Since Then

Ian Pooley

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: V2
• ASIN: B00004YRFX
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,379 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A lot of house albums run out of steam before they're half over, but that's not the case with Ian Pooley's pleasingly varied Since Then. In fact, the disc's first few tracks aren't house music at all. The opener, "Coracao Tambor (intro)," features driving Brazilian percussion, a throbbing keyboard, and lovely acoustic guitar flourishes, while "Venesque" is a slice of fun-filled funk. It's not until the fifth track, "Coracao Tambor," featuring Rosanna and Zelia on vocals, that the steady pulse of house, layered with Brazilian rhythms, kicks in. "Balmes" is propelled in part by an insistent finger-picked acoustic guitar pattern, while "Visions" sports a bright, sunny pop melody sung by Kirsty Hawkshaw. The CD closes on a dreamy note with "Cloud Pattern," whose acoustic piano parts hint at minimalism but are buoyed by distant drums. Since Then's range of material is well ordered and paced; rather than being just a collection of tracks, the disc is a cohesive dance album, and a fine one at that. --Fred Cisterna

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Level of House, October 25, 2000

By	"punkdolphin" (Punk Dolphin - NYC/Amsterdam) - See all my reviews

When I heard Meridian, I was shocked at how good that album was.  In my heart, that album is still a classic.  Ever since then, I must admit, I've become an Ian Pooley fan because he has developed a sound that seems to click with me on every level possible.  So whenever I could find a track of Ian Pooley or a track that he remixed, I would try to get it by any means necessary.  So when I heard Ian Pooley, this artist who is a member of Da Mongoloid, had a new album out, I was torn with conflicting emotions.  I expect follow-up albums to blow, yet everything I had heard from him was slamming.  So I knew I had to hear the new album to see if not only could  he maintain, but progress. Previous experience with other artists told me to prepare for a sub-par effort.

Not only does this new album maintain the high quality of house music that Ian Pooley creates, but it has progressed, too! The first thing that stands out is the influence of Brazilian jazz on Ian Pooley throughout the album.  On Meridian, he dabbled with it briefly on one track, track ten I believe.  It is not used as another layer to keep the track `busy', but it seems like a natural evolution from Meridian.  What makes this possible is that Ian Pooley still retained what is the essence of his sound, like "Balmes", a stone-cold floor killer.

Another pleasant addition is his usage of vocals.  It adds another facet of humanity and complexity.  The three tracks credited with a vocalist; "Coracao", "Visions" and "Menino Brincadeira" adds a nice variety to the album.  From the chill-out Brazilian jazz feel of "Menino Brincadeira" to the house stomping of "Visions", you're bound to find a lot of tracks on this album that deserve immediate and repeated play.

Listen to "Sundowner" and you'll swear he's some warp test-tube child of Carl Craig and Glenn Underground, hanging out in Chicago composing some wicked house tracks.  If you think this is purely a house CD from top to bottom, listen to "Spicy Snapper", a lil' trip-hop gem.

Like a fine artist, Ian Pooley diligently applies strokes of Afro-Cuban cultural rhythms, soft bass grooves, mournful keys and soulful vocals to create a masterpiece.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sooooo smoooooooth!, January 16, 2001

By	The Pete (Illinois) - See all my reviews

I don't usually like DJ CDs because they tend to start sounding repetitive by the third track, but this CD is solid from start to finish. The sound is cohesive all throughout, yet there's such variety within the material that you can go with the flow and stay interested in the music as well. His blend of solid house beats, deep throbbing bass, horns, acoustic guitars, Portuguese vocals, voice samples, and Latin beats is balanced perfectly.

This CD sounds like Sade if they were genetically merged with a deep house producer. Or Thievery Corporation if you kept their lounge sophistication but lost the trip-hop aspect of their sound and replaced it with upbeat bounce. Solid grooves throughout are offset by an inspired selection of instrumentation (or samples?) on every track: quasi hip hop keyboard on "Since Then", Latin percussion on "Coracao Tambor", and lots of other little touches. Great combination of sounds - electronic and acoustic!

Only gripe I have is that on "Visions" I had to tolerate Kirsty Hawkshaw's off-key vocals. Other than that tiny slip, this is a beautifully conceived set of tracks. Great stuff!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, October 1, 2001

By	Ariel Meadow Stallings "Author, Offbeat Bride" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This CD was one of my favorites of 2000, the popping bossa-house rythms perfect for keeping your head nodding while you work. A great introduction to just how varied and tasty electronic music can be, "Since Then" makes a great gift for those hesitant to dive into house music--You won't hear any of the typical thumping "boom-piss-boom-piss" monotony that is often associated with house.

Ian Pooley has been blazing his own path through electronic music ever since he first started releasing records at the age of 16. With the rest of Germany caught in a trance, Ian was molding his distinctive house and techno sound. While his music has continued to evolve over the past decade, his new album "Since Then" represents perhaps his biggest musical leap forward yet. With more than a nod in the direction of Brazil, incorporating a few guest appearances, "Since Then" and Ian Pooley himself have been busy garnering critical acclaim. Very busy.

As for the Brazilian flavor that runs through "Since Then," Ian sees an already existing shared musical territory. Brazilian music to me has a lot of similarities to house. Its always been very harmony-driven, [similar] to electronic music, and at the same time very groovy.

To provide the vocal stylings on "Since Then," Ian enlisted the help of Kirsty Hawkshaw of Opus 3 fame for the soul-infused Visions, as well as Rosanna and Zelia (one name only in true Brazilian fashion) for the tracks Coracao Tambor and Menino Brincadieira. Sung in Portuguese, the vocals on these two tracks have a playful, rhythmic quality that complements the production perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that I can almost hear these vocals gracing other Pooley songs of late.

Its precisely this easy mating of styles that makes "Since Then" so impressive. Ian incorporates overt Brazilian elements into his new album while at the same time giving the impression that they were there all along, if only we had listened for them. He seems to simply absorb influences and make them his own.