Electronic music is one of my favorite genres. It really is one of those things that people either love or hate, like Taylor Swift or cilantro. I just happen to love it...well, most of it. There really is some garbage out there where people just mess around with some sound effects on their new macbook and call themselves a DJ. (guilty)
For all of those out there that have listened to electronic and just don't "get it" I want to give a little spiel of why I personally like it. There's something about non-lyrical music that really appeals to me. Instead of having some heartfelt personal lyrics to relate to, an electronic (or classical, jazz etc.) artist has to somehow trigger the listener to feel something without words. How can a simple beat or a pulsating rhythm be appealing? That's the fascinating thing. Your ears can decipher certain sounds that they like, and certain ones that they don't, without regards to a lyrical message or whatever else. There's this emotion and meaning and complexity within a bunch of seemingly simple notes and I LOVE IT.
End of spiel.
Now, on to Andy Stott.
I'm just going to get to the point and say this is one of my favorite albums of 2012 and possibly the best electronic album I've heard....ever? *whoa* Yeah.
It's incredible. So incredible that I went out and bought the physical album. I know I like something when I actually buy it, since I currently hold the title of cheapest person on earth. I spent $20 on this imported sucker and I couldn't be happier.
Every track blends into the next, without seeming like one gigantic electronic mess of a song. They all have their own distinct feel with a cohesive...dark?...undertone to it. Haunting? Other worldly?
Sidenote: I should probably get better at describing music if I'm going to continue with this blog.
Anyway, the album has eight tracks, all great and all MUST be listened to with a good pair of headphones. The pulse is just absolutely incredible. When listening, you sort of submerge into this smooth music only to have subtle pulsations pick you up from underneath (...what?).
Andy Stott masters the "drop" on this album. If you listen to any electronic music you know what I'm talking about. It's that point in the music where the tone changes, something "drops" and all of a sudden you're submerged. Here, it's so subtle and so amazingly done. It doesn't hit you in the face...it sneaks up on you and then you're like "Oh, there it is. Yes."
Ugh. So good.
Favorite Tracks:
Hatch The Plan - Really simple vocal sample surrounded by all these overlapping beats and kind-of jungle-like and outer space type noises? Just go with it, it works.
Numb - Here's where you can hear that drop. It's really light at first and then this heavy beat just hits underneath and it blows me away every time.
Sleepless - This one took me a while to get into and then the 2:50 mark hits and it's all over. So good.
Go give it a listen. The whole album is available on YouTube on one video with actually really amazing sound quality (better than the individual tracks I've found). Usually I don't get too undone about less than perfect sound quality but this album deserves it. It deserves a lot.
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