Voide is a prolific and talented Swedish electronic music producer, based in Stockholm, who has been making music since the late 80s. He has been releasing tracks as Voide since 2006 and the latest album, ‘Red Turns to Blue’ comprises 14 tracks. Five of these are vocal collaborations, one with the German vocalist Suzie Electro and the remainder with the Australian vocalist Pixieguts. Voide’s musical style is heavily influenced by classic early electronica producers such as Kraftwerk and Jean Michael Jarre and these influences can be clearly heard on his latest full-length release. Voide’s considerable experience in making electronica is obvious in these recordings which contain some great, rich analogue sounds and are uniformly superbly mixed and produced. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but at his best, Voide’s tracks have a flowing energy and drive provided by 303 sounds and other classic synths, and underlying smooth expansive melodies; ‘Red Turns to Blue’ isn't short of examples of this style.
My personal favourite track ‘Traffic’ has a fast, futuristic computer game feel, evocative of fast crossing streams of headlights on city highways and driven by crunchy, flowing techno sounds- this track rocks! The superb ‘Red Turns to Blue’ is a worthy title track for the album, its more soulful chilled and widescreen feel evokes huge, early morning skies, and Pixiegut’s vocals lift every track she appears on. ‘Into The Sun’ is a truly beautiful track, which glides over a wide, warm ocean powered by chugging 303-style analogue synths- this sound is classic for a very good reason.
However there can be a downside to Voide’s heavy use of classic electronic styles. Kraftwerk-inspired robotic vocals are overused particularly on the opening track ‘The Beat of You’ where the somewhat uninspired computer-sung lyrics and unoriginal feel detract from Pixiegut’s vocal. To be fair, Kraftwerk themselves aren’t always known for the quality of their lyrics! ‘When the Skies are Grey’ sounds a bit like Kraftwerk attempting a trance track, but fortunately also has plenty of the smooth techno momentum that is one of Voide’s biggest strengths and provides the glue that holds this album together.
However Voide isn’t scared to tackle a range of different electronic genres, the Madonna-esque ‘Love (feat. Suzie Electro)’ sounding like professionally sung and arranged 80s dance pop if nothing else, and ‘Necropolis (feat. Pixieguts)’ is a crunchy, unexpectedly dark if tongue-in-cheek slice of gothic electronica. The relaxed ‘Lazy’ is unfortunately again let down by its slightly uninteresting lyrics, but ‘Beauty for the Wicked’ shows that when Voide decides to experiment he can produce some interestingly structured and beautifully chilled electronica.
As a whole I found that “Red Turns To Blue’ misses a clear sense of theme due to the variety on display, and suffers from a lack of originality in places. However, despite these criticisms the album contains some very enjoyable and atmospheric tracks which I’d recommend to any fan of this genre, and a range of impressively well-produced material.
Voide's Homepage:
http://www.voide.net/
Pixiegut's Homepage:
http://pixieguts.com/
Suzie Electric:
http://www.myspace.com/suzieelectric
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
HealeyIsland: Not Afternoon, But Evening
“Not Afternoon, But Evening” is the 2nd album from solo electronic artist HealeyIsland, signed to the White Label Music independent, and like his previous work is mainly electronic and an all-but-indefinable blend of lounge, techno, and downtempo influences. It’s an intriguing combination of sounds; the album explores the shadowy territory on the border of all these genres. As the title suggests, this album is darker than HealeyIsland’s debut release, though still containing snatches of humour in parts it has a dark, downbeat and introspective feel. The first few tracks on the album are low-key and instrumental- rather than making every track a big event Healey Island obviously knows what he wants to express, and slowly leads you into an album of considerable depth and subtlety.
“Your Final Journey” is the album’s first real statement of intent, containing bolder downtempo beats under a deep, eccentric lounge vocal and sparkling lead line. Slurred, indecipherable vocal samples complete the mix, lending the track a mysterious aspect that continues throughout the album. Like the next track, “Edwardian American Prefab”, much of this album edges into more uneasy territory with a lurking sense of self-doubt and accusation. “Ballad of a Nobody” is one of the standout tracks, and also the track that expresses this insecurity most clearly with the mocking humour of the lyrics addressed to a “shaven-headed fool” whose life is “way off track”, offset by bright cascading synths.
Although it often has dark undertones, the album as a whole is far from being unremitting gloom. “Moments After Joining” is one of the more upbeat moments, with a brilliantly exaggerated deep, smooth, unintelligible yet somehow euphoric vocal that feels like a celebration of the music in its lack of a need to be understood. A twisting jazzy instrumental and organic-feeling bass add up to make this my personal favourite from the album. “Red Car Crossing A Dimly Lit Bridge” contrasts this with acid electronic sounds, and more half-heard, distorted vocal samples return the sense of menace.
Euphoria never lasts for long before the album returns to lonely, twilight urban surroundings and smokey basement clubs. “Recriminations” is another standout, with more dark playfulness in the threatening, robotic vocal, before “Facsimile Fountain” which effectively utilizes a fast/ slow dynamic where some anger finally breaks through the surface in the more driving electronic sections. This is followed by the album’s one genuinely shocking moment, more so for the quietly restrained feel that much of the album retains despite its inventiveness.
“Not Afternoon, But Evening” is definitely head music- claustrophobic in places and understated in others, but crucially maintains a quirky creativity, coherence and balance between lightness and shade that make it a very rewarding listen.
You can find HealeyIsland here:
http://www.last.fm/music/HealeyIsland
http://www.myspace.com/healeyanalogueisland
“Your Final Journey” is the album’s first real statement of intent, containing bolder downtempo beats under a deep, eccentric lounge vocal and sparkling lead line. Slurred, indecipherable vocal samples complete the mix, lending the track a mysterious aspect that continues throughout the album. Like the next track, “Edwardian American Prefab”, much of this album edges into more uneasy territory with a lurking sense of self-doubt and accusation. “Ballad of a Nobody” is one of the standout tracks, and also the track that expresses this insecurity most clearly with the mocking humour of the lyrics addressed to a “shaven-headed fool” whose life is “way off track”, offset by bright cascading synths.
Although it often has dark undertones, the album as a whole is far from being unremitting gloom. “Moments After Joining” is one of the more upbeat moments, with a brilliantly exaggerated deep, smooth, unintelligible yet somehow euphoric vocal that feels like a celebration of the music in its lack of a need to be understood. A twisting jazzy instrumental and organic-feeling bass add up to make this my personal favourite from the album. “Red Car Crossing A Dimly Lit Bridge” contrasts this with acid electronic sounds, and more half-heard, distorted vocal samples return the sense of menace.
Euphoria never lasts for long before the album returns to lonely, twilight urban surroundings and smokey basement clubs. “Recriminations” is another standout, with more dark playfulness in the threatening, robotic vocal, before “Facsimile Fountain” which effectively utilizes a fast/ slow dynamic where some anger finally breaks through the surface in the more driving electronic sections. This is followed by the album’s one genuinely shocking moment, more so for the quietly restrained feel that much of the album retains despite its inventiveness.
“Not Afternoon, But Evening” is definitely head music- claustrophobic in places and understated in others, but crucially maintains a quirky creativity, coherence and balance between lightness and shade that make it a very rewarding listen.
You can find HealeyIsland here:
http://www.last.fm/music/HealeyIsland
http://www.myspace.com/healeyanalogueisland
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