Customer Reviews

Y4k

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

 

 

1.Don't know Hybrid?; These guys are best known for their original work, which is the cutting edge in the breakbeat/electronica genre. Hybrid have also remixed over 70 tracks and many of those are better than the originals, thanks to detailed and extensive production. Over the span of two studio albums and one remix album, Hybrid have showcased incredibly beautiful and diverse tracks with a dark undertone.

2.The Album; With that being said, by Hybrids standards, this album is a bit lacking. I guess you can call it a gifted artist's curse because their previous work set the bar so high. There are some absolute gems on this CD and those alone are probably worth the price. However, some of the tracks are very repetitive. This mix is definitely best suited for a club and not for home listening.

3.Specifics; My first impression was overwhelming joy when I heard that trademark breakbeat. By the end of track 6, I was a little bored. When track 7 came on, the beautiful string arrangements got me excited again. Overall, I think this is much better than most mix compilations I've heard. However, I expected this to resemble Hybrid's remix album, Remix and Additional Production, and it does not. This is more of a straightforward mix and there isn't much Hybrid-style remixing involved.

*The remix of Blackout is the stand-out track in my opinion, even though the arrangement is very similar to their remix of REM's The Great Below.

**Consider the fact that if you're not familiar with Hybrid at all, you will be completely blown at times. Then listen to one of their two studio albums and see just how much better it can get.

I've never been lucky enough to experience a live set or DJ set from Hybrid. They've made arguably the best "electronic" album of all time, Wide Angle, with the classic sweeping strings and synthetic breaks that defined them from the beginning. Morning Sci-Fi expanded their sound to something less compelling but just as cinematic.

This mix really sounds nothing like either of those albums.

What it does sound like is pure, booming nu-breaks nirvana. The first few tracks after the amazing introductory "The Drop" are a little faceless but still earthshattering. By the time FSOL's Vangelis-sampling "My Kingdom (Part 4)" segues into the stunning Hybrid "In Good We Trust (Soundtrack Edit)", you'll be blown away. Dropping the Chemical Brothers' sterling classic "Chemical Beats" in the middle of all this is a stroke of pure genius. The Y4K Edit of Hybrid's "Blackout" turns arguably their worst track ever into a ten-minute epic breakbeat odyssey that is a fitting closer for this mix. (This last track actually incorporates most of the elements from Hybrid's amazing remix of R.E.M's "The Great Beyond". It's unfortunate this track will never be released, as it's their best remix ever!)

Fans of the "Hybrid sound" shouldn't pass this one up, even though it may not be quite what they expect. Self-respecting fans of any sort of breakbeat or electronic music should be sure to pick Hybrid's Y4K up as well, for it's a journey they're sure not to forget for quite a while.

Whether original work, remixes, or dj sets, Hybrid is absolutely foremost in the field of electronic music (and a personal favorite of mine). But Y4K is not an album to pick up if you're looking to acquaint yourself with the group.

While a perfectly fine mix in its own right, the album is quite honestly a bland and mostly-disappointing offering as a Hybrid album. In fact, it seems to be more of a label release than a Hybrid one (it is part of a series in the Distinctive catalogue). That classic Hybrid flavor does shine through on a few tracks, but for the most part, I found myself wondering if the guys hadn't simply been recruited to do the label's bidding.

Longtime fans will hear something to like. Tracks from GusGus and Future Sound of London are enjoyable, and the soundtrack edit of Hybrid's own "In Good We Trust" gives me the chills everytime! (Note: Tracklistings for this album differ, so if you intend on buying Y4K, make sure you know which release of it you're getting.)

New or casual listeners, however, should skip out on this one. I suggest picking up Wide Angle and moving forward from there.

I came across Hybrid by accident a couple years back in SF at a club called Ruby Skye. Having never heard them before, I was immediately pleased that I showed up to a club where dancing on an overcrowded dance floor was acceptable as long as they were spinning.

A few weeks back I picked up Y4K for a party that some friends where having. I put the CD into my car stereo and for the next hour, I drove around till it ended. I was hooked as soon as the baseline kicked in and there was no looking back. As the deep dark bass filled my car, I found myself unable to stop nodding my head back and forth to their infectious groove. This CD reminded me of another DJ duo who I have long been a fan of in Deep Dish. I would love to see the day when all four stood behind a turntable together and mixed it up. That would be worth the price of admission into any club!

This CD is best played on a system where you can feel the bass and hear the melodies played over the top. I recommend this cd to any fan of electronic music. If you have never heard of hybrid, this CD will be a pleasant surprise!

I love electronic music, but I confess that I often get bored by DJ mixes. It's rare that I find one that I can listen to repeatedly. This one gets better the more I listen to it. Hybrid is becoming a band that really warps their sounds way beyond conventional electronica, and they pay meticulous attention to every sound that you hear on their records. Happily they've applied that attitude to this disc. As one long, coherent collage of sounds and beats, this disc is a masterpiece. Now that I listen to Wider Angle again, it sounds dull by comparison. If you buy one Hybrid disc, get this one.

Got this CD last night and listened to it a few times before I start judging it but it just doesn't do it for me. It has a few really nice tracks on it but overall it doesn't go anywhere as a mix. Some of the tunes are just plain boring. Definitely not the sound Hybrid became famous for IMO.

It is not a terrible mix - definitely better than a many of the breaks mixes that have been coming out recently but not as good for a big name Hybrid is.

I dont know what others are bitching about. But just about every single track has a compilation of incredible beats the rythum is sure to get our adrenoline going. its stands far from the total lifeless midi file compilation of crap such as just about all of Trance and Rave
(Bleh w/ the possibly acception of Okenfold.) But this album totally stands close to legendary electronic artists like Crystal Method, BT, Freeland, Andy Hunter, and such with great aggressive high flying beats excellent for jamming to at anytimes.


To state it simply, if you can visualize a cinematic fight scene, this is the type of music that flows perfect with that clip. Trust me.

This is another excellent work from Hybrid. Y4K shows a different side of Hybrid than what I've heard in Morning Sci-Fi, and Wide Angle, but they are none the less incredible. They have a true nack for intelligent, deep, electronic music. I would consider that there are about 3-4 "filler" tracks in this CD which are OK, but the rest is jaw-dropping and the whole work is pretty much seamless.

Though not as good as Hybrids other albums. This is a great adventure through the breakbeat era. I enjoy every track, yet I favor "Let It All Out" "David" "One Perfect Sunrise" "Blackout" & "The Way". The whole album is throughly enjoyable and worth buying.

Breakbeat -for me- is a genre that is kind of hard to get into. IMO it is either not properly done or it sounds so inacessible that you can't get into it. It either is poorly mixed in sets or the tracks are cool but have no soul or any spirit within them. By that I mean, no ethereal vocals that can connect with a crowd of listeners or make you interested in the sound, let alone dance to it.
So having said that, this cd is actually pretty good. I really like how it is put together. The tracks go well with each other, great fluidity in the sound and the tracks picked just keep on getting better and better.
So this mix just keeps on getter better and better until it gets to the second last track by orbital, the remix by stereo 8. It seems like the whole mix is leading up to this amazing and powerful track. IMO this cd is worth getting just to hear this track alone.

This cd has grown on me more and more. I really like it.