl on a GoPed," with Jane Weaver singing quietly over a weird collage. "Pickpocket" and "Diode" backpedal to gentle blippy pop. Things finish up with the vaguely orchestral "Riderbrow," which is wonderfully self-assured and steady, ending it on a note very different from the opener.

Not that there's no exploration at all: Votel does a bit of dabbling in more conventional electronica, and the result is a maddening little bit of bubbling sci-fi dance chaos. Elsewhere, he stretches into post-rock; the panoramic "Doe Eyed" is just a sweet, soft expanse of sound with a bit of guitar here, a bit of xylophone there.

"Styles of the Unexpected" is one of those rare EPs that feels longer than it actually is. Were this just another synthy trip, then it probably would have been terribly boring, but Andy Votel packs on the musical layers until it feels at least an hour long.

The layers themselves could take hours to dissect -- most of the time it's electronic blips and synth waves, with xylophone, rhythm section, sax, organ and cello. Plenty of samples, but so subtle they're heard to unearth. "Return of the Spooky Driver" briefly breaks into a guitar rhythm that is almost insanely catchy, but it soon dies away into alien blips once more.

"Styles of the Unexpected" is not quite unexpected, but has the glorious, eerie twists that will keep you listening right up to the final seconds. Which are, by the way, waves crashing and a quiet string solo. A must-have for music fans.

I purchased this CD simply because of Andy Votel's connection with Badly Drawn Boy and Twisted Nerve Records. I wasn't disappointed.

This CD is a clever mix of low-key, easy-going electronic music with influences ranging from jazz to hip-hop. Equally suited for headphones or a party, the CD makes great background music, it's major downfall being that it is simply too short.

Andy Votel is a creative individual who seems to have a natural inclination toward experimentation. It's pretty easy to find this CD for cheap, so there's nothing to lose!